Alright here's a bit of info.. I've decided that after all this SOPA/PIPA nonsense and the disturbing breaches of privacy by Facebook and other social media (full time surveillance) websites: It's time to give AK Voice another shot.

For those that don't know.. AK Voice is a much more matured version of Ketchikan Underground, a local forum I programmed during high school some time in 2006. AK Voice is targeted at all of Alaska though, with each city/area given their own specific page, along with a combined "Alaska" page.. Now that I think of it, it's fairly similar to the whole Reddit/Subreddit thing a lot of people now relate to.

My goal with AK Voice is to have a forum system that is more setup like a community blog, in which anyone is welcome to, either identified or fully anonymously, say whatever they like, and discuss any topic/issue they feel is necessary. I think it's time some of us have a private and safe place to discuss our community, our state, our surroundings, etc.

AK Voice keeps a minimal amount of data on every user. I have never, and will never, sell or release any data on a user unless of course I'm legally obliged. I will never sell a single bit of user information to an advertising agency or local business. When an article, shout, comment, private message, or entire profile is deleted, it's deleted! Wiped off the face of the internet and will never be seen again. When a user changes some data in their profile such as their preferred web browser, relationship status, religious beliefs: I change the data and completely dispose of any information that was previously there. I won't be able to give you a fancy list of suggestions on how to quickly friend/like your secret lover, therapist, dentist, or favorite brand of shoe in your exact size... but that comes at the cost of knowing that things you really decide you shouldn't have posted publicly will truly be erased from history and never brought up again in case of some database breach, FBI seize, or any other situation that comes up on a daily basis from the big social giants.

Will this whole thing work? I don't know, but I think it's time I actually give AK Voice a fair shot. Most people seem pretty reliant on Facebook for their discussions, but things can get lost into the abyss of people posting what kind of eggs they ate for breakfast or telling you how many toes their new baby lizard has. I think we've reached a point where people are becoming aware of the kind of things Facebook is keeping track of and potentially harming their future employment or civil liberties, and maybe some people realize there's more than one or two websites you can frequent on a daily or weekly basis.

So after almost a year of absolutely no changes to the code, I am restarting development on the AK Voice script, which some early beta testers may remember under the code name "Project Reborn." I do have plans to share this script in the future, giving anyone an opportunity to host a secure, private, and completely customization forum script unlike ones currently out there. But until I feel confident in the code, the site will remain on my domain, and completely run by me, a select group of heavily trusted Administrators, and moderators for each city in Alaska.

There is however one issue I would like to bring up. There is already a website http://akvoice.org, which belongs to the Alaska Conservation Alliance. I think it would be best to change the name of AK Voice, along with the domain and disturbingly similar favicon (which was completely coincidence.) So I'm asking for suggestions from anyone on the future name and domain of AK Voice.

For those of you that are currently Administrators/Moderators on the beta: Your position is still locked in at this point in time, and will most likely stay that way on the final release, as long as you are being trustworthy.

Please share this public post on your Facebook, Twitter, or any other stream in which a lot of Alaskans you feel would be interested in this can see it. I do not have a Facebook to get this information out there, and without any support or backing from a community... Well, this whole thing will fall on its face again.

What do you think? Any questions/comments/suggestions/information will be heavily appreciated.

- Rowan/Catalyst
http://akvoice.com