It's been a while since I've done an update on what I've been up to, so given that I've just ploughed through a bunch of bugs and created some new functionality, I thought now would be a good time!

First, and most importantly, I've added "Premium Account" functionality to the site. This means that several items that you all currently have access to (like messageboard buddies, profile images, etc) are now only available to those who purchase a premium account.

I've also added some extra new functionality for premium account holders, such as being able to ignore people on the messageboards, and not seeing any adverts.

There's also something called "Premium Plus", which is essentially a premium account with extra added bonuses; you can upload a larger image, have more buddies, use links inside of posts, and have custom datestamps and timezones. All it requires is a little extra dosh.

You can take a look at exactly what you get, and purchase an account, on the <a href="http://www.readandfindout.com/premium_account/">Premium Account</a> page in the "Store" section of the menu.

You should notice that I've given you (and everyone else) a premium account for free until the end of July; I did this so that you wouldn't suddenly lose functionality you'd been using for several months, and to give you time to purchase an account if you so desire. If not, no worries, you'll still be able to post and use Read and Find Out!

The way in which you purchase accounts is slightly different from the way it worked on wotmania, as it should all be automated. All you need to do is say who the account is for, pay via PayPal, and the all the magic behind the scenes should ensure that the premie is instantly usable! If you want to buy an account for someone else but don't want them to know about it, don't worry; it's all anonymous.

If you're wondering why I'm suddenly charging for functionality that's been available for free for the past 10 months, it's because I can't sustain the site on donations alone, nor can I reasonably expect a few generous people to attempt to do so. This way, everyone who wants to use the features that use the most processor power and bandwidth get to contribute towards the cost of those items.

In addition to the premium accounts, I've also added options, available to everyone, which allow you to set defaults for the quote style (when replying to a post) and the "Send notification emails?" tickybox (when creating a post). You'll find them in the "Messageboard options" section on the <a href="http://www.readandfindout.com/profile/edit/">Edit Profile</a> page.

Questions? Fire away!