Dear Members,

It's finally here. The day has come when we have formally retired the forums DTS: Love & Other Things (2005-2026) and DTS: Previews & Spoilers (2005-2026), and removed the Blogs and Gallery applications from the SON Community.

In the time since I first mentioned making changes to the site's structure back in March, we have officially established individual show forums for all five current daytime soap operas, added custom headers for topics posted in each individual show forum, added back the Events feature, integrated Clubs as a replacement for the aforementioned DTS: Love & Other Things forum, adjusted the overall forum menu to highlight core sections, added a custom menu that will bring you directly to the specific current show forum of your choosing, added custom headers for a select group of classic soaps with consistent posting inside the DTS: Cancelled Soaps forum (with more to be added), re-introduced the Reactions feature, which allows posters to react to something posted instead of having to post a reply in response, updated our Join the Community banner for guests or non-mebers, enticing them to Register, and restored our ad inventory back to what it was, or as close as possible, pre-forum software upgrade.

Dedicated Current Show Forums

• Beyond the Gates

• The Bold and the Beautiful

• Days of our Lives

• General Hospital

• The Young and the Restless

These forums were created specifically so that posters have a more defined space to post about their favorite current soap opera. In the past, the monthly discussion threads had unintentionally become a catch-all for everything related to each soap, leaving the rest of the Discuss The Soaps forum nearly dead or dying, with active discussions on specific topics lost inside the monthly threads. That said, with each of the polls I created last month showing Monthly Discussion Threads as the clear winner among members' preferred posting methods for active episode discussions, please understand that these threads are for EPISODE discussions, not for general conversations about any particular soap.

If you come across something on social media, a news outlet, or other forms of communication about a particular show, please DO NOT post it in the active monthly discussion threads. If it's spoiler-related, post it in the active monthly spoiler thread dedicated to that show or create a new topic and utilize the SPOILERS tag as explained here. Otherwise, for a non-spoiler topic, create a new post or topic so others can discuss that specific subject with you there. Overall, the idea is that fans will be able to create any thread they want on any subject, with some limitations, of course.

I repeat, the monthly discussion threads are for EPISODE discussions, not general conversations. As for classic discussion, an active thread for each show is already in place, though it is not required to discuss any topic you desire about the show. Those threads are also not meant to be a catch-all. You are more than welcome to create any topic, post or thread of your choosing.

Custom Menus

Appearing at the top of every page on the SON Community are links to the individual show forums for the current soap operas, which are also responsive on mobile devices.

The design is as follows:

Desktop/Tablet:

Mobile:

Unique Headers

The aforementioned headers appear above every post, unique to each individual current show's forum. Their designs are based on the color coordination used on the main Soap Opera Network website:

Beyond the Gates

The Bold and the Beautiful

Days of our Lives

General Hospital

The Young and the Restless

Pinned Posts

With some exceptions, there will be fewer pinned posts across the SON Community, particularly in the Discuss The Soaps forum. Outside the active monthly discussion threads, only select threads from admins will be pinned.

Clubs

As already noted, the Clubs have replaced the DTS: Love & Other Things forum. The application is an add-on feature that has existed since an earlier version of our forum software, dating back to 2018/2019, though we have never utilized it. Thus far, I've created clubs for Tamara Tunie and Joan Collins, with the latter already having a very active community of fans via the long-running The Joan Collins Fan Club thread, which at present has nearly 200 posts and more than 75,000 views in the more than 12 years since its creation. Subsequent clubs have been created, including the Chandler Massey Club, Colton Little Club and Jane Elliot Club.

The clubs feature the ability to create multiple topics and polls, a dedicated page about the club and the person or show it's based on, plus an overview of all activity in the club. With the retirement of the DTS: Love & Other Things forum, members are advised to create a club on a subject that would normally fall under it. Though there is no membership requirement, clubs give fans a space of their own and features that do not have to be tied to a single ongoing thread.

Reactions

Another feature that's been available since an earlier version of our forum software is Reactions. As requested, and based on previous discussions, we have reintroduced the reactions feature to the SON Community, with five core reactions available as of June 8, 2026. The available reactions at present include Agree, Confused, Haha, Thanks and Like. The icons that accompany each are subject to revision and removal at any time; specifically, the Confused reaction, which I've chosen to leave for now since it's neutral. However, should it be abused, it will be removed immediately.

Support Desk

The Support Desk forum is for members to ask for help with issues they encounter on the SON Community, whether it is help navigating the site, a technical issue or help acquiring information. The forum now includes a Mark as Solution link, in which the admin or the poster who created the topic can mark the thread as resolved. There is no reason for a support topic to receive continuous discussion, particularly as not all issues are the same. Please do not jump into an active thread unless the EXACT issue defined by the OP is the same as yours.

