Updates - Plz Read

[MetalMilitia]

Few things I gotta cover... seperated into pros + cons. Feedback feedback feedback feedback... and feedback is what I need :) - And yeah, it's a long read and hopefully makes sense to those without any sort of modding/coding/web skills.

Just renewed the domain through 2014 (that's called optimism in light of 2012 ) - and renewed the forums software (nope, it's not free) - looks fantastic. No... we aren't using it right now, as nothing seemingly changed.

Cons - aka "The problem is this"

Vbulletin (forums software) has a massive update they just released last week - fully working + stable. It's like myspace/facebook/and wordpress had a 3some, and gave birth. I would very much like to try it out.

• Problem 1: Customization will be gone temporarily. The old XML/CSS (colors, images, forums "styles) are not compatible with the upgrade. There would be a week or two where the forums may look 'funky' with white backgrounds, lack of logo's and default images 'til I create a new one.
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• Problem 2: Covered this one many times. The size of the database is now 700 megs as of tonight - the only way to trim it or ditch some of the size would be to delete posts and threads that have been active (but not posted in) since the stone age. Nothing since 1/1/2005 has been "pruned" or deleted in mass numbers - I know I like keeping the threads, it's site history. However, the current host has warned me numerous times about over-usage, and quite honestly - most "shared" hosting places don't allow over 300-500 megabytes.... let alone 700+ megabytes in a database.
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• Problem 3: URL changes. The forum would still be on this domain and working, that won't ever change. Essentially, what WILL happen should I do this would be a complete re-write of the URL's and locations. Meaning, if you have things bookmarked, you might have to rediscover them or search them to find. Yes, I can hear some of you crying already....
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• Problem 4: Main site would need MASSIVE work. Basically what happens in the update is this : Entire site, powered by the forums software - including articles, blogs, news sections, custom pages, universal logins... Content and pages may take a while to add back.

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Enough shitty news

The Pros - aka "many benefits"

• Awesome shit 1: The main page as it stands, is basically posted to and updated by me. No one else posts news to the main site, or has in ages. What this massive upgrade would do is allow me to put people in place to run their own "sections". Much like the forums.... but read by many more people. There is an option on a forums post to "promote" to an article or news item. It gets sent to the main page in article format or news format, leaves a link back to the original forum post, and allows comments (if we choose) to be posted by even anonymous or registered guests.
  
  If your post was even a news snippet, it can still be grabbed and posted into the news or appropriate section/category. Rather than just me, anything site related could be promoted and posted to the main site. I know a lot of people would probably LOVE this idea for earthquakes or breaking news.
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• Awesome shit 2: Site wide integration. User accounts would have different privileges, as mentioned above, and would be universal. Writers, editors, publishers, 'taggers' (recommend something for main page)... so on and so forth.
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• Awesome shit 3: Blogs / personal space. Yup... if chosen, contributors / authors / fantasy writers / science bloggers.... nearly anything and every person can be given a blog to use. Depending on what you write - even completely UNRELATED to the main site, you could still maintain a personal blog section (food, cars, survival based... the list goes on)
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• Awesome shit 4: Massively upgraded user profiles and options. Can't even explain the differences - rest assured, the profiles and options are superior in all ways.

This new software is what I've personally been looking for. Using forums posts (the non psychotic ones) and bumping them to the main page to lure people in. All the site articles, news sections, categories would go back in place - but as I said, the underlying intent is to allow people more freedom in generating content.

I don't know how many people your free website gets in terms of readership.... or your myspace page, but I'd probably wager that AO generates more page views than most of the members combined.

It's not bragging by any means... the intention of what I'm trying to say is this : where else could you start with thousands of people per day readership? The approach here is to have people doing their own thing (almost regardless of topic) and meshing it all to this board. Give people a personal space to write and publish, and if relevant to the site - bump it up to the main site/front page.

Basically, this is me, trying to get everyone involved. More news, more live updates, more articles, more people hitting the forums, more writing, more customization, more integration.... the list goes on.

The downfall will be some glaring flaws (for up to a few weeks) and maybe some clumsy mistakes and hard learning processes. Having 1 fluid site as opposed to just me handling everything non-forums seems within reach.

...But, I defer to you peoples first.... how do you want this to go down? Thoughts / suggestions / feedback / opinions.

[one14am]

Hey, It's yur sandbox.

