1. This main “Updates” section is now driven by blog software WordPress. Readers may find it hard to believe, but up until now the home page has always been hard-coded manually using nothing but Notepad. Making the home page a blog means users will be able to leave comments directly under topic entries, each post will get its own unique web page, posts can be categorized in a searchable database, plus any number of other helpful things. It also should translate into more frequent updates, since they’ll be easier for us to make.
2. The “Headlines” section has been replaced with a full-on Newsfeed. Not only does this solve the copyright issue, but it’s much more functional and prettier than the old script. Anyone and everyone can now submit or comment on news items, and the entire feed can now be syndicated using RSS. The Newsfeed is now a bit like a miniature, DC-only Planetizen.
3. The Forum has been retooled a bit. Gone are all the individual sub-forums, replaced with a single page for all topics. Since users can now leave comments under posts on both the home page and Newsfeed, the Forum is a little redundant and doesn’t need to be as complex. (The Forum is currently offline while we make these changes. It will be back ASAP.)
4. Lastly, our RSS feed has been upgraded and is now customizable for users. It’s now possibe to display additional content beyond just entry headlines. It’s a completely new feed, though, so users will need to update their readers with the new URL.

We think these changes will make your BeyondDC experience a whole lot better and allow the page to keep up with the ever-changing online world. Please do feel free to leave a comment telling us what you think or reporting any bugs.