# New Forum Software - Discussion



## jeff (May 12, 2008)

I've started a topic where I'll post updated on the switch to new forum software. That topic is locked, but please feel free to discuss and ask questions here.


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## wdcav1952 (May 12, 2008)

Jeff,

Unfortunately I don't understand much of what you told us! [8D]  Computer literacy is a bit limited from my end.  

Anyway, thanks for all you do to keep this site going.  I don't understand it, but I really do appreciate it!!!!!


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## ed4copies (May 12, 2008)

When you know you don't know what you are talking about, it is best to agree with someone who does!!

(Yes, I just coined that!!)

The IAP is the easiest "thread" site I have ever encountered.  IF you decide you need to change something, I will blindly follow, waiting for the light to emerge at the end of the tunnel.

Thanks for all you do!!!!!


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## IPD_Mrs (May 12, 2008)

vBulletin is great.  I use it in the X-cart support forum.  Snitz is very easy to use and I do not know if the help or options can be set in vBulletin to make photo attachments easier as well as links.  It is assumed that you know these things in X-cart where this type of forum it would not be the same.

People will have a transition to go through but in the long run I think you will find the options, bells and whistles that vBulletin gives you will be well worth the initial frustrations.

Mike


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## 1JaredSchmidt (May 12, 2008)

What do you mean exactly by software. Will it change this forum any?


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## Mudder (May 12, 2008)

I belong to a forum that uses vBulletin and I don't really like it. But from the admin side I've been told that vBulletin is much easier and I'll do what is necessary to adjust.

Anyone want to see what it looks like can find it here: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/


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## OKLAHOMAN (May 12, 2008)

Mike and Jeff I have no idea what either one of you said, but if you lead me to water I will drink.  





> _Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking_
> 
> vBulletin is great.  I use it in the X-cart support forum.  Snitz is very easy to use and I do not know if the help or options can be set in vBulletin to make photo attachments easier as well as links.  It is assumed that you know these things in X-cart where this type of forum it would not be the same.
> 
> ...


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## wdcav1952 (May 12, 2008)

> _Originally posted by 1JaredSchmidt_
> 
> What do you mean exactly by software. Will it change this forum any?



Jared, as I understand it software is like underwear.  Regular changes are needed for maximum performance.


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## great12b4ever (May 12, 2008)

Jeff, just tell us what and when, and we will try to follow.  If we can make life easier for you and save the IAP some money, then lets go for it.


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## stevers (May 12, 2008)

Any way I can help just name it. I'm behind you. Till you change my name or lose my count,,,,[]


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## LouisQC (May 12, 2008)

vBulletin, is in my opinion among the best, Admin and user wise.


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## DCBluesman (May 12, 2008)

This sucker looks like it will power us into the 22nd century!


> Most users ever online was 15,560
> 
> Threads: 262,383, Posts: 1,523,947, Members: 174,766, Active Members: 9,932



Like the rest, I'll adjust!


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## DocStram (May 12, 2008)

> _Originally posted by wdcav1952_
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Which reminds me ..... I forgot to change them on Saturday night. [:I]


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## DocStram (May 12, 2008)

Oh, by the way .... Jeff?  I'm a go with the flow kind of guy. I can adjust.


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## toolcrazy (May 12, 2008)

I'm sorry, but I'm very familiar with VBulletin and I do not like it. And be for warned, the search still sucks. But that is one mans opinion. Good luck on the migration.


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## toolcrazy (May 12, 2008)

> _Originally posted by 1JaredSchmidt_
> 
> What do you mean exactly by software. Will it change this forum any?



Yes, it will change a lot and because of the software being more powerful, it will be more complicated.


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## wudnhed (May 12, 2008)

> _Originally posted by great12b4ever_
> 
> Jeff, just tell us what and when, and we will try to follow.  If we can make life easier for you and save the IAP some money, then lets go for it.



This is a great big DITTO for me.


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## jeff (May 12, 2008)

> _Originally posted by toolcrazy_
> 
> I'm sorry, but I'm very familiar with VBulletin and I do not like it. And be for warned, the search still sucks. But that is one mans opinion. Good luck on the migration.