If it totally sucks ass from now on I wont play here. But somehow I suspect this is growing pains and it will be good. :-)

I was caught off guard in the last 24 hrs with site down and then later with an abrupt "be back in a few minutes" page any time I did anything. Down time is expected but a notice is helpful. I actually like coming back after a downtime and finding changes. Perhaps that's just me after years of working software.

My biggest concern would be mobile access. I have had difficulty with the present system using a palm 680. But I will be going Nexus one as soon as I can get through to the order site (they have had their own site hardships). I want mobile access to be as functional as possible.

I'd love to be able post images directly too. But that eats space. Just a thought.

That's my suggestion and feedback. Good luck and thank you.

[Cherisa]

IMO, you can dump every thing from 07 back. There's not really much new anyway. and we have at least 200 Nazi Mod threads. So, feel free..

And how do you make sure psychotic posts don't show up?

[MetalMilitia]

Originally Posted by one14am

Hey, It's yur sandbox.
I was caught off guard in the last 24 hrs with site down and then later with an abrupt "be back in a few minutes" page any time I did anything. Down time is expected but a notice is helpful. I actually like coming back after a downtime and finding changes. Perhaps that's just me after years of working software.

My license was set to expire 1/10/10... and it just so happened to be -15f or so, and my car wouldn't start lol. Throughout the day, I did have a warning about posting, but the real crime is my home upload speed. Don't know how many of you upload very many things, other than small pictures, but the forums database is 700 megabytes - and my upload speed is capped @ 70k/sec. Doesn't sound like much, but that's 30,000 files in 2,500 different folders.

I've complained numerous times to my ISP about upload cap speeds, it's pretty much a moot point to argue with them.

The update isn't in place now, believe me if it were, you wouldn't even recognize the site :)

My biggest concern would be mobile access. I have had difficulty with the present system using a palm 680. But I will be going Nexus one as soon as I can get through to the order site (they have had their own site hardships). I want mobile access to be as functional as possible.

My cell phone is right out of the 1980's, but this has come up. vBulletin 4.0 (the would be upgrade) has a mobile friendly skin available - though I don't know how well it works.

I'd love to be able post images directly too. But that eats space. Just a thought.

Space isn't much of a problem.... The alternative is giving usergroups different "attachment" options (file extensions, size restrictions etc). The built in system does allow for direct posting, or at least should... Most people just stick with imageshack or something similar.

Originally Posted by Cherisa

IMO, you can dump every thing from 07 back. There's not really much new anyway. and we have at least 200 Nazi Mod threads. So, feel free..

- Complain to your hearts desire about how terrible the place is, it ain't gonna phase me. There's literally 30+ billion webpages to explore, don't gotta sit here and raise a fuss over something that isn't even really troublesome. The minute you think we're nazi's or limiting free speech in some way, hit up a christian forum and try to suggest an alternative god. They love that....

Also - deleting old threads isn't anything but a 'quick' (temporary) fix. It would have to be a repeating process, meaning every thread that reached a certain age or inactivity would automatically be deleted.

And how do you make sure psychotic posts don't show up?

I pick who gets to publish and who doesn't. It's magic :)

[Traveler]

There is one item to consider. How modern does the software for the users computer have to be to operate on the site.

Windows 98 only just gets by on the site as it is, will Vista be out the window soon as well. It may be an idea to check back and see if a situation happens where you start to loose posters simply because they are getting out dated there end.

Keep in mind that a fancy set up is no use if people can't access it!

[MetalMilitia]

Originally Posted by Traveler

There is one item to consider. How modern does the software for the users computer have to be to operate on the site.

Windows 98 only just gets by on the site as it is, will Vista be out the window soon as well. It may be an idea to check back and see if a situation happens where you start to loose posters simply because they are getting out dated there end.

Keep in mind that a fancy set up is no use if people can't access it!

No other requirements... just internet and a decent browser :P

Opera/firefox/IE - any more recent ones. Doesn't change any requirements on your end.

[Traveler]

Well then go for it. why not?

[Cherisa]

Originally Posted by MetalMilitia

- Complain to your hearts desire about how terrible the place is, it ain't gonna phase me. There's literally 30+ billion webpages to explore, don't gotta sit here and raise a fuss over something that isn't even really troublesome. The minute you think we're nazi's or limiting free speech in some way, hit up a christian forum and try to suggest an alternative god. They love that....

