Currently it's Guest->Awaiting Activation->Registered->HF L33t.
I'm going to add a new group "HF Member" after Registered.
The idea is to add more restrictions to Registered group requiring things like posts and actions to be part of the community. Because of bots it's no longer enough to just sign up on a site and active through email. Not even CAPTCHA and anti-bot measures do it. I'm going to have to have require actual human activity.
While I am indeed adding this for bot restriction, I am also doing this hoping that forced activity will help HF overall. One concept I've had with the HATS awards is to have members do a quiz and get a hat to start their HF career. A bit of gamification.
If you have feedback, now is the time before I actually implement. I expect by next week I'll have something in place.
EDIT: Update so that clowns don't think this is a paid group. It is not, it's FREE. Would only require activity on-site.
I will be working on a new Banner Ad position for HF that will be integrated into PMs. It will only be displayed to non-upgraded members. I estimate at least 200-300 views per day, very targeted ads especially towards new members.
Pricing will be weekly and I think I'll start at $25-40 with 3-4 rotating ad positions.
Expect this to be integrated soon and this is the moment to leave feedback while I'm coding this out.
It's interesting that when I started HF you had to build into the site language options. But now browsers have automatic translate built in.
This is what HF looks like in Russian...
🔐 loading encrypted image…
Curious if any members are using HF translated?
And did you know at one point maybe 12+ years ago I actually had a bunch of language sections for HF? It was hard to moderate back then so eventually closed it down.
Welcome back to the Hack Forum News. Where we keep you up to date on the weekly events and news happening on site and around the world. If you have never heard of the Hack Forum News, don't worry, we have you covered. We are a team of members from the Hack Forums community who are journalists and writers, and we are here to keep you in the loop of the changes around the site and the events happening around the world.
Following the birthday of Hack Forums [mention=1] announced that there would be more special things happening around the site. The latest one is within this thread, which is currently offering everyone cheaper permanent upgrades on site. The offer only comes around the site once or twice a year, so it's an offer to save yourself from paying yearly for Uber. The offer has also increased the bytes rewarded for upgrading while this is going on. If you are looking to upgrade, try and do it before the 1st of May.
Recently we had a little special day known as 4/20. Every year we have always had a little special thing happen on site about the day. This year there was no chance. We were lucky enough to have a two day event where all the awards from the last few years of the events, where you could buy the awards for $42 each. Many members have taken advantage of the chance to get a lovely new row of 4/20 awards this year. If you sadly missed this event, we hope you will get something next year.
Recently we mentioned in the news about [mention=1] Cutting down crawlers and other things. Well, they have recently enabled Google Analytics and are currently running a test to see a little more in depth on the site. They have only shared an image from traffic from around 15 minutes of data so far, but once it has been running for a few more days, we have been told they will be able to share more data with us. Keep your eye on this thread if you are interested in having a better understanding of the site's traffic moving forward.
Writer - [mention=2331053]
[mention=1389591] Has obtained the "King Decade" award -
[mention=596861] Has obtained the "King Decade" award -
[mention=49365] Has obtained the "Medal of Honor" award -
Staying in your comfort zone feels safe, but it often comes at the cost of growth. When things are too easy, you stop challenging yourself, and progress slows down without you even noticing. Growth happens when you take on tasks that feel slightly uncomfortable—learning something new, facing challenges, or stepping into unfamiliar situations. The more you embrace discomfort, the more confident and capable you become.
Advice of the week
If it feels uncomfortable, it might be exactly what you need to grow. Quote of the week
“Do one thing every day that scares you.” — Eleanor Roosevelt
Writer - [mention=2331053]
This weeks Song Of The Week: The Marías - No One Noticed
In light of the recent birthday of the site. The beloved staff member [mention=57618] is doing a little contest for everyone to have a chance at getting 3 permanent Ub3r and 3 permanent L33t upgrades. The thread doesn't ask for much to enter. All you need to do is make a reply following the questions asked within the thread, and you could be picked to get upgraded for free. The contest ends on the 30th of April, so there isn't much time left.
A new contest by [mention=547589] has come around and is currently running until the 30th of April 2026. The contest is based around vibe coding using an AI model linked within the contest thread. The winner will be based on what is produced via the functionality, code quality, creativity, and overall polish of what is produced with the submission. This means you have full freedom to create anything you like. But it cant be too basic. If you are just getting into learning about vibe coding, this might be a great start and a great way to have a chance of winning $180.
That's past 30 days of convo messages between members.
When I move servers, I think it's time to just remove it entirely. Convo room down to just a handful of members at a time. Less than 5 people are in there mostly. Hours can go by without anyone saying a word.
So why keep it? I can upgrade HF to new server and ditch Convo and probably the notify system entirely. I never liked it anyways. And I bet nobody really cares.
HF will be easier to manage, update, and run without these features.
Expect them to be dismantled in the coming weeks. Probably even before the move.
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