Well there's a vote of confidence 

Steve - what do you recommend? I have been evaluating this for 6 months and I thought I'd been pretty thorough about it. It seems to me to be the best option to get away from ASB/MSSQL. It has good granularity of admin functions, lots of built-ins, a great user community, commercial support, etc. Yes, it's more complicated for the user, but it has the stuff people want. 

I still have time to change horses if there is something out there which is obviously better.

Not sure of the basis of your comment about vB searching -- There are some huge boards out there. Is your experience with vB using full text search not good? With the IAP database I am seeing sub 1/2 second searches with a reasonable boolean mix of keywords.

Thanks


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## leehljp (May 12, 2008)

I like vBulletin myself. To me, the usability of vBulletin is determined by the administrative setups and tweaks. There is one particularly feature that I like that I miss here - the ability to readily see what threads on a full page thread views that I have posted to previously without having to "subscribe" to it. Having become used to it, I like it.


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## Ligget (May 13, 2008)

Jeff whatever you think is best will do for me, you have done us penturners proud up till now, so I for one will accept any changes you think necessary!


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## Randy_ (May 13, 2008)

As probably most of us have, Jeff, I've probably visited at least one forum supported by every software package on the planet.  Some are good and some are not so good......some I like and some I don't.  But somehow, I have learned to live with all of them.  Features that I don't care about, others cannot live without and visa versa.  Far as I am concerned, do your thing.  I'll like or I won't; but I will figure out a way to deal with any roblems I have and will continue to be a faithful student of the craft at my favorite place of learning....IAP.   

Just one quicky for you.  Will this new software have a membership list that is sortable/searchable by geographic location....ideally by city; but at least by state/country?  I know some folks object to this feature because of privacy issues; but any negative arguments I have ever seen are easily rsolved by reasonable people.  This is not a feature that is available on a lot of sites; but one that I find to be extremely valuable and sorely missed on sites that are without it.  That Geomap thing was better than nothing; but the sortable member list is the best way to go, IMO.


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## ctwxlvr (May 13, 2008)

personally I like phpbb, good support, I have yet to see a board that is maxed out, search works ok, not great but better than most, runs on several different platforms, easy to use from both admin and user point of view.

I have a forum set up at http://pens-n-crafts.net using phpbb, not very large yet but growing, it is for crafters and promoters to discuss stuff.


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## jeff (May 13, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Randy__
> 
> Just one quicky for you.  Will this new software have a membership list that is sortable/searchable by geographic location....ideally by city; but at least by state/country?  I know some folks object to this feature because of privacy issues; but any negative arguments I have ever seen are easily rsolved by reasonable people.  This is not a feature that is available on a lot of sites; but one that I find to be extremely valuable and sorely missed on sites that are without it.  That Geomap thing was better than nothing; but the sortable member list is the best way to go, IMO.


Yes. The "location" field in the member profile is freeform, so you might find TX, Texas, The Lone Star State, etc. in there, but yes, the field is searchable.


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## Firefyter-emt (May 13, 2008)

It is a good platform Jeff. One of the other BB's I visit uses this as well and has a HUGE member list (think 113K members!) Looking at the list, the most on line was 3305 at once!

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/  Here is a link, they dropped the member number, but I was in the 2000's as I joined the board 8 years ago! [:0]


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## jeff (May 13, 2008)

Just to further address Steve's comment above that vBulletin isn't the best choice. All forums have pros and cons, and here was my rationale in selecting vBulletin. I will GLADLY accept thoughts on a better choice, because I hope to never switch forum software again. Help me do it right once.

Rationale for selecting the vBulletin forum and the vBadvanced CMS (content management system) 

1 - Converter is available from Snitz - Wanted to preserve member accounts and all posts
2 - Uses a PHP and MySQL Database (versus ASP & MSSQL) Much lower hosting costs
3 - Good integration with other products (photo albums, blogs, wikis) Easy expansion
4 - Strong user community, professional support Continued development
5 - Excellent admin tools Much better features for admins, mods
6 - Features you have asked for (Avatars, Ignore User, real PM system, local time zones, WYSIWYG editor)
7 - Good security & spam protection (CAPTCHA, blocking)
8 - Customizable layout with stylesheets Want to avoid hand-editing

So, that's why. Let me know what else out there is a better option!


