Category Archives: Site News

Exciting News: A Few Moments with God Podcast is Now on Video! Plus, How to Never Miss an Episode (and Chat With Us!)

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Hey Swagnilla Ice Fam!

We’ve got some incredibly exciting news to share that’s going to level up your experience with our content! We’re thrilled to announce that A Few Moments with God Podcast is officially switching to a video format!

You asked for it, and we listened. We believe that bringing you visual content will enhance our discussions, allow us to share more dynamically, and generally make our episodes even more engaging. We’re kicking things off by hosting all new episodes on YouTube, making it super easy for you to watch, listen, and share.

This is just the beginning of our video journey! While we’re starting on YouTube, our long-term goal is to transition to Vimeo Business for an even more integrated and ad-free viewing experience exclusively for our members.

Why Membership is Now More Important Than Ever!

To ensure you never miss a beat and get the most out of our new video episodes of A Few Moments with God, becoming a member of Swagnilla Ice is the absolute best way to stay connected. And guess what? Our Free Membership is packed with value!

When you become a Free Member of Swagnilla Ice, you’ll gain:

  • The Best Way to Engage: As a member, you’ll have the exclusive ability to comment directly on all our blog posts and video episodes, providing your valuable feedback, asking questions, and connecting with other listeners and the Swagnilla Ice team.
  • Access to Our Community Forums: Dive deeper into discussions, ask questions, and connect with like-minded individuals in our members-only forums. This is where the real conversation happens!
  • Weekly Email Updates: Beyond new episodes, stay in the loop with all the latest from Swagnilla Ice, including news, special announcements, and exclusive content.

And for those looking for even more, our Full and VIP Memberships offer deeper dives, exclusive content, early access, and unique perks that truly enhance your Swagnilla Ice experience.

Ready to Watch & Engage?

Head over to A Few Moments with God to catch our latest episodes of “A Few Moments with God.”

And to ensure you can comment, engage in forums, and stay subscribed with email updates, take a moment to Sign Up for Your Free Membership Here! It’s quick, easy, and unlocks a richer experience with Swagnilla Ice.

We’re incredibly excited about this new chapter and can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Stay cool,
The Swagnilla Ice Team

Our Community is Leveling Up: New Features and Your Support Needed!

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Greetings everyone!

I have some exciting news to share with you today, and I need your help to make it a reality. Please take a moment to read this entire post. My goal is to create the best family-friendly community website out there for anyone in the world who can speak, read, and write English. I believe the news I’m about to share will bring us one step closer to achieving that goal. So, let’s dive in!

The first bit of good news I have to share is that you can now earn hearts and ranks! The higher your total hearts, the higher your rank will become. Here’s how it works:

  • Starting Rank: Everyone begins as a Recruit.
  • First Level-Up: Earn 100 hearts to level up to the next rank.
  • Subsequent Level-Ups: Each rank after the first requires ten times the hearts of the previous one. For example, the third rank requires 1,000 hearts, the fourth rank requires 10,000 hearts, until you reach the rank of Triplicarius at 1,000,000, halfway up the ranks.
  • A Bigger Jump: To get from Triplicarius to Centurion, you need to earn another 1.5 million to get to 2.5 million in total.
  • Top Ranks: The top four ranks are spaced 2.5 million hearts apart. This means you’ll need to earn 2.5 million hearts to reach the next rank.
  • Top Rank: The highest rank is Legate. Who will be the first to achieve this prestigious title? Only time will tell!

By the way, I named the ranks after those of the Roman military, so if you’re curious about the historical context, feel free to look it up!

The next bit of good news is that we now have arcade games to play here! Yes, and they are amazing! Here are some details:

  • Game Availability: New games are added every day, so there’s always something fresh to try.
  • Tournaments: I hope to soon add tournaments (but that will cost C$96 – consider joining today and becoming a paid member – it’s a way of earning hearts) to allow you all to compete for bragging rights.
  • Guest Access: Visitors can play our games five times before they need to register to continue playing.
  • Member Benefits: All members, including basic (free) ones, get to record their high scores (only their high scores) on games that support the feature, which should encourage you all to have more fun and try to set new high scores every time you play!

