Thinking About Doing A Forum Reboot

[MightyHypnotic]

Ive been giving some thought to starting over with the forum. Putting this forum into archive mode and starting fresh with a new version.

There has been a lot of old code that is floating around and more importantly the database is bloated with lot of old and experimental code and it is really slowing things down.

The best way to look at this would be building a shiny new stadium next to the old that has worn out its usefulness. Lets face it this forum is over 10 years old! ( think its like 13)
Whenever I do an update, it's like Im patching things with gum and saran wrap and panties and bra straips, pantyhose, whatever will tie the pieces together.

So right off the bat, What would that mean for you, the user?
We would start fresh. Create your new username, (your username would be reserved so no one could snag it) and then we would start porting over threads with a link from the old to the new.
The old site would still be there and viewable with the understanding that at some time in the future, the doors would be closed to posting.

Its going to be disjointed for sure...but right now I am opening this up to discussions....

I am voting for it. The new site will be faster, cleaner, updates will be painless, logins and "remember Me" will all work, the layout will remain the same...a lolt of the quirks wil be gone.

State your concerns ..........3...............2..............1.......... Go!

[DrDominator9]

I am for a new site as long as we don't lose all the old stories. And as long as there is a good chat function. I say go for it. How long would it take for a new site to become real? Are we talking weeks? Months? Half a year?

Thanks in advance for what I'm sure will be a lot of work by you, MH.

[MightyHypnotic]

It could happen very quickly. Probably a few hours.

[DrDominator9]

Wow!!

[Damselbinder]

I'm all for it. As Kylo Ren would say:
"Let the past die. Kill it if you have to. Now I need to go reorganise my trenchcoats."

[theScribbler]

Having read the OP, I don't see a downside.

Am curious how many of the 24K plus members/users will re-register, and at what rate (how fast).

[MightyHypnotic]

Yeah thats the thing... I have to give some thought of how I will transition popular posts, etc.....

The way I am thinking of doing it right now is to just create a forum2 page where people can start signing up and probably close the forum down to NEW topics. And as the older topics start to wind down, put a link to the the new forum in that thread and lock it.

After that, eventually just make the switch and leave the old forum available for viewing.

Regarding stories, we could copy those over....They DO need a proper archive and we have a bunch of them sitting on the front page. I still need to add a menu item for that and will get to it soon.

Nothing is set in stone, just bouncing ideas. Glad you guys like the thought of it though. There will be a big improvement regarding site speed and navigation.

[Mlod]

I'm very new to this place so don't feel I have much voice, but if you can port over the threads (at least the stories and other original content) I don't really see a downside to it.

[bushwackerbob]

I am all for it, I just don't want it to turn into a Wizards Lair situation where it goes from 2 hours to six months and losing vital stuff in the process. If it really is a quick process then it sounds like a good idea.

[Maskripper]

As long all the threads from this one will pop up there intact....I would rather vote for a new site.
Even if I then get demoted to a bloody private
Would the new site bring some new shiny features? Right now I'm only missing the chat.

[MightyHypnotic]

Right, good points.

I'll address the chat in another thread so we can have a discussion about it there. It will be returning. Hopefully better than before, which was a bit buggy.

[Maskripper]

I forgot one thing that I am missing:
The feature where you can see that last 5 updated topics (it was on the right side)

[tallyho]

There is a link at the bottom of the page that lists the last 14 posts Mr.

It says "Click for latest posts"
(Thats M r for Maskripper I am not calling you 'Mr' in a derogatory fashion. But I can if you want me to, but I charge for that.)

[DrDominator9]

One can also click on "Quick links" shown at the upper left of the screen just above Superheroines home link and then click "New posts" to see what's been put up most recently.

[tallyho]

No one likes a swot, Doc.

[Abductorenmadrid]

For me like the other writers, being able to link back to our previous work in the "legacy" forum would be important I guess. So long as that is preserved I am happy!

[Maskripper]

There is a link at the bottom of the page that lists the last 14 posts Mr.

It says "Click for latest posts"
(Thats M r for Maskripper I am not calling you 'Mr' in a derogatory fashion. But I can if you want me to, but I charge for that.)

Hmh, that can be found on the right side and not at the bottom as I see it.
The "problem" is....you have to click on it.
In the past you could see the last 5 updated threads directly on the page. (which threads, when, by whom etc.)
Not a huge difference....but that was a nice feature.

[Femina]

Am I gonna lose my legendary member status? I'm only one bar away!?

[MightyHypnotic]

Am I gonna lose my legendary member status? I'm only one bar away!?

Ohhhh...so close....




No, Im kidding, I am looking into that....keeping post counts, status, and all that other fun stuff.... Im also looking at possibly splitting off and archiving older threads.... so they live in a different database...

The issue is that the database is so bloated ...

OH AND BY THE WAY ITS BEEN 16 YEARS!!!!!!

...the database is so bloated with 16 years full of content that maybe the answer is to somehow archive it so it's still viewable but not in the active database....if that makes any sense...

[Femina]

No I get it and if I lose my *sob* legendary status I guess its okay...

Honestly if we can just get a textbox that copies over italicized from full written documents so I don't have to go and re-manually italicize things from muh stories than it's a totally fair trade.

[tallyho]

There is a link at the bottom of the page that lists the last 14 posts Mr.

It says "Click for latest posts"
(Thats M r for Maskripper I am not calling you 'Mr' in a derogatory fashion. But I can if you want me to, but I charge for that.)

Hmh, that can be found on the right side and not at the bottom as I see it.
The "problem" is....you have to click on it.
In the past you could see the last 5 updated threads directly on the page. (which threads, when, by whom etc.)
Not a huge difference....but that was a nice feature.

It's at the bottom on the phone version. (lower right admittedly)

[Maskripper]

It's at the bottom on the phone version. (lower right admittedly)

I do 95% of my surfing on a desktop PC as I prefer having a real screen instead of a tiny, tiny smartphone screen. And having a real keyboard and a mouse....has advantages too....
And many of the sites I visit only on PC, such as this site.
However the "Click for the latest posts" button/line is placed just (now) on the right, that fits for me.

[MightyHypnotic]

I forgot one thing that I am missing:
The feature where you can see that last 5 updated topics (it was on the right side)

Im going to be adding that back, I have to pull the code from the old version of this forum, right before the last update and put it back in there, but it will return for sure.

[Femina]

I forgot one thing that I am missing:
The feature where you can see that last 5 updated topics (it was on the right side)

Im going to be adding that back, I have to pull the code from the old version of this forum, right before the last update and put it back in there, but it will return for sure.

In other words... you have to duct tape it to the new version xD

[MightyHypnotic]

So for the time being, I made some adjustments to the forum which seem to be working out. I added more memory, purged a TON of dead accounts, re-installed a fresh version of the software and I can see a noticeable difference. I am curious if you can too?

So for now, I'll just let things roll forward. Im happy with the results so far.