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## NavyDiver (May 13, 2008)

I frequent an Archery forum that uses vbulletin and it seems to run smoothly. That forum has over 628,397 threads and 6,481,405 posts.  It will definitely handle our traffic.


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## rickstef (May 13, 2008)

Jeff,

vBulletin would have been my suggestion all along, I have been an admin on the largest, and admin now on the second largest paper model forums, both use vBulletin, and it has been great for me

I am not a coder, programmer or a hack, but I can navigate the under the hood features easily.

I also hope that this will help with the lack of access I have to this forum in the evening when I connect from home.

I am all for the move to vBulletin, if you have any questions Jeff, just ask.


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## IPD_Mrs (May 13, 2008)

Your search will be better with vBulletin but you will still be dependant on how many inquires are accessing the MySQL data at the same time as well as server speed.  

For those unfamiliar vBulletin you might want to look for an online users manual to get familiar with the controls.

Mike


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## Blind_Squirrel (May 13, 2008)

Jeff, 

You get two thumbs up from me on switching to vBulletin.  While the new look/feel will take some getting used to, it is an excellent product that will scale to meet all of our needs.


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## toolcrazy (May 13, 2008)

Jeff,
I didn't mean to sound so negative. To really get down to it. There isn't anything any better than V. My experience is with Zen Cart when we did the switch. I have one request, do not enable the captcha on the search. It is a pain in the !@#


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## BigShed (May 13, 2008)

I belong to the biggest woodworking forum in Oz and it uses vBulletin. Overall it works very well, it has some quirks and I must admit there are features on this board that I like better, but overall the vBulletin features win out.

You can embed hyper links, so don't finish up with the ling web addresses seen on this board.

Searching certainly works better than on this board (half the time a search here times out), but there is also an option to include Google search within the forum. That feature is worth it's weight in gold.






Whatever you do, don't get rid of your photo albums! That is the single best feature on this board, it is brilliant. Any time I am looking what a particular pen looks like I go there.


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## scubaman (May 14, 2008)

Jeff,
since it is not possible to subscribe to a locked topic, would you please make a comment here when you update that locked topic?

Good luck with the transition!  I've looked at vbull. before and liked what I saw, great add-ons, photo album, I think these fora rise and fall with the admin, so I have great confidence what you put together will be super


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## jeff (May 14, 2008)

> _Originally posted by BigShed_
> 
> I belong to the biggest woodworking forum in Oz and it uses vBulletin. Overall it works very well, it has some quirks and I must admit there are features on this board that I like better, but overall the vBulletin features win out.


Tell me what those are and I'll work to make sure we have them in vB.



> You can embed hyper links, so don't finish up with the ling web addresses seen on this board.


We have URL tags, but people don't use them. Like this:

[url="http://www.thelinkyouwant.com"]text to display[/url]



> Searching certainly works better than on this board (half the time a search here times out), but there is also an option to include Google search within the forum. That feature is worth it's weight in gold.


Google usually has our stuff in their index within a few hours. I will be integrating that with the search in vB.



> Whatever you do, don't get rid of your photo albums! That is the single best feature on this board, it is brilliant. Any time I am looking what a particular pen looks like I go there.


I'll bring them over somehow, but they will possibly be in some kind of archive rather then in each person's profile as vB supports. I'll look into trying to migrate them into the new albums.


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## jeff (May 14, 2008)

> _Originally posted by scubaman_
> 
> Jeff,
> since it is not possible to subscribe to a locked topic, would you please make a comment here when you update that locked topic?
> ...



Good idea! I will do that.


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## Celt40 (May 14, 2008)

Jeff thanks for making this site in my opinion the best. I have got so much help from all members. I don't know anything about what happens to make a site work, but i do know what ever you have done it was the right way. Big thanks.


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## jeff (May 17, 2008)

I posted an update here

Please go vote in this poll


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## BigShed (May 17, 2008)

> _Originally posted by jeff_
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Jeff, I can think of 2 things that this forum has that are better than the one based on vBulletin.

1. On the vBulletin forum when you post a photo it is shown as a thumbnail at the bottom of the post and you need to click on it to see it full size. On this forum you can put the full size photo anywhere in the post so that your story can flow around it. 
When you upload the photo you are limited to 100k or 800x600.





