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Message |
    
Gerald_D
Registered
Username: Gerald_d
Post Number: 1318
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 09:35 am: | 
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Hi All
In about 2 weeks time, this Forum will be converted to run on vBulletin 3.65 instead of the Discus 4.0 it is on now. For a while it is going to look really strange and messed up, and the old links will go to the wrong places - a real disaster zone! 
The current forum (on Discus) will be locked so that it will not accept any new posts. Everything here will stay readable for a couple of weeks, but you won't be able to post here. New posts will only be accepted at the new forum, but you will unfortunately have to register there again. Sorry, but we havn't found a way of transferring passwords - your chosen passwords here are "scrambled" and not visible to any administrator. I don't plan to spend time on cracking the passwords - much easier to ask all of you to register again, if you feel like it. It is not important to me to bring all the members across - fortunately this is not a commercial enterprise. 
The new Forum will capture everything that was posted at the old Forum before - that is essential and is the highest priority. Next on the priority list is to get it working simple, and to cut out a lot of the bells and whistles that come standard with vBulletin - I don't want "avatars" and "signature lines", for example. A low priority is to fix some formatting codes. Here is was the first crude test run (2 weeks ago) of the conversion. Everything should be there and you can see how much work is needed to tidy it up - a lot!
Okay, WHY am I so crazy to convert it? Well, the current Discusware board is becoming old technology and the support at Discusware relies on one person only. He has been promising a newer version for far too long and the last significant release was in 2002. We need an automatic system for dividing long threads into sequential "pages" like all modern forums do - everybody knows to go to page 1 of a thread to see the beginning. We also need "sticky" threads, those that always stay at the top - here I have used *'s and have manually forced those to the top of the thread. Etc. Anyway, folk are used to seeing a certain way of doing things on most other forums and then this old Discus one is five years behind.
However, I do promise that I am going to try and keep things SIMPLE and uncluttered. We want facts and discussions about the MACHINE - we do NOT want personalities, pictures (avatars) and signature lines of the authors.
In the change-over time, please don't send me lots of e-mails on the excuse that you can't get into the Forum. I will be working hard enough to get everything running smoothly for the average guy and won't be detracted from that to give personal attention. Please don't take offense if I simply quote this paragraph in reply to an e-mail! |
Gerald_D
Registered
Username: Gerald_d
Post Number: 1322
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 08:16 pm: |
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That test forum that I linked to above, will be deleted quite soon. I see some folk are registering there, please realise those registrations will also be deleted. |
Loren Gameros
Registered
Username: Moron_wizard
Post Number: 31
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 08:22 pm: |
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Hi Greald,
I just jumped over to the other forum, it looks great! |
Gerald_D
Registered
Username: Gerald_d
Post Number: 1323
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, May 02, 2007 - 08:28 pm: |
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I think it looks terrible! The only thing great about it is that no information is going to get lost in the transfer. |
Marc Shlaes
Registered
Username: Shlazor
Post Number: 9
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Thursday, May 03, 2007 - 08:03 pm: |
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Gerald, One of the small joys of my day is waking up and learning a little more each day about CNC routers by checking the new messages in the forum. (And again - of course - before I go to bed.) I know I am not alone. There will be a bunch of us biting our nails and going through withdrawal for that short period. If there is anything I can do to help - such as testing or spot checking - whatever. Please just ask. I would be happy to contribute. |
Hugo Carradini
Registered
Username: Hugotel
Post Number: 63
Registered: 11-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 12:19 am: |
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Gerald, changes are uncomfortable but necessaries. We know how important this is for you and I am sure you will end up with something well organized.
Thanks for your efforts.
Hugo Carradini |
Gerald_D
Registered
Username: Gerald_d
Post Number: 1331
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 07:51 am: |
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It would help me a bit if you guys give me frank opinions on what you like/dislike about this old forum, and what you like/dislike about a modern forum like cnczone. What I don't like about the "modern" look is that it is so focussed on the people and not the subject. It tells you who is on-line, what topics they post in the most, how often they go to the toilet, etc. What I really want to know is whether they use mm or inches, or what their power supply voltage is.
