Moving To a New Server and Maybe More

With the forum growing as fast as it has been, we're starting to outgrow our server. You may have noticed the effects, such as intermittent timeouts, errors, and general slowness. It's time for an upgrade. Moving to the new server will mean some downtime, which brings us to the "maybe more" part.

I really like our forum software. It's very fast, concise, open source and has served us very well. For the record, it's FluxBB, and the team behind it deserves a lot of credit. It's billed as "a lighter, faster alternative to some of the traditional feature heavy forum applications" and I'd say it delivers.

The flip side is that it doesn't have oft-requested features such as private messaging, and the authors have no plans to implement them. Personally I've always been OK with this because to me it's always done everything that we need. This changed when a long list of email providers started blocking emails sent through the forum, breaking the essential method our members use to initiate private communication.

I had experimented with different forum software previously, but this issue made me take a more thorough look, and seriously consider the possibility of moving fc to a new system. The downtime associated with moving servers would be a good time to make a switch and here we are.

Feature wise, the software we're considering has pretty much everything members have asked for in the threads here in Community Discussion, such as:

• youtube embedding[/*]
• the ability to search within a thread[/*]
• full unread topic tracking[/*]
• private messaging[/*]
• sub forums[/*]
• advanced permissions which would allow us to automatically restrict access to the Classifieds[/*]
• profile commenting, status messages, and the ability to "follow" users for a personal "newsfeed"[/*]
• etc., etc.[/*]

Of course there are some downsides as well. Change is hard, and many who have grown accustomed to our current system may not like the new look or new features. I think that anyone who uses twitter or facebook will feel comfortable with the system we're considering, but to those who aren't social networking fans it may seem overwhelming at first. It should be said, however, that these additional features can be disabled by users who do not want them.

Personally I'm very impressed after using the proposed software for a few weeks. It took a little time to get a feel for things since it's so different (dare I say "advanced") but I can really appreciate how much thought went into making it fun and easy to use. It's called xenForo and is being developed by one of the ex-lead developers behind vbulletin (pre-4x)--probably the most well known, and used commercial forum software ever.

We have a test install running that you can check out. It's completely separate from this, so you'll need to register an account if you want to try posting, etc. It's strictly for testing purposes and although some discussion has taken place there, it's not the spot for anything other than testing. Discussion regarding the switch belongs here. It's also on a very barebones machine with no mail server set up. With that in mind, see what you think!

Edit: If we made the switch, all accounts and posts would be imported.

http://199.180.254.196/xen/

I like it... more advanced, and streamlined. thumbs up ^

Glad to hear that. In the new system I would "like" your post.

My are that I think the upgrades are a great idea. Although I'm a new member so I'm not really tied down to the current format, I think it would be great to be able to private message people since I don't like giving away my e-mail to people anyway. Also youtube embedding would be pretty cool too.

Vtac, I am really liking this new idea. I've always appreciated the fact that FC supports open source by using flux but I agree, it is just too slow in development. Primarily I am looking forward to more powerful searching and navigational abililties, PM's and mabey even a rep system! I think that it is actually amazing that we have such a passionate and active member base on such a bare bones forum software and that it really says something about the community as a whole and how it was built. But new features didn't hurt anyone, and if you can import old posts and users, than I see no reason to not make the step forward.

Awesome !

Is there any chance of getting a mobile optimized version of the site in the switchover?

Aside from that I like the new look, and all the new features sound awesome.

Do you have any idea how long would the forums be down for the switchover?

Thanks for the feedback!

Is there any chance of getting a mobile optimized version of the site in the switchover?

Click to expand...

The creators of xenForo are working on a mobile skin that will function just like a tapatalk solution, but on any mobile device with no apps needed.

Do you have any idea how long would the forums be down for the switchover?

Click to expand...

To be on the safe I'd give myself 3-4 hours to do the import any everything related. For the DNS changes to fully propagate around the internet it could take 1-48 hours depending on your location, ISP, etc. You can be sure I'll be doing everything possible to make it as quick and painless as possible.

love the new software. Can't say I ever liked the current software very much. Its just lacking too many features I'm used to having in other forums. Please please migrate.