2. I often print a thread to a pdf file for later reference, when doing this on this forum all pages of the thread print into the one pdf file. 
On the vBulletin forum, you need to print each page of posts separately, and therefore name them separately. Now, Adobe will allow you to make on pdf from multiple files afterwards, but it is all aheck of a lot more work.

3. I, and I am sure others here, often use the photo album to see what a particular pen or wood looks like. So keeping all the photos within one archive, referenced by contributor, would be the way to go.

4. URL tags. What I was getting at is that in the vBulletin forum, you can highlight a word(s), click on the paper clip symbol, paste in the link you want (which can sometimes be really long) and click OK. What you finish up is with the original word(s) highlighted in blue and when you click on it, it acts as the hyperlink and takes you to the website referenced. It makes for a much neater and less cluttered looking post.



 


Jeff, thank you for an excellent forum, it has become my "go to" destination for anything pen turning, great work.

Fred


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## MesquiteMan (May 17, 2008)

Fred,

Vbulletin WILL alow you to embed IMG tags just like here.  I just tried it on a Vbulletin test forum.  here is how it looks:






It is not quite as easy as doing it here but is pretty close.  I will write a step by step if need be once the new forum is up and running.


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## MesquiteMan (May 17, 2008)

Fred, 

Also, on your item 2...I can get almost all thread to print on one pdf file.  The way to do it is click on thread tools and then show printable version.  Then go to the bottom of the new page and click on "show 40 posts from this page on one page".  Now print.  That will take care of any thread that is 4 pages long or less.  Most all of our threads are less than 4 pages so most will work just fine.  Hope that helps.


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## BigShed (May 17, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MesquiteMan_
> 
> Fred,
> 
> ...



As far as I know this can only be done by linking to an external web source, such as photobucket.
The problem with that method is that if the original source disapperas for one reason or another, the photo no longer shows up.
If I am missing something here, I would love to see how else it can be done.


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## BigShed (May 17, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MesquiteMan_
> 
> Fred,
> 
> Also, on your item 2...I can get almost all thread to print on one pdf file.  The way to do it is click on thread tools and then show printable version.  Then go to the bottom of the new page and click on "show 40 posts from this page on one page".  Now print.  That will take care of any thread that is 4 pages long or less.  Most all of our threads are less than 4 pages so most will work just fine.  Hope that helps.



Just tried that, wasn't aware of that trick! Went to a thread that had 12 pages of posts, did this trick and it reduced to 5 pages. Better, but still not as seamless as this forum.
Thanks for the tip though.

I wasn't trying to rubbish vBulletin, just pointing out that there are some nice features in the software being used for this forum as well.

The URL linking method in vBulletin is much nicer than what we have available here.


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## MesquiteMan (May 17, 2008)

Fred,

The pic I posted above is hosted on the test forum, not off site.  The way to do it is to click on "manage attachments" just like you normally do and upload the photo.  Then click on the name of the photo that shows up as a link once uploaded.  It will open in a new window.  Now copy the URL and paste it in the thread body using the image button or IMG tags.  Not quite as easy as here but it does indeed work without having to use offsite photo albums.


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## jeff (May 17, 2008)

With the right code and the right styles, vB can do anything we can do here. If it doesn't do it out of the box, I'll get out my programmers crowbar and we'll force it.


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## Rifleman1776 (May 23, 2008)

I have never paid attention what kind of software any forum uses. It either works happily, or it doesn't. I have noticed that recently IAP is very slow between 'clicks'. I compliment Jeff for staying on top of things and trying to keep this an efficient site. That said, I did take a look at my other most frequently visited forum, Family Woodworking. It is vBulletin. It does have some quirks that annoy me, like member search. The photo thumbnail thing isn't a big deal, IMHO.


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## gketell (May 23, 2008)

One of the key features I truly LOVE about IAP as it is now is the ability to search the photo album by keyword.  I can't tell you how many times I've used that when a potential customer wanted to see "something different".  Search up a pen I've seen, or a wood I've seen and had them give real-time feedback.  

Snitz has been the most user-friendly of all the forums I've read.  But I understand outgrowing software and needing something more robust.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help!
GK


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## W3DRM (May 24, 2008)

Have you looked at SMF (http://www.simplemachines.org/)? It's one of the best forum software packages I have ever seen and from what I understand it is quite easy for administer. It also has a great search facility which is much better than most other forum packages.

