Welcome to the 2nd full edition of the FK news. I hope you all enjoy reading it, and please be sure to check out every section. The news will be organized in the following order:
MS isn't lurking
Philly explains here that No Microsoft employee is lurking, relating to the follow-up incident after a continuous GamerTag Ban Spree.
Forum Log Thread
Bowser updates his Forum Log Thread, keeping a track of ForumKorner stats.
More members buy Power+. Congrats to Holegraphic, Beats & Chill on buying Power+. Enjoy the upgrade.
The whole ForumKorner seems to be in a Christmas spirit, so a Merry Christmas to everyone.
Updated ForumKorner groups
Ocean makes a new updated thread about ForumKorner Groups, helping members keep track with latest updates from Groups.
The Power Rangers
Started by the user Superior, this Group has been trying it's best to represent themselves as the best Official Group. They have some cool avatars as well. Check them out.
Bans:
Milestones:
- Hat reached 1,000 reputation points.
Awards:
- GrƷƷd received the old timer award.
Hello Philly! How are you doing today?
A bit stressed, but that's basically everyday for me.
Great! My first question is, what made you want to start Forum Korner and how did you get the name?
Well I always was into forums, and have been a member of many forums for many years. One that really got me wanting to start my own forum was halosins.com, almost right after joining I worked my way up to admin because of my dedication to the site. After a little while the owner of the forum went inactive, and the site shut down. While being admin there I seen how much I enjoyed it. I was on other forums as well such as sythe, and hackforums. I got banned on sythe, and I don't necessarily agree with alot of hings hackforums does. So for about a week I wrote down names for the forum, and came up with 360gaming.org I ran that for about 4-5 months, and it actually was fairly active for my first forum and at that time, I had no previous knowledge of MyBB. After a while I decided I would start another forum, considering I had two chances of success and this time I knew alot more about what I was doing. So I thought about names, and talked to my buddy Leafs. We tried coming up with names for several days, and from the start I knew I wanted forum, or forums in the name. I really liked forumcorner however it was taken, and my name is spelled kaleb rather than caleb, so I said why not forumkorner make it unique like my name. I was always dedicated to the site, and knew it would get big from the start, I just kept my head up, and did everything I could, and I can honestly say I am proud of FK, and where it stands.
How did you come across the decision to use the username Philly? Anything specific?
Growing up my nickname was Philly Blunt, I quit smoking marijuana because of legal problems, and then everyone started just calling me Philly. To this day more than half of my friends IRL still call me Philly, or Philly blunt.
What do you think about the member base on Forum Korner? If there was something you could change about us what would it be?
I love the member base, and there isn't anything I would change. The community is good, and everything I ever wanted, or imagined. I still think FK is going to get bigger, as it grows everyday, and welcoming new members. The only thing I would change if I had the power would be the scammers, but every forum with a marketplace has scammers. It's just life, and there isn't anything anyone can do but teach one another that scamming is wrong, and hope for the best.
Is Forum Korner currently your only source of income? Do you have any outside jobs?
No it's not, I own many websites some private, that I don't share with people, and some that I do share with others. Online is however my only main source of income at this time. During the summer I do construction though. But any other time, I dedicate to my websites, most of my time does go to FK though as it is my biggest website.
As we all know that Christmas is coming up, do you have anything special planned for the community?
Nothing too major right now, but of course I will do an upgrade discount, and probably a couple giveaways.
Thank you for joining me in this interview, do you have any last words or shout outs?
Shout out to all the members that stick around and help grow the community without you guys we wouldn't be here doing what we do today, and a special shout out to my staff members, without the help I couldn't run FK the same.
Thanks Philly!
This week, our 2 important questions are:
- Is Christy's break from FK affecting the forums?
- What are your opinions on our points system?
Question 1 :
On 12/12/12, Christy has declared that she was going to "take a little break from Forum Korner for a little".
She stated that there was too much going on in her life at the moment, but that she is not going to be stepping down.
You can read more about it here
Only a few days later, threads were made, complaining about how things weren't getting done around the forums ever since , awards were being given out days after requested, threads needed moving, and so on.
Here are a few threads regarding the things mentioned above:
Living's thread
Murder's thread
Both members state that they didn't think things were getting done around the site during Christy's absence.
Do you feel the same way?
How do you feel about Christy's absence?
Post below with your thoughts.
Question 2 :
About a week ago, Philly implemented a points system on Forum Korner.
The points system allows members to gain points from various methods.
Posting threads, referring members, registering as a new member, or even making posts in general.
More information about how to earn points here.
He has also allowed members to buy 'Koins' via PayPal.
Currently, 1000 'Koins' are the equivalent to $1 USD, 5000 'Koins' would be $5 USD, and so on.
You can look into it better here.
With the addition of the new points system, a new sub-forum has been added. 'Koin Exchange' is the name of this section.
Members can buy, sell, or trade their items for 'Koins'.
Are you enjoying the new points system?
Do you think it was a nice addition to the site?
Post and let us know.
