W.W.&F. Discussion Forum

General Topics => Moderator Announcements => Topic started by: Ed Lecuyer on August 10, 2017, 08:48:41 PM

Title: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Ed Lecuyer on August 10, 2017, 08:48:41 PM
Hi everyone,

There seems to be a few people that are having trouble logging in (or joining) our discussion forum. James and I have tried all the tricks we know - but we haven't been able to fix it.

However, we are running a very old version of the SMF forum software. So we have to upgrade. We hope this will go smoothly - but it will take some time.

To allow us this time, we will be closing the Forum tomorrow (Friday) night with the goal of having it back and running (with the new software) by Sunday evening. We hope that all the posts and discussions (and bad puns) will automatically migrate over. We'll see how that goes.

We're timing this with our normal weekly backup schedule so that if things do go poorly, we can easily set things back.

So, don't be alarmed when the forum goes down on Friday night - it will be back.

Thanks!

-Ed & James.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Steve Smith on August 10, 2017, 10:07:41 PM
Good luck! And bless you both for all you do to keep this great forum going!
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Baskerville on August 11, 2017, 07:44:06 AM
As one who only gets to spend 4 or 5 weeks a year at the museum I get my daily Maine narrow gauge "fix" from the forum. The posts keep me up to date on our restoration progress and connected to our museum.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: James Patten on August 12, 2017, 05:43:02 PM
I have upgraded the forum - as you can all tell, the forum looks different.  Let's hope this solved the problems people were having.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: John Kokas on August 12, 2017, 06:00:48 PM
If possible I'd love to see the headlight icons back, but other than that everything seems to be working well.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bob Holmes on August 12, 2017, 07:06:11 PM
Congratulations, Ed and James.  It looks a little different but we'll get used to that.

These kinds of upgrades can be extremely problematic, but you seemed to have pulled it off without a hitch. 

Thanks from all of us...
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Reidy on August 12, 2017, 07:34:53 PM
Very nice job, James and Ed.  A difficult job done well and quickly.

I had to work today and was missing the museum.  Got the next best thing finding the forum was back up tonight.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Paul Uhland on August 12, 2017, 10:49:16 PM
Well done Ed and James!
Thought I'd have to endure a WW&F-less weekend.:-[  But, my off-chance check tonight (Saturday) brought happiness...an early cutover! ;D
Looking forward to coverage of the WWI re-enactment at Alna Center, and continuing adventures at the Fossel washout fix.

Looks nice and modern. 
Let's see how it goes.  :D
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: John McNamara on August 12, 2017, 10:59:06 PM
Excellent in every way! Thanks!
-John M
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Steve Smith on August 13, 2017, 12:00:44 AM
Bravo Ed and James! Thanks so much.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Carl G. Soderstrom on August 13, 2017, 04:38:14 PM
Well I got back in again -This is a test only a test - otherwise it would be more substantive.

It seems to work :)
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Ed Lecuyer on August 14, 2017, 09:31:30 AM
The big thank you goes to James for doing this. I didn't really have much part in it at all.

I do have a ton of cleanup work to do. For example, the spammers are now getting through with requests to join at an alarming rate - so I have to figure out how to curtail that. I also want to put back the #10 headlight icons for old/new messages.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Mike Fox on August 18, 2017, 07:07:01 AM
Is there a way to remove the like button? That prompts you to log into facebook, which some of our members don't use.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: James Patten on August 19, 2017, 06:08:13 AM
Facebook likes have been turned off.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Mike Fox on August 19, 2017, 05:33:25 PM
Thank you. Much easier to see the reply button
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Ed Lecuyer on August 19, 2017, 05:42:47 PM
I'm not so sure we should have or not have the "like" button. I'm not on Facebook, so I'm not really sure what it does/did in the context of the forum. If by pressing "Like" on the forum somehow promotes the post to your public FB feed, I think that would be a good thing.

I welcome more input on this. I saw at least 3 likes - who used it and did you like the results? I can also try to make the reply button easier to see... if that is/was the issue.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Baskerville on August 20, 2017, 06:36:21 AM
Ed,

I do like the 'Go Down', 'Go Up' buttons.

Bill
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bob Holmes on August 20, 2017, 07:48:21 AM
As I think I understand Facebook -- but then who really does? -- if you "like" a message/post, ALL of your Facebook Friends will automatically also see that post/message.  I doubt that many would be interested in our Forum discussions.  On the other hand, if you "like" one of Stewart's posts on Facebook itself, your Friends will see that, which could be good marketing for us.



Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Ed Lecuyer on November 14, 2017, 09:39:24 PM
If possible I'd love to see the headlight icons back, but other than that everything seems to be working well.

I had a few idle moments in front of the computer, so I found and put back the headlight icons that indicate if there are new posts in a forum section. For the record, the headlight is from a Stephen Hussar photo of #10.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Baskerville on November 14, 2017, 10:14:29 PM
Ed,

I give up, what is a head light icon and where will it appear?  Just earlier today it dawned on my slow brain that I hadn't seen any notices from Start that there was a new Facebook post every Sunday evening and some weekday evening.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Ed Lecuyer on November 14, 2017, 11:33:40 PM
The headlight appears on the main forum home page:
http://forum.wwfry.org/index.php (http://forum.wwfry.org/index.php)
On the left side when there is a new topic or reply in a particular forum section.

As far as Stewart's forum notifications on his Facebook posts, I assume he stopped when his power went out, but hasn't picked them up again (yet?)
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: John Kokas on November 15, 2017, 05:02:57 AM
Headlights are back!  Hip Hip Hooray!  OK, I'm easy to please........  Thanks Ed   ;D
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: James Patten on November 15, 2017, 07:09:51 AM
Ed, I'm not seeing a headlight, just the old icons.  I did refresh (F5) before sending this!
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Reidy on November 15, 2017, 07:15:04 AM
Ed, I'm not seeing a headlight, just the old icons.  I did refresh (F5) before sending this!

Same for me.  :'(
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Ed Lecuyer on November 15, 2017, 09:59:20 AM
In some cases, simply pressing F5 or Refresh is not enough to reload the full page. Browsers typically "cache" certain objects (like tiny graphics that don't change often on pages that are frequently visited) to reduce loading times. Eventually, the headlights will appear, or press and hold CTRL and/or SHIFT on the keyboard while pressing the refresh/reload icon in the browser - which will usually force the browser to reload its cache.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: James Patten on November 15, 2017, 10:07:16 AM
Bingo!
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Mike Fox on November 15, 2017, 02:14:45 PM
I had to clear my browsing history on my mobile device to get them to work. I forgot how much I liked the head light
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Reidy on November 15, 2017, 05:18:01 PM
Thanks Ed -- I can see the light now!
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: James Patten on December 12, 2017, 07:09:24 PM
I got tired of the boring squares instead of stars associated with our forum "levels" (technically membergroups).  So I copied the star icons from another location into the proper location for us.  You may have to refresh your browser to see it (F5 in some places, the clockwise arrowed circle in others).
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Paul Uhland on December 13, 2017, 05:35:40 PM
Much classier.  :D
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Jeff Schumaker on December 13, 2017, 07:56:17 PM
The only one with stars, that I can see, is James. :o??

Jeff S.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Reidy on December 14, 2017, 05:07:48 PM
No Jeff, you're a star.  I see four of them for your account.

I had to clear my browser cache (Chrome) to start seeing the stars.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Steve Smith on December 14, 2017, 10:26:03 PM
Bill...great avatar you've got there. How I wish Mr. Breathed would do Bloom County or Outland strips again.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Baskerville on December 14, 2017, 11:24:30 PM
So Bill, great computer wizard.

How do you clear your Chrome cache?
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Dave Buczkowski on December 14, 2017, 11:29:15 PM
Steve, you can find Mr. Breathed on the web. Bloom County exists on Facebook.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Paul Uhland on December 15, 2017, 12:45:46 AM
Bill the Cat's my hero!
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Reidy on December 15, 2017, 07:21:09 AM
How do you clear your Chrome cache?

In Chrome, I click on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner, then navigate to History -> History -> (and on the left) Clear browsing data.  I go with the default choices presented and click the "Clear Data" button.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Reidy on December 15, 2017, 07:24:06 AM
Bloom County can also be found at gocomics.com:  http://www.gocomics.com/bloomcounty

You might want a good adblocker before visiting gocomics unless you like pop-up ads.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Jeff Schumaker on December 15, 2017, 08:09:46 AM
Now I'm seeing stars, and I didn't have to hit my head. ;D

Jeff S.
Title: Re: FORUM SWITCHOVER - 08/12 - 08/13
Post by: Bill Baskerville on December 15, 2017, 10:14:36 AM
How do you clear your Chrome cache?

In Chrome, I click on the three vertical dots in the upper right corner, then navigate to History -> History -> (and on the left) Clear browsing data.  I go with the default choices presented and click the "Clear Data" button.

Thanks Bill, it worked.