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Kennigit
Canada19447 Posts
Birth of the Front Page
In November 2007, I had a vision: a new, sleek front page for TeamLiquid.net. Im sure many of you agree that the current front page layout does not do justice to the amazing work that our writers produce. For the casual reader, it's difficult to follow and cumbersome to navigate. The only thing that made sense was to create a streamlined interface that would show the viewer hot topics, great contributions from our members and to keep news up top for as long as possible.
One of the beauties and failures of the Men In Red is how meticulous we are about the tasks we take on. We are very resistant to change unless we are absolutely sure it will succeed. The front page took these principles to a whole new level. For months we discussed features, layout, colors, and other related matters. I remember a particularly spirited three week debate on whether there should be a horizontal line separating two news sections.
On the surface, this appears to be a relatively simple project. However, in reality it has been a roller coaster of frustration, excitement, and most recently, relief. Every detail has been thought through, scrapped and redone to meet our expectations.
Today, finally, we have finally reached a stage where we can launch the new front page.
I would like to take this time to thank people who have had an integral role in making the front page happen.
Sonuvbob – I hate this man with the fury of a thousand suns. However, he is the grounding that keeps our ideas focused. Bob helped us realize that lasers and wings probably would not be effective and was an invaluable voice in our many discussions.
thedeadhaji – Haji had a great impact on the early design decisions of the front page. He wrote a huge design document on streamlining the admin features and was instrumental in creating a solid base for the front page.
Bockit – We brought Bockit onto staff to help with the CSS work. It’s nice to be able to photoshop ideas and have them magically turn into useable code and Bockit really helped us get over some of the many design hurdles we had.
Hot_Bid – Hot_Bid is a troll. Many of you may not realize that he is actually a distant cousin of the Brood War player InControl and he subtly creates an incendiary path of drama wherever he goes. However, his one redeeming quality and the sole reason we keep him on staff is for the remarkable, one-in-a-million skill he possesses: his ability to make things happen through relentless nagging.
Zatic – Like many of our Wizards, Zatic is an unsung hero of Teamliquid. What you see today on the front page may never have seen the light of day without his hard work. He is also a survivor of the TeamLiquid MiR debate process, which is basically a cross between a third grade classroom and the Bataan death march. This process has broken many a man, but Zatic persevered. I can't give him enough credit for this.
A first glance at the new front page may look like a simple addition but it has been through countless man-hours of discussion and planning that we have been able to bring this dream to fruition. Having set a standard for only presenting the best material to the public this is a project I am very proud to have been a part of and I know the rest of staff feel the same way.
TeamLiquid is dedicated to providing the best coverage, discussion and community environment for Brood War players and fans, and this project enables us to further advance those goals.
Enjoy 
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Huuuge props to zatic, he's out getting plastered to celebrate now.
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WHAT THE
Oh my god, this looks beautiful.
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WOW really nice!! Great job
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This is really cool. I like the new layout
edit: I'd it just me, or is the banner subtly improved as well?
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<3 gj everyone this is great
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United States3824 Posts
Awsome front page congrats. Lol i stepped out for five minutes and the whole interweb changes on me. nice job.
Lol on Men in Red by the way
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It is wonderful looking!
Nice and tight, and I like the image preview for the stories. Also, having the relevant news posts under league buttons is a very good idea.
Awesome job, everyone. 
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is awesome32274 Posts
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This is pretty amazing. Awesome work.
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On November 02 2008 06:53 Realpenguin wrote:
Oh my god, this looks beautiful.
Indeed.
Great job!!!
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Germany / USA16648 Posts
On November 02 2008 06:54 cgrinker wrote:
Lol on Men in Red by the way It's the name of the staff forum
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United States37500 Posts
I want to say that I was lucky enough to get a preview of this at BlizzCon. :D
Nice job to zatic and co.
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Corinthos
Canada1842 Posts
It's easy on the eyes, really appreciate the thought put into it. Thanks!
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nice job guys. looks amazing
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Calgary25980 Posts
I notice the vertical line isn't there! THAT'S MY HELP TO THIS PROJECT, FUCK YEA!
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United States996 Posts
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Looks great, nice to know you guys are always looking to improve.