Gaming News:
Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has manged to hold its spot as #1 for the fifth week in a row since its release. Not only that, but the sales figures have grown 14 percent compared to last week! So far, it has matched Lego Batman 2's record which was released earlier this year.
Complete Chart:
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Activision)
2. Hitman Absolution (Square Enix)
3. FIFA 13 (EA)
4. Just Dance 4 (Ubisoft)
5. Far Cry 3 (Ubisoft)
6. Assassin’s Creed III (Ubisoft)
7. Halo 4 (Microsoft)
8. Need for Speed: Most Wanted (WA)
9. LEGO Lord of the Rings (Warner)
10. WWE ’13 (EA)
11. Skylanders Giants (Activision)
12. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (Bethesda)
13. Football Manager 2013 (Sega)
14. Sonic & All Stars Racing Transformed (Sega)
15. Moshi Monsters: Moshlings Theme Park (Mind Candy)
16. Medal of Honor: Warfighter (EA)
17. LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes (Warner)
18. Forza Horizon (Microsoft)
19. New Super Mario Bros 2 (Nintendo)
20. Dishonored (Bethesda)
Minecraft Title Update 7 has come out this week making to about the equivalent of the PC's 1.0 update with brewing, animal breeding, experience points, enchanting, the mushroom biome, nether fortresses, and much more including many new items and mobs. Get ready for some crazy new adventures because I'm sure the Ender Dragon will be coming soon for Xbox too.
Complete List of Minecraft Update Additions:
Added Breeding and baby animals.
- Added Experience Points.
- Added Enchantment Table.
- Added Brewing Stand.
- Added Mushroom Biome.
- Added new mobs - Mooshroom, Blaze, Villager, Snow Golem, Magma Cube, and baby animals.
- Added Nether Fortresses.
- Updated Tutorial World with new biome, and added mini-tutorials for new features.
- Updated Music Disc quests in the Tutorial World.
- Added custom skin animations, where a skin may have different animations to suit its style.
- Added an option to enable/disable custom skin animations (on by default).
- Added a section on Brewing, Enchantment and Breeding to the How To Play.
- Added new items : Blaze Rod, Ghast Tear, Gold Nugget, Nether Wart, Glass Bottle, Water Bottle, Spider Eye, Fermented Spider Eye, Blaze Powder, Bottle O' Enchanting, Magma Cream, Brewing Stand, Cauldron, Eye of Ender, Glistering Melon, Mycelium Block, Lily Pad, Nether Brick, Nether Brick Fence, Nether Brick Stairs, Enchantment Table, End Stone Block, Shrub, Fern.
- Added new multiplayer host trust players options for toggling players' abilities to mine and use items, place blocks, use doors and switches, use containers (such as chests), attack players, and attack animals.
- Added Avatar Items to the Download Content menu.
Graphics
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http://www.forumkorner.org/thread-63227.html
http://www.forumkorner.org/thread-63115.html
http://www.forumkorner.org/thread-63164.html
http://www.forumkorner.org/thread-64317.html
India, Russia sign new defence deals
Under the accords, India will buy 42 Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets and 71 Mil Mi-17 helicopters.
Mr Putin held talks with Indian PM Manmohan Singh during his visit.
Moscow has long been Delhi's main weapons supplier but has lost out on several major deals to Western companies in recent years.
Trade between Russia and India is currently worth about $10bn (£6bn) a year, but has been growing more slowly recently.
Ahead of the visit, Mr Putin said that he wanted to increase bilateral trade to $20bn by 2015.
Monday's talks between Mr Putin and Mr Singh also included the security situation in the region, including Afghanistan.
"India and Russia share the objective of a stable, united, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan, free from extremism," Mr Singh was quoted as telling Reuters news agency after the talks.
Moscow's concern
In an article in India's Hindu newspaper, Mr Putin described as a "historic step" the declaration of strategic partnership between the two countries signed in 2000.
The Russian leader also said that the military co-operation between the two nations has reached an "unprecedented level".
Russia's currently accounts for some 70% of India's arms purchases, the BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi reports.
But India has recently signed a number of big defence contracts with the US and other countries, including France and Israel, our correspondent says.
Russia is concerned, he adds, that its traditional position as India's main arms supplier could be under threat.
Pirates raid 'Italian' ship off Nigeria and take crew
The hostages were foreigners - three of them Italian, AP news agency reports.
Gunmen stormed the vessel off Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region, before seizing the four and fleeing, the IMB said.
Kidnapping is a lucrative enterprise worth millions of dollars a year in Nigeria, Africa's main oil producer.
Most people in the Niger Delta are extremely poor.
Oil workers and other foreign nationals are often targeted because companies pay high ransom money to secure their employees' release, correspondents say.
'Naples-based company'
The IMB said the latest attack happened about 40 nautical miles (28km) off Nigeria's Bayelsa state.
"Pirates armed with guns attacked, boarded an offshore supply vessel... and kidnapped four crew members," the AFP news agency quotes the IMB statement as saying.
The remaining crew sailed the vessel to safety, the IMB said.
It did not identify the shipper nor the sailors who were abducted.