Also - deleting old threads isn't anything but a 'quick' (temporary) fix. It would have to be a repeating process, meaning every thread that reached a certain age or inactivity would automatically be deleted.

I pick who gets to publish and who doesn't. It's magic :)

Are you calling me a Troll? I wasn't complaining, you know that? I was saying there are too many nazi threads, and you can dump em..
And an ongoing thing would be cool..I mean, it's not like the world is gonna end if you don't say every post that's made here lol

[Mezurashi]

I support anything that involves a furthering of Evolution.

the last time there was a major shift to the AO Site there was also a bit of a lashback against the 'potential' of 'lost archives.'

I said it back then and I will repeat myself now ...

AO Forums are a growing organism. like a large biosphere it will occasionally suffer from 'die-backs' (in this case possible loss of archival data) but given a Short time the ReGrowth will spring back and make it difficult to tell anything had happened at all.

the read through seems clear enough - some minor issues and downtime in exchange for shiny, slick new features and capabilities.

I say Do It - the plane's at angels 10, the door's open and the chute is ready to open ...

all that's left is to jump ...

[proffett]

Yes, I echo Mez's sentiments as well. Like pruning a plant for better growth, for a moment it may be bare, but in no time it will be bigger and healthier than before...

I'm so excited about the changes and upgrades. :)

[Cherisa]

Except can you save Kathaksungs stuff? that's pretty interesting..

[New Wine]

Sounds like the pro's outweigh the con's. The biggest headache will be putting up with the complaints as the growing pains are gone through, but if your willing to go through that...then seems like a good plan ;)

I'm with cherisa...the "Nazi Mod" threads are a waste of space more times than not. But just doing away with those threads would only be a drop in the bucket of what is needed to be trimmed I would imagine.

So, maybe give a week or two time for everyone to save those precious posts to their own hard drive or disks for future reference. The archives here is awesome, but don't worry we will survive

[DontBeAfraid]

Traveler... WHY ARE YOU USING WINDOWS 98!!!!>?>?!?!!?

[AnneOminous]

Does it affect/enhance the chat feature?

[calliope]

If there's any chance for maybe a compressed archives section.....something like that? If possible, that would be great. AO is a living, evolving breathing entity yes, but part of that is due to a great foundation. Wish it were possible to keep everything, even if off in a file cabinet somewhere. Accessible of course.

[MetalMilitia]

OPEN BETA TEST

http://www.armageddononline.org/aonews/

You can sign up if you'd like - try it out... anything done there will be deleted and isn't any part of the end project.

You'll notice from the main page, that almost everything happening main site / forums / new items is available in 1 place.

Keep in mind, this is my beta test - yes it works, but it doen't represent the end product. If you sign up though, you can try out some of the new features and get the overall look + feel.

[Abyssal_Worm]

Originally Posted by MetalMilitia

OPEN BETA TEST

http://www.armageddononline.org/aonews/

You can sign up if you'd like - try it out... anything done there will be deleted and isn't any part of the end project.

You'll notice from the main page, that almost everything happening main site / forums / new items is available in 1 place.

Keep in mind, this is my beta test - yes it works, but it doen't represent the end product. If you sign up though, you can try out some of the new features and get the overall look + feel.

Just noticed something funny::

"Russia May Try to Divert Asteroid"
Categories: Seafood

lol

I'll test it out. The front page looks pretty slick.

[proffett]

I tried to register, but it kept redirecting me to this page:



If I try to log in on this page I get sent back to this page...

*Sad Panda*



*Edit

I went back to register, thinking it was a "before adequate caffeine intake time" in the morning, however the site recognizes that I do have an account there.. Then, from the registration page I input my username and password at the top right and it redirects me to the registration page, all this, after giving me the "thank you for logging in, Proffett" message..

Besides this.. The front page is awesome, I'm digging the banner. And the widgets to the right with the various recent activities are really eye catching. It's everything all in on place which is nice for those who are minimalists and don't always like to click around when new to a site or just surfing. It's always good to catch them with a main page that has something that catches their eye and the more stuff, the more attention it will grab.

I'll have to get logged in before really checking out anything else. :(

[lycanox]

I think the computer blocks all cookies.

Try opening it in Microsoft explorer with the site added to the trusted sites.
That seems to work to me.

