For a while now I’ve been considering a few options to improve the user experience of the forums. The first option was to try to improve the current forums, however, for a multitude of reasons (no security updates, not mobile friendly, no modern features, etc, etc) it did not make sense to continue with the current software.
So, option 2, migration of the forums to a new forum software, and the one the club has decided on is… XenForo!
Features wise, it's got everything we currently use and more. I won't go through them all, but some of the nice ones I've been playing with are push notifications. You can set these up for your phone and desktop. If you use Tapatalk you already got notifications from that, but these are built into the forum and are customisable. Another good upgrade is the PM system, or as it’s known in XenForo "Conversations". These act more like a modern chat system, rather than vB's sending a message with a quote back and forth.
A big advantage (and I think Andy will benefit from this the most) is that it has better spam protection. We can't expect zero spam, but if some does get through, it has better tools to deal with the situation.
The Admins have been testing the new software for about a month now and we’re ready to make the switch. It has been decided that on this Saturday, 6th Feb 2021, at midday we will disable access to these forums and begin the migration. It shouldn't take any more than a couple of hours, but to be on the safe side and to take the pressure off, forums will be offline between 12pm and 6pm.
I've tried to think of some of the common questions you might have about the change in forum software, but let me know if you have any others and I'll do my best to answer them.
FAQs
Q. Will we lose anything from the current forums?
A. Yes, but only the "Garage" section. This is a very old plugin that has not been supported for years and it’s not part of the site that is used very much. Apart from that, pretty much everything else will migrate across.
Q. Does it support Tapatalk?
A. Yes. Tapatalk is supported on the new forums, but with the forum having a responsive theme, push notifications, and no adverts (which you now get in Tapatalk), I don't see any reason you would want to use it like this. You can also "Install" the forum on your phone via a web browser (not supported on iOS, read the foot notes on the below page).
XenForo features: App
Q. Will this affect my current membership?
A. No. All memberships will be transferred and will have access to all the same content. Payments will continue to be via PayPal.
Q. Will I need to change my password?
A. No. XenForo supports multiple password schemes, so all existing passwords will continue to work as before.
Q. What if something goes wrong on the day?
A. In the event of an issue on the day (e.g. family emergency, no broadband) the migration will take place on another day and this post will be updated with a new time and date. The existing forums will remain open to use.
TLDR: The forums will be migrating to a new software at 12pm 6th Feb, expect a maximum of 6 hours down time.
So, option 2, migration of the forums to a new forum software, and the one the club has decided on is… XenForo!
Features wise, it's got everything we currently use and more. I won't go through them all, but some of the nice ones I've been playing with are push notifications. You can set these up for your phone and desktop. If you use Tapatalk you already got notifications from that, but these are built into the forum and are customisable. Another good upgrade is the PM system, or as it’s known in XenForo "Conversations". These act more like a modern chat system, rather than vB's sending a message with a quote back and forth.
A big advantage (and I think Andy will benefit from this the most) is that it has better spam protection. We can't expect zero spam, but if some does get through, it has better tools to deal with the situation.
The Admins have been testing the new software for about a month now and we’re ready to make the switch. It has been decided that on this Saturday, 6th Feb 2021, at midday we will disable access to these forums and begin the migration. It shouldn't take any more than a couple of hours, but to be on the safe side and to take the pressure off, forums will be offline between 12pm and 6pm.
I've tried to think of some of the common questions you might have about the change in forum software, but let me know if you have any others and I'll do my best to answer them.
FAQs
Q. Will we lose anything from the current forums?
A. Yes, but only the "Garage" section. This is a very old plugin that has not been supported for years and it’s not part of the site that is used very much. Apart from that, pretty much everything else will migrate across.
Q. Does it support Tapatalk?
A. Yes. Tapatalk is supported on the new forums, but with the forum having a responsive theme, push notifications, and no adverts (which you now get in Tapatalk), I don't see any reason you would want to use it like this. You can also "Install" the forum on your phone via a web browser (not supported on iOS, read the foot notes on the below page).
XenForo features: App
Q. Will this affect my current membership?
A. No. All memberships will be transferred and will have access to all the same content. Payments will continue to be via PayPal.
Q. Will I need to change my password?
A. No. XenForo supports multiple password schemes, so all existing passwords will continue to work as before.
Q. What if something goes wrong on the day?
A. In the event of an issue on the day (e.g. family emergency, no broadband) the migration will take place on another day and this post will be updated with a new time and date. The existing forums will remain open to use.
TLDR: The forums will be migrating to a new software at 12pm 6th Feb, expect a maximum of 6 hours down time.
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