Now, I need your help with something exciting: I want to add an events calendar to the site. However, to get all the features I want, it will cost US$399, which is a significant investment, but I believe it will be well worth the money. Here’s what the events calendar will offer:

  • Event Submission: You’ll be able to submit your own events.
  • Ticket Sales: Sell tickets for your events through the shop and split the revenue with my company.
  • Location-Based Search: Search for events by location, so no matter where you live, you can see what’s happening nearby that you can enjoy with your family members!

Additionally, I have an idea to introduce achievements to the site. These achievements will serve as visual rewards for achieving certain milestones or ranks. Here are some of the achievements I envision:

  • 1st Comment
  • 1st Forum Post
  • 1st Forum Reply
  • Your suggested activity-based achievements

While I’m not an artist myself, I’m open to suggestions and help from the community if anyone is interested in designing them.

In summary, we have some exciting new features to enhance our community:

  • Ranking System: Earn hearts and ranks to level up and achieve the prestigious title of Legate.
  • Arcade Games: Enjoy a growing collection of arcade games, with tournaments coming soon for members.
  • Events Calendar: Help us add an events calendar to submit, search, and sell tickets for local events.
  • Achievements: Earn visual rewards for achieving milestones and ranks.

Your support is crucial in making these enhancements a reality. Consider becoming a paid member or donating via Ko-fi to help us reach our goals. Together, we can make this the best family-friendly community website for English speakers worldwide.

Thank you for your continued support and engagement. Let’s make this community even better together!

Gradually Embedding My YouTube Content Here

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I’I’m excited to announce that I’m gradually embedding my YouTube content here for everyone to enjoy, and you don’t need to be a member to watch any of it (at least for now). I’ve planned out a schedule to make this process smooth and engaging for you all.

Here’s what you can expect:

  • Daily Episodes: I’ll be embedding five episodes per day.
  • Current Series: I’ll start by finishing the embedding of Swag’s Mini Peaceful Pack, as that series is already halfway done.
  • Classic Seasons: After that, I’ll move on to the first seasons of Banished and Factorio.
  • Current Seasons: Once those are caught up, I’ll start adding new episodes as I post them to YouTube.
  • Creative Engineering: Following that, I’ll embed the first season of Creative Engineering, which currently has 24 episodes. After that, I’ll resume work on that series.
  • Special Releases: I might also release Creative Engineering as a beta modpack for my Full Members and VIP Members. If I do, I’ll start releasing world downloads for them every twenty-fifth episode. However, I don’t anticipate this series reaching one hundred episodes.
  • Other Series: After Creative Engineering is embedded here, I’ll work to embed the rest of my content from oldest to youngest, including my tech series, Swag’s Computers.

I hope this update convinces you to join our community and enjoy not only the embedded content but also our awesome forums and podcast, in addition to these blog posts. Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

The Site Has Been Moved

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I have great news to share with you all today! My blog has undergone a significant transformation and is now a full-fledged community website. This means you can join, start posting comments, and participate in the forums (as long as you follow the posted rules). While there is still some work to be done to make everything perfect, I am excited to share this milestone with you.

In today’s post, I want to walk you through the changes, explain what you can expect, and provide some insights into the ongoing development. Stay tuned for more updates and feel free to dive in and start contributing to our growing community!

One area where I still need your help is completing the legal pages for the community and addressing the various issues surrounding them. I previously mentioned some of the challenges I’ve been facing in this post. Rest assured, I am actively working on these pages and will keep you updated. Once they are finalized and posted, I will share a dedicated post to inform you of the updates.

