Boards News - January 2017

Happy New Year everyone. Hope your 2017 is going well so far and that you're holding strong on any resolutions


(stolen from here)

The first thing to be highlighted is the incredible effort of the Boards community this year in supporting Santa Strike Force. DeVore revealed that the SSF accounts are just shy of €20,000, so thanks to everyone who chipped in. If you'd like to donate, you still can; donations are accepted throughout the year. DeVore will be in contact with charities and making drops in the coming weeks and months, putting money raised to good use. He also called into Crumlin's Childrens Heart Ward recently with tables, a PS4, TV, games, a moveable trolley stand, and extra wireless controllers around Christmas time to help raise spirits.

Something that a few of you have noticed is that it's once again possible to add images and gifs to posts in After Hours. The AH Mods have enabled this on a trial basis for a month to see how it goes. Have fun (but remember to read the updated charter)! And if it's image only threads you're after, why not check out the Cool Vids & Pics & Links forum.

There are two competitions running right now. Liberty Insurance is giving away a Drive Safer Kit and all you have to do is offer your New Year's safe driving resolution (of course, we're sure ye're all mighty drivers, so perhaps you'll just inspire someone else ).

Eir has six iPad Mini 2s to give away to students who make use of Study Hub for an hour within a month. With the dreaded (whisper it) pres and formal exams coming up, we're sure that this could be a useful resource to many.

Recently, we asked you if you would be interested in a dedicated Bargain Alerts app. As mentioned in the initial thread, this wouldn't change the Bargain Alerts forum in any way and it's not designed as a replacement; in fact, it would (if it is developed) pull bargains from the forum, while enabling features like notifications and geolocation. One lucky survey participant has won a €100 One4All voucher for her time and participation (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057691126).

Some members of the community have been busy with their own projects. Over in the Creative Writing forum, alfa beta released their first novel on Amazon. He was floating around on the forum for quite some time, updating people on his progress and penning short stories before disappearing off to concentrate on getting thousands of words written and proofed. Boardsies who have chimed in so far seem pretty impressed by the offering - I'm not on commission, but maybe I should be

I've mentioned it before, but fergal.b's cruiser restoration is coming along nicely. He's hoping to get it on the water in April or May! The thread includes some great pictures and it's fascinating to see how the project has progressed.

Some people may use the New Year to kickstart some burning ambition or to better themselves. A few forums have got their 2017 goals/resolutions threads up and running.

• Athletics/Running - Goals for 2017
• Farming & Forestry - Your aims for 2017
• The Gentlemen's Club - Goals for 2017
• The Ladies Lounge - 2017 . . . what will yours look like?

Not specifically 2017 related, but a good way to get advice, encouragement, and keep yourself motivated/accountable:

• Fitness Logs forum
• Nutrition and Diet forum
• Fitness forum
• Giving Up Smoking forum
• Reading Logs forum

There are, of course, a variety of other forums that you can use to chart your progress and seek tips, but just thought I'd point out a handful.

Some of our favourite threads of late:

• What was your biggest "get me out of here!" moment in a relationship?
• Christmas forum is trying to perk itself up
• What really obvious thing have you only just realised
• Old health cures in Ireland
• 
• Farming & Forestry's Bad photos on done deal