New forum: move or wait?

[ErosOlmi]

Hi all,

current SMF forum (this forum) has problems I'm not able to fix. I tried all what I think about but nothing.
Almost all images and almost all attached compressed files seems corrupted when downloaded even if on server disk they are OK
Porting files to the new forum seems a no problem path.

New forum is located http://www.thinbasic.com/community/forum.php
New forum is up and running updated to few days ago.
I can convert current forum again in about 1 hour time: users, forums, threads, messages, personal messages, attached file.

What I cannot port to new forum are users password because they are crypted in the DB but I have a procedure that send a mail to each user asking to click on a personalized link in order to reset password. A very easy process.

What I still have to solve in new forum is a way to add syntax highlighting. There are 2 syntax highlighters modules for vBulletin forum but both are very old and are not working with current 4.0.8 vBulletin version.

Of course there are also other things to setup and understand (vBulletin back office is quite vast and complex) but in few weeks I think I can get them all.

Now the question is: do you want I move to new forum in any case even if all is not setup or working as expected, including syntac highlighter?

I will wait for the answers of those who most use thinBasic community forum before taking final decision.

Thanks a lot to all and for all.
Eros

[danbaron]

[font=courier new][size=8pt]I say, move now.

But, I can't log in at the new forum. It said it would send me my password, but it didn't.

I also cannot register there.

(I guess that is what you were talking about in your post.)

Currently, as far as the new forum is concerned, I am no one.

:twisted:
Dan

[Michael Hartlef]

Hi Eros,

I also voted for move now. You want to make the switch one day anyway. Besides that you don't have much time atm, I would see no reason to wait.

Cheers
Michael

[ErosOlmi]

Ok,

because I need to support users for any problem the day I will move and the day after, I think I will try to make the move to the new forum between Friday and Saturday (the 4th and the 5th of Nov). In this way Saturday and Sunday can be used to setup and support.

Ciao
Eros

[Petr Schreiber]

That sounds good to me :)

The move will be performed just for forum, the main site change will be done later once ready, am I correct?


Petr

[zlatkoAB]

So ...do i must register new account or not?
If you all for moving to new forum ok for me to.
Even i dont like vBulettin to much for me is simplier good old SMF.

[Michael Hartlef]

Ok,

because I need to support users for any problem the day I will move and the day after, I think I will try to make the move to the new forum between Friday and Saturday (the 4th and the 5th of Nov). In this way Saturday and Sunday can be used to setup and support.

Ciao
Eros



Godo decision.

[Michael Hartlef]

So ...do i must register new account or not?
If you all for moving to new forum ok for me to.
Even i dont like vBulettin to much for me is simplier good old SMF.


Wait till the final announcement. Eros said before that the user accounts will be moved but you need to reset your password. He wants to email everyone with the instructions
on how to do it. But this plan might change so wait till you read about the final words.

[ErosOlmi]

There will be 1 or 2 hours during the move where you will not be able to use new forum and this forum will be closed.
This to avoid to create new threads and/or posts in this forum that will not be ported to new forum.

All user names and info will be maintained. Only avatars and password will not be valid.

If move will be successful, I will create an automatic mail to all users with the instructions on how to reset a new password in the new forum.
If the move will NOT be successful, I will re-activate old forum and I will try again when I will have solved the problems. But this should not happen because all recent tests showed not blocking problems.

After the move, I will be on line in both forums and via mail (support at thinbasic dot com also received in my mobile) to assist users having any problem during Saturday and Sunday in the new forum.

It should work.

Ciao
Eros

[John Spikowski]

The thinBASIC SMF forum has always been the slowest responding and most over weight forum I visit. The new vBulletin forum now multiplies that slowness by a factor of 5 at a minimum. I visited the ScriptBasic sub board on TB and there were no posts. I have to do a search if I want to see anything older than 30 days. :(

For the dozen or so TB users that post here on a regular basis, I think your are wasting a lot of time on forum software when it should be spent on TB 2.0 and getting more users to try thinBASIC. IMHO

[Charles Pegge]

If the home page were to be simplified, it would make a big difference to the load time. But I don't know whether this impinges on the database problems. It would seem that some kind of buffer limit in SMF has been exceeded.

Charles

[John Spikowski]

If the home page were to be simplified, it would make a big difference to the load time. But I don't know whether this impinges on the database problems. It would seem that some kind of buffer limit in SMF has been exceeded.

Charles


A few things to consider.

I believe I read Eros was still running this forum on PHP4. That version of php has been discontinued for sometime. I'm surprised the current version of SMF even runs on it.

If you view the source of the forum home page, you will see Google scripts peppered throughout the html. (10 before I stopped counting)

This link http://kona.kontera.com/javascript/lib/KonaLibInline.js sucks the life out of this forum and causes huge delays.

All this crap and an outdated scripting engine comes at a price. (loss of efficient usability)

[Petr Schreiber]

John,

it is always interesting to see your view on the things, but you should keep in mind moving the forum:
- is now quite essential due to problems with damaged downloads and others which started to appear
- is just first step in bringing new experience and knowledge sharing abilities for thinBasic, which will be completed by integral block of new main site + forum

... I think in the end the user seriously using ThinBASIC will be very happy. Every big change has to start with smaller steps. New forum is one of them.

Regarding load times - I cannot judge, as I am on 8MBit connection, which I consider fast, yet the lowest speed available in my country (I grew up on 14.4 modem :)).
There are many categories and posts in the forum, so it has to reflect in the loading speed somehow. What is your connection, if I may ask?