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United States37500 Posts
On November 02 2008 07:01 Chill wrote:
I notice the vertical line isn't there! THAT'S MY HELP TO THIS PROJECT, FUCK YEA!
Oh yeah, you did sooo much Chill! 
lol, j/k <3
What am I doing again...?
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Germany2896 Posts
nice
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u gotta skate8152 Posts
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yup, sleek.
On a sidenote, were there any major code changes? Everything looks the same, aside from the homepage.
Anyways, good job.
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awesome, really good job!
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Actually very nice, its sooo clean yet functional - TL in a nutshell really :D
But just to be clear - there is nothing more that is part of the "TL is evolving" hype than this, right?
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Germany2896 Posts
Perhaps the "All News" button should be below the four blue newsboxes and not in the right corner.
And the second section jumps up and down depending on the length of the newspost.
And a link to past spotlights might be a good idea too.
And when is a news included in the four blue boxes and when is it just in News&Features?
Oh and the TL banner on top is cleaned up.
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Hungary11291 Posts
Looks ... evolved.
No seriously, good job!
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On November 02 2008 07:17 MasterOfChaos wrote:
Perhaps the "All News" button should be below the four blue newsboxes and not in the right corner.
And the second section jumps up and down depending on the length of the newspost.
And a link to past spotlights might be a good idea too.
And when is a news included in the four blue boxes and when is it just in News&Features?
Yeah, what browser/settings do you have where they're longer than the blue boxes though?
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Germany2896 Posts
On November 02 2008 07:22 SonuvBob wrote:Show nested quote +On November 02 2008 07:17 MasterOfChaos wrote:
Perhaps the "All News" button should be below the four blue newsboxes and not in the right corner.
And the second section jumps up and down depending on the length of the newspost.
And a link to past spotlights might be a good idea too.
And when is a news included in the four blue boxes and when is it just in News&Features? Yeah, what browser/settings do you have where they're longer than the blue boxes though?
Opera. The stats text is one line less than the other news.
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great work!
a small bug: the dates on the different league updates should be the date the last post was written (e.g., oct 31 for osl, not nov 2).
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Great improvement on the front cover, Really enjoy the news now 
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it's so neat and clean
it's like biting into a crisp apple
O_O
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How did the Q ever get skewed in the first place? Nice work guys.
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intrigue
Washington, D.C9933 Posts
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From a design point of view, this is absolutely horrific. There are now 4-5 columns of "content" across, with 2-3 of those columns of different size and orientation. Worse, those 2-3 columns dont align vertically.
I say "content" because the frontpage no longer has any content, its now all just shortlinks and blurbs 
I have absolutely no clue whats going on anymore because, while a good idea to reorganize this way, its done busily making for an incoherent/illogical experience.
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Perfect!
Just one thing, you could make that highlight image/text change to the next newspost/article over time a la SK-Gaming. Then it'd be even more perfecter.
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On November 02 2008 07:24 MasterOfChaos wrote:Show nested quote +On November 02 2008 07:22 SonuvBob wrote:On November 02 2008 07:17 MasterOfChaos wrote:
Perhaps the "All News" button should be below the four blue newsboxes and not in the right corner.
And the second section jumps up and down depending on the length of the newspost.
And a link to past spotlights might be a good idea too.
And when is a news included in the four blue boxes and when is it just in News&Features? Yeah, what browser/settings do you have where they're longer than the blue boxes though? Opera. The stats text is one line less than the other news.
Ah, looks like the font sizes are slightly smaller in Opera. =/
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I absolutely hate it when stuff like this happens.
...and this'll be the first time I don't quit because of it.
I just love you that much.
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looks great and it's easy to navigate! Great job, guys.
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United States24678 Posts
For anyone complaining keep in mind this is taking the place of virtually nothing... so it's a big improvement nonetheless (it takes one second to click on a link to the most recent newspost).
Btw how many people were involved in choosing the color of the banner?
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Evolved indeed, great job guys.
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8748 Posts
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I don't really like the way it looks, but maybe I just need to give it time to grow on me. All the colors just look so bland now with smaller news pictures :/
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Melbourne5338 Posts
On November 02 2008 07:53 micronesia wrote:
For anyone complaining keep in mind this is taking the place of virtually nothing... so it's a big improvement nonetheless (it takes one second to click on a link to the most recent newspost).
