MJ DeMarco
I followed the science; all I found was money.
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This is the official announcement thread for the new forum as we finally transitioned away from vBulletin to Xenforo.
While it is still early in the game, I'm very happy with the new software. I'm even more happy that I will NEVER AGAIN need to deal with vBulletin. Let me repeat that: NEVER AGAIN.
:joyful:
While the forum is always a "work in progress" I am pretty much completed on the migration.
Here is what's NEW and what's a little different:
#1) SOCIAL NETWORK LIKE
As you may have experienced, the forum acts a little bit more like a social network than a bulletin board stuck in 1997.
You can follow particular users and get their content streamed into your "News Feed" -- click on your USERNAME and click the News Feed. Never miss something from your favorite forum people.
#3) POST DRAFTS
You're post comments are now saved in a draft mode. You can draft a comment on a thread and return to finish it later. Or maybe, you want to marinate on something you write before posting. You can now do that, although I think those comments expire in a week or so.
#4) PRIVATE MESSAGE RESTRICTIONS / PRIVACY
For our most active users, you can set your PRIVACY to allow PMs (conversations) from ONLY PEOPLE you follow. This prevents your inbox from exploding with newbie comments and questions that can get annoying for our most prized contributors. For the first time in YEARS, I can receive a PM from someone on the moderation team, and not have to worry about 40 PMs a day saying "Is my idea Fastlane?"
#5) TAG USERS IN POSTS
If you're talking about a forum member in any given thread, you can "TAG" them (like on FB, Twitter, etc.) by simply adding the "AT SIGN" -- "@" ... see here, I just tagged @AllenCrawley -- this tag will show up in his ALERTS telling him that someone is talking about him.
#6) SET ALERTS
Obviously, not everyone wants all these alerts. Specify that in your profile to receive only what you want.
#7) FORUM FORMATS
Right now there are (3) different templates you can choose from for forum viewing.
To change your STYLE version, click on the STYLE CHOOSER which is at the BOTTOM LEFT of the forum. Click the style and a window will appear. As mentioned in another thread, I have elected not to reinstall Tapatalk or a mobile viewing solution. This decision, of course, is likely to change dependent on how the 3rd party software evolves to my liking.
#7) SPEED UPDATE
First, my apologies to anyone who lost speed ratings. I have not been able to transition the speed over effectively, or accurately. There are some significant differences in the software which prevented this function from converting over normally. As of now, the way the system works is you are allocated speed points (or trophies) for particular forum actions.
How do you gain speed points? It's mostly predicated on "LIKES / SPEED POST" contained in posts, although you can gain speed from other forum actions. (Specifying your GENDER, Read TMF , join the INSIDE, etc.)
Right now, the "Like / Speed Post" serve the same function. Also, in order to incorporate SPEED RATINGS, we lost the ability to have custom user titles. (Some who still have, enjoy it while you can as they are disappearing.)
I have not given up restoring to the way things were (Separating likes, speed, etc.) or changing things around. Like the forum, the speed system will be a continual "work in progress". Much of getting the things the way I want is a matter of the learning curve involved in using the new software, AND the available add-ons.
#8) BLOGS
Xenforo does not have a blog function so I was NOT able to import any blogs, or it's comments. However, there is a plugin available that I might be able to use to restore these into a separate forum. I'm still looking into that option.
#9) BIG FAT AVATARS
Update your avatars and SAY NO to blurry avatars!
As mentioned above in "styles" the default style has really big avatars. I did this to give everyone the opportunity to upload something that reflected their personality. With the old system, most avatars were just plain too small to render into anything useful. With larger avatars, you can actually upload something (written) and have people understand it. If you don't like the big avatars, switch to the COMPACT style -- they are normal sized like the old forum.
#10) FASTER, MY GOD, IS IT FASTER
Some might not notice this, but I do. The forum is faster and more responsive. On my Google performance ranking, the forum went from a dismal 1/5 (the worst rating) to a 5/5 (the best).
#11) WATCH THREADS
Another NEW function I forgot here is you can WATCH any thread and be notified when there are new replies. While the old forum had a subscribe system, this one is far more effective. Any thread content that you deem "CANT MISS" -- simply "WATCH" thread by clicking on the "Watch Thread" in the upper right corner of the thread.
There are some other great functions I'm missing, but this is some of it in a nutshell. I know most people don't like change, however, I thought this was necessary as I was tired of dealing with vBulletin as a software product, and as a company.
As I get more accustomed to the software, improvements will continue...
Thank you for your patience in the transition.
Cheers,
MJ
EDIT: YOUR THREADS are now sublinked in the "FORUM" subtab.
While it is still early in the game, I'm very happy with the new software. I'm even more happy that I will NEVER AGAIN need to deal with vBulletin. Let me repeat that: NEVER AGAIN.
:joyful:While the forum is always a "work in progress" I am pretty much completed on the migration.
