Possible site upgrade?

kamyo · Feb 19, 2020

Just curious if this was in the works or being talked about. Been a member in one form or another since the great OG migration of '05 or '06 or whenever it was. There's so much information here, and I think making a bit more accessible and less cumbersome to navigate might help out.

But mostly, I'm also totally willing to assist with that as community support. Might take some work to get her to match up with a newer version of vbulletin or different theme, but I'm sure it would be worth it.

tobedetermined · Feb 19, 2020

I was staff at 420Magazine several years ago when it transitioned from vBulletin (plus an app) to WordPress. The site was down for a couple of days due to flaky IT staff (or that’s what I was told but I suspect that Rob was just ill-prepared). The site’s members & advertisers were not happy & that continued for a few months because of changes to galleries, image uploading etc. I was just a volunteer reviewer but I ended up spending hours & hours creating pictorial instructions for numerous site functions. It was a clusterfuck as so many of these transitions are.

hayday · Feb 19, 2020

I like it nice and primitive :good:

BadTicket · Feb 20, 2020

I think it was being talked about, but with the galleries and pictures working in threads after an upgrade and stuff like that, it seemed like a lot could and would go wrong. So I don't think it will happen any time soon.. Maybe never.

So, waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait for it! :tiphat:

Ringodoggie · Feb 20, 2020

The only real useful upgrade around these days (IMO) is the push notifications feature. And, although it is available with the mobile app, it is not yet offered in the current web browser version of vBulletin (AFAIK).

The forum is using the current version of vBull but it is stripped of add-ons. Add-ons suk at every update. LOL And, changing software to something like Xenforo would be a total nightmare that would last for years and, no doubt, loose a ton of current info.

The only real option for a site this old is to archive the current site and start over. And, the only reason to do that is some catastrophic event.

.

Edit: Actually, it appears the site will have an upgrade very soon. We run version 3.8.xx and vBull has announce the end of life for version 3. So, you might not notice any change. But, the admin will be busy behind the scenes. Plus, we are running a deprecated version of TLS that will be disabled in March 2020. So, albeit not catastrophic, change is imminent.

flylowgethigh · Feb 20, 2020

Faster server would help, but maybe a lot of delay is the VPN.

amanda88 · Feb 21, 2020

kamyo said:
Just curious if this was in the works or being talked about. Been a member in one form or another since the great OG migration of '05 or '06 or whenever it was. There's so much information here, and I think making a bit more accessible and less cumbersome to navigate might help out.

But mostly, I'm also totally willing to assist with that as community support. Might take some work to get her to match up with a newer version of vbulletin or different theme, but I'm sure it would be worth it.

er...we are stoners ...no energy for such wild adventures...once we retire ...maybe just maybe! :laughing:

TheForgotten · Feb 21, 2020

Huh?

Whazzat?

What were we talking about....

Did you want blues or whites?

Zeez · Feb 21, 2020

vBulletin goes back to the bbs days. Doesn't look like they've changed much.

White Beard · Feb 22, 2020

amanda88 said:
er...we are stoners ...no energy for such wild adventures...once we retire ...maybe just maybe!

Stoners don’t “retire”...we turn professional :dance013:

Gypsy Nirvana · Feb 22, 2020

We are currently evaluating the site for transfer to a server in Canada - where we will attempt to up-grade it to a more recent version of VBulletin -

This should all be going down over the coming weeks and months - and as some members have indicated - its not a simple job - but we will try and avoid much downtime during these transitions

TheForgotten · Feb 22, 2020

Those phuckin Canucks.... :biggrin:

anoydas 666 · Feb 22, 2020

have to throw the crank handle away if it gets faster .

buzzmobile · Feb 22, 2020

anoydas 666 said:
have to throw the crank handle away if it gets faster .

kamyo · Feb 22, 2020

Gypsy Nirvana said:
We are currently evaluating the site for transfer to a server in Canada - where we will attempt to up-grade it to a more recent version of VBulletin -

This should all be going down over the coming weeks and months - and as some members have indicated - its not a simple job - but we will try and avoid much downtime during these transitions

Thanks, Gypsy. I totally understand that it's a big undertaking. A lot of different database tables and certain functionality that hopefully will still work with the new version. A staging server would hopefully mitigate that a bit so that the production deployment is smoother, but it looks like you have it pretty well planned out. Not that you'll need it, but I'm always willing do help and support in any way necessary.

Gypsy Nirvana · Feb 22, 2020

Yes - we will first take a copy of the site onto a separate server - and remove all the mods and hacks that might stall the migration or upgrades - Then see if we can get the test version running properly - stripped of a few things - before attempting to upgrade it - so adding many new features - such as being able to load images directly from your computer to a thread/post - rather than first having to stick them into a site gallery -

- the site has kinda languished in the up-grade doldrums for several years now - and it really does need to change and go forward now that I am free of any legal restraints - I think that is possible -

kamyo said:
Thanks, Gypsy. I totally understand that it's a big undertaking. A lot of different database tables and certain functionality that hopefully will still work with the new version. A staging server would hopefully mitigate that a bit so that the production deployment is smoother, but it looks like you have it pretty well planned out. Not that you'll need it, but I'm always willing do help and support in any way necessary.

Zeez · Feb 22, 2020

It does seem that the current server / software setup gets stressed regularly.

Kind of wonky.

buzzmobile · Feb 22, 2020

Gypsy Nirvana said:
so adding many new features - such as being able to load images directly from your computer to a thread/post - rather than first having to stick them into a site gallery

That's a good feature. :woohoo:

Lester Beans · Feb 22, 2020

That would make a world of difference!

Teddybrae · Mar 18, 2020

I 'm wondering Gypsy if changes will be soon? Looks like a hurry up from Mozilla ...

Gypsy Nirvana said:
Yes - we will first take a copy of the site onto a separate server - and remove all the mods and hacks that might stall the migration or upgrades - Then see if we can get the test version running properly - stripped of a few things - before attempting to upgrade it - so adding many new features - such as being able to load images directly from your computer to a thread/post - rather than first having to stick them into a site gallery -

- the site has kinda languished in the up-grade doldrums for several years now - and it really does need to change and go forward now that I am free of any legal restraints - I think that is possible -

Possible site upgrade?

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

ØG T®ipL3 ØG³

Well-known member

Non-growing Lurker

Well-known member

TheForgotten

---------------->

Active member

Recalcitrant Reprobate -

TheForgotten

anoydas 666

Well-known member

Attachments

Well-known member

Recalcitrant Reprobate -

---------------->

Well-known member

Frequent Flyer

Teddybrae