I haven’t added the arcades yet because I want them to be fully functional when they go live, and that requires some financial investment. The same applies to other features such as advertising (ensuring Full Members and VIP Members remain ad-free), implementing a “pay what you want” membership model, and adding video hosting and live streams via Vimeo. I am working on embedding my existing YouTube series into the website, but this will take some time—this year marks three years of posting videos on YouTube.

I welcome suggestions for other features you would like to see. Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments of this post or in the appropriate forum.

In summary, the transformation of my blog into a community website is an exciting step forward, and I am thrilled to have you all join me on this journey. While there are still some areas that need attention, such as the legal pages and additional features, I am committed to making this community the best it can be.

I invite you to explore the new features, share your thoughts, and contribute to our growing community. Your feedback and suggestions are invaluable, so please don’t hesitate to post in the comments or the forums. Together, we can build a vibrant and engaging community.

Thank you for your support, and I look forward to seeing you all around the site!

Starting to make changes…

Aside

I’m starting to make changes to how my blog looks in preparation of turning it into a community website when I get the money I’ve been waiting for (and I’m annoyed that it’s still not been deposited in my bank account). I’ve got all the necessary plugins downloaded already, so I figured I would start work on the changes the site will need to transition to a community website from its current status as my blog. (BTW, I have not written this post or designed any of new pages with the help of AI.)

I’ve also separated my podcast episodes from the main blog posts like this one, as well as the videos. I won’t add my YouTube series videos here until I have the series plugin added when I have a paid hosted site elsewhere, to make it easier for you to find each episode.

Legal Headaches As I Prepare to Switch

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The journey to transform my blog into a vibrant community website is officially underway, and to be honest, I’m already encountering some complex legal roadblocks. In this post, I’ll walk you through the general issues I’m grappling with. If anything resonates with your experience or expertise, and you’re willing to help, please get in touch.

My first hurdle involves youth privacy. Laws specifically protect the collection of information from young people, particularly those under thirteen. I want my community website to be welcoming for families while strictly adhering to these legal requirements. I have a strategy in mind to navigate this, and I need to confirm its robustness or explore avenues for improvement.

My next hurdle involves preparing crucial legal documents for the community website. These include a Terms of Service (TOS), a Privacy Policy, and a Refunds and Returns Policy for the shop and memberships. Without these foundational documents, my ability to enforce website rules would be severely hampered, and I wouldn’t be able to integrate preferred payment gateways. For instance, the forum rules need to be formally incorporated into the TOS to ensure they’re legally enforceable, in addition to being clearly posted in the forums. Otherwise, without firm policies, visitors could easily get mixed messages and inconsistent answers, leading to potential confusion in the community.

My next hurdle involves navigating user-generated content and the complexities of online safety laws. As the community site will feature a bbPress-powered forum, users will be able to post content directly on the site, as well as leave comments. Having a clear policy in place about how to handle this content and its related issues – such as defamation, copyright infringement, and illegal material – will be critical for the site’s success. This is particularly relevant with laws like Canada’s Bill C-63 (the Online Harms Act) coming into effect, which aims to regulate online content and impose new duties on platforms, directly impacting how I must manage user contributions.

My next hurdle involves establishing fair commercial policies that dictate how my site supports itself. As regular readers know, I’ll be offering memberships, displaying ads, and operating a shop selling both physical and digital goods. While some aspects of these ventures have been touched upon, I need to ensure comprehensive legal compliance and confidence in this area. It’s also crucial to ensure all advertisers understand and accept that the site is strictly family-friendly, meaning I will only accept Safe For Work (SFW) advertising.

The final set of legal challenges I’m considering involves website security, accessibility, and establishing a robust legal foundation. Ensuring that my website remains secure and that everyone can access it will be crucial for its long-term success. Understanding the comprehensive legal framework underpinning my site’s rules and other policies will be key from its inception to its ongoing operation as a business. This includes navigating aspects like employment law and understanding how it will affect my business, which is particularly crucial if I plan to hire assistance for my podcast in the future.

