Hi Everyone... I want to make our Forum and website become easier to use and navigate, and to have Web 2.0 features such as podcasts and educational YouTube video embeds (non-explicit, but informative), to make our online community here MUCH more user-friendly and WAY easier to find the stuff that YOU think is REALLY helpful in continuing to learn KSMO and in your helping OTHERS to learn this lifelong skill.

I also want to empower YOU to become more directly involved in bringing forward the content that you think is most helpful, and for YOU to have the option to even VIEW the information using a layout template and tools that YOU CHOOSE.

Here's a short video that gives you an overview of Joomla and how quickly YOU will be able to change the appearance and layout of how you VIEW the data that is stored in our Forum database (going back to 1997!).

Joomla! is an Open Source (=FREE, heavily supported) CMS (Form-based Content Management System) that has a HUGE global user-base and MANY Templates available with cool plugins for adding LOTS of Web 2.0 features such as podcast- and video embeds into our Templates.

Content generated in our Forum can be automatically piped to a layout that is easily customizable, modifiable, and navigable, BY YOU.

There are MANY companies that offer Joomla Templates... one I particularly like is called RocketTheme which offers some VERY versatile and attractive Templates that can serve as wrappers and layout frameworks for the vBulletin content, and that can provide links to information, video help / how-to-use-the-Forum, etc. in ways that work best for YOU.

That video I referenced above shows how YOU can switch from one template to another, change the text size, etc. ALL TO VIEW THE CONTENT FROM OUR FORUM.

Please take a look at Joomla! and at the RocketThemes Template Options and post your comments and suggestions in this thread as to what Template or Templates you'd like to use - please provide links to them in your post, if you know how. If you don't, ask me!

I'm personally favoring Versatility IV 1.5 as a starting point because it has SO many optional areas or content boxes that can be turned on or off as desired, and of course color scheme, graphics of your choice, etc. can be added as well.

This post is just to get the ball rolling for a discussion within our community as to what people want to see - what templates you'd like.

As a reply please post links to templates you'd like to see implemented, as well as which Plugins or Extensions you'd like to have available to make learning KSMO more FUN and more EFFECTIVE.

Please take a look at the descriptive videos and post your comments to this thread as to what you think and what your Template preferences and plug-ins might be.