New Forum Software

[Ben Ruset]

As you can see, I've switched the software that runs the NJPB discussions. We've been running vBulletin for a long, long time but it's time for a change to something more feature rich, future proof, and sustainable.

You should be able to log into your account with your same username and password.

All of your posts and private messages should have come over.

I am sure there will be questions, comments, and bugs. Feel free to use this thread for tech support.

 

[Ben Ruset]

Big Change!

In the events forum, you'll notice two buttons. "Post New Thread" and "Post New Event." If you post a new event, you'll be brought to a page where you can enter information about an event, including an address that will display into a Google Map. You can set the event date/time etc. here and people can RSVP to your event by clicking on a link in the event description.

The event gets automatically inserted into the site calendar, meaning that this will be available for anybody to plan a event or outing and have it show up site-wide.

You can use the thread to discuss the event as normal.

The "Post New Thread" button is for posting a regular (non-Event) thread, which might be useful for you to post about your own day in the Pines or something along those lines.

 

[Boyd]

Wow Ben, you've been busy!

 

[Teegate]

A few questions. Is there going to be a "Mark Forums Read" feature? Maybe there is and I have not found it yet.

Also, is there going to be more of an alert than just the little icon in the inbox area when a "Conversation" arrives?

Guy

 

[Ben Ruset]

A few questions. Is there going to be a "Mark Forums Read" feature? Maybe there is and I have not found it yet.

In the navigation bar, click on the triangle next to "Forums." The first link is "Mark All Forums as Read"

Also, is there going to be more of an alert than just the little icon in the inbox area when a "Conversation" arrives?

Check your email address in your profile. I got a PM and got an email alert.

 

[dogg57]

New look...Bigger font easier to read! Have to check the rest of the site out. Looks great

 

[dogg57]

posts and private messages should have come over. Looks like That is true! Only thing I dont see is are post numbers and titles like (piney etc)

 

[Teegate]

In the navigation bar, click on the triangle next to "Forums." The first link is "Mark All Forums as Read"

I see it now.

Guy

 

[Teegate]

If I go to the Gallery page, it still says the forums are turned off. And it shows the old PM alerts but when I click I get an error.

Guy

 

[Ben Ruset]

posts and private messages should have come over. Looks like That is true! Only thing I dont see is are post numbers and titles like (piney etc)

I wanted to not display the number of posts because I didn't want people to feel like there was a sense of elitism based on the number of posts people had made. The new system here that determines what your title is are "Trophy Points" which are based on various factors (number of posts, how many people "like" your post, how long you've been here, etc.) On the old software custom titles were based on your post count. I've noticed that some folks trophy points haven't really corresponded to their post count (I was assuming it'd come over in a 1:1 ratio, but apparently not.)

I think it may fix itself when the database cleanup jobs run tonight, but if not I'll just manually give people who ask whatever trophy points they need to get back to their old levels if necessary.

 

[Ben Ruset]

If I go to the Gallery page, it still says the forums are turned off. And it shows the old PM alerts but when I click I get an error.

Guy

The gallery is still linked into vBulletin, which is still installed on the server (and shut off, and not working right because it's conflicting with the URL to this forum software.)

The gallery is now integrated into the new forum software. It's running the default theme, though so it's ugly.

 

[Teegate]

I wanted to not display the number of posts because I didn't want people to feel like there was a sense of elitism based on the number of posts people had made. The new system here that determines what your title is are "Trophy Points" which are based on various factors (number of posts, how many people "like" your post, how long you've been here, etc.) On the old software custom titles were based on your post count. I've noticed that some folks trophy points haven't really corresponded to their post count (I was assuming it'd come over in a 1:1 ratio, but apparently not.)

I think it may fix itself when the database cleanup jobs run tonight, but if not I'll just manually give people who ask whatever trophy points they need to get back to their old levels if necessary.

Sounds fair.

Guy

 

[dogg57]

I understand On the post numbers.Looks good on windows7 and XP Nice job.

 

[MarkBNJ]

I like it Ben. Nice work! Looks really clean and easy to work with so far. I wasn't sure I'd like the serif font, but after reading a few posts I find I do.

 

[Ben Ruset]

The gallery is still linked into vBulletin, which is still installed on the server (and shut off, and not working right because it's conflicting with the URL to this forum software.)

Aaaaand now I've pulled the Gallery out of vBulletin and took vB down. So the Gallery is - as of right now - it's own stand alone thing that you can access with your old forums credentials. (New accounts created after 9pm today or so won't have account access to the gallery.)

Edit: The gallery has been reintegrated with the forums. You can use your NJPB login to access the gallery. The only thing is that it's not running the NJPB style so it's a bit ugly. But if you have an account here you should be able to use the gallery again.

 

[bobpbx]

Ben, the site only takes up 1/3 of my monitor now (right in the center). The remaining is the pine tree background.
??

 

[Ben Ruset]

The site runs in a window 960 pixels wide. You must have a really huge monitor.

 

[this_is_nascar]

Maybe after a few days of using the new software I'll warm-up to it, but I can't say that I'm diggin' it as of right now. It took forever for me to find out/where to login and even now, can't find a "new post" button. The software also seems to be wasting a whole bunch of screen real estate in that the viewable window is only a column in the middle of the screen with 2-3 inches of background on the left and right being wasted.

 

[this_is_nascar]

Oh, it looks like my avatar is messed up now to.

 

[Ben Ruset]

There's a thread in the "Frequently Asked Questions" forum entitled "How the Heck Do I Log In Here?" with a screenshot of where to click to log in. But you're right, I ought to add a link under the "Sign Up Now" button to log in as well. Edit: Done!

"New Post" will only show up in forums that you can create new threads in. This forum (Site News & Games) and the FAQ forum will not let anybody but admins make new threads. Go into one of the other forums and you should see a big green button that says "Post New Thread."

The decision to not go full-width was to make the look of the forums integrate with the homepage. It is what it is, I'm not going to be changing it. It's 960 pixels wide, which provides the best compatibility with 17" LCD monitors.

Your avatar is messed up because it's not a square image. Also it looks like it was being zoomed in. Try re-uploading it.