The Forum Updgrade has to be done in 2 steps. We'll be moving towards a newer and slightly different type of software than we've had, but first had to upgrade to the last version of the type we had. Once we've seen that everything works OK we can schedule the final Update.

One thing we've noticed so far is that the new version of old (existing) threads have a different URL now, so links to them go to an older (now, non-working) copy of the page. In other words the links there do not work and no one can add to the discussions on those pages.

We are looking for a solution to fix that before we move on.

If you guys notice anything else please post it here.

Bill

I can't tell the difference between new, unread posts and old ones. The icons are all yellow indicating every post on the site as unread. I logged in, but that didn't change anything. Hope it gets fixed. Thanks.

I'm guessing that's because it's the first time visiting the "New" Forum.

If you go to 'my profile' link there is a link to 'Update New Post Indicators'. This seems to mark everything as read.

Bill

Yep, you're right. On my second visit everything settled down. Thanks. And, you guys do a great service.

The URL for the top page of each group is different too. I just have icons on my desk top that take me directly to the index of each group I follow. They all give a nasty message now about not returning headers. I had to truncate back to "...net" to get here.

This is the message

CGI Error
The specified CGI application misbehaved by not returning a complete set of HTTP headers. The headers it did return are:


Can't open perl script "D:\licensedelectricians\cgi-shl\forumdisplay.cgi": No such file or directory

Just a heads up, the urls will probably change again. It would probably be easier to put existing threads into an archive, but we're doing our best to keep them active and open.

Bill

When trying to edit a post, it does not say submit, it just ask again "edit post" or "preview post" or did I do something wrong?
Thanks .. Steve

Steve,

The "edit post" would be the one you want. This seems to be the terminology that is used now.

(give it a try! )

Bill

Chatroom page:

There's a small glitch where by if you click the link to the ECN forum under the chatroom application (while the chatroom's open) you navigate back to the forum and loose the java app. You have to go back and re-log in.

The link should cause the browser to open a new window with the forum.

I'm not a big fan of the new preview for the "open active topics" button.
It takes up a lot of screen compared with the old layout.
I'd rather see the old screen that just listed the headings that had activity in them than the text of the most recent posting...

djk,

I think I got that remedied.

When the page was made I was thinking people would be coming to the Chat Area from a link on the Forum, so that opens up in a separate window. People coming that way would then have a browser window in each place and could alt-tab between them. I just didn't think about the other way around.

BTW, that chat page will also be changing some time after the Forum upgrade is completed.

Bill

Ghost,

This isn't the software we'll be using, it's only a stepping stone. I'm not sure what the layout in the new software will look like.

Bill

Bill Thanks!
That does the trick nicely.

Had a problem earlier today in posting a reply to a thread. Wrote it up, then clicked "preview post". It looked okay, then I clicked "Add Reply". The server said that I had to wait 45 or more seconds before posting again. Seems it though that I had submitted the post to the forum and didn't let me submit it again (to avoid duplicate posts, which is reasonable). The software seems to confuse "preview" with "add" with respect to this restriction. I did check the thread, and my post did not appear, so that would rule out "preview" being taken a "add reply" by the eserver.

wa2ise,

Greg (gfretwell) had a similar problem I think. I don't know the reason behind the problem, but hopefully it will not be present in the final product that we'll end up using.

Bill

Awesome guys, I like the faster loading of this one, not to mention actually having the 'new' topics highlight again.

Hopefully the final will have the "mark posts read" option in it.

thks for everything you do.
-Greg

I like the new new forum a lot more flexible

Question if you post something in the calendar will everyone see it if they look at that date?

Test Reply

Test Reply

Looks cool, I will have to start poking around and kicking the tires.

Thanks Bil.

Does anyone else have a problem editing preferences in their profile?


Bill

Looks good Bill!.
Thanks for the upgrade.

Bill
Tried to change my signature in profiles
but got reply "allowed 0 characters in signature"

Yes, I get an error mesage.

It works for me as Admin, so hopefully it will be an easy fix.

Bill

Attempts to change settings in the "Preferences" area didn't work, error message.

Pretty snazzy looking upgrade, Bill.

I especially like the preview of the black forum view, and the tan one's pretty cool too. Look forward to seeing the finished product!

Edit to add: I don't see an edit button on my post.

I noticed when looking at the "Daily Screen" that the only option is looking at the very latest post. Am I doing something wrong, or is this normal?

(Over at Holts, clicking on the topic title puts you on the first page, and there's other buttons for "last unread" and "very last post".)