However, whatever you decide on we'll just adapt and go forward. I do agree the photo album section is extremely critical and useful. I would hate to see it go to a simple archive and not be directly related to a particular user id.


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## jeff (May 25, 2008)

> _Originally posted by drmcroberts_
> 
> Have you looked at SMF (http://www.simplemachines.org/)? It's one of the best forum software packages I have ever seen and from what I understand it is quite easy for administer. It also has a great search facility which is much better than most other forum packages.
> 
> However, whatever you decide on we'll just adapt and go forward. I do agree the photo album section is extremely critical and useful. I would hate to see it go to a simple archive and not be directly related to a particular user id.


Yes, I looked at SMF. It's a nice package, but lacks a number of things I'm looking for. It also lacks commercial support, which is nice because it's free, but not so nice because it depends on volunteers for continued development. Snitz development came to a screeching halt when one or two of the key developers moved on to other things.


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## Daniel (Jun 12, 2008)

I've had quite an experience with how forums work and don't lately. maybe because this topic has been in the back of my mind. I test site a bit and did notice it ran much faster. I also thought that I am really glad I just bought a new computer I don't think it would run nearly as well on my old one. my wife and children all have accounts on a site called myyearbook. it is a spin off of the myspace thing. want an experience with a really bad program for forums. I think they take the prize. there site cannot even keep an accurate count of new posts etc. the entire thing is set up like they wrote it with whatever ideas fell out of there heads for that day. there is no consistency from feature to feature, page to page. And the entire thing is loaded with glitches. It has given me a much greater appreciation for the effort put into this site.


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## Mudder (Jun 12, 2008)

> _Originally posted by jeff_
> 
> 
> 
> ...



SMF is NOT the way to go! My forum was done with SMF and when my hosting company's server crashed and they lost my data I thought, no problem, I'll just restore from my backup. Well, it didn't work and I lost most of my data. I also don't know how well the migration would go. I think Jeff is on the right path. I am confident that he has researched and thought this out so the problems that we encounter will be minimal.


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## Famig (Jun 13, 2008)

I suggest trying out phpBB. phpBB 3 is by far the best forum software Iâ€™ve ever used, itâ€™s open-source so itâ€™s free to download and use. Itâ€™s simple and doesnâ€™t include all the â€œunneccessaryâ€ features you speak off. Itâ€™s minimal. Vanilla doesnâ€™t even come close to competing with phpBB, so yeah - give it a try.

Just try it out on this host and see what it's worth : http://www.forumotion.com


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## jeff (Jun 13, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Famig_
> 
> I suggest trying out phpBB. phpBB 3 is by far the best forum software Iâ€™ve ever used, itâ€™s open-source so itâ€™s free to download and use. Itâ€™s simple and doesnâ€™t include all the â€œunneccessaryâ€ features you speak off. Itâ€™s minimal. Vanilla doesnâ€™t even come close to competing with phpBB, so yeah - give it a try.
> 
> Just try it out on this host and see what it's worth : http://www.forumotion.com


You joined our site 5 minutes ago and you think you know what we need in forum software? You are a quick study! And it's not "Vanilla" it's "vBulletin" I am thinking that you may have some affiliation with that site... Are you a pen maker?


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## DCBluesman (Jun 13, 2008)

More spamming. [V]


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## ctwxlvr (Jun 19, 2008)

Any updates on when the software switch will happen?


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## Blind_Squirrel (Jun 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by DCBluesman_
> 
> More spamming. [V]



Yes, but we still love and respect you anyway Lou [}]


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## jeff (Jun 19, 2008)

> _Originally posted by ctwxlvr_
> 
> Any updates on when the software switch will happen?


Earlier this week I was about 10 minutes from making a post saying it would be this weekend, then I got called to NY for a family medical emergency which is where I am now. So, I don't know for sure. I might try for the weekend of July 4, or the one after that.


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## winpooh498 (Jun 19, 2008)

Jeff,
I hope that all is well with your family. Take your time getting the software switched over.


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## ctwxlvr (Jul 2, 2008)

How does it look for doing it this weekend?