Additionally, you must provide specific details about any issue you are encountering. I hate to say it, but simply stating the issue without providing helpful information to the admins will result in your matter going unsolved and ignored. Helpful information, if applicable, includes screenshots (not including PII - Personally Identifiable Information), details on what system (i.e., browser and/or computer) you are using when encountering the problem and any other details that you think might be relevant to pinpointing the problem that will hopefully result in a solution.

Once a topic receives a formal resolution, the OP and the admin MUST mark it as such. Afterward, the thread will be locked to prevent continued discussions on the topic. If a topic has been marked as resolved and closed, but you encounter the issue yourself, you are more than welcome to create a new topic, though the resolution might still be the same.

Performing Security Verification

As of June 21, 2026, we have enabled Cloudflare's security verification rules, which present a challenge to visitors outside of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, the four biggest markets visiting the SON Community, to combat bots. In most cases, for those who receive a challenge notice in their browser, a quick verification notice will be displayed, and you will be automatically redirected to the SON Community. However, there might be an occasion where you are asked to check a box indicating that you are human. This mostly happens when the system thinks you are a bot. By simply checking the box, you will move on to the SON Community. However, since bots aren't human and can't click that box to prove otherwise, they will be blocked from entry, primarily those from countries such as China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, among others.

For more information about this action, click here.

Other

I know some of you will never understand or agree with why we've made any changes, and that's fine. But from our view, with the SON Community turning 25 in October, we felt it deserved some love for a change, and that the result would see the site continuing to thrive for many years to come, as well as giving new and potential members the opportunity to be part of the action of an engaged community.

Note: Comments or input are welcome, but please be kind. I've spent many days and nights working on a wide range of matters exclusively related to the SON Community, and I'd appreciate your understanding.

Otherwise, happy posting!

Everything is coming together so nicely, Errol! I love the customisation per forum and per soap. It's nice and truly gives everything such a special touch that makes it feel like things are intentional and special. Great job, and happy 25th for SON!

I liked the changes. Very happy to have less pinned posts.

I’ve been trying to get over the pushed sign-out frustration and start to get familiar with the cosmetic changes.

All I got in result was sensory overload and still to this day I don’t understand if there’s just no spoilers around or it’s me not being able to find them.

The single forums are producing low-effort and trivial posts IMHO à la “What was Cady McClain’s best hairstyle?”, which I’m not interested in.

There was a poll a few weeks ago - any updates on the responses? Are there any actions taken in light of the poll?

I wanted to thank you for this layout update for "foreign/international" soaps, you've moved it up on the menu. Previously it was below/after "off-topic". Now it's above/before "off-topic".

Previously the main menu was:

• Soapsline

• DTS Discuss (current U.S.) Soaps -- unspoiled

• Previews/Spoilers (Current U.S soaps)

• Cancelled Soaps

• Primetime & Streaming

• Off Topic Lounge

• Foreign/International Soaps

• Etc.
  

With July 2026 update: the main menu is:

• Soapsline

• DTS Discuss the (current U.S.) Soaps

• . . . . special sections for each soap

• . . . . spoiler threads mixed in (with red tags)

• . . . . multi-soap threads inside main DTS menu

• Cancelled Soaps

• Primetime & Streaming

• Foreign/International Soaps

• Off Topic Lounge

• Etc.

That's great that you moved foreign/international.
My guess is that, when SON was founded, non-USA soaps were considered obscure. But nowadays with the internet, soaps in general are international and it makes more sense to highlight that section.

Edited July 9Jul 9 by janea4old

I finally got on with my laptop @Errol

I cleared cookies & cache for the browser and that did the trick. Let's hope it lasts

2 hours ago, dragonflies said:

I finally got on with my laptop @Errol

I cleared cookies & cache for the browser and that did the trick. Let's hope it lasts

I'm so happy to see this got cleared up for you, and I'm so sorry it happened in the first place.

I'll continue monitoring the issue and will send a formal email to members over the weekend to address the situation.

23 minutes ago, Errol said:

I'm so happy to see this got cleared up for you, and I'm so sorry it happened in the first place.

I'll continue monitoring the issue and will send a formal email to members over the weekend to address the situation.

Not a problem. It was fine and then suddenly it wouldn't work. Everyone had issues, I didn't, then suddenly did. it was so confusing lol

1 hour ago, dragonflies said:

Not a problem. It was fine and then suddenly it wouldn't work. Everyone had issues, I didn't, then suddenly did. it was so confusing lol

Wondered what had happened to you. Glad to have you back posting again!

31 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Wondered what had happened to you. Glad to have you back posting again!

LOL I can get on with my phone but with the smaller font and my eye glasses wearing self it's harder to see the words

7 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

LOL I can get on with my phone but with the smaller font and my eye glasses wearing self it's harder to see the words

I've never used my phone to log in here or post. The screen is just too small.😂

@Errol Ron aka @Soapsuds can't get on the board, He asked me to let you know.

48 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

@Errol Ron aka @Soapsuds can't get on the board, He asked me to let you know.

Thanks again!

After two more attempts I was able to access the board.