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New forum options


By gotwind2, Section Diaries
Posted on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 03:07:13 PM MST
This may be of interst to Admin.

Firstly, I am not promoting my own site or forum.
I'm just demonstrating what can be achieved with free software, namely a phpbb board.

The migration process can be done, it also prunes any 'inactive' users to provide a more efficient site.

Tom/Kurt, please let this one through - it is an example of a succesful forum migration I did only yesterday. a lot faster too.

http://www.gotwind.org/forum/index.php
New forum options | 27 comments (27 topical)

Re: New forum options (5.00 / 1) (#10)
by Fused on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 08:06:22 AM MST

FL may be slow moving, but its still the only site with the most GOOD information.
There are plenty of sites with blind leading the blind and looking for ways to profit from it, Ill just keep moving slowly ahead, and learning from Fieldlines.

Fused



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#1)
by TomW on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 03:53:26 PM MST

After all the times you have slammed this forum I am personally less than interested in your opinion.

You seem to revel in attacking this forum on yours, and at the same time every chance you get you pimp yours here. You are pimping it in this post.

I am sure ADMIN  has been inspired to instant action by your generosity. I am not so I will refrain from further comment

Just my observations.

Tom



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#4)
by frepdx on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 07:38:19 PM MST

TomW, please stop with the ad hominems. Focus on the problem, not on the person.

Personally, I play a game of solitaire while I wait for the 'recent activity' link to load.

OK, I just tried to post this six times, maybe the seventh will go through ;)

No such luck :(

lucky number eight?

OK, time for a game of solitaire ...

[ Parent ]



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#15)
by gotwind2 on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 12:56:26 PM MST

TomW.
As I started this diary I only feel it is right to defend my position, and set the record straight.

Not once have I ever 'slammed' the fieldlines forum/board, this can be checked over on the archive section on my forum.

I visit here daily and can be quoted to say 'I love this forum', which I do.

Some of the best DIY and profesional minds contribute here, with the likes of Flux and the Dans e.t.c giving amazing advice for free.

I guess my final frustration has been from continual postings I've made being deleted after putting in a good time writing them, I had assumed that TomW was doing this, particularly without some explaination - Sorry if I have this wrong Tom.

This forum functionality personally hasn't been too bad recently for me, using Firefox in the U.K. I simply wanted to demonstrate there are other more reliable board software, proven the world over.

Appologies for any offence caused.

I agree with others, petty squables do nothing constructive, only destructive.

www.gotwind.org


[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#16)
by gotwind2 on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 03:00:39 PM MST

To add.
As I am annoyed at your comments Tom.

You have no idea of what we are trying to achieve (quietly) in 3rd world countries, again with sponsorship with companies that can aford it.

Things aren't always what they seem..

Ben.

www.gotwind.org


[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#2)
by fabricator on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 06:16:11 PM MST

Yeah well, this is the first time I have been able to log on this week, either the "we are upgrading message" or just "waiting for fieldlines" time outs.
I aint skeered a nuthin......Oh S%*T! What was that?!!!


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#3)
by Nothing40 on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 07:08:15 PM MST

Tom,it's not the site/forum -the people here are great. It's the crappy forum SOFTWARE,It's been the bane of this site for years,and you guys(admin's,etc.) seem dead-set against changing it to something better,I just don't understand why? We've been talking about this for atleast the last 2-3 years and it's only gotten worse since then.

I've been getting the "Sorry we're upgrading" page almost every time I visit lately,the other night I plain gave up.(maybe you actually were upgrading? I dunno.) Not to mention,when it does load,it's often incredibly slow,and time-outs are common. We'll see if this even posts.

Yes,I'm B*^ching,But I'm annoyed with the situation - What is/was an awesome site is being left to rot away,and it is rotting. It's damn near unusable anymore.
I know there are some technical issues to resolve,along with potential financial problems,but Myself and others here are willing to help out however we can. We've offered up suggestions for half a dozen better forum packages,hosting,whatever,but it all seems to fall on deaf ears.

That's my take on it anyways. Shrug



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#5)
by Volvo farmer on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 07:38:22 PM MST

It might be too late, This place might have been too broken for too long to maintain what used to be a wonderful community of like-minded folks. I dunno.

I might also be posting false hope here, so take what I say with a grain of salt... I have it on good information that the Admin are moving towards a more modern software. I happen to know that one fellow they might be working with is very capable and bright in this field, so there is some hope.

I also get the upgrading error every day, but I have seen the faces of the guys who run this place in person, and they are not bad people. Some people might want to light a fire under their asses to fix it, and honestly, I would fan those flames with the biggest fan I could find. However, it seems to me that things are moving in a positive direction lately, and that there might be cause for all of us to hang in there.

And as for Tom ripping the Gotwind fellow a new one, It seemed unnecessary on this post, but I am unaware of prior baggage between those two.

Volvo Farmer


[ Parent ]



Forum is busted no doubt about that.... (3.00 / 0) (#6)
by TomW on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 08:41:05 PM MST

40;


What is/was an awesome site is being left to rot away,and it is rotting. It's damn near unusable anymore.