Btw how many people were involved in choosing the color of the banner?
Plexa's msn list took a vote. Then we ignored it in favor of bandwagonning onto a newer banner proposal.
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On November 02 2008 07:34 yenta wrote:
I have absolutely no clue
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Germany2762 Posts
On November 02 2008 07:34 yenta wrote:From a design point of view, this is absolutely horrific. There are now 4-5 columns of "content" across, with 2-3 of those columns of different size and orientation. Worse, those 2-3 columns dont align vertically. I say "content" because the frontpage no longer has any content, its now all just shortlinks and blurbs I have absolutely no clue whats going on anymore because, while a good idea to reorganize this way, its done busily making for an incoherent/illogical experience.
exactly what i thought, you take the words out of my mouth T_T
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United States11637 Posts
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I love it, great job guys
the new version of the banner's also great, better than the other two suggestions (I didn't realize I was on Plexa's msn list :p)
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Calgary25980 Posts
On November 02 2008 07:34 yenta wrote:
I have absolutely no clue whats going on anymore because, while a good idea to reorganize this way, its done busily making for an incoherent/illogical experience.
Featured News
Leagues
Older News
Community News
It's really not hard.
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Awesome job guys, looks good. I'm impressed you managed to keep it quiet for a whole year.
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I think you guys should make the front page longer and cover up the white space on the bottom. In the process, make the text bigger. The old front page had bigger text.
I'm not sure about this new front page. The old one seems more comfortable to look at.
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It does look really good and I like how it is still easy on the eyes to look at.
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I really think you need to add some more contrasting colors to the website than just different shades of blue. The mini icons next to the news stories could add a lot of color, but right now I think they are really ugly actually. Just faded blue icons... not that eye catching.
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I love the new front page. Absolutely amazing work, you guys. (:
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Wow so cool, great work TL. It has more information without disrupting the very simple easy on the eye TL look.
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This version makes a lot more sense. You don't have go out of your way to look for the latest msl post if you were looking for msl results or whatever. Also I thought featured threads was badly implemented since I never really noticed the heading, where it is more pronouced on the front page. The layout is a lot more logical.
Sig'd btw.
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Excellent~ TL: Leading the e-Sports revolution in the foreign StarCraft community.
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Beautiful guys. I'm so proud.
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On November 02 2008 09:33 Centric wrote:
Beautiful guys. I'm so proud.
looks nice and very user friendly
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Many nearsighted nerds I see (for the record, I've go -7,5 dioptries). Anyway, I don't mind the new layout, the text is not that small. Looks neat and saves a ton of scrolling time imo. The design is kinda neutral (definitely not horrible), so
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Physician
United States4146 Posts
thank you very much - not only are the changes excellent but it will give this site new life <3
(enter - it's about time slogan)
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usually i dislike change
but...TL EVOLVED!!!
btw...
On November 02 2008 06:59 Liquid`Meat wrote:
this is beautiful
liquid meat is still alive
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United States17042 Posts
Looks really sleek, great work. Now all the articles for all the leagues need be updated really quickly though, because it's a lot easier to see when things are out of date ><
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Looks great guys!
Congrats!
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Didn't hit B after all!
Looks nice. <3
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looks nice guys, good job.
unfortunately i don't tend to use the front page because i'm often behind on league results and thus avoiding spoilers, but it is nonetheless a great improvement for the site
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wow, thx, this improves usability like 10 times.
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HonestTea
5007 Posts
On November 02 2008 07:01 Chill wrote:
I notice the vertical line isn't there! THAT'S MY HELP TO THIS PROJECT, FUCK YEA!
COLORED BOX SIDEBARS! WHOOHOOOOOO!
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Little confusing. Is it the four most recent news stories in the top section? Do they move down to the news and features section when they get older? That would make sense, but some of the stuff in news and features is more recent than some of the stuff in the top section. I'm just having a hard time getting a sense of why things are in which section. Not that it matters, but I wonder
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Spenguin
Australia3316 Posts
Dear diary,
Oh look someone has moved my stuff
Currently eating: apple
Currently listening to: the radio
+ Show Spoiler +I like it
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It threw me off a bit at first. I wasn't sure where to look. I'll get used to it though.
