I am posting this notice to each forum, so you may see this more than once. 
The project to replace the existing USCF web site at beta.uschess.org is nearing completion, and there are several transition steps that we will undertake over the upcoming weekend and during next week.
Within the next 72 hours, and probably within 48 hours, we intend to initiate the move to a new version of phpBB, which is the software used to operate these forums. It will be necessary to close the forums for between half a day and one day to complete this process, so please consider this notice that the forums may be closed for this transition sometime between 24 and 72 hours from now (now being Friday evening).
When the forums reopen, they will include a new General Chess Discussion forum. Upon completion of the entire web site transition process, there will also be a new comment system for discussion of articles from Chess Life Online as well as the monthly articles from the print edition of Chess Life.
The new login process for the forums and for the new web site will be unified, so logging in once will provide access to everything, subject to restrictions based on the your site registration or USCF membership status. All existing usernames established in the forums will be maintained for their current owners.
All users who are current USCF members and who are adults will need to re-validate their accounts to regain posting privileges throughout the forums, and to regain access to viewing the USCF Issues forum. USCF members who are not adults and non-USCF members will be able to re-register to view all of the forums except the USCF Issues forum.
Here is how the validation and registration processes will work.
When the forums reopen, users will be taken to a registration page on the new web site, which will be open for preview purposes. The existing site, beta.uschess.org, will continue to be available as uschess.org for the duration of the preview/testing period, after which it will be taken down. Archived versions of previous web site contents will be maintained for historical purposes to the extent that USCF finds doing so to be useful.
Users will be asked to fill out a form with their real name, desired username, their email address, and their choice of password. Users who are USCF members will be asked to also fill in their USCF ID number and PIN code (which is on the mailing label of your magazine), and their date of birth.
Upon submission, we will verify USCF IDs and PIN codes to verify current USCF membership. Usernames will be granted unless they are in conflict with existing forum user names, and existing forum usernames will be granted to those members who have them currently. For example, my USCF ID, 10062225, plus my PIN, can let me reestablish myself as hmb, but no one else can take hmb for a username, because it is reserved for me. Same for everyone else here.
An email verification will be sent after you register, and when you get that email and click on the link in it (or copy and paste the link into a browser and hit enter), your new account will be activated.
The new site will support the following levels of access privileges:
Guests will be able to see any public content; general info and recent news will be available to guests.
Registered site users will be able to see additional content, including reading the forums (except they will not be able to read the USCF Issues forum).
USCF members will be able to see all content. Members who are adults will be able to visit and post to all forums; members who are under 18 will be able to read all forums except the USCF Issues forum.
Brian Mottershead is leading the implemention of the new forums for USCF, using phpBB version 3. Marty Hirsch is leading the implemention of the rest of the new web site using the open-source content management system known as Joomla. We are working closely with both Mike Nolan and Jennifer Shahade, as well as other USCF personnel. We all look forward to completing the staged launch of the new software over the next week or so, and we all welcome comments here in these forums, as well as via the Contact form on the new site when we begin the preview.
Thanks to everyone here for your interest, cooperation, and support!