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## jeff (Jul 2, 2008)

Unfortunately, not this weekend. If I can get the ducks lined up, the 11th looks good.


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## hilltopper46 (Jul 2, 2008)

> Unfortunately, not this weekend. If I can get the ducks lined up, the 11th looks good.



And in my experience, herding 'ducks' is like herding cats.  They all have a mind of their own.  Take your time.  We are managing quite well in the mean while.


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## Sfolivier (Jul 7, 2008)

"You joined our site 5 minutes ago and you think you know what we need in forum software?"

Independently from the post being a spam or not, and independently from than answer being harsh or not  PHPBB is a very good package. I've used it alone or as part of a Nuke portal several time and I love it. I never had to handle such a large forum with it tho.

Being so close to forum change, vbulletin is probably already locked. Just keep PHPBB if any of you need to set a site up in the future. It's only drawback is to be a hacker magnet as it is one of the most prominent forums on Internet. You will have to make sure to keep it well patched and up to date, potentially with anti-hacking modules as well.

Anyway, good luck with the change. I know they are daunting. I'm looking forward to the upgraded site!


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## jeff (Jul 7, 2008)

Just wanted to give a quick update on the #$%@ switch to the @!**#$ new forum software [] Yes, I'm frustrated!!

The issue is our photo archive. We have almost 20,000 photos and there is no canned, smooth easy way to move them to the new album software. I am down to just a few unhappy options.

- make people upload their stuff again.
- bulk upload the photos, which loses the description.
- write a piece of software to move the photos and descriptions.

That last option would cause a huge delay. I'm dealing with two different type of databases on two separate servers each of which runs a different scripting language. It's ugly. I've spent probably 50 hours screwing with this. Grrrr!

I am so anxious to get the forum moved that I am tempted to just make the basic switch taking members and all topics, and figure out the photos later. I'll keep working on it...

Thanks for your patience.


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## maxwell_smart007 (Jul 7, 2008)

If you have us upload our own files again, Jeff, it would be fairest...that way, we'd all help share the load! 

Andrew


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## MesquiteMan (Jul 7, 2008)

Jeff,

By all means you should have everyone upload their own photos.  It is absolutely asinine for us to expect you to do all of the work.  Besides, there are quite a few people who no longer participate and could not care less about having their pics up here.  That would save some space on the new server.  Also, some that do have albums may choose to not move all their stuff over to the new system.  It would seem silly to do all this work to move everything over and then have folks go thorough and delete a bunch of the photos you moved.


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## wicook (Jul 8, 2008)

I agree with others, Jeff...we can upload our own pictures and help out a little bit with the switch-over. Don't sweat the photos!


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## rherrell (Jul 8, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MesquiteMan_
> 
> Jeff,
> 
> By all means you should have everyone upload their own photos.  It is absolutely asinine for us to expect you to do all of the work.  Besides, there are quite a few people who no longer participate and could not care less about having their pics up here.  That would save some space on the new server.  Also, some that do have albums may choose to not move all their stuff over to the new system.  It would seem silly to do all this work to move everything over and then have folks go thorough and delete a bunch of the photos you moved.



DITTO!


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## Jim15 (Jul 8, 2008)

Jeff., in my opinion I think we can upload our own phots. Been meaning to redo my photos and it will be a good reason to get going on it.


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## jeff (Jul 8, 2008)

I appreciate all the help! There a couple of downsides to that, but we might have to live with them.

1. There are a lot of albums for members who no longer visit here. Their photos still get browsed for ideas. Those won't be replaced.

2. Some of you have pretty large photo albums. YoYoSpin has over 500 all with good descriptions and I hate to make Ed go through that again.

Let me think on this a little more...


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## ericw95 (Jul 8, 2008)

I would hate to lose Eagle's photos if we can preserve them.


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## Boomer (Jul 8, 2008)

I agree with cav.  I don't understand much of this computer stuff either.  However with the job that you have done to build this site I am sure it will be ok.


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## jeff (Jul 8, 2008)

> _Originally posted by ericw95_
> 
> I would hate to lose Eagle's photos if we can preserve them.


No photos will be lost. I'll be bringing all the underlying files over (all 5GB!) so that those which are referenced in posts will still show up. What will be missing is the browseable index. 