However, AP reports that an Italian foreign ministry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that three of the four sailors were Italians.
The vessel attacked was the Asso Ventuno, operated by Augusta Offshore SpA, a Naples-based shipping company in southern Italy, it reports.
Earlier this month, five Indian crew members were abducted after gunmen stormed an oil tanker in the Niger Delta.
Gunmen also kidnapped six employees of the South Korean firm Hyundai off the Nigeria coast. They were later freed.
The mother of Nigeria's Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was also snatched from her home in the Delta state. She was freed after five days.
The minister said the kidnappers had demanded her resignation because of her campaign to curb corruption in the lucrative oil sector.
US firefighters shot dead in 'ambush' in New York state
They were responding to an emergency call in the town of Webster in New York state on Monday morning.
The blaze broke out just before 06:00 local time (11:00 GMT) and officers had to evacuate nearby residents in an armoured car.
A gunman was later found dead at the scene, the police said.
The man was 62-year-old William Spengler, Webster Police Chief Gerald Pickering told media.
William Spengler served a 17-year jail sentence for killing his grandmother
Spengler appeared to have shot himself in the head, Mr Pickering said.
He had previously served a 17-year jail sentence after being convicted of killing his grandmother.
Spengler's sister is unaccounted for and police fear she may have died in the fire, which engulfed seven houses.
The two dead firefighters were named by police as Tomasz Kaczowka and Mike Chiapperini.
Mr Pickering told reporters: "It does appear it was a trap.
"These people get up in the middle of the night to go put out fires; they don't expect to be shot and killed."
The two injured firefighters were named as Joseph Hofsetter and Theodore Scardino.
They are being treated for gunshot wounds at the Strong Memorial Hospital and are expected to recover.
Another passer-by was also injured in the shooting.
Police spokesmen said the area was "an active crime scene" but that no more shooters were believed to be present.
Roger Vercruysse, described as a friend of William Spengler, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the shooter "couldn't stand" his sister, who lived with him.
Mr Vercruysse said that Mr Spengler "loved his mama to death", adding that he "went crazy" after she died in October.
'Senseless act'
Two of the firefighters had arrived in a fire engine and two in their own vehicles, police said. One wounded man managed to escape but the others were pinned down until the armoured car could be sent in.
Police evacuated residents and firefighters were then able to return to tackle the blaze.
Chief Pickering said: "Webster is a tremendous community. We are a safe community, and to have a tragedy befall us like this is just horrendous."
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement: "All of our thoughts and prayers go to the families and friends of those who were killed in this senseless act of violence."
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said: "The contributions made by the fallen and injured officers in Webster will never be forgotten.
"As this investigation unfolds, we stand with our partners in law enforcement to ensure that lethal weapons are out of the hands of dangerous people, so that the brave New Yorkers who risk their lives every day to protect us are not exposed to additional danger."
There were also two separate incidents of on-duty police officers being shot dead on Monday.
A policeman was killed in the city of Houston, Texas, after the driver of a car he pulled over opened fire on him.
In the midwestern state of Wisconsin, a policewoman on early morning patrol was found shot dead in the town of Wauwatosa.
The debate on gun violence in the US was rekindled earlier this month by the shootings at a school in Newtown, Connecticut, which left 20 children and six adults dead at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
It was one of the worst mass shootings in American history.
"There's a heightened awareness to this kind of violence in light of what happened in Connecticut," said Maggie Brooks, leader of the local administration in Monroe County, the area which includes Webster.
"We have first responders and we have families who are in pain and crisis today and we need to, as a community, keep them in our thoughts and prayers," Mrs Brooks said, adding that it was a "very, very difficult day".
President Barack Obama has promised to push for action on gun control while the National Rifle Association (NRA) has called for armed security in all American schools.
Entertainment and Media:
This week, a shocking new discovery was made by aol.com on the famous pop-singer teenager, Justin Bieber. Bieber was claimed to have been mistreating his pet animal, a hamster. Bieber was said to have given his hamster to a female fan at one of his concerts not too long ago.
"The California Hamster Association tells TMZ that the Biebs mistreated an animal when he gifted a fan is pet hamster, PAC, outside of one of his concerts earlier this month. According to the animal-rights group, hamsters "often succumb quickly to illness and death," when faced with "sudden environmental change."
The Assocication also said that it would have been better for Bieber to actually hand over the hamster to a safe animal shelter rather to a random fan who has no experience, whatsoever.
Read more here
In other news, singer Cassadee Pope is the winner of this season's "The Voice". The winner was announced on 12/18/2012, between the 3 finalists. Her comment is the following: "I don't think it's really settled in yet," she tells Rolling Stone. "It's just unreal. I can't believe it. I haven't had a chance to sit down and soak it up. But it's just crazy. I'm very excited." Pope has always had a love for music, even starting and playing in her own band for a long time. She currently lives in Florida. Congratulations Cassadee!
Read more here
Jimmy: Editor, World News & Notable Threads
Ocean: Editor, Graphics & Gaming
Justice: Interviews
Living: Mmeber News
Sanctuary: Questions of the week
CRATE: Media News
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