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Forum Upgrade Next Week

Ian

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Aug 23, 2006
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This is just a heads up to let you know that we'll be upgrading the forums sometime next week (I'll post the day and time in advance!). The current forum software works quite well, but is soon going to be unsupported, which means we'll no longer be able to get patches and fixes as the backend software is upgraded.

It won't take long to perform the upgrade and no data will be lost - all your posts, uploads, details, etc.. will all be the same. The are lots of advantages to upgrading, mostly in terms of MUCH better attachment handling and improved mobile browsing. This is just the start of some other improvements which we'll be adding to further down the line - such as articles, calculators and so on.

The design will change during the upgrade, but should be very familiar in terms of navigation. Here's the draft version of the design that I previewed to the moderators a little while back:

attachment.php


I'd guess it should take less than half a day to upgrade (hopefully MUCH less), but I'll leave the forums open as read-only for as long as possible during the upgrade process, so there won't be any time that the forums are completely offline (but you may not be able to post for a short while).

I'm really excited about the move, as it's the first time in a long while the we've performed an upgrade of this site on EP. I've been using the new forum software for quite a while and it is so much easier to use - I think you're all going to really like it :).
 

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jpanhalt

Nov 12, 2013
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You didn't ask for comments, but for what it is worth...

I like the new format and tool bar.

I am much less impressed with seeing a point system implemented and the inevitable Facebook effect. What is the purpose of the system? How will attainment of that goal assessed?

Regards,

John
 
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(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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What is the purpose of the system?

We've not discussed this at all. I suggest there will be lots of features in the new software, and over time we may come to use them, ignore them, or even turn them off.

Just because they're visible isn't an indication that we have a goal in mind.

How will attainment of that goal assessed?

We need to have a goal first.

P.S. Ian's response might be "What's this 'We' kemosabe?" :D
 

Ian

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Thanks John - glad you like the look of it :D. I'm all for comments and feedback!

Don't worry about the "points" system - there is one built in to the forum software, but I find it unlikely that we'll use it... it was just enabled in the screenshot I took from a fresh install (by default). I'm no fan of having bloat/fluff that overcomplicates things :).

As Steve mentioned, there's loads of things that we can enable/disable/tweak once the software goes live, depending on how things go. I'm all for keeping things simple and functional - but there are some real improvements that I think you'll like. One of my favourites is the notification alerts - each user can decide what they want to be notified about via alert or e-mail. The image uploading is far better too - as you can upload many files in one click and not have to worry about size limits as much.
 

jpanhalt

Nov 12, 2013
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If it is the same software being used at ETO, it really has some nice features. One that is particularly nice is the ability to go the the "first unread" post when clicking on a thread.

Another thing I like is its memory. If you start a reply, then go somewhere else or accidentally close it, the draft is still there when you return. I can't count the times I have gone to Google to look up something, only to return to find my draft gone. There are simple workarounds for that, but it is nice not to have to worry about it.

I am anxious to see it happen.

John
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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Fixed ;)
 

kpatz

Feb 24, 2014
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The image uploading is far better too - as you can upload many files in one click and not have to worry about size limits as much.
Only trouble is, a security flaw in the Flash(?) based uploader they were using made it necessary for that feature to be removed, so now you have to upload files 1 at a time.

I presume you're upgrading to a newer vBulletin, so are you going to 4.2 or 5?
 

Ian

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Good work - a nice, modest amount :D.

Only trouble is, a security flaw in the Flash(?) based uploader they were using made it necessary for that feature to be removed, so now you have to upload files 1 at a time.

I presume you're upgrading to a newer vBulletin, so are you going to 4.2 or 5?

Not to VB, but to XenForo - it's much more secure than vBulletin which is a large part of the reason for the move. We'll be upgrading to XF 1.3 (perhaps 1.3.1 by Tuesday). I took a look at VB 5 and have kept a wide berth, I suspect it will be a long time indeed before many sites consider upgrading to that (if at all) - IMO anyway.
 

Ian

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I'm just getting the base installation ready, so if all goes well the upgrade will take place tomorrow (9th April 2014) morning GMT. :)

I'll lock the forums and have a very prominent notice when the upgrade is in progress, so no data will be lost during the import.
 

Ian

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We'll be making the move in a few hours - as soon as the upgrade is underway, I'll make sure there is a very prominent notice on the forums. :)
 

Ian

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I'm just about to start the upgrade - just waiting a little while for anyone in the middle of a post to finish :).
 

(*steve*)

¡sǝpodᴉʇuɐ ǝɥʇ ɹɐǝɥd
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No, just checking every half hour or so.

I'm trying to figure out how to update my profile. My shelf has turned into a shel.

Hmmm, interesting options on the edit box... Does it hide the changes from other moderators?


Ssssh... secret edit
 

Ian

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Good timing :).

I'll make a post a little later on today about some of the new moderator tools, as I'm still working on moving the usergroups around (as there are now duplicates) - it's something I can only do after moving away from VB. I'll report back in a bit once I've made some progress.
 

Harald Kapp

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Good job, Ian. At first glance the new forum looks great.
 
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Harald Kapp

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It seems that the new software automatically adds my signature to each post. I miss the option to not add my signature. Surely it's hidden somewhere, but where?
 
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