I'll also keep the database tables which include the descriptions, etc., so eventually I'll figure out something to tie them together...


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## IPD_Mrs (Jul 8, 2008)

Jeff is there some place that the members of IAP can go too look at an end users manual on the new software?

Mike


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## jeff (Jul 8, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking_
> 
> Jeff is there some place that the members of IAP can go too look at an end users manual on the new software?
> 
> Mike


As is typical for forum packages, there really isn't an end user manual. I think they put their effort into making it as intuitive as possible rather than writing manuals. These are almost ubiquitous commodity packages, sort of like toasters. There is some context sensitive help available within the package, but most of it should be self-explanatory with a little poking around on the user's part. 

I'll be setting up a how-to forum that we can all go to to help each other out.


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## airrat (Jul 8, 2008)

Well Jeeze Jeff you are really wrecking your invincible status and changing it to human!! 

Jeff not sure if this will help.  But if possible I can delete my pictures from the album so you don't have to worry about transferring them .  Then I can upload them again on the new forum.


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## DCBluesman (Jul 8, 2008)

Jeff - I will take responsibility for creating an album for Eagle as well as myself.  No need for you to worry about such mundane stuff.


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## jeff (Jul 8, 2008)

No need to delete anything! In fact if you do, you'll break any references to your album photos in posts. We'll work this out...


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## broitblat (Jul 8, 2008)

Jeff,

I think it's only fair for folks to upload their own photos.  Perhaps you can recruit some help to replace the photos for folks that aren't active any more.

Having said that, if there were a straightforward way to export the names and descriptions, that would certainly make it easier to upload again.

  -Barry


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## randyrls (Jul 10, 2008)

> _Originally posted by broitblat_
> 
> Jeff,
> 
> I think it's only fair for folks to upload their own photos.  Perhaps you can recruit some help to replace the photos for folks that aren't active any more.



Barry;   I think that is a good suggestion.  Possibly Jeff could "export" a list of file references (names) and comments and several people could add them back in.  The way to do this is to spread the load out to many rather than one.  I also think some automated script could be generated via the standard SQL database commands to export and import data.

I would have to brush up on the SQL commands though.

I volunteer to help out with this.


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## broitblat (Jul 10, 2008)

I haven't done any SQL for a while, but I'll volunteer to help with the brute force/grunt work as long as it's not on too tight a schedule 

  -Barry


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## marcruby (Jul 10, 2008)

I was just thinking that there are a lot of pen pictures I would hate to see disappear because it would be too much work to reload them.  Like yoyospin's, skiprat's, or lou's, or a bunch of others that are a regular source of ideas and inspiration.


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## ctwxlvr (Jul 15, 2008)

So What is the Plan? any updates?


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## jeff (Jul 15, 2008)

I was planning to post an update today...

I am going to try to cut over to the new server and software this weekend, likely beginning Saturday morning. 

My first goal will be to get the forums back up, then work on getting things back to normal over the next few days.

The biggest annoyance for you all will be that you will need to reset your passwords to get in to the new forum. That requires that your correct email address is in place, so check your profiles here now. To clarify, go in to your member profile HERE and make sure your email address is correct.


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## IPD_Mrs (Jul 15, 2008)

Jeff since this thread has been running for over two months I think that your suggestion to have everyone check to make sure their email is correct should be in a couple more places.  Maybe something on the home page and a couple of "Important Notice" threads in other Forum Topics.

Based on the views of this thread I don't think enough people are following it.

Mike


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## ed4copies (Jul 15, 2008)

I just viewed it for the first time in weeks.

I always figure I won't understand the conversation and I can't say anything intelligent, so just let it alone.

However, in this case, I agree with Mike, you should post in a couple places, "YOUR e-mail address is important to the switch!!"

Dawn updated hers yesterday, mine was a couple weeks ago.


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## jeff (Jul 15, 2008)

Good suggestion. I'll take care of it.


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## alphageek (Jul 15, 2008)

Jeff, I'll send this in email too.... I've sent it before, but with the upgrade coming - I thought a reminder would be in order..

I'm a developer 'by day' so if there is anything you need help on - DB conversions, etc feel free to ping me.  I would have no problem helping if there is something causing issues.


