A major upgrade is coming!

[DragonLady]

The SMF development team have been hard at work on a major upgrade to the forums. I've been reading through the changelog, and I'm pretty excited about it, as they're going to bring in new features, make some old hacks part of the official code, and make the theme sets more friendly for mobile devices.

However, because so much is going to change, this will be a one-way trip.  Once it's installed, for better or worse, we won't be able to go back.

It's in beta form now, but looks like it will be ready for release this fall, so I'll be doing everything I can to help prepare us for the changes.  I'll be optimizing and streamlining topics, removing old logs and other data we don't absolutely need to keep, cleaning all the caches and making sure we're as shipshape as we can be.

This activity may make things a bit bumpy sometimes, but as always, I'll be right here if anything goes haywire, to bring us back online just as soon as possible.

[Lisanne]

Many Thanks Dragon Lady for all you do to keep us going   

[LynnH]

Looking forward to the changes!
Lynn

[sewsy]

Many Thanks Dragon Lady for all you do to keep us going   

Hear hear!!!

[DragonLady]

Thank-you, everyone.

I'll keep this topic updated as things change.

[DragonLady]

Whilst I'm reorganizing, does anyone have any special requests for new boards, or changes to the ones we have?  If so, now is a good time for me to do stuff like that.

[peggyjo]

Will we still have access to the "classic" site content?

[DragonLady]

Will we still have access to the "classic" site content?

I don't intend to take it away, although I might have to reorganize it somehow, or limit it to registered members or something.

If I don't do something with it, it will eventually no longer run, as the way it's written will become more obsolete every time browsers and internet protocols change.

[Lisanne]

Whilst I'm reorganizing, does anyone have any special requests for new boards, or changes to the ones we have?  If so, now is a good time for me to do stuff like that.

Were there some problems with individual galleries for the SWAP entries ?

[DragonLady]

Whilst I'm reorganizing, does anyone have any special requests for new boards, or changes to the ones we have?  If so, now is a good time for me to do stuff like that.

Were there some problems with individual galleries for the SWAP entries ?

Ughm.... IIRC, I had everyone upload their stuff, then moved it to the SWAP gallery. 

The gallery is a 3rd party plugin, so doesn't work as nicely with SG's core prgramming as I would like.  After the upgrade is done, I'll have to take another long look at the gallery and decide whether it's really something we want to keep.  As much as I do like the idea of it, the actual implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

[Bookish]

Under "Patterns and Instructions" we don't seem to use the 'Pattern Line Info Indexes'... so that could go I should think.

May the Force be with you during the upgrade.

[DragonLady]

Under "Patterns and Instructions" we don't seem to use the 'Pattern Line Info Indexes'... so that could go I should think.

May the Force be with you during the upgrade.

Okay; I'll take a look at that.

[DragonLady]

May the Force be with you during the upgrade.

Thanks!  I'm gonna need it. 


Do you know that making a full backup of SG -all the avatars, images, posts, private messages, etc.- in a gzip format, takes over 12 hours? Ugh!!!


It's why my computer looks like an episode of hoarders, as I usually only download the portions I'll be changing, then make a copy, then make the changes, upload the copy...rinse and repeat.  So sometimes I have ten copies of a single file, each only slightly different...and when the whole site needs overhauled, I have to start over from square one.


(someone pass the liquor; it's gonna be a l-on-g weekend) 

[DragonLady]

Okay; SG Classic's database has been backed up, so I'm going to try to make it ready for the upgrade.  That means it will probably be offline for a while, but I don't think it should be down for long, unless it fails completely.  If that happens, it will take a while to get it reinstalled, as that database is too large for me to do it from my desktop.

Just bear with me.

[Lisanne]

The gallery is a 3rd party plugin, so doesn't work as nicely with SG's core prgramming as I would like.  After the upgrade is done, I'll have to take another long look at the gallery and decide whether it's really something we want to keep.  As much as I do like the idea of it, the actual implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

Is there a better solution for seeing the contributions to SWAP ?

[DragonLady]

The gallery is a 3rd party plugin, so doesn't work as nicely with SG's core prgramming as I would like.  After the upgrade is done, I'll have to take another long look at the gallery and decide whether it's really something we want to keep.  As much as I do like the idea of it, the actual implementation leaves a lot to be desired.

Is there a better solution for seeing the contributions to SWAP ?

Not really -or at least, not at this time.  That's why the gallery was installed in the first place.  When I'm closer to being finished with everything else, and the upgrade is closer to being ready to install, I'll take a look 'round and see if I can find another solution.  I like being able to scroll through the SWAP images as groups, and I like being able to keep the older ones for future inspiration, but just don't like the way the current gallery works very well.

[fzxdoc]

Agreed. The current gallery is cumbersome to use. We were spoiled back in the day when Ann Rowley loaded them all on Flickr for us. 

Kathryn

[DragonLady]

I am still unable to post or read on ANY site but this one.   

LyndaC

I'm sorry you're going through that.  However, there really isn't much I can do here, except offer my sympathy.

It really sounds like you may have to hire a pro to take a look at your computer. The Best Buy Geek Squad, maybe?

[DragonLady]

I am still unable to post or read on ANY site but this one.   

LyndaC

Have you run a really comprehensive virus or pc doctor type of scan lately?  Something like Norton's Disc Doctor (do they still make that?) or even a free version like Avast?

I've been racking my brains for hours, but I absolutely cannot fathom why this site would work for you if nothing else will.

[DragonLady]

Our hosts will be updating our php install on Thursday, August 9th, so SG will likely be down for several hours or even most of the day.

I'll try to remember to add a news bulletin about it a couple of days before, to remind everyone.

[DragonLady]

(sigh)

We're still waiting...the latest word from the dev team is:

..there's been a few nasty bugs found in the build....

which they are working on.  In the meantime, I assure everyone I do check almost every day, and am just as antsy to see the new release candidate as anyone can be.