Another thing I dislike (actually hate) is having the reply box too far away from the last message, so that you have to scroll backwards and forwards to give an accurate reply based on all the numbers and facts in the last message. On cnczone two hulking big advertisements are strategically placed so that you are forced to keep scrolling over the ad! example |
Alan Conolly
Registered
Username: Alan_c
Post Number: 15
Registered: 07-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 08:24 am: |
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In the present forum, we are advised by e-mail of any post in any topic which is a great help to keeping up with what is being discussed / debated on the forum. I speak (type) under correction but it appears that one needs to be "registered" under every seperate subject to be kept informed of the goings on - this will require a lot more time to be spent moving around the forum from topic to topic to stay up to date, what I am trying to say is that the current forum is very easy to navigate as it has a flat structure and something like the CNCZone is a lot more complex and multi leveled, I find I get lost there and it tends to be slower what with all the ads, avatars and bells and whistles - short answer yeah to the upgrade but keep it user friendly (if possible within the constraints of the new software) |
Gerald_D
Registered
Username: Gerald_d
Post Number: 1332
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 09:36 am: |
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Alan, this board gives you e-mail notification of ALL posts because you selected it in your profile, topic by topic. (Most users here have not selected it). It was easy for you to do it on this forum because there are few topics. I don't think you would select ALL topics in cnczone because that will flood your mailbox with a few hundred mails per day! (A snag at this forum, and probably the new one, is when I add a new Topic - you won't get notifications, and maybe not even know the topic exists....)
The planned default setting at the new board will be that everyone gets e-mail notices of "replies" - in other words, every post that follows your own in a particular thread. Each user could chose to get notices from particular topics even if they have not posted in them (very similar to the settings here now) |
Gerald_D
Registered
Username: Gerald_d
Post Number: 1333
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 09:44 am: |
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Just a note for those not familiar with e-mail notification: The original post in a thread gets instantly mailed to whoever has chosen to "watch" that thread. Subsequent edits or deletions to that post do not get mailed. What finally (after the allowed edit/delete time) appears on the forum might be quite different to what is sitting in a couple of people's mailboxes) |
Bob Cole
Registered
Username: Bob_cole
Post Number: 32
Registered: 10-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 02:07 pm: |
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Gerald:
Just my 3ç worth. I guess because I am OLD (in relative terms) I don't like change. Your forum here has become comfortable, easy to navigate, and most importantly INFORMATIVE. The new forum doesn't seem set up to be readable like this forum. (ie) EVERY TIME I log in here the first thing I do is hit the "check for new messages" tab, and BOOM I get ALL the latest news. I never get lost, never have to read the older posts, unless I need to. And generally give you the highest of accolades for what you have created here.
IF you must move to a new venue, I will follow......hesitantly, but I WILL follow.
Make the new forum the best you can to follow this one, and us OLD FOGEYS, will just have to trip along behind as best we can. |
Gerald_D
Registered
Username: Gerald_d
Post Number: 1334
Registered: 11-2005
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 05:20 pm: |
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Ah Bob, a man after my heart!
My biggest gripe with this old forum is found when I link people to this thread, for example, and people don't realise that thread actually starts at the "Archive through March 02, 2007" link at the top of that page. I could have said "have a look at this thread and that starts at the beginning, but then it doesn't tell you where the next page is. Folk are much more used to seeing the Page 1 2 3 4 5 .... format these days and it does make more sense.
So far, this forum is young and we don't see this problem much yet because the threads are still relatively short.
My other big problem is "perma-threads". If you look at this page, for example, I want those 6 posts with the *'s to stay at the top because I feel they give the best overview of the essentials to a newbie. The threads below them should be sorted by last activity on top of list, but this forum cannot do it automatically - we can't do the perma-threads here that other boards allow.
Another issue is to make it easier for everyone to post photos.
Etc.
I have to do the conversion sooner, rather than later, and with most people suddenly getting outdoor weather, this forum is now relatively quiet.
Tomorrow I leave for Atlanta GA until Mother's Day (I have to find many ways to remember that!) but I will pop in here if I can find internet somewhere. (I outgrew laptops about 5 years ago - or maybe they just left me behind? ) |
Marc Shlaes
Registered
Username: Shlazor
Post Number: 10
Registered: 02-2007
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 06:56 pm: |
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Gerald,
My usage of the MechMate forum is just like Bob's. I hit "check new messages" and I am reading. I like that a lot. I don't use email notification at all. I just spent time in CNC Zone - where I have hardly been since discovering MechMate - and I really don't mind that format either.
Bottom line, do what you need to do and we'll help any way we can.
Thanks for all your work. |
Jay Waters
Registered
Username: Mrgadget
Post Number: 32
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Friday, May 04, 2007 - 09:51 pm: |
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I, too, like Bob have found this forum to be comfortable and easy to read. The upgrades that will take place with the new forum will definitely improve this forum. One feature I really like is that I can hit the main forum page and hit F5 and refresh and see where all the new posts are indicated by the NEW graphic. Just my 2 pence worth!! |
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