We have just launched a brand new version of MaplePrimes that has many new features, tweaks and a fresh new visual design. These features are focused on making the site as easy to use as possible. The site will be coming out of beta very soon and we would like to get as much feedback from users as possible. Please comment on this post with any comments that you have about the new version of the site.

New features for the site include:

• Maple Ranking - All users are rated based on how active they are on the site. You get points for every posting that you make to the site. The more points that a user has the higher their Maple Ranking.
• Maplesoft.com login - You can now log into the site using the same information that you use to log into Maplesoft.com. If you already have a MaplePrimes account you can continue to log in as you did before. If you have a Maplesoft.com account with the same e-mail address as your MaplePrimes account your accounts will be linked together.
• Redesigned file manager - All files automatically have their own page that makes it simple to paste the contents into a posting. Images are automatically resized and creating HTML versions of worksheets is easier.
• Toolbar added to entry boxes - Buttons now appear at the top of all entry areas on MaplePrimes. This makes it easy to enter HTML or Maple code. Quick links to the file manager are also provided.
• User profile images - Upload an image to your profile that will appear next to your name on all comments that you place on the site.
• Email pages - A link is now shown on the bottom of every post that lets you forward the post to an e-mail address. You can use this to share a post with a friend or colleague or save it for yourself.

A user's Maple Rank is a way to see how active they are on MaplePrimes. There are four rankings as seen in this table. New users have no Maple rank. You receive points for posting various items on MaplePrimes such as blog entries, forum posts and comments. The more points you have, the higher your Maple rank. This system is similar to the feedback system on eBay, however instead of the points being assigned by users, points come from using the site.

The table below shows the number of points that each user receives for each type of posting.

All entry boxes have a set of buttons shown above them. You can use these buttons to insert the HTML tags required for common formatting on MaplePrimes.

All MaplePrimes users can upload an image that will be displayed next to their name when they post anything to MaplePrimes. You can choose any image that you like, it could be a picture of yourself, your cat, your favorite math expression, whatever.

Images can be up to 85 pixels by 85 pixels. They must be in GIF, JPG, or PNG format.

To upload your picture, click on "my account" on the top left of the page. Then click "Edit". Scroll down until you see the "Picture" section. Click "Browse" and then locate and double click on your image. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click "Submit". You will then see your image on your user information page.

All posts on MaplePrimes have a link on the bottom labeled "e-mail this". Clicking that link lets you send a link to the post off to an e-mail address. You can use this to send it to a friend or colleague or just e-mail it to yourself to save the link.