Major Software upgrade coming...please read

[brewmaster15]

Hi All,
Ryan will be doing a major upgrade on the forum's software. We are making the jump to VB 4.0 Publishing Suite. The Look to the forum will be very similar, but its a major migration and though we anticipate no issues...you never can tell entirely. The new software was released in Dec 2009 and we have been waiting for the bugs to get worked out, which it appears they have been. Sooner or latter we need to make this move as the current software will not be supported in the near future.

Most of the board modifications we have made should work still but may need to be tweaked..and we will be looking at other banner scripts as well... Expect to see some changes and probably a glitch or two that we need sort out.

One other area we may have a problem with is I-trader. The software is no longer supported and though we think it will carry over..its a grey area...and even if it does carry over...if we have any problems.. we are on our own. I've been giving thought to alternative feedback programs...more on that latter if needed.

All in all we expect no real issues, but be advised in case we take the forum offline for a bit or run into a snag. We will most likely do this update this weekend.

I'd like to thank Ryan in advance for handling this upgrade.:)

Thanks everyone!
-al

[Second Hand Pat]

Good luck with the update. I write software for a living and know that a major upgrade can and should be a good thing, but not always.

[dean9922]

Good Luck Al and Ryan!!!!!!

[Skip]

change it all you want.. as long i still have my, "NEW POST", "SEARCH" and "INSERT PICTURE" functions.. i will always be happy

[DiscusLoverJeff]

change it all you want.. as long i still have my, "NEW POST", "SEARCH" and "INSERT PICTURE" functions.. i will always be happy

+1 Good Luck!

[Dave B]

vB 4 has some pretty powerful content management stufff built into it too. I never really looked into it, since I didn't need any of it, but I would imagine it has to include a way to tie the content of posts in the forums to the articles/library section of the main site... which would really beef up the amount of info out front without requiring re-writes. Basically every sticky in every forum would be considered a great article...

Not sure if that was already in the plans, but that was the first thing that came to my mind.

Big thanks to Ryan for doing the work... I know what a pain vB setup can be. Nothing awful on its own... but it always takes a while.

[db2inst1]

Good Luck Al & Ryan! Thanks for all your hard work.

[jball1125]

Good luck with the changes Al and Ryan.

Just some advice for those who want to keep their Itrader safe. You can take a print screen (Ctrl + PrtSC) of your feedback page and save it on your pc or flash drive. Then if something goes wrong the print screens could always be posted in case someone wants proof that you are a reputable seller/buyer...

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Chat function?!?

-Ryan

[yim11]

Chat function?!?

-Ryan

That's not part of the v4 enhancements but there is a really good chat app for vbulletin that many forums use (3rd party add on).

[Discus-n00b]

Chat would definently be cool again, and hopefully used more.

Thanks for the warning Al.

[Jhhnn]

Best of luck with it. It has to go better than how it works with my employer, where "major upgrades" really means "faceplant"... at least in the beginning...

[Ryan]

We've had several versions of Chat here over the years and they have never been very popular. In the past, it's been a lot of effort with very little return. One of the main reasons the feature isn't currently installed here is because people never really used it.

The CMS would definitely be helpful in building an integrated library. It's much easier than trying to code a separate website and tie the forum to it. Eventually if we could get all the articles converted over, we could do away with the current Library (which is severely outdated) and just use the vB software from here on.

I'm contemplating the upgrade tonight or tomorrow night. If things do not seem stable right away, please be patient. Like with every major software overhaul before it, it will take time to work out the kinks and get things running smoothly again.

Ryan

[discusdaves]

Great, appriciate everything you do Al!!

[fishorama]

Oooh, I better get the directions to Al's now just in case there's problems. Thanks for the warning

[brewmaster15]

Great, appriciate everything you do Al!! Thanks! But when it comes to the website software, Ryan is King.:) He keeps us running smooth and Paul helps as he can too.

take care,
al

[Scribbles]

Good luck guys!