Thanks Vtac. Upgrades rock. Just please be patient when I'm asking newbie questions
Looking forward to the new and improved, hope it goes smooth.

Vtac - I'm new to the forum, but I'm here to stay and I must say I dig the proposed update. I appreciate your considerations.

Hey I'm fine with the new forum software, but I think it would make the change much easier aesthetically if a few settings were adjusted.

- The text colour needs to be the brighter off-white it is now (it's a duller grey in the new forum).

- The text is also too small - when I zoom in, the text doesn't increase in size (at least not until I really zoom in).

- Must have FC Green. We really do need FC Green to make this place feel like FC - that blue has got to go. With green links, green usernames, green forum titles, green topic titles, and of course, the name of the site at the top of the pages in all of its green glory.

- And I'd also suggest finetuning even the background shades of grey to the current hues. Hardly a huge issue, but after staring at the current site for so long, our brains know the difference and will find it a little jarring. EDIT: Actually, looking at the shades again, it looks like you may be using the current shades, but used for different elements. It seems that the shade of grey you have for thread content background is the darker one you use in the post-writing (or reply) field. The lighter one now seems to be being used for the forum borders.

We're all going to have a bit of learning to do with a change of software, but keeping as many of these present design elements as possible would offer a bit of psychological continuity and comfort to see us through the required mental readjustment. As a bunch of stoners, we need that sort of shit. However if and when the change happens, I look forward to it, and a new, powerful FC.

I'm curious, can a user pack everything he used and download to get a copy on safe media for later reference or is everything going to be erased?

A complete set of emoticons wouldn't hurt, in any case. Please take great care that the new ones blend correctly with the background!

That setup looks cool. The messaging system is a biggie, imo. I know all this must be alot of work! Work that somebody like "me" knows "nothing" about. vtac, thank you for what you do in order to provide this site for everyone.

Qbit said:

Hey I'm fine with the new forum software, but I think it would make the change much easier aesthetically if a few settings were adjusted.

- The text colour needs to be the brighter off-white it is now (it's a duller grey in the new forum).

- The text is also too small - when I zoom in, the text doesn't increase in size (at least not until I really zoom in).

- Must have FC Green. We really do need FC Green to make this place feel like FC - that blue has got to go. With green links, green usernames, green forum titles, green topic titles, and of course, the name of the site at the top of the pages in all of its green glory.

Click to expand...

Agree with all of this.

I don't like change
xenforo feels weird to me. vBulletin is still the best IMO

anyone know if xenforo already works with tapatalk?

i kind of liked the simplicity of the current site, imho the less flash the more content..least it becomes more focused on that for a lack of other things. good luck with the switch, im sure it will be an adjustment but likely well worth it in the long run. there is a tapatalk plugin for xenforo...i built/manage some forums that use tapatalk.

Whatever you do and however it looks and works, we love it!
Good job VTAC. Always thinking of the forum members and making this forum better.
It is comforting to know we have you in charge of FC.
Thank you.

Rick is behind it, and I anticipated when testing the software that the older members might be th hardest to bring around.... thanks for supportng the mod's Rick.

After a week or two of testing, I really like the new software. Just my opinion, a lot more features.

I agree, this sounds like a great idea. I'm a database and app admin, and I know upgrades/system changes can be a pain but they're essential.

I'm someone who has stopped being able to receive FC emails, so I personally would be helped by this.

I love it! I have used other software from some other forums like this and I think it will be definitely an upgrade!! I am happy to be riding the next wave with all of my best FC Buds and Budettes! Happy Friday everyone!!!

...no matter how long you think it will take...it will probably take a little longer...but it will also be worth it in the end...and regular users of this site is aware that there has been an increase in population...

No need to fear change! I think it would be a great time to switch and upgrade for new features, and people can get used to it--being lazy isn't a true excuse . I don't see the integrity of the community changing enough that features overtake content or quality goes down. I see lots of potential here after the upgrades, and nobody is going to force members to use new features if they don't want to. Wins all around.

mrfloopa said:

--being lazy isn't a true excuse .

Click to expand...

Fuck, if I would have known THAT, I wouldn't have been using that as an excuse for the past 60 years.