From the outset, the goal of MaplePrimes was to provide the Maple & MapleSim user communities with a platform to ask questions, share knowledge and to collaborate with other users.  And for the most part, the site has exceeded these goals.  Since its inception in 2005, we have received tens of thousands of posts from over 10,000 members, and we are privileged to have accumulated a group of dedicated, knowledgeable users who have become the heart of this community.

Throughout this time, we have received many suggestions for improvements and new features from the community as well as from within Maplesoft.  So a number of months ago we compiled a wish list of new features and improvements and broke ground on a major overhaul to the design and architecture of the web site that you are on right now.

The list of new features and improvements is large, and frequent users will notice many of the improvements immediately. In addition to many others, some highlights include:

• All content has been divided into Questions & Posts, which loosely translate to the old MaplePrimes' forums & blogs.
• All content on the site can be rated, and in the case of answers, the best answers as decided by the community, will appear first.
• The search has been completely overhauled and it is now much easier & faster to use
• Entering math and plots, including 2-D math copied directly from Maple, is now supported within the message editor.  In addition, improvements have been implemented for adding images and attachments directly to a question or post.
• The old “Maple Rating” user rating system has been replaced with a reputation system and badges.   Badges are awarded to members based on how they participate in the site.  For example, if you up-vote a post, you will receive a badge for that.  There are approximately 50 badges available on the site.  Reputation, on the other hand, is a measure of how other community members value your input.  For example, if someone up-votes one of your answers, your reputation will increase.  Additional details about Badges & Reputation are available in the help section.
• The official Maplesoft Blog, which contains posts exclusively from Maplesoft staff, has been integrated into MaplePrimes. This will make these posts more available to the community, and also provide you with the opportunity to provide your opinions and feedback.

For new users, we hope that we are continuing to provide an environment where you can feel comfortable asking questions and sharing opinions.

Special thanks are deserved to a number of people who were instrumental in this project:

• Will Spaetzel has been involved in MaplePrimes since its launch in 2005, and was the lead developer for the project.  Most of what you see on the site is a direct result of Will’s work.
• Doug Meade is a long-time original MaplePrimes user and was last year’s Maple Mentor of the Year.  In November, 2009, Doug visited Maplesoft HQ and met with a number of our staff, including the web team to discuss MaplePrimes.  During this meeting, we learned a lot about what MaplePrimes means to our member community, and took a great deal of inspiration (as well as some specific suggestions) for the direction of the new site.
• The MaplePrimes Beta Testers gave us a lot of great suggestions & bug reports that helped us get the site to the finish line.

We hope that you are as excited about the new MaplePrimes as we are, and we are looking forward to you comments and continued participation.

Regards,
Bryon