[lycanox]

Posting on the forum seems to work normally.
But creating an avatar and signature does not seem to work yet.

[Fut004]

Hey MM,
This all sounds like such a wicked idea. The one thing I've always loved about this place is that you're constantly trying to improve and upgrade it.
Having user content hit the frontpage as news articles is a great idea, I'm interested to see how that'll work (I think some of Uki's planet x alien stuff could be a good draw for people).

Anyhow, my one concern is our User Info. Will this update keep our Join Date, number of posts, posts per day. Etc etc?
I think that is the only part of AO history worth keeping (in other words start killing '05 threads).

Lastly, you'll hopefully be keeping the AO chat going. I'm starting to enjoy my random chat time with Proff, AssX, DS and the likes.

Alright that's my two and a half cents.

[MetalMilitia]

Originally Posted by lycanox

I think the computer blocks all cookies.

Try opening it in Microsoft explorer with the site added to the trusted sites.
That seems to work to me.

Same domain = same cookie = can't login to both at once. Gotta clear 'em or use another browsers, 'spose I could have said something about that lol.

Originally Posted by Fut004

Hey MM,
This all sounds like such a wicked idea. The one thing I've always loved about this place is that you're constantly trying to improve and upgrade it.
Having user content hit the frontpage as news articles is a great idea, I'm interested to see how that'll work (I think some of Uki's planet x alien stuff could be a good draw for people).

Errr... Not saying I'd post it all in that manner ;)

I still try to post what is along the same theme, and provable - never buying into the conspiracy / hype stuff. The main point of being able to grab peoples posts, is that I'm inherently a slacker. I notice tons of shit on the boards, sometimes before I goto grab an article to post to the main page. This "promotion" function lets me see the main post created by a user, and pass it through as a category/article to the main page or section. Then it generates a link back to the forums post it came from, allowing people to see further discussion.

Anyhow, my one concern is our User Info. Will this update keep our Join Date, number of posts, posts per day. Etc etc?
I think that is the only part of AO history worth keeping (in other words start killing '05 threads).

Lastly, you'll hopefully be keeping the AO chat going. I'm starting to enjoy my random chat time with Proff, AssX, DS and the likes.

Alright that's my two and a half cents.

The forums will copy over exactly (from when I upgrade) - if someone posts inbetween or something, it would be deleted. Likel,y I would just shut the boards down... whole thing would take about 2 hours. No info should be lost - but I am considering removing threads that havent been active for years.... and years.... and years.... cause it's just a database killer.

If you want to kill some time later, go and call some "shared hosting" companies and ask them if they are willing to take on a 700MB database with several thousand people a day. They will all tell you to get bent, and that you need dedicated / VPS. Trust me, all shared hosting is NORMALLY 300mb or less and at best 500BM or less. Bluehost, the current host, has been overly helpful in continuing to help this site keep running on their hosting plan. They don't offer VPS/dedicated, and are literally | | this close to kicking me off... but still, they have been understanding and helpful. ~200 days left on the account with them -I think what I may do is try to perfect this new setup, and then move to VPS (virtual private server) once it's all setup and working.

What I'd like to do is prune everything back to 2007. So much unused crap.

And no, there really isn't a way to "stash" it someplace else. Seperating stuff out of the database like threads/posts would be something I am not willing to do. Only thing I can tell ya is to go save it, for whatever reason you want.... and give time to do so.

"Russia May Try to Divert Asteroid"
Categories: Seafood

It auto-generates a main page filled with categories + contents. Naturally you can replace them with science / natural disasters / earthquakes / midget mud wrestling.....

Still funny though

This wont happen tomorrow, or probably for a few weeks. Just showing you the next step of what we CAN do.

[proffett]

Originally Posted by MetalMilitia

Same domain = same cookie = can't login to both at once. Gotta clear 'em or use another browsers, 'spose I could have said something about that lol.

Hahaha, such a simple answer. Ty!

[MetalMilitia]

Originally Posted by lycanox

Posting on the forum seems to work normally.
But creating an avatar and signature does not seem to work yet.

No usergroups other than "registered". Everything will import from the current settings here... users, names, threads, posts, avatars, albums, profile pics.... :)

[bluenose_ian]

Sounds good, its your baby but feel free to ask if u need any help with work as sounds like alot will be needed.

Ok we might have to search for site again but done that before when it changed to .org so no probs really.