Micah Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 All, This Saturday night at 11:30pm, I'll be taking the server down for a major upgrade. The site will be down between 3 and 5 hours, during which time I will be releasing a newly designed version of the site on a more secure version of the forum software. This has been a long time coming and we've had a bunch of beta testers reporting bugs with the new site. Meanwhile myself and a professional web developer have been scrubbing the bugs out and making the site as visually appealing as we can without detracting much from the speed and quickness of the site. Let me try to preempt some of the concerns and questions folks may have when this is released: Q: Is anything going to be lost? Will I have to recreate my account AGAIN?! A: Nope. All data, passwords, PM's, posts, etc will be transferred to this new version. Nothing will be lost. Q: If the software is just being upgraded, why does the look and feel of the site have to change? A: Unfortunately/Fortunately, vBulletin re-wrote their software entirely from the last version to the new version. This new version has a lot more potential, but the styles and themes that the forum used to use will not import/function with the new software. This forced us to re-theme the site; what better opportunity to update it to the times. Q: Is this going to work on my phone or mobile device? A: Hopefully. Getting the site looking and functioning properly on a desktop/laptop web browser is challenging on it's own. Developing a website for a mobile browser is increasingly challenging as the years go on. Screen sizes vary insanely as do the device operating systems, browser types, versions, etc. So far, it has been tested on iPad 3/4, iPad Mini, iPhone 4S, iPhone 5S, HTC 1, a Nexus S4 Active and a cheapo 99 dollar LG/Verizon android tablet. Most devices worked great and we did resolve a lot of display issues and odd artifacts, but there are still some kinks to work out. We still have a development site that we will continue scrubbing these bugs on. Most of these will not require any outage window to fix. None of the current oddities affect functionality - they just look a little funny. Our current site isn't free of the same types of things. Q: What has changed? I mean.. other than the look? A: Great question... I'll send out an announcement post after the upgrade, but for now, know that there are a TON of security fixes, database optimizations, back-end acceleration, new fancy theme, incredibly easy content editing, a LIKE button that ties into the reputation system, and before you know it, we'll have things like automatic memberships (auto expire/renew). Q: Why wasn't the community or members involved in this decision? A: Unfortunately, it wasn't really a choice. Due to increased security awareness, the more time we stay on the old versions of this software, the more likely we are to have another attack/crash/time-travel to 2012. The design decisions were made by myself and my web developer with suggestions and approvals from the BOD and Officers of PNWMAS. In fact, there was a vote to deploy this on Saturday. Everything went through the proper channels and was done so with the communities best interests in mind. Everybody should be aware that there will be small little quirks and things that don't behave quite the same. New features may be buggy to start and these things will get ironed out as we encounter them. There's no real way to test this site without throwing users at it. To report a bug/defect/issue with the new site, please send me a PM. If the bug happens to be that you cannot send a PM, shoot an email to admin@pnwmas.org and I'll get it straightened out. PS. During the maintenance, the site will have a little surprise for you. Check it out! Micah - PNWMAS Vice President and Administrator 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackice Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 But...but... I like this one!!! I don't like change....(wife) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Will tapatalk still work with the new change? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Cannot wait to see it!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matty Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 It's pretty rad! Micah has put in a TON of work (clap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Thanks for the heads up-not that I surf the site in those hours but some do (crazy) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LadySaber Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Noooooooooooooooooooooo dont change the color of my toiletpaper :P 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alisha Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Will tapatalk still work with the new change? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Just checked with the boss and Tapatalk and Forumrunner will still work. [emoji16] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted October 25, 2014 Share Posted October 25, 2014 Just checked with the boss and Tapatalk and Forumrunner will still work. [emoji16] Sweet! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Micah Posted October 26, 2014 Author Share Posted October 26, 2014 Alright folks. Site is up! As you can see there are a lot of changes. No doubt a few buggy things here and there. Just let me know if you find something. Feel free to type it in this thread as well. I'm going to bed now.. I'm pooped! I'll be sure to type up a "Here's what's new" thread when I wake up, but for now.... This tired admin needs shut-eye. If there's an outage or anything severe like that, please - somebody who knows my phone number, give me a call. Call twice so DND wakes me up. Aaaaaand..... zzzzzzzZZZZZZzzzzzzz... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 First impression is, wow, what an upgrade! Love the style, the 'like' button. Forums have needed that for a long time! If someone finds the quick links -> subscribed threads I would be grateful for a pointer to it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishmanmike01 Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 [language filter] just happened? Woke up to this! I'm really on the fence with this one. I tend to do most of my visiting on my phone and gotta say, this is much more of a hastle to navigate. So much more time consuming to have to scroll through threads/posts one at a time vs the prior full page/list format. No sir, I don't like it. ( I'm not knocking anyone's effort, I just don't care for the format) that is all. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I would have to agree with fishmanmike on this one...and exercise my use of the like button now. Although I am sure this will be a process of evolving for the forum,hopefully for the better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robyna_baby Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 The sight looks great on desktops and it is fine on Tabatalk as well. He stated in his first thread that mobile might take a bit longer to fine tune. Let's all try to hang in there as this was not an easy job. Good work Micah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kriz2fer Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 it needs to have the front page with all the recent post. that was very convenient. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 it needs to have the front page with all the recent post. that was very convenient. It does. It's the button that says, "New Posts." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 it needs to have the front page with all the recent post. that was very convenient. Agreed. This is progress though and i see it still evolving. Will take some getting use to. The like feature is nice to have. Good job. The banner looks like it could be tweaked some more. Let me know if you want some of my input. Are signatures coming back? A suggestion though. Even though I modified the picture of the month for the Facebook cover image. You should use the original image in its full glory to be displayed on the front page. Another thing I noticed. When in the "forums" link page, the info all being on the translucent bg makes it hard to navigate. Overall I like where this is heading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I've asked this before and didn't get much of a response but why was the logo changed? (scratch) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasquatch Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I've asked this before and didn't get much of a response but why was the logo changed? (scratch) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk It didnt change much.. but the new look needs a new logo.. Why not change? We're at a crossroads and I didnt like the old logo that much anyways Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pontus Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 The "New Post" button works differently. It will sort new posts by the forum you are in but not for all of the forums. Am I the only one encountering this? I liked the old method better as I could see all of the new posts at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I've asked this before and didn't get much of a response but why was the logo changed? (scratch) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Logos change over time. Check out my avatar, that hasn't been the Beav's logo for a while because they have changed it a couple times. Organizations evolve over time and a change in logos is one way to bring a fresh perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 I am on my Desktop but I think Kriz2fer is right, I am lost without my recent post page. And yes a big Thank You to Micah and the people who put in all the work into the forum,I certainly do appreciate it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 It does. It's the button that says' date=' "New Posts."[/quote'] He meant when you first log on, all the new post threads show up rather then having to click another link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 The "New Post" button works differently. It will sort new posts by the forum you are in but not for all of the forums. Am I the only one encountering this? I liked the old method better as I could see all of the new posts at once. I could be wrong, but the new posts button will work exactly the same. Currently, it is only showing new posts since the update. The old threads are still there, but since they haven't had a post since the update, they aren't on the new posts list. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vanz Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 It didnt change much.. but the new look needs a new logo.. Why not change? We're at a crossroads and I didnt like the old logo that much anyways Yup it didn't change much. And I too didn't like the old logo...even though I created it. It was okay several years ago, but it needed to evolve. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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