Time restriction for posts listing is something which can be tuned anytime, so I would not be worried about it.

ThinBASIC 2.0 is important of course, but so is the documenting. The ThinBASIC development goes forward so fast, that some users did not see even 10% of the functionality and possibilities current releases offer (it is all in help file, but still...). That is why, in my eyes, the update of forum and especially later the website, will lead to better understaning of what users have already at the fingerprints. That is why I increased the rate of TBGL articles this year, that is why I currently work hard on thinTutorial. Developed functionality is the base, help file is the base, but further knowledge sharing via articles and other ways to come have very high priority in my eyes.

I use current releases of ThinBASIC in work without running into any limitations so far. I am very much looking forward to ThinBASIC 2.0, I already prepare some tech for it, but better to go in steps, as I said earlier. And don't forget to document, share, teach and learn.

The forum structure can be rearranged according to needs on the fly, so I think even the load times (if that is a problem) could get better. But we must not forget there is currently kind of critical situation with the attachements, which I consider quite important, as the bigger solutions posted here are present in that form especially. ThinBASIC forums make changes from time to time. I still remember the first move, I was feeling "homesick" in the new one a bit for a while, but the added functionality and preserved content showed in time it was good idea.

If we would lost all the knowledge from current forum with the port, I would be in the first row to shout "No please!". But this is not the case, it will solve the most painful issue we have now and if not anything else, Eros is always knowing very well what is he doing.


Petr

[marcuslee]

I may only be the occasional user, but I look forward to the new changes, including the forums. Plus, the website has long been overdo for a good change of many things.



Mark

[ErosOlmi]

Ok, we have moved.

I hope most of the options are ok but I already know that there will be a lot of work for tailoring and fixing this new forum. I will do that in next week day by day.

[Michael Clease]

Is it possible to rename my user name?

[ErosOlmi]

For sure admin can change a username but it should be possible to allow this change be done by users but I'm not able to find how.

If you want, I can change your usr name to .... (state what user name you want)
In the meantime I will search how to activate this feature

[Michael Clease]

Firstly congrats on the new forum Its going to take some time to get to grips with it but it did seem to be necessary.

When you have time can you rename me as Michael Clease, I am starting to think that making people use real names to register keeps better control of undesirables.

Thanks again

[ErosOlmi]

Thanks Michael.

This new forum has a huge set of options and possibilities. We will discover them all together in next weeks/months. I think we will have great advantages.

I just changed your user name and posted an inquiry in vBulletin support forum asking how to activate (if possible) the possibility to change username.

Ciao
Eros

[ErosOlmi]

Seems there is a mod for user name change: http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=236980
but I would like first understand how vBulletin mods are safe to install and also setup a mirror forum + db in another domain in order to make changes in a safe environment.

[John Spikowski]

Hi Eros,

I made the switch to the new forum.

Good luck with vBulletin and I hope it becomes a stable platform for the thinBASIC project.

P.S.

Maybe you should post a poll for new mods and features before adding them. It's good to know if folks will really use them or not. Why should others suffer slower performance for features they care less about.

Just curious, how many forum members use the online games and are you making enough income on the pop-ups that making me navigate around them is worth it?

P.S.S.

If you click on the HOME tab. you get the following error dialog. (see attached screen shot)

John

[ErosOlmi]

Hi John,

even I didn't reply, I will take into consideration your observations. I've already written to my hosting company asking a solution for a new server. Will see.

Regarding home page, I'm still playing with it. Soon I will hopen and than we will start to fill with content

About popups I suppose you are referring to Kontera (http://www.kontera.com/) (an advertiging company). No, no income other than few cents. In this forum there will not be.

Ciao
Eros

[Petr Schreiber]

Hi Eros,

great job, new forum is nice and shiny :)

May I ask you to change my name from Psch to Petr Schreiber?
I tried to send this as PM, but it said I sent too much PMs already :p


Thanks,
Petr

[ErosOlmi]

Username changed.
Max number of PM is by user group. I still have to adjust user groups.
In any case I've set new max to 10 thousands ... should be enough for a ... while.

Ciao
Eros

[Petr Schreiber]

Thanks! The PM limit seems ok now :o

[Michael Hartlef]

I am in, yeah. :)

[Michael Hartlef]

Hi Eros,

at first I did not see that there is a difference between the profile picture and the avatar picture. Doh!

Good job on the move!

Michael

[Michael Hartlef]

Hi Eros,

can you change my name to Michael Hartlef?

Michael

[ErosOlmi]

Michael,

username changed.

There are many options available in vBulletin and many more I didn't activate in order to keep things as simple as possible at first. During next weeks we will see what to activate.

Ciao
Eros

[John Spikowski]

About popups I suppose you are referring to Kontera (http://www.kontera.com/) (an advertiging company). No, no income other than few cents. In this forum there will not be.

Google AdSense, I can live with. Removing Kontera pop-ups solves 90% of my dissatisfaction with the old forum format. I try to steer away from any sites that use them. Besides the non-related ads that pop up, it hangs my browser for almost a minute waiting for them to respond. I can't do anything other then leave the site to escape this madness.

[ErosOlmi]

OK, I've definitely closed old forum.

Trying to navigate http://community.thinbasic.com will be redirected here.
Thanks to vBulletin support and the great job they did with importers, migration has been less problematic than expected at first.

So, happy stay in new thinBasic forum.
Eros

[Aurel]

Hi...
This new forum looks very fine:)