Preaching to the choir there. The forum issues are the responsibility of ADMIN, IMHO regardless of the "reason".

Move a site of this scale, do no testing then leave for nearly 3 weeks. Not sure what others read in to that but I know what it says to me.

I have been suggesting a different approach for years just not publicly. You should try doing this work for Luddites. Nothing happens no matter what you try. Nothing I can do about ingrained philosophies like the self healing forum delusion.

Time will tell if the Buckhorn boys can salvage anything from this train wreck. I think it is too late already myself. Nothing I can do but sit and wait which is what I have to do every time I click a fieldlines link since the upgrade. Recent activity can take 15 minutes to load if it loads which it doesn't 9 out of 10 times the last 2 days.

I doubt anyone would say "it is fine" though many would not complain even if it was unusable so it is hard to say how others experience the site.

Everyone is aware the forum sucks to use all the way up to the top of the chain of command here.

I quit asking what was being done about it awhile back. I also decided I am not keeping quiet about what is [not] being done to salvage what is left.

The original poser [sic] just gets under my skin with his self serving tactics around here. Diary or not.

Tom

The Truth is the Truth, even if no one believes it; and a lie is a lie even if everyone believes it


[ Parent ]



Re: Forum is busted no doubt about that.... (3.00 / 0) (#11)
by JoeWXYZ on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 08:29:15 AM MST

TomW, I started posting on this site in 2006 and have had great success, meeting many people and learning a lot. I have my own site and frankly I don't promote it because I know how hard it is to moderate the few members on my site. This forum was the answer for me. Work on a project, take pictures and write a small intro and some description. Push the button and presto. Just like magic! I have learned a few tricks to help me work around the software.[BR]
#1 Save my work often while I am working on a post.[BR]
#2 Research all of my posts and then post.[BR]
#3 Spelling and grammar are utmost.[BR]
Finally, respect for the work being done by dedicated people.
I don't have any problem with this site, I have more problem with the stupid popups on this computer that treat me like an idiot. YOUR COMPUTER MAY BE AT RISK. Again I will continue to post here and support your work. Joseph

[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#7)
by Norm on Thu Nov 19, 2009 at 08:52:38 PM MST

I clicked on your link....frankly I don't like
it...not enough contrast....pastel green and
light gray ?? and I don't/won't change my settings
just so I can read your link.

( :>) Norm


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#8)
by tecker on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 04:50:37 AM MST

I don't know what is wrong wwith this ssssite /forum or the like please enumerate the problem sso I can make a comparison
Thanks in advance
 John


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#9)
by tecker on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 04:52:53 AM MST

Oh I have my pkgtool out in case It's need it .

[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#20)
by dnix71 on Sat Nov 21, 2009 at 01:43:38 PM MST

I happen to like the white background on Fieldlines because it's easier to read, but some people like to be able to change the skin with the seasons.

PHPBB has come a long way in the last 8 years in terms of security and features. I would have been hesitant to use it 2 or 3 years ago because if you weren't careful about the security settings it was easy for a script-kiddy to deface or erase your site.

As long as the site supports Win98 and Linux, then I don't care what the mods run. If you only allow people with "current" OS's and browsers, then you shut out the people in the 2nd and 3rd world who really need to be able to make their own power.

[ Parent ]



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#12)
by Bruce S on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 10:19:08 AM MST

I was hoping these types of emails had slowed to a stop, but....

Firstly, I don't want to cast negatives on any website any longer as it's just not worth my time any longer.... I have an ECM I'm trying to guerrilla up.

here's what I have found to work with a few added perks.
Both on XP several *nix programs I am using FireFox 3.5.5 and such.
It works EVERY time I log in. I can post, I can surf with almost no speed problems.
AND it comes with built in spell check :-)

For those slamming TomW:
TomW is not an Admin, he's a highly paid gun slinger to keep robot spam and OU stuff off from here. I haer he's even about to a get 50% raise after 5 plus years of constant work which will take him up to a full 1/2 pence.
So throwing these barbs at him will only get his dander up and you'll get a response based on that.
I too was guilty of sending him emails asking what's up, only to realize he's not the one to send them to. At the bottom of ALL the areas is the email address to send the complaint to.

For those thinking. NO TomW and I don't always agree and I've never met TomW so there..

Stop waisting time with a hacked over hack of an old hack of I.E. try FireFox and see if you're still having problems.

As far as the Forum, if you think this is bad, just remember what it was like while it WAS off...

Bruce S

 



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#13)
by bob golding on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 10:27:54 AM MST

i rarely get the upgrading page, just sometimes. the site is working fine for me most of the time. i am on a 3g cellphone and get around 400k. i am also using onspeed. i use google chrome with vista on a lenovo  300 n200 laptop. no real problems. when i tyr to use explorer it is a differant matter altogether. very slow no comment links ect. just my 2 cents.

bob golding



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#14)
by HaroldCR on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 10:39:04 AM MST


 I use the latest upgrade of Firefox. Still have the problems others are posting about. I'm on dial-up, but, many other sites are pretty quick to load and browse. ??