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HonestTea
5007 Posts
I'ts very, very difficult to design an informative and not confusing front page.
A lot of professional news outlets can't get it this right.
People are being treated to top-quality shit here
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On November 02 2008 11:41 MamiyaOtaru wrote:
Little confusing. Is it the four most recent news stories in the top section? Do they move down to the news and features section when they get older? That would make sense, but some of the stuff in news and features is more recent than some of the stuff in the top section. I'm just having a hard time getting a sense of why things are in which section. Not that it matters, but I wonder
Top will be the most important stuff: league writeups (battle reports, recaps, previews), events, final edits. It's the stuff that really defines TL; most of them represent hours of work from our staff.
News and Features is the rest of the news: site news, interviews, translations, team changes, etc.
Spotlight is the user content that deserves extra attention; it's what Featured Threads was originally intended as (rather than the thread graveyard that it is ).
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Whoa amazing! This is quality right here. The "show latest results" bar is a nice touch.
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United States7166 Posts
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coool, will take some getting used to, but good job guys
thanks for all the hard work and missing vertical line
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we totaly owned ggnet btw
haha
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I have to say that the front page seems a little clogged now. I made a new frontpage that is a bit easier on the eyes. The Spotlight section needs to be resized, but otherwise it looks okay.
Poll: Do you like it?
(Vote): Yes
(Vote): No
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Beautiful, just like a firstborn
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Looks awesome, great job guys.
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On November 02 2008 14:16 village_idiot wrote:
I have to say that the front page seems a little clogged now. I made a new frontpage that is a bit easier on the eyes. The Spotlight section needs to be resized, but otherwise it looks okay.
...words...
This is what I was tryiing to say.
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Aotearoa39261 Posts
On November 02 2008 20:51 o3.power91 wrote:Staff like this makes me proud to be a TL.net member Glad to make you proud dude!
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pretty fuckin ballin man, for real. nice job guys
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Great addition. TL has now surpassed GG.net and all other contendors in all aspects imo.
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On November 03 2008 03:11 StarBrift wrote:
Great addition. TL has now surpassed GG.net and all other contendors in all aspects imo.
TL has been ahead of the "contenders" from the start
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Is it just me or did the top TEAMLIQUID horses picture get an overhaul too?
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Congratulations on the new design! Sweet improvements
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Northern Ireland1200 Posts
Yea, I missed this thread :/
Nice new layout
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Oh, wow.
When I saw the "Team Liquid is evolving!" post and all the comments about it probably signaling a new site layout, I have to admit my first reaction was one of dismay. I've seen too many sites in recent years go through redesigns that turn them into chrome flash-and-frame laden monstrosities - in fact I can't remember a major site redesign I've actually liked. TL's simple, clean and functional interface is more or less my personal ideal design, and for a day or so I feared for it.
I shouldn't have doubted the Men in Red.
The new front page is fantastic. I can't say enough good things about it, and I'm sure everything I'd say about it is something that the staff already knew when they designed it. It delivers information clearly and concisely. It has just enough graphics to catch a reader's attention and make navigation easy without feeling crowded or garish. It doesn't try to fix what wasn't broken. It is amazing. Good work, folks, and thank you.
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United States17042 Posts
It's actually the Men in Red as well as the coders, who did a fantastic job. I keep looking back at it and realizing that it's much more functional.
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good job everyone, looks beautiful!
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United Kingdom2674 Posts
It looks absolutely fantastic. Good job all.
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WOW.. it looks great, THANK YOU ALL for your effort and dedication, I know I am a "lurker" here but I am trying to become more active and definately this is something that deserve my posting time lol.. just jokin... great job. =P
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I LOVE LOVE LOVE the PL, OSL, MSL, and Gom sections on the frontpage, makes it a lot more convenient to get an overall view of what's happening in all of the major events. GJ guys
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EPT
![[image loading]](http://img87.imageshack.us/my.php?image=tlcopyhc7.jpg)
![[image loading]](http://img87.imageshack.us/images/thpix.gif)
