Get ready for some BIG changes

[Mike]

I'm getting ready to upgrade this site to the latest versions of Invision software. Everything will be upgraded, the forums, the content system and the gallery.

There will be a lot of changes to the forums. There will be social networking links at the bottom of each topic, the ability for Facebook and Twitter visitors to log in with those ID's, those of you with Facebook and Twitter accounts will be able to closely integrate your forum profile and status upgrades with those accounts and vice-versa, there is a new topic preview in the forum display page that works with AJAX and the search function has been completely overhauled. I have already added OpenID log-in capability.

There will be some other changes that may not be wildly popular, but they will be temporary. We're going to lose all but two of the skins for a while, until the skin designers get their skins updated for this new version. I've made some unfortunate discoveries about the young man that developed most of the skins we're using here and I won't be using any of his work in the future.

It's going to take a bit of time to upgrade all three scripts, so the site will likely be closed for a couple of hours. But when the site re-opens, I think everyone will be happy with all the new functionality we are going to have. Just as a teaser, I think we are finally going to have our tech article library as I had hoped.

So be prepared for some downtime and bear with the loss of all the forum skin selections, because things are really going to be much better in the long run.

 

[T-Test]

I'm getting ready to upgrade this site to the latest versions of Invision software. Everything will be upgraded, the forums, the content system and the gallery.

There will be a lot of changes to the forums. There will be social networking links at the bottom of each topic, the ability for Facebook and Twitter visitors to log in with those ID's, those of you with Facebook and Twitter accounts will be able to closely integrate your forum profile and status upgrades with those accounts and vice-versa, there is a new topic preview in the forum display page that works with AJAX and the search function has been completely overhauled. I have already added OpenID log-in capability.

There will be some other changes that may not be wildly popular, but they will be temporary. We're going to lose all but two of the skins for a while, until the skin designers get their skins updated for this new version. I've made some unfortunate discoveries about the young man that developed most of the skins we're using here and I won't be using any of his work in the future.

It's going to take a bit of time to upgrade all three scripts, so the site will likely be closed for a couple of hours. But when the site re-opens, I think everyone will be happy with all the new functionality we are going to have. Just as a teaser, I think we are finally going to have our tech article library as I had hoped.

So be prepared for some downtime and bear with the loss of all the forum skin selections, because things are really going to be much better in the long run. :thumb:

I have thick "skin" and don't want to change,but all things must change to make "Things" better. Good job Mike, keep it up and don't worry.

 

[deckofficer]

I'm all for the tie in with Facebook, as it will allow my friends easy access to the wonderful world of high power to weight ratio cars. Not to mention if all the active members here tie to their Facebook, it will spin your "counter" to a point that your advertisers would appreciate. Great idea Mike.

 

[Mike]

OK, lads and lassies, we're up and running on Invision Power Board 3.1.0 Beta 1.

I'll now be closing the gallery, to upgrade it next.

I hope to see you in a few...

 

[Mike]

Gallery 3.2.0 Beta 1 is now up and running.

A member has contacted me about some possible issues. I need some time to catch everything up, so do not fret is things seem a bit dodgy for the moment. I still need to upgrade the Content script, insert a new skin, make a half-dozen template edits and some core file edits, so it's going to be a couple more hours before everything is where it should be. Just be patient, i"m working in three browser tabs and on two desktops, trying to pull everything together.

Back with more news in a bit...

 

[Mike]

CleanCut 3.1 installed, logo inserted, missing images uploaded, breadcrumb navigation edited for full display.

I don't know if I'm pitchin' or catchin'...

 

[VegasBruce]

CleanCut 3.1 installed, logo inserted, missing images uploaded, breadcrumb navigation edited for full display.

I don't know if I'm pitchin' or catchin'...

So far so good here

 

[Mike]

IP.Content files are being uploaded now. Then the real fun starts.

 

[Mike]

Whew! There for a minute or two, the server was unresponsive. Just what I don't need. About 1/2 through the upload.

 

[Mike]

OK, that's IP.Content 2.0.0 Beta 1 installed and running.

What the rest of you don't know is Bruce was encouraging me for good reason. A few days back, I managed to crash one of the other forum sites by running the upgrade on it. Not once. Not twice. THREE times.

It was a terrible case of cranial/rectal inversion, but I was on pins and needles as this one upgraded. Even though I've upgraded three other live sites and four test boards since I made that loud popping noise. You know, the one when I pulled my head out of the dark place I had wedged it into.

I've several templates and files to edit, but the hard part is over. The rest is just PITA stuff that takes far too much time.

 

[Mike]

And now, it's time for some surprises.

A new feature has been added and enabled. What feature is it?

(There are a lot of clues for those with sharp eyes.)

 

[Mike]

Easter egg number 2 has been enabled.

 

[one finger john]

O.K. the fast reply at the bottom of the page is new. The new color blue is nice. Hmmm ... you seem really happy everything is working. The run up was ... descriptive. Are you going to tell us about the Easter eggs or are we going to have to find them? If it was good for you it was good for me.

