A few upgrades

[Moo]

I've made a few fixes and feature upgrades today, based on your feedback.
Here are some of the more noticible ones:

1. HTTPS Optional: HTTPS (SSL encryption) is now optional. You can turn it on and off from the link in the top right hand corner of the page. The default is off, for compatibility reasons.
2. Top Stats Fixed (HTTPS): Everything on the forum, including the "Top Stats" on the homepage, should now work in SSL, without breaking anything for non-SSL users. This was done in response to this bug report by baby_mike.
3. "About Me" Fixes: Fixed some minor glitches where there were links on the 'about me' section of profiles which did not work. For the moment, those links have been removed.
4. Exclude Forums From "New Posts": You can now exclude certain forums from your 'new posts' search results. To do so, go to "UserCP", then "Edit Options". At the very bottom, you will be able to select which forums are excluded from your search results. Be warned: this feature is in beta - there may be bugs! This change was based on this request by NikonFilmPhotog.
5. New Searching Options: You can now easily find your recently created posts and threads, as well as threads you have posted in (with the recently active ones hilighted), via the search menu. This change was based on this request by NEJay.
6. Updated Rules Notifications: So long as the rules have not been updated recently, people with over 30 posts see the link in white. If the rules have been updated recently, or you have few posts, the rules link is highlighted. This change was based onthis request by DannyTheNinja.
7. Quick Link to Chat: We have a new mibbit-based gateway to the live chat, which everyone, including total newbies, may use to jump straight into the chat. You can access this from the "Live Chat" menu at the top of the screen. Hopefully this will combine the easy access of Flashchat with the features of IRC.
8. Auto-Close Exemptions: Several forums (including admin stuff and the story forums) are now exempt from auto-close, so that quality old threads (e.g. suggestions for improving the site) can be kept alive.
9. Welcome PM for Newbies: From now on, everyone registering will get an automatic welcome message. Thanks to Raccoon for proposing this here. This message we're using is currently shown here, but we will be continually improving it based on everyones' feedback, especially that of our newest users.