We've begun using new file storage with this update. All of your existing files are still available at their old location, but newly uploaded files will have URLs that look like /GuildFiles/[your guild ID]/[file name] instead of http://www.axiomfiles.com/[your guild id]/filename. This removes the need for your browser to determine a different host's IP (axiomfiles.com) when loading each image. While you can leave your old files where they are, you could benefit more from this change by copying them back down to your hard drive and re-uploading them. Once you have all references pointing to the old image updated, delete it to free up more of your available file space (also keeps things tidy). To help differentiate between which files you have on the old system and which you have on the new one, I've added a URL column to the Control Panel > File Manager file listing.

For yet more performance gains, we are now using CDNs (content delivery networks) from both Google and Yahoo to serve up the more common Javascript libraries we use. What makes this so great is that those services will automatically route your request for the file(s) to your nearest data center, making it very, very fast. It also takes the burden off GuildPortal, no longer needing to serve up these very common Javascript libraries, instead giving it more resources to dedicate to just your content.

Many support tickets were addressed (and small features tweaked) in this update, as well:

• The signature generator now saves your preferences. You will no longer need to start from the beginning when using the tool.
• The signature generator now provides links that you can use in your signatures on other forums/web sites!
• Associates and higher are now able to upload images directly when using the WYSIWYG editor to post, and then insert that image into the post immediately after.
• Event/Raid templates now correctly import any custom category they were saved with.
• Clicking on an entry in the "Recent Blogs" widget will now only open the blog in a new window, instead of opening it in both your current window and a new window.
• When editing your profile, you will no longer default to the "Casablanca" time zone. Unless that's your time zone, of course.
• The World of Warcraft server status widget is now back and functioning correctly, now calling an API provided by Blizzard instead of parsing the old server status page.
• In the Funds widget, guild transactions may now be entered using more than one type of currency at a time.
• A guild in an alliance that has had a forum shared with them by another guild is now able to set one of their forums as the parent forum of the shared forum.

Sure thing -- next update (Friday at the latest). 

Hmmm... I checked the upload page and don't see where it would throw an exception with that message, but it might be getting handled by higher-level exception handling. Would you mind sending one of the files that's giving you trouble to me at aaronlewis@guildportal.com, along with your guild ID? I'll see what happens when I try to upload it.

As for the performance stuff, I'll have to look at that... One of the other things that led to it was the difference in speed between the web and old file storage servers.