We are in the process of a major conversion and upgrade on our message board so you may see some strange warnings from time to time, etc. but hopefully before the weekend is over we will have everything complete including a functional SEARCH feature (hold applause please) and some other goodies as well.

Also, sometime around Friday we will take a backup of our existing database, run a conversion on it and fire it all up live again after the conversion. New posts during the conversion process will be lost so I will try to post a note about that when I know more of a specific time range to expect that.

THANKS ALL!

Thanks for all the work Tom! The new stuff looks great.

Hopefully my posting session tonight isn't after the cutoff! Only 140 more threads to catch up on...

-brendan

The big switcheroo should take place tomorrow (SATURDAY).

So, with that in mind, I would suggest not posting anything too terribly critical tomorrow until you see the new and improved message board up and running.

Thanks to everyone for their patience! And enjoy the new board!

Hey, just opened my browser and got a big surprise with the new board...very cool, although it'll take some getting used to.

Glad you like it. Yes, it will take a bit to get used to but it truly is very easy to use and there are so many more features on this message board than what we used to have.

Our Search is currently building and should be done in a few hours!

Enjoy!

Dude...Where's my Tar?

Awesome! I can finally put most recent posts first!! The system time is no longer CST though :( I'm sure it will only get better from here. Glad I didn't post my volume control mod during the switcheroo

Yep...more updates and tweaks are on the way. Give me 24/48 hours to get everything just the way we want/need and we'll be good-to-go!

Again, thanks to everyone for their patience as we worked to build a bigger and better EOC. Oh, and we ain't quite done yet! More great features are on the way!

Awesome! I can finally put most recent posts first!! The system time is no longer CST though :( I'm sure it will only get better from here. Glad I didn't post my volume control mod during the switcheroo

Go to the User CP link at the top and Edit Options or Edit Profile, I think. There you can change your timezone, and whether you see people's posted images, etc.

-brendan

Thanks Brendan! The Avatars are visible again.

If you notice any problems with the workings of the bboard, please post them here so that Tom can take a look at them. We're looking *only* for info on problems, error messages, or incorrect data right now. So far, we're seeing:

1. the subjects of older messages being out of sync
2. due to the change in the underlying OS, some uploaded images attached to messages aren't showing up due to case sensitivity in the path. If you notice an image is missing in a user's post, you can PM them and have them fix the case of the URL.
3. Duplicates in private message boxes.

...and that's about it.

Thanks,
-brendan

One other bug... at this moment, embedded smilies don't seem to work, and the smilie palette is nothing but broken link markers.

And pardon while I test
a couple of
things.

:) Okay. I'll keep digging.

Awesome!

Quote test... thanks.

I'm honored!

OK... I'll better describe the bug... some smilies don't seem to work. :wink: and :roll: , for example.

Smilie palette is still hosed, however. :( (And that smilie works.)

Some quotes seem to have added slashes, like the quote used in your signature, Mike.

Lost Emass's FAQ in the audio forum :(

but cleaner looking boards
hit me up and we'll work on those "things" we spoke about Tom

I'm aware of the \ issue and we should get that one straightened out soon enough. As for smilies...I'll look into that one too.

The sticky's and announcements are not tagged as such but still exist. I'll tag em as soon as I can. We should be back to normal by Monday (hopefully). Thanks all!

Looks good so far! Clean and some nice features, too. Is the ability to see "posts since last log-in" available? I couldn't locate it in options... I used it a lot on the other program, but it's not a "deal-breaker". Thanks again for all the hard work!!! :)

Is the ability to see "posts since last log-in" available?

Yup, I almost missed it too... It's sitting right up on the menu bar at the top of the page between "Calendar" and "Search." The new look will take a little adjustment, but as the old Arby's radio ad said, "Different is good!"

Rob

Duh...lol. Thank you!!!

Looks good so far! Clean and some nice features, too. Thanks again for all the hard work!!! :)

Thanks for the kind words. This new board is SO much better guys....so many new features and perks. I'm glad that it has all finally come together. Just a little more cleanup on some minor issues today/tomorrow and then I'll move on to phase two of the project (heheh... more good stuff coming!).

I really like the new look, T Mac! It is not entirely unfamiliar to me because www.macrumors.com uses a similar interface. I have noticed that my subscribed threads have not migrated to the new format though. No big deal if they are lost, but it would be nice keep them.

