There's always an interesting conversation happening on iReport.com -- but we spotted two recent threads in particular worth noting. Some of the site's most active users are taking action. TheWarden is asking for reports on community abuse, while janmarbol is fed up with multiple postings of the same story.

We're thrilled that many of you feel passionate about iReport.com. We also want you to know that feel the same way. We are reading your stories and comments -- and we care deeply about making this site a place you'll want to come back to often.

So, let's keep talking. Please share your thoughts below.

iReporters along the Gulf of Mexico spotted an interesting sight in the sky yesterday. Users sent in photos and videos of a sun halo, created by cirrus clouds. The upper-level clouds cause the reflection of ice crystals around the sun.

RichNeel called the natural phenomenon a "ringbow," EvaS said the halo lasted for approximately two hours and rodman sent in video footage of the ring. Did you happen to catch the halo? Have you ever seen one before? Send your photos and videos here.

iReport.com will be down for about 20 minutes starting at 7:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday. If you have breaking news to share while we're out, please send your stories, videos and photos to ireport@cnn.com.

What's going on, you ask? Our engineers need to make important updates to keep the site running smoothly. You may have noticed we were out for about 15 minutes Tuesday afternoon -- we're doing the fixes Wednesday to (fingers crossed!) keep that from happening again.

CNN visited several Historically Black Colleges and Universities recently as part of the network's Black in America series. Students were given the opportunity to speak out and let the world know what it means to be black in America. The response has been fantastic, from creative short films to candid video confessionals.

Superstar iReporter JFletch reached out to others to explore what it means to be black in America. Tiff86 describes being black in America as "an overwhelming experience." You can find all of the Black in America iReports here. Which submissions stand out to you?

iReport.com is expanding as each day of news and reader commentary passes by, and we're welcoming tons of new users to the site. Some of our newest contributors are sharing really awesome stories and we want to take a moment and recognize them.

An outstanding iReporter by the name of brettbum sent us amazing video he shot near the Colorado River resort community of Laughlin, Nevada, while mitchthrower documented a shark attack near Solana Beach, California. And don't forget BDrenning, who showed us lights over the sky of Phoenix, Arizona, as well as cute baby chicks. iReporter sankofa1867 spoke up about Sen. Barack Obama and aumaster, has documented aspects of life in Flagstaff, Arizona. Finally, matthewmilam submitted videos about cyberbullying and the Sean Bell verdict.

Political enthusiasts can sure get creative. As the battle for the Democratic nomination rages on, supporters of both candidates have tried some interesting ways of convincing people that their candidate should be the nominee. We've seen Barack Obama depicted in folk art and as a snowman. Hillary Clinton's been imagined as the newest face on Mount Rushmore and as Rosie the Riveter.

Lately, though, we've seen some really spectacular political endorsements set to music. Check out this Obama-backing music video by UPenn students Etan and pal Stephanie McIntyre. Take a look at this hilarious video too, where Hillary Clinton is portrayed as Evita.

How about this one from Wheatus, which gives us a quick lesson in black history while endorsing Obama as the first black president? And, there's nothing like a little 'sunshine' to brighten your day, like in this Clinton campaign highlights video by Delores Williams. Feel inspired? Get creative about your own political views here, or visit our assignment desk for more information.

A perfect storm of terrific stories -- check out Skip Wilson's take on gas prices and nohelpca's plans for his tax rebate -- and controversy and comments over the Sean Bell verdict overwhelmed iReport.com's servers this afternoon and brought the site down for about 30 minutes. We're back up now, and working hard to make sure we're ready for the next big day before it happens. If you were trying to upload a new story and it failed, give it a try again now. And as always, let us know if you see something that's still not working.

Today's acquittals of three NYPD detectives in the shooting death of Sean Bell sparked great response from iReporters.

matthewmilam gave his take on the verdict and jeebs1707 compared the case to similar ones in the past. What's your verdict? Join the discussion.

This Friday, we have a project for you that we're really excited about. We want to see your before and after photos. We've gotten a few inklings of your before and after potential before. Check out these photos of users of the original C64 computer, or this audio slideshow of an iReporter remembering Coney Island through the years.

Get straight to the point of the before and after. Send us two photos, one before a change, one after, and let us know what we're looking at. Everything from haircuts to history in the making, we want to see it all.

Are the Democrats coming down with a case of hoof-in-mouth syndrome? The tense battle for the party's presidential nomination has inspired a number of cartoons posted on iReport.com. What do you think? Check out these cartoons and post a comment to share your thoughts, or draw your own conclusion.

So, you're walking into the kitchen and lo and behold, a bunch of bananas looks just like a mouth. Saucepan lids? Perfect eyes. You've got to tell someone about this face you're seeing. Time to send an iReport! MikeMiller did.

Whether you've got a case of cannibal lizards or a cat that sits on eggs, we want to see your offbeat images. We even have an ongoing series of robots and zombies (and presumably robotic zombies) performing for us on a regular basis courtesy of castvee8. These aren't the biggest headlines of the day, but you can't stop looking at them. You probably see plenty of funny things from time to time. Next time, send us a photo or video.

We're glad to be back online after a short outage this morning. If you had trouble uploading earlier today, please try again now.

iReport.com is abuzz over BDrenning's video of mysterious red lights floating above Phoenix, Arizona.