Chris

[Discus-Hans]

Ryan, good luck.

must say the last days (weeks) I've got a lot more respect for the work you computer guys do. Now I regret I missed a few classes at school were they explained all of this............. lol I should have listened to my father...... :D :D :D

Hans

[Ryan]

Well, twelve hours later and the forum is now updated. LOL.

I apologize that it took so long. The way picture attachments are handled has changed in the new software, so every single old attachment had to be updated and converted to the new software. Did you know we have over 50,000 picture attachments here?

Almost everything is back in place. iTrader is up (but I have not tried leaving feedback, so I'm not sure that it's functioning), banners are up but they do not rotate automatically for now. I will try to work on this later.

A few changes and notes:

UserCP has now changed to Settings and it is in the top right corner of the page. This is where you change all of your options and settings, see your subscribed threads, access PMs, etc. You can also click your username in the top right to see your profile. You may now leave Visitor Messages for people, much like a Facebook wall.

Also, you may have noticed a little filmstrip icon when creating a new post. That is so that you can embed YouTube videos. Just click the button, paste your YouTube link, and it will put the video in your post.

When replying to threads, a single click on the Reply button will activate the Quick Reply box. If you prefer the old method of replying, double-click on the Reply button instead and it will take you there.

If you find anything broken or out of place, please PM me or post here in the thread and I will try my best to fix it or find an answer for you.

[Justice]

Cool Beans

[Skip]

Well, twelve hours later and the forum is now updated. LOL.

I apologize that it took so long. The way picture attachments are handled has changed in the new software, so every single old attachment had to be updated and converted to the new software. Did you know we have over 50,000 picture attachments here?

Almost everything is back in place. iTrader is up (but I have not tried leaving feedback, so I'm not sure that it's functioning), banners are up but they do not rotate automatically for now. I will try to work on this later.

A few changes and notes:

UserCP has now changed to Settings and it is in the top right corner of the page. This is where you change all of your options and settings, see your subscribed threads, access PMs, etc. You can also click your username in the top right to see your profile. You may now leave Visitor Messages for people, much like a Facebook wall.

Also, you may have noticed a little filmstrip icon when creating a new post. That is so that you can embed YouTube videos. Just click the button, paste your YouTube link, and it will put the video in your post.

When replying to threads, a single click on the Reply button will activate the Quick Reply box. If you prefer the old method of replying, double-click on the Reply button instead and it will take you there.

If you find anything broken or out of place, please PM me or post here in the thread and I will try my best to fix it or find an answer for you.

i am the first!!! to post in the new forum.. well, ryan... crap.. and CTD! :(

[Justice]

i am the first!!! to post in the new forum.. well, ryan... crap.. and CTD! :( :p LOL

[Ryan]

I see that there are a lot of people who are not logged in.

If you have any trouble with the website after the upgrade, please clear your browser history and refresh the site. You can also do a hard refresh by hitting Control + F5 at the same time on your keyboard. This will reload the page.

[hedut]

Look So COol

[Kingdom Come Discus]

I like everything so far, Thanks for your hard work Ryan!!!!!

[Jennie]

Like the new layout, especially that you Al, are more readily visible when I need worms.. :)

[ashaysathe]

Excellent.. looks good. Great Job

[brewmaster15]

Awesome Ryan!! Thanks so much..I know it wasn't an easy upgrade to do....But I think it looks great...Nice new feel kinda of like getting a new car to drive around.:):):):):):):)


-al

[calihawker]

Looks and feels great! Awesome job Ryan! You too Al!

[MSD]

Love the look of this software, makes the forum current and hopefully easy to use. It was to wait a year for debugging, first in are the beta testers and that no way to keep your forum running smoothly. Thanks Ryan.

[Ryan]

Thanks guys. :D So far, so good.

[mathao]

are we gonna get something like a chat room with this new upgrade?

[Scribbles]

Looks great! Thanks for all of your hard work Ryan!

Chris