Thanks for your efforts!

DustE.

P.S. Thanks for providing a search function that actually works! Loosing subscriptions is more than a fair tradeoff!

Another item: message counts on Private Messages on various screens show I have 0 Unread, Total 0. But since PMs were transferred from the old system, the Total count is obviously incorrect.

-brendan

Way cool! I'm familiar with this format through another board. Lots of new stuff to play with!

Thanks T!

Will there be a view, like on the old board, that was called "View post since your last login" or something like that?

If it is out there already, can someone let me know where to find that view.

Thanks.

Click on "New Posts" at the top on the navigation bar.

Great changes.. been awhile that I have been away, but the site looks great!! What a perfect time for me to pop in, since this also obviously just happened!

PS I see you just adopted your E (Finally) Last month.. Congrats!! About time! And you were able to find a SOP.. cool!!

Well gotta get, but i will be back (I popped a thread out there on my pop in.. summary... i missed ya all, and some updates on our move).. ciao!

it's 11 am eastern time and I see posts from this afternoon (i.e. today 02:00 pm) Is it saying today is everything in the last 24 hours?

Looks good though,

it's 11 am eastern time and I see posts from this afternoon (i.e. today 02:00 pm) Is it saying today is everything in the last 24 hours?
Some of the user control panel settings ("options") did not transfer in the switch. So the displayed message time setting defaulted to Zulu (GMT). Go to "User CP" and take it from there.

it's 11 am eastern time and I see posts from this afternoon (i.e. today 02:00 pm) Is it saying today is everything in the last 24 hours?

I believe you need to edit your profile and indicate which time zone you are in.

-brendan

One problem/difference I have noticed:

When reading new posts, getting to the end, and refreshing the New Posts screen, recent updates to threads already on the New Posts list don't bubble up to the top of the list: they show up, but remain in position. So now when I refresh to make sure I don't miss any posts this session, I have to manually look through the entire list (which can actually be a few pages long, if it has been a few days).

Seems a bit odd. Notice anything similar, Mike?

-brendan

Brendan...interesting. Not sure if this is how it's intended to work or not. I'll look into it too as I find time. :-D

i tried to go back and fix the images in my passport posting since someone emailed me asking to, but i can't.

i get this message when trying to look at the upload:
The requested URL /uploads/files/passport2.jpg was not found on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

in addition, i get:
You have included too many images in your signature or in your previous post. Please go back and correct the problem and then continue again.

Images include use of smilies, the vB code [img] tag and HTML <img> tags. The use of these is all subject to them being enabled by the administrator.


so have the old images not been migrated? is there some new limit on the number of pics in a post?

thanks

Old images from uploads/files have been migrated but you may have a case issue (A/a) since we're now on unix. Once I get home tonight I can help you out. PM me the thread w/ the issue.

Also, there is an image count max on your post but it's set to 6 or something higher. I'll look at it tonight. We can raise it if necessary.

Please be patient guys as we work out these quirks. We'll be in good shape soon!

Looks good!

Is it just me or has getting an E put some enthusiasm toward the board into t-mac??? That's a good thing!

in addition, i get:
You have included too many images in your signature or in your previous post. Please go back and correct the problem and then continue again.

Images include use of smilies, the vB code [img] tag and HTML <img> tags. The use of these is all subject to them being enabled by the administrator.


so have the old images not been migrated? is there some new limit on the number of pics in a post?

Max # of images to a post (probably including the signature) is set to 6. FYI.

Since the whole look is very different from the old, I sometimes fail to notice even subtle things, but tonight I noticed avatars are missing.

The upgrades are great...will take a bit of getting used to though....I am afraid I have spent far too much time on these boards (Last year and half)...old habits do die hard....it took me a min to locate the new version of "Posts since last visit" now known as "New Posts"....argh!

Since the whole look is very different from the old, I sometimes fail to notice even subtle things, but tonight I noticed avatars are missing.

I believe that, by default, everyone's user account is set to not use images. Go to the "User CP" link near the top of the screen, then look through the Edit Options and Edit Profile pages. You'll see some thing you want to turn on, Colin.