Here is what's NEW and what's a little different:
#1) SOCIAL NETWORK LIKE
As you may have experienced, the forum acts a little bit more like a social network than a bulletin board stuck in 1997.
a) You are alerted if someone "quotes you" in a thread. This ensures you don't miss out on some conversation that someone is having with you.
b) You are alerted if someone "likes" your content.
c) Give your own status updates (Shows up on home page, kinda cool way to say something to the entire board without making a post)
#2) FOLLOW YOUR FAVORITE USERSb) You are alerted if someone "likes" your content.
c) Give your own status updates (Shows up on home page, kinda cool way to say something to the entire board without making a post)
You can follow particular users and get their content streamed into your "News Feed" -- click on your USERNAME and click the News Feed. Never miss something from your favorite forum people.
#3) POST DRAFTS
You're post comments are now saved in a draft mode. You can draft a comment on a thread and return to finish it later. Or maybe, you want to marinate on something you write before posting. You can now do that, although I think those comments expire in a week or so.
#4) PRIVATE MESSAGE RESTRICTIONS / PRIVACY
For our most active users, you can set your PRIVACY to allow PMs (conversations) from ONLY PEOPLE you follow. This prevents your inbox from exploding with newbie comments and questions that can get annoying for our most prized contributors. For the first time in YEARS, I can receive a PM from someone on the moderation team, and not have to worry about 40 PMs a day saying "Is my idea Fastlane?"
#5) TAG USERS IN POSTS
If you're talking about a forum member in any given thread, you can "TAG" them (like on FB, Twitter, etc.) by simply adding the "AT SIGN" -- "@" ... see here, I just tagged @AllenCrawley -- this tag will show up in his ALERTS telling him that someone is talking about him.
#6) SET ALERTS
Obviously, not everyone wants all these alerts. Specify that in your profile to receive only what you want.
#7) FORUM FORMATS
Right now there are (3) different templates you can choose from for forum viewing.
Fastlane-Full
This is the default style, which is optimized for desktop and larger screen viewing. This has the much larger avatars. This can be effectively viewed on tablets as well.
Fastlane-Compact
"Fastlane-Compact" is for smaller screens, such as tablets and laptops, or for those who liked the compact version of the older forum. The Compact template uses smaller avatars and looks like the old forum.
Mobile
The mobile style is a full-width version for users who are viewing the forum on a mobile device.
This is the default style, which is optimized for desktop and larger screen viewing. This has the much larger avatars. This can be effectively viewed on tablets as well.
Fastlane-Compact
"Fastlane-Compact" is for smaller screens, such as tablets and laptops, or for those who liked the compact version of the older forum. The Compact template uses smaller avatars and looks like the old forum.
Mobile
The mobile style is a full-width version for users who are viewing the forum on a mobile device.
To change your STYLE version, click on the STYLE CHOOSER which is at the BOTTOM LEFT of the forum. Click the style and a window will appear. As mentioned in another thread, I have elected not to reinstall Tapatalk or a mobile viewing solution. This decision, of course, is likely to change dependent on how the 3rd party software evolves to my liking.
#7) SPEED UPDATE
First, my apologies to anyone who lost speed ratings. I have not been able to transition the speed over effectively, or accurately. There are some significant differences in the software which prevented this function from converting over normally. As of now, the way the system works is you are allocated speed points (or trophies) for particular forum actions.
How do you gain speed points? It's mostly predicated on "LIKES / SPEED POST" contained in posts, although you can gain speed from other forum actions. (Specifying your GENDER, Read TMF , join the INSIDE, etc.)
Right now, the "Like / Speed Post" serve the same function. Also, in order to incorporate SPEED RATINGS, we lost the ability to have custom user titles. (Some who still have, enjoy it while you can as they are disappearing.)
I have not given up restoring to the way things were (Separating likes, speed, etc.) or changing things around. Like the forum, the speed system will be a continual "work in progress". Much of getting the things the way I want is a matter of the learning curve involved in using the new software, AND the available add-ons.
#8) BLOGS
Xenforo does not have a blog function so I was NOT able to import any blogs, or it's comments. However, there is a plugin available that I might be able to use to restore these into a separate forum. I'm still looking into that option.
#9) BIG FAT AVATARS
Update your avatars and SAY NO to blurry avatars!
As mentioned above in "styles" the default style has really big avatars. I did this to give everyone the opportunity to upload something that reflected their personality. With the old system, most avatars were just plain too small to render into anything useful. With larger avatars, you can actually upload something (written) and have people understand it. If you don't like the big avatars, switch to the COMPACT style -- they are normal sized like the old forum.
#10) FASTER, MY GOD, IS IT FASTER
Some might not notice this, but I do. The forum is faster and more responsive. On my Google performance ranking, the forum went from a dismal 1/5 (the worst rating) to a 5/5 (the best).
#11) WATCH THREADS
Another NEW function I forgot here is you can WATCH any thread and be notified when there are new replies. While the old forum had a subscribe system, this one is far more effective. Any thread content that you deem "CANT MISS" -- simply "WATCH" thread by clicking on the "Watch Thread" in the upper right corner of the thread.
There are some other great functions I'm missing, but this is some of it in a nutshell. I know most people don't like change, however, I thought this was necessary as I was tired of dealing with vBulletin as a software product, and as a company.
As I get more accustomed to the software, improvements will continue...
Thank you for your patience in the transition.
Cheers,
MJ
EDIT: YOUR THREADS are now sublinked in the "FORUM" subtab.
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