Site update

[Kev]

Hi all,

I'm planning on updating the forum software shortly. I did a test last weekend and it went ok so if I get time I might do it this coming weekend but I'll give you some notice. The site will be offline for maybe 30 mins or so.

An update will do a few things for us.

Bug fixes and security updates
The site will be responsive meaning those who view it on a phone or tablet will have a nicer 'scaled' experience
Some new features! Namely...
You will be able to post youtube, facebook, twitter etc etc links and they will automatically show up in the window with no BBcode needed
There's a more extensive notification system where you can get emails or a little (1) in the tab title if you have a notification. These include PMs and if you've been quoted by someone.
I've also got the option to add a post 'like' button so you can see who liked what you wrote. This is actually a 'thanks addon' but I'll adapt it.
You'll also be able to go to the newest unread post by clicking the big icon next to the topic title so its an easier way to get to what you haven't read yet.

The style will change a little bit but not too much. I'll recolour it in green so it's fairly similar to what we have. I'll put the logo back in and maybe find some new pictures just for a freshen up.

So basically the same but different
All of the forums will stay as they are, you won't lose any posts or smilies or anything else that you have and your logins will stay the same.

[Placido]

I'm s-o-o-o like excited like. Twitterbook an' facetube : like wow.
What ??!!

[Jacksparrow]

I for one am looking forward to the change which is the first since we migrated over four years ago. Change often brings minor frustrations as we get our heads around the new configuration but I am certain we''ll soon get used to it.
Bring it on

[Butterfly]

Its always nice to have a change in a positive way, I'll be looking forward to that. I specially like that we will have a "thank you" ot "like" button, its a nice feature to have . Thanks Kev

[greenfinch2]

Ke v ,you are a clever man do you think I wil be able to post photos on our new format

[Kev]

Nothing is really going to change with photos. You can still link them through any image hosting site though like flickr or imgur. The only one that doesn't work well is photobox after they added a premium section to the hotlinking meaning to get them to show on forums you had to pay for the premium hosting deal. You can still attach pictures though as usual.

[greenfinch2]

OK thanx Kev

[Kev]

Planning to do this on the afternoon of the 19th. Hopefully the site won't be off for too long. It'll look a bit different when it comes back on and if you happen to be around when it does, some things might not be quite right but they'll get fixed in the following hours.

[Butterfly]

Is there likely to be any data loss Kev?

[Kev]

No, none.

I'll disable the board so no one can post or join, make a database backup (which has all of the posts and users etc in it), then do the update on the existing database. If anything goes wrong I can put the back up back on to the server.

I've done the update test twice now and had no problems.