SOTF Newsletter December 2021

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Hello everyone! Welcome to the first iteration of what we are currently calling the SOTF Newsletter! This is a new semi-regular initiative from the staff team to keep all of you updated on what we're working on and what's coming up in the future while there are no other major announcements to make.

Note that this is not as strict timeline or promise of when we will get any of this done, just information about what we're working on and planning to work on. If you don't see a set date, there isn't one yet, and we won't have one until we're ready to announce it. This is a more casual update of the staffside goings-on for all of you.

With that said, here's what we have coming up:

V8 Pregame Homecoming Festivities
Starting later this month, we will be opening the initial nominations for John Endecott Memorial Academy's 2021 Homecoming Court. A full explanation of how that works will be posted when it opens, but this will give more people a chance to become Homecoming royalty than just the King and Queen. The Homecoming/Winter Formal dance event for pregame will be launching in the new year.

V8 Staff Applications
Due to recent departures from the team, we have decided to push the planned staff apps drive up a bit and will be holding the new application process prior to the opening of V8 final character submissions. An announcement with the exact date and explanation of the staff app process for those new to it will be given also in the new year.

V8 Rules Updates
The last major update to the site rules happened prior to V5, so we're giving those a long due review. We do not expect there to be significant changes to the way the site at large operates; this update focuses on clarifications, patching up any oversights that have been found over the past few versions, and making sure all our important information is easily accessible in one place. The fully updated rules will be posted with their own announcement prior to V8's opening.

Wiki Link Cleanup Initiative
While we work on polishing the SOTF Wiki in preparation for future updates, there are some adjustments that need to be made both for our own use and to be in line with wiki host policies. Most importantly, we are going to begin removing links that go directly to threads containing explicit sexual content, as these are in violation of the content policy.

The procedure for doing this link cleanup is simple: the names of threads containing explicit content will remain on character and location pages on the wiki, but the links directly to the board must be removed. We will add notes to all relevant threads that don't currently have one on the wiki denoting that they contain explicit content and cannot be linked directly on the wiki. This way, anyone reading through the characters should still be able to easily find the thread either by following thread links on the board or using the search function, and we will not have any trouble with our host over the content.

Less urgently, we have plans to add links to the current main SOTF board alongside those directed to the archive hosted on the Mini site. This is for ease of navigation and not a security issue like the above procedure, and thus will not necessarily be happening immediately. If you would like to help out with either of these initiatives, feel free!

If you have any questions about the wiki specifically, regarding this cleanup or anything else, please direct them to #wikis channel in the site Discord.

Spam Accounts and IP Bans
In the past few months, the site has seen a large uptick in the volume of spam accounts attempting to register. In combating these, staff sometimes has to issue IP bans to the locations responsible for a large amount of spam accounts coming in at one time. Unfortunately, this means that actual users may occasionally be caught in the net as well. If you find yourself locked out of your account without prior notice, please get in contact with the staff via Discord right away so that we can release you.

That's it for this inaugural edition of the SOTF Newsletter. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for better names, this thread is the place to put them. Otherwise, we wish you all happy and safe holidays and a great new year!

-The SOTF Staff Team