As you can see, the path to building a community website comes with its share of legal headaches. From youth privacy to commercial policies, and securing the site’s very foundation, each area demands careful attention. While these challenges might seem daunting, my goal is to navigate them thoughtfully and diligently to create a safe, compliant, and thriving online space for all. I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts or experiences with similar legal journeys. If you have expertise in any of these areas and are willing to share insights, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. Your input could be invaluable as I continue this exciting transition!

The Evolution of My Blog: Future Plans & Upgrades

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I love sharing my thoughts here on WordPress, but I envision something even bigger—a thriving, community-driven platform where blogging is just one piece of the puzzle. As I build toward this goal, each upgrade will happen as resources allow, ensuring steady growth and, hopefully, the opportunity to turn this into a sustainable livelihood.

The first and probably the best change will be a custom domain from Idotz.net and hosting through DreamHost as they have Paypal payments. I would have loved to stay with WordPress.com but they don’t have Paypal as a payment option for any of their hosting plans or other website products like themes or plugins. I don’t want to dive back into credit card debt when I’m in the process of getting rid of it! This upgrade will give me more flexibility with site customization and ensure that I’m building something sustainable—without financial setbacks slowing me down.

The next update will feature me switching themes from Twenty Twenty-five to GeneratePress. This will allow me to totally customize my site to the way I want it to feel going forwards. Currently on WordPress my options are limited to what I can do as a free member, and my themes are limited as well. Having a totally customizable theme will totally change everything – even before the bigger updates that will come after this one! With GeneratePress, I’ll finally have full control over my site’s look and feel, from fine-tuning design elements to improving speed and functionality. Even before the bigger updates roll out, this shift alone will make a huge difference!

With the theme and basic hosting out of the way, I’ll start integrating my other sites into my blog by adding WooCommerce and bbPress. With plugins for both, I’ll be able to add a lot of features to the site like a shop, services, memberships, and even a donation form that WooCommerce will be able to handle the payments for via Stripe and Paypal. The forums will replace my current Discord server for a community hub and place to find my beta modpacks for Minecraft. With WooCommerce Members, only paid members will get access to certain forums and posts, just like they do currently on my Discord server. Also, I’ll be able to shut down my Fourthwall shop with a WooCommerce plugin for a site like Printify which can handle the physical merchandise for me.

The second to last update would be adding an arcade via the MyArcadePlugin for WordPress. With addons to add stuff like theme integration, contests, feeds, and notifications, it will be certain to draw in a lot of people of all ages and encourage them to return and play some more!

The last update will be moving my video content off of YouTube and to either self-hosting or Vimeo – I haven’t decided which one. Regardless, both would allow me to add video content to WordPress with plugins for each option, and for the ability to make playlists via series. This is where another exclusive feature for members would start to shine – exclusive videos and live streams just for them. Members would also get other perks like the Beta modpack testing and feedback area in the forums, exclusive merch and merch discounts, and even exclusive contests in the arcade I mentioned earlier.

These updates are just the beginning, and I’m excited to take this journey step by step. My goal is to create a thriving, community-driven platform where blogging is just one part of something much bigger. As my blog evolves, I’d love to hear what you think—what features are you most excited about? Drop a comment and let’s make this space the best it can be together!

Hello World

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Welcome to my new blog! I’m thrilled to create a dedicated space to share my thoughts, passions, and projects with all of you. From gaming adventures and tech insights to personal stories and reflections on faith, this blog will be home to it all. Stick around for fresh updates every Saturday—I can’t wait to embark on this journey together! (By the way, I’m gonna be sharing my old Ko-fi blog posts here as well, so keep an eye out for them as well!)

If there’s a topic you’d like me to cover in a future post, feel free to leave a comment below. Your ideas and suggestions are always welcome! If you’d like to support me on this adventure in blogging and creating family-friendly content, you can do so via Ko-fi.