-brendan

Thanks Brendon for the advice!!! Now I can see avatars and have fun with fonts and color too!!! Very Cool!!!!:grin: :lol:

Colin wants to "turn Colin on"! Last night the avatars showed without jumping through this hoop. What's more, tonight, when I post an image hosted by myself (as always) it gives a link instead of "showing" the picture. I'm not all that sure I'm comfortable with the link showing, as it could lead the unscrupulous to unwanted snooping about, you know?

(Edited) OK, so I've gone and done what's been asked (heh). Looks fine now. :oops:

One problem/difference I have noticed:

When reading new posts, getting to the end, and refreshing the New Posts screen, recent updates to threads already on the New Posts list don't bubble up to the top of the list: they show up, but remain in position. So now when I refresh to make sure I don't miss any posts this session, I have to manually look through the entire list (which can actually be a few pages long, if it has been a few days).

Seems a bit odd. Notice anything similar, Mike?

-brendan
not sure if this is related,but in your "user cp" you can choose to have "new posts at top" so when you look at a thread, you can see the most recent at the top instead of having to return to page #X and then scroll down.. not sure if that is related to your problem and would help.. but thought i would toss it out there.. ciao.. got hit the hay, i think my body is pondering a cold.. ciao!

tmac.. beautiful site.. well done!

Great Board. Period. I would like to thank the administrators and all who participate.

Elementals

great new format! Looks very good!!!
btw - where are the little user-pictures? - they used to be next to the screen name?

Check out Brandan's response to essentially the same question from me:

I believe that, by default, everyone's user account is set to not use images. Go to the "User CP" link near the top of the screen, then look through the Edit Options and Edit Profile pages. You'll see some thing you want to turn on, Colin.
:)

THANK YOU to those of you who are helping to answer questions based on probably digging around and finding the answer yourself. I am in the middle of remodeling a bathroom and we're rushing to finish before Thanksgiving. So, tonight I have been in there working my tail off and not on the boards. The good news... I'm about to have five days off and I'll have time to clean up several of the issues on the board that should be addressed.

Images, entering text in posts, time on the board, and tons of other options are user-based and available in your User CP (top left), as several have posted. Thanks again for the extra help on tech support gang. JuliE thanks ya too!

G'nite for now. Catch you tomorrow!

The new look caught me off guard Sunday morning. At first I thought I was at the wrong site [No Coffee at that point], so went to favorites clicked again and wham.
Very Nice in fact... SUPER SITE! Thanks! Wow!

DasBear

YEAH! I agree with all of that! I can't wait to have something to search for now! ;) haha
Hey, T - Good luck with the bathroom! That plumbing stuff is a hassle and a half!

not sure if this is related,but in your "user cp" you can choose to have "new posts at top" so when you look at a thread, you can see the most recent at the top instead of having to return to page #X and then scroll down.. not sure if that is related to your problem and would help.. but thought i would toss it out there.. ciao.. got hit the hay, i think my body is pondering a cold.. ciao!

Thanks Gypsy, but that feature only seems to apply when reading a thread (that is, inside a thread), not when getting the entire list of updated threads that the New Posts command gives.

T Mac - three more things, perhaps you could look into once the remodeling is done? :)

1. I used the search function to try to find gypsy's post (that I'm replying to) by searching for "GypsyTDA". That search didn't find this thread. Searching for "User CP" did find this thread. Perhaps the search function is only indexing the contents of the message, but not the poster? Perhaps something to look into when working with your db guy on the subject mismatch issue (on imported posts) as well, since you'll need to reindex after that too.

2. I tried to PM you, but was told you weren't accepting PMs. Previously, I had noticed that my account was setup by default NOT to accept PMs. I assume everyone's account is set up that way.

2a. Having this feature turned off by default is fine, as long as everyone is aware of this and knows they can activate it.

2b. As an administrator, I had hoped we could override this setting when we contacted a user.

3. Sent via email.

-brendan

I used the search function to try to find gypsy's post (that I'm replying to) by searching for "GypsyTDA". That search didn't find this thread. Searching for "User CP" did find this thread.
Advanced Search lets you search contents of a post or you can even narrow that down by user. Unless the text of "GypsyTDA" was in the actual post, I don't think it will show unless you put her name in the user field.

I tried to PM you, but was told you weren't accepting PMs. Previously, I had noticed that my account was setup by default NOT to accept PMs. I assume everyone's account is set up that way.
Just looking around this morning it appears that everyone's account is set to allow Private Messages. My personal account (for some reason) was set to reject PM's but I changed that. I'll do a bit more digging later to confirm this.