UFO or totally explainable? The iReport.com community is offering plenty of theories.
falcon99 thinks they are flares from a fighter plane. Skydiver53 is sure parachutes are responsible. cMiniGo says it must be a kite, zeshef says homemade hot-air balloons. Others just think it's an elaborate hoax.

What's your explanation? Did you see the same lights over Phoenix? Share your story.

The price of fuel is at record highs, and it's affecting other prices too -- like the cost of food.

There's a great discussion about food prices happening right now on iReport.com. Crankers thinks $1.69 is too much for a head of iceberg lettuce. XMan suggests a heavy diet of dried beans. millerlb says a family of 7 can survive on $25 a day. And GeekyCraig says he has changed everything about the way he shops and eats.

So, how are food prices affecting you? What are food prices like in your local markets? Share your stories and join the conversation.

There is no shortage of excitement surrounding Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States. Crowds packed Washington, D.C.'s Nationals stadium to see him celebrate Mass on Thursday, and are expected to do the same at Yankee Stadium Sunday.

iReporter James Krehely of Greenbelt, Maryland, was electrified by seeing the Pope in D.C., and says, "It was almost like going to see the Stones or U2! A lot of excitement, but also a lot of spirituality. The spectacle was of course only something the Vatican could achieve with it's own brand of Christianity."

Check out his fantastic photos.

Sometimes, collections go way beyond sets of things. For some, collections are carefully curated galleries of favorite treasures. For this week's Fun on Friday assignment, tell us what incredible items you like to keep and why you hold these objects so dear.

Smokey collects Barbie dolls; bigtruck260 collects baseball bats; Wulfhund2099 loves sports memorabilia. Surely you have something you can't pass up keeping just one more of. Tell us what your collection means to you.

You may have noticed the site was down for about an hour today. We're happy to report that we're back in business, and are working hard to fix what went wrong. Meantime, if you see anything not quite right, please drop us a comment or send a note to contact@ireport.com.

We just added "e-mail" links to iReport.com stories that help you fire off a quick note to your friends when you spot something you want to share. The link is right under the story text; just look for the e-mail icon.

Iraq is a centerpiece of global news, but rarely do you ever get to see what life is like for an ordinary person. Posts from iReporter Matuk, a contracted professional working in Baghdad, are giving us this uncommon perspective.

Matuk's videos are moving portraits of a city in transition. Through his eyes, we have experienced being able to look outside your window and see the effects of a war going on. This is something you can't see on the news wires and a testament to the power of citizen journalism. His uploads have become a diary of daily life in Baghdad. What do you think? What questions would you like to ask Matuk?

Every Friday we like to present an assignment that stokes your creativity; we like to call it "Fun on Friday."

This Friday, we're kicking off a solicitation that we hope will
generate a big response. In preparation for Mother's Day, we want you
to tell us what you mother means to you but, and here's the kicker, we
want you to say it in just one word.

So, fire up your video cameras and get yourself on film saying the one
word that you think best describes you mother and all that she's done
for you. Or, take a picture of that word and send it in. We can't wait
to see your response.

Phew -- the problem we had this morning with new stories getting stuck on their way to iReport.com is fixed. Please upload away! We're still working on un-sticking some of the stories from earlier this morning, and will post updates right here. Thanks!

UPDATE: I think we've got all the stories that were stuck. If yours is still missing, please e-mail us so we can investigate.

Good morning -- we've just discovered a technical problem with our upload engine that's keeping new stories from posting to the site. We're working hard on a fix right now. Stay tuned to the blog for updates. Thanks!

Hi gang, your iReports continue to amaze and inspire. Today we're continuing our "Fun on Friday" project, where we ask you to take part in a creative assignment.

This week, we want to see the amazing places you've been. Surely you've traveled some place cool. We want to see it -- just for fun! Share your amazing journeys with iReport.com.

That's exactly what I wondered when we began asking iReporters for pictures and videos of man caves -- a testosterone-filled space that men can claim as their own. We soon received a big response and I learned that no man cave is alike.

One submission in particular caught my eye. iReporter kmac1967 not only took photos of his man cave, he also gave a guided tour of his tropical oasis. The video captures the viewer's attention and really captures the essence of a true man cave.

So, if you have a man cave, let us see it! Do you have pictures of your man cave in progress? A funny video from the boys' poker night? Be creative and have fun.

A real community has developed around the issue of autism on iReport.com, and we've received more than 300 submissions on the topic!

I spoke with a few parents of children with autism, and they are some of the kindest, most inspirational people I have ever encountered; people who, despite the challenges, understand that their children are capable of great things.

These parents have embraced their children for the unique and wonderful people they are. In the process, they have experienced a range of emotions and interactions they never even knew existed. They are truly amazing.

We invite you to explore these parents' stories, and contribute to the conversation.

One of the biggest hits so far on iReport.com was yesterday's April Fools' topic. Who knew there were so many pranksters among us? iReporter EEKNBY covered her coworker's office in shiny aluminum foil! Eamick stuck a fake pair of legs in a public bathroom stall! You can see all of the silliness committed in honor of the annual springtime tradition right here.

The iReport.com assignment desk just got a lot better. It's always been full of story ideas on topics in the news, but starting today, each one of the assignment links on the page takes you to a place where it's easy to see all of the stories on that topic and to contribute your own. So you can see what other iReporters have posted before you jump in, or just take a spin through all the stories on a topic that interests you.

Right now there are topic pages for baseball, autism, political cartoons and weight-loss success, to name just a few.

What do you think of the new page? Add a comment to let us know.