[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#17)
by richhagen on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 04:19:28 PM MST

There have been a few hiccups, OK, maybe quite a few lately, but I still love this site.  It is in part thanks to the hard work of folks like TOMW and Kurt who remove the viagra ads and other spam, correct some stuff that's broken, and move stuff to appropriate or working categories.  My hat is off to them, and I feel like I owe them a bit of debt for the benefits of using this site for myself.  

That said, I also recall a couple of interesting posts from Ben, without looking up his prior postings, one on an interesting mini radial design he built, a turbine from a bike generator, and also his cell phone charging station which he built for a cell company at a fare.  There are probably many others too.  It doesn't really bother me personally that he advertises and mentions his site, I don't take that as a threat to this one.  

This sites value to me is built upon all of the postings and comments entered by the myriad of users who have contributed.  Some of these have inspired me to try new things, and to take on new projects.  I am not sure what my life would be if it were not for the Internet, it has had a profound impact upon the way I learn about things and conduct some types of business.  This site is one of the major sites that have made an impact on my life.  It would be a shame to let this archive of knowledge be lost to humanity, or to prevent its continuation and growth into the future.  

I am grateful to those who contribute here, and to those who make all of this work, even in the cumbersome way it may be currently limping along.  Rich
'A Joule saved is a Joule made'



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#18)
by mechartnik on Fri Nov 20, 2009 at 08:45:39 PM MST

HI to all,

I've been "lurking" on this site for almost a year, have recommended it to only the best of friends and even then have advised them to read before asking: I've done the same.  A wealth of knowledge, thanks to all contributors.

I access the site via a slow dial up service and am using an old system with old operating system and older Netscape. I get a few error messages once in a while, and pictures take some time to load, see dial up service above.

No complaints from me; only kudos and thanks again to those sharing their knowledge and experience.

Andor, aka Mechartnik
Andor



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#19)
by defed on Sat Nov 21, 2009 at 10:07:28 AM MST

my biggest complaint about this forum (besides the recent issues) is the fact that if you reply to an old topic, it does not bump it to the top.  so topics from 2 wks ago keep sinking further and further down and if someone comes along a month later, and has something to offer to the discussion, it stays at the bottom and noone knows that it got some new replies.

the 'typical' forum as referenced by the original poster does bump things to the top...just makes it easier to follow stuff, but that's just my opinion.

as far as color schemes, i'm sure that's all customizable by the forum owner.



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#21)
by bzrqmy on Sat Nov 21, 2009 at 05:42:56 PM MST

I know where is a wealth of knowledge in the archives of this site.  There is also a wealth of knowledge in the users that visit here regularly.  I would rather see the forum moved to another decent software and start from scratch than watch it die, which is what is happening now.


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#22)
by hiker on Sun Nov 22, 2009 at 02:10:37 AM MST

im starting to wounder if some deviouse outfit is targeting this site !!
they are out their no dout!!!!
WILD IN ALASKA
[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#23)
by defed on Sun Nov 22, 2009 at 09:17:17 AM MST

yea, big oil and the utilities are out to get us!

[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#24)
by zap on Sun Nov 22, 2009 at 11:16:41 AM MST

I wonder about that also hiker.  In my recent e-trailer story I posted a comment to ghurd about some VW solar panels and also mentioned something about 'Obamanomics' and that comment, and only that comment, mysteriously disappeared.
Was it a fluke, an inside job from someone on here who loves our new leader, or some outside force?
ghurd saw it and saw that it had vanished also, http://www.fieldlines.com/comments/2009/11/10/16828/297/19/ but that comment with 'Obamanomics' survived.  Odd...

zap
[ Parent ]


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#25)
by zap on Sun Nov 22, 2009 at 11:32:40 AM MST

I still get the "upgrading" message from time to time.  A recent diary entry seemed to take forever because I kept getting a "spamming" warning and this site seemed to end my posting abilities for a while.  I'm on Firefox 3.0.15.

I go at posting a story somewhat like Joseph above.  I usually write the post up in openoffice to get ti as polished as I can then do mostly a copy and paste here.
The e-trailer diary story was written up a few paragraphs at a time as I built the thing so doing it that way seemed natural.

Tom I think the vast majority here truly appreciate what you and Kurt do here and would hate to see this site become extinct.  Thank you.

zap



Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#26)
by adaml on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 08:43:55 AM MST

I will still be using FL.  
The kinship witnessed and help I have had from so many in my comparative short time of using this board has been tremendous, thank you.  
I can be patient when I need to be so am prepared to keep clicking till the page loads and the error messages go away.  The wealth of knowledge on hand makes this more than worthwhile in my opinion, bugs or not.


Re: New forum options (3.00 / 0) (#27)
by HaroldCR on Tue Nov 24, 2009 at 01:42:40 PM MST


 I only post about problems to show those in charge it is not isolated issues. I won't ever complain about a site. This place is awesome for the amount of help that is offered.

[ Parent ]


New forum options | 27 comments (27 topical)
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