Sent via email.
I got your email and I'll email you back re: admin stuff as soon as I can.

I was fooling around with the new features on the board and, somehow, deleted my avatar. Still a big kid at heart - take things apart to see how they work and then can't put them back together again.

In the Settings and Options, Edit Avatar box I can't uncheck the "do not use avatar" box!

Any advice would be appreciated on how I can get my avatar back

Thanks Gypsy, but that feature only seems to apply when reading a thread (that is, inside a thread), not when getting the entire list of updated threads that the New Posts command gives.

Ok, turns out that the New Posts screen operates the way I want it to if, after reading all threads, I click on New Posts *again*, instead of hitting refresh in my browser. That's good enough for me. :)

-brendan

Hm, can't delete this.

Heh...I take it you answered your own question. :)

yeah why cant you delets your posts? maybe its just me? :roll:

I'm going to enable that feature so soon you will be able to delete your own posts. Note that mgmt reserves the right to disable this feature at any time. :grin:

I just received an automatic e-mail that informed me that somebody tried to send a PM, but that my mailbox was full and it was rejected - much to my surprise.

My edu-guess is that Tom reduced the PM limit, which then conspired with two notable bugs during conversion: first, all of my old PMs since joining magically reappeared. In the old BBS I just had the FIFO management let the old ones fall off the bottom and I presumed they were automatically deleted. Wrongo.

Second bug was that many of my semi-recent PMs were duplicated. So if you've sent or received PMs in the past year, check both your in and sent boxes and cull the dupes.

Tom, if there is a FIFO management feature for PMs in the new BBS it would probably be a good idea to turn it on.

Hey, Tom & Brendan -

Timeouts seem to be "rushed". If I hit "New Posts", if I reply to anything on the list, in the time it takes me to write and edit the response, the "New Posts" have timed-out and I now have no idea what else was new. The search feature (appears) to have no way to "show me all posts in the last 8 hours", requiring a keyword to search on, so there is no easy workaround.

My edu-ma-guess puts this timeout at 15 minutes. The old BBS seemed to be OK on this for an hour or two.

Also, you might double-check forum defaults for thread display relative to age. There is an override in the user control panel, of course, but I discovered that the default setting for at least the announcement forum was to not list anything older than a day.

...mike

Mike,

I've done some tweaking. That should improve things a bit. Keep me posted and thanks for pointing out the issue(s).

Later,
Tom

Much appreciated, sir. Setting-up and managing a BBS is a huge amount of work, and like everything else they're getting more and more complex. Hat's off to ya'.

...mike

Images are now appearing in sigs too. Enjoy! ;)

Timeouts seem to be "rushed". If I hit "New Posts", if I reply to anything on the list, in the time it takes me to write and edit the response, the "New Posts" have timed-out and I now have no idea what else was new. The search feature (appears) to have no way to "show me all posts in the last 8 hours", requiring a keyword to search on, so there is no easy workaround.

My edu-ma-guess puts this timeout at 15 minutes. The old BBS seemed to be OK on this for an hour or two....

Here's my method of keeping on top of posts:

1. Find quiet time away from interruptions if possible.
2. Use Firefox 1.0 for multiple-tabs capability.
3. Get New posts.
4. Immediately ctrl-click on pages 2, 3, etc.
5. Starting from the bottom of the last tab, open all new threads on that page in new tabs.
6. Close the tab where these threads were ctrl-clicked from, unless it was the first page.
7. Deal with open threads and when done, you'll be on the next-to-last threads page (unless it was the first page you didn't close).
8. If you haven't already dealt with the first page, go to step 5.
9. Once you've dealt with the posts on page 1, hit new posts again and if there are thread updates, go to step 4 (hopefully you won't have a full page of posts to deal with at this point!).
10. If no new thread updates are shown...escape back to the real world!

One of the important tricks is never closing the window that the original New Posts threads were shown on, I think.

-brendan

>1. Find quiet time away from interruptions if possible.

Therein lies the rub. With the new system, any distractions of more than a minute or two resulted in losing the "New" list. Since I frequently do research for a post (service manual, for instance), it was suddenly a problem. I think we have it covered now; we'll know for sure in a couple of days.

>One of the important tricks is never closing the window ...

That'll be the backup system.