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## jeff (Jul 15, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking_
> 
> Jeff since this thread has been running for over two months I think that your suggestion to have everyone check to make sure their email is correct should be in a couple more places.  Maybe something on the home page and a couple of "Important Notice" threads in other Forum Topics.
> 
> ...


Mike - I've updated the news section on the front page and put a web link at the top of the forum list. Think that will do it?


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## jeff (Jul 15, 2008)

> _Originally posted by alphageek_
> 
> Jeff, I'll send this in email too.... I've sent it before, but with the upgrade coming - I thought a reminder would be in order..
> 
> I'm a developer 'by day' so if there is anything you need help on - DB conversions, etc feel free to ping me.  I would have no problem helping if there is something causing issues.


Dean - Thanks for the offer. I've got the basic forum migration nailed down, but as we rebuild our world on the new server I will definitely call on you for help.


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## IPD_Mrs (Jul 15, 2008)

Jeff the top of the forum list may not be seen too often.  Most folks have a favorite link to active topics or the home page.  The home page is fine as it will be read by anyone coming in through the front door.  If you can I would see about putting it in the header so that it hits every page.  Lets face it there are only 3-4 days before the switch.  
So if you can get something like:
UPDATE YOUR EMAIL for the forum software upgrade by 7-18
right under the quick picks in the header and in RED.  

Mike


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## jeff (Jul 15, 2008)

> _Originally posted by MLKWoodWorking_
> 
> Jeff the top of the forum list may not be seen too often.  Most folks have a favorite link to active topics or the home page.  The home page is fine as it will be read by anyone coming in through the front door.  If you can I would see about putting it in the header so that it hits every page.  Lets face it there are only 3-4 days before the switch.
> So if you can get something like:
> ...


Mike

That's a programming change that will have to wait until tonight.

Realistically, all active members have the correct email address because they actively use private messaging. So I think the number of affected people is small.

Perhaps I have not given enough notice? I can postpone one week if that seems better.


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## Rifleman1776 (Jul 15, 2008)

I believe delay will not be productive. Encourage make the change ASAP.
Frank


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## ed4copies (Jul 15, 2008)

Hey Jeff,

No matter WHAT you do or WHEN you do it, there is a downside.

Make the change when it is EASIEST FOR YOU!!!

Everyone else will have to adapt.  They'll live!!!

(Sometimes it's good to be king!)


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## alphageek (Jul 15, 2008)

Jeff - I agree... Don't delay - It won't help.. However, no matter WHEN you convert - plan on having a percentage that need help in the future with getting back in... Maybe a post on  process in the new system or homepage after the conversion on how to best get back in if somethings not right?


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## wood-of-1kind (Jul 15, 2008)

> _Originally posted by ed4copies_
> 
> 
> (Sometimes it's good to be <s>king</s>!)



Long live the PRprincess


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## jeff (Jul 15, 2008)

> _Originally posted by alphageek_
> 
> Jeff - I agree... Don't delay - It won't help.. However, no matter WHEN you convert - plan on having a percentage that need help in the future with getting back in... Maybe a post on  process in the new system or homepage after the conversion on how to best get back in if somethings not right?


That's in the plan. I'll even post my phone number.


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## ed4copies (Jul 15, 2008)

I don't think I'd get THAT carried away!!

It's not hard to find through the internet.  No reason to have spammers CALLING you, too.

Or, get a cheap throw away phone with a "pre-paid number".


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## IPD_Mrs (Jul 15, 2008)

Ed did you hear about the over 60 north of Chitown firewall installed on the new software?  [}]

But seriously just do it and deal with the small problems as they come.  It will be easier in the long run, plus once you help a couple of people then they will be able to help a few and before you know it for the most part it will be self sufficient.

Mike


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## Grizz (Jul 16, 2008)

I frequent another 'wood working' site that has the new style of bulletin board format.  It will be far better than this one!!!

-Jon


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## Chuck Key (Jul 18, 2008)

What is the new IP address?

Chuckie


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## jeff (Jul 18, 2008)

> _Originally posted by Chuck Key_
> 
> What is the new IP address?
> 
> Chuckie


DNS will handle that. 

Our url will be the same as always: http://www.penturners.org


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