 

[putz]

Easter egg number 2 has been enabled.

Is the new mobile app for easier using on phones? I don't use a smart phone just a guess. A jitterbug would work for me if it had a camera I talk to people instead of texting.Old fashion I guess.

 

[VegasBruce]

 

[Mike]

I had actually over-looked the new Mobile skin. Yes, it will be a lot easier on mobile phones. Nokia, Blackberry and Android users can still use Tapatalk to access the forums, as well.

There are a lot of new features and functions and it's easy to overlook them all. I was lucky enough to be chosen by Invision to help test the Alpha and private-Beta releases of the script, so I've been using a lot of the functions for quite some time now. I entered into an NDA with Invision, so I've been on pins and needles as I waited to unveil some of these new features on my sites.

OK, I used these images on another forum I co-admin to explain some of the new functions. Hence, material unique to that site is smudged out.



One new feature is the ability to register via Facebook, via Twitter or via OpenID. The first two will become more clear in a minutes, but OpenID is really pretty slick. Can you imagine having a single ID to log into every Web site where you're a member? I have five blogs, five forums, co-admin two other forums and am also active on <whisper mode> 100+ other forums </whisper mode>. I generally will be found as either Mike or Mike54 on nearly all of them, but as you can imagine, I sometimes have to stop and think about how to log in. And passwords?

I am guilty of using the same password on several sites, but there are still a handful of passwords and they are all hashed passwords with at least 8 characters and/or numbers. None of which are written down, anywhere. When i was running all the upgrades on this site last evening, I was doing to post-upgrade clean-up on another site I co-admin. When I made to log into the upgrade script here for the Content upgrade, it wouldn't let me log in and I nearly panicked. Until I realized I was entering the password for the other site and not this one. So, as you can see, OpenID is the wave of the future.



At the bottom-left of every topic are the new social bookmarking icons. As deckofficer pointed out in an earlier post, the bookmarks can really help you give your friends a link to an interesting topic here on the forums. If you do see something you know your Facebook friends or Twitter followers, etc., will enjoy, please use the bookmark icons to tell them. It is only going to bring more traffic to the site and make the site more active. And if you bookmark a topic to Twitter or Facebook and someone clicks on your bookmark, if they like the site, they can log right in using their Twitter or Facebook account details.



Now, click on the drop arrow next to your username and select My Settings.



I'm highlighting two options here, but for now, click on Profile.



And from there, you will be able to integrate your forum account with Twitter and Facebook. The Status Updates module on the right of the forum index page can be set up so when you update your status here, it will update on Twitter. And/Or, you can set up your account to post your Twitter Status here into the Status Update module. It's up to you how you want to use these new functions, you can customize them to your liking.



The preview function is available in the forum view pages. Most of you are not going to see all the icons in this image, but the important one for you is the one on the right. You will now be able to preview the first post of a topic without having to go through the entire page load. The preview will display via AJAX. Please note: if you're using an older browser or have Javascript blocked, this function will not work for you. I'm even finding the function will work on some IPB 3.1 sites and not on others, so bear this in mind.

In the third image, you will notice a zero next to my username. (That's an unusual sight!) The number indicates how many unseen Notifications I have queued up. It's hard to believe I had that number worked down to zero!

Speaking of Notifications, in the fourth image is a menu item for Notification Options. You should visit that page and set up the options you want to use. That is now highly configurable and something I think most of you will appreciate.

I'm doubtless missing a dozen other new features, but these are some of the highlights.

Before I close, let me offer a bit of advice. What you choose to do with it is up to you. With respect to Facebook, please be careful about what you are posting there and who you are allowing to see it. The new Facebook Privacy Policy now contains more words than the U.S. Constitution, which means there is a whole-lotta backside covering going on there. Our Privacy Policy is only 550 words, because all I need you to know is I am not going to sell/share/use/abuse any details you have provided, without legal cause. Most of you will be familiar with how adding applications to your account will remind you that application will be able to pull your account details. But even clicking Like on a post someone has made about an application will allow that application to pull your details. So be very careful about what details you provide in your account. Remember, if you post something to the Internet, chances are someone is going to try to use it for their own purposes. I think Social Networking is a wonderful thing, but certain networks like FourSquare, which is location-based, make no sense. Why would I want the whole world to know I am out at a restaurant and not at home to protect my belongings?

Please be careful.

 

[Mike]

Well, I did manage to take at least one deep breath.

IPB 3.1.0 Beta 2 and all its apps have just been released.

 

[T-Test]

Well, I did manage to take at least one deep breath.

IPB 3.1.0 Beta 2 and all its apps have just been released.

Take two, one for you and one for me. This is worse than wiring a new HotRod with Fuel injection Etc Etc!!

 

[jdwhip]

looking gooooood--keep it up--you need a raise-------------

 

[deckofficer]

Mike,

I just linked the always hotly debated "What is your MPG?" thread to Facebook. Worked very easy. Now my fellow treehuggers and electric vehicle friends from Facebook will see my darker side with fellow hot rodders here like blownt saying he gets 3 MPG. Should be entertaining.