But again, very neat upgrade.

Real Edit this time: My second post in this thread did have an edit button - that's weird.

Bill,
I've just changed Firefox back to the default screen colours and I must say the board looks really good.
(I was on a black background with white text for about 3 years)
Like anyone else that has replied here, I have a problem with the preferences and changing them, I tried the Dark template and it looked pretty good, but I can't change over to it because of an error that keeps coming up.
Also Bill,
Has the ability to have a small avatar been turned off in the settings?.
I can't see anywhere where you can upload an avatar?.

Bill, I get this error when trying to change my preferences:



I'm trying to change the view and the # of posts/topics per page.

Thanks
Ian A.

Test Post

(editing test post)

second edit

George,

I think I know what's going on here. There is a timer set on how long someone can edit a post. At present it is set at 3 min. I'm guessing that after that the button is not needed, so it is not displayed.

Bill

I go bug people at another forum - and come back and all the furnature has been moved?

Same problem here -- I can't edit anything on my preferences.

Edit on 3/29/07
Just testing.......

Same here.

Roger

Also, the signature limit is set to zero characters.

The default edit window is only 5 minutes- it really needs to be raised to infinity.

IMO 5 minutes is adequate time for someone to re-read their new post and see any issues they want to change.

Unfortunately in the past we have had people go back and make major modifications to their posts after others have responded sometimes actually deleting all their posts in a thread.

That ruins the thread and is IMO unfair to those that have made a honest effort top respond.

Now if the time runs out and then you spot something you really want changed you can PM a moderator and ask them to modify your post.

JMO, Bob

Edit UBB....good thing I spotted it right away

Actually, the software came with a default setting of 360 min for editing. For reasons Bob (iwire) gave I think that is waaaay too long.

I'm open to suggestions on what is a reasonable length of time, but I think it will stay close to what it is now.

Bill

P.S. I think Mods have no such time limit Bob.

George,

I notice there is something else that appears to the left of some links that (I think) is supposed you to the first unread post in that thread.

Once you get to the thread either way there is a link on the bottom left of each post that will take you to the top of that page.

Bill

You're right, after my first visit buttons started appearing next to all the topics. Clicking on the topic title takes you to the very last post in the thread.

Signature is set on 75 characters, w/ no images or hyperlinks.

I don't know if anyone can add or change a signature yet. I suspect that may be a separate issue that needs to be resolved.

Bill

Kenny,

There is a Personal Calendar and a Public Calendar. Personal calendar is there for your use only and can't be seen by anyone else.

The Public Calendar will show Member's Birthdays (if included in Member's profile) - but not ages, and other items can only be added by Mods or Admin.

Bill

Great, now I gotta bug Scott even more

Ian A.

Testing to see if I can edit.....

When I post and re-read, I tend to make a LOT of changes- if it's a lengthy post or I'm second-guessing myself and looking up a code, I might revise it for 30 minutes or more, or fix typos or whatnot long after that. IMHO, 5 minutes is way too short, I feel rushed now during proofreading. Sure, you might say "that's what preview is for", but this is the internet, and if not posted and "saved", posts have a tendancy to get lost completely...

And I like to be able to go back and edit something out if it's wrong-wrong. UBB shows that a post has been edited, and does not remove what others have quoted. This version has a time stamp, so it's clear WHEN it was edited, as well. (Plus, it's not nearly as gaudy as the old one, heh) I really see no con whatsoever to completely removing the edit limit, I've never seen it abused- between the time stamp on the edit and quotes, if anything that controversial was posted, it won't slip by if it's changed.

ARGH! Damn thing timed out on me again. I TRIED to append this:

...ESPECIALLY when looking up a code. I really hate to go back and see a stupid mistake. It's common etiquette to flag edits that happen after people reply, and this version has that capability.

Basically, if the edit window isn't raised significantly, I think you'll see a serious decline in the quality of my posts. And I think we all know, I need all the help I can get!

You Guys should be able to edit your preferences now, let me know if you can't

Bill

Whew! No more 796 pages of posts to read.

Thanks again Bill!

Ian A.

Thanks Bill,
This new Dark Style suits me and looks pretty flash.
Anyone else tried it?.

Working fine here.

Trumpy, I like the dark too

Roger

I don't see one that makes the board look like outlook or powerpoint

Hmmm,

Sorry Steve, I don't see that feature either.


Bill

BTW, I think we got the old Forum Threads to forward to the newer versions, so they'll be no broken Links or non-working/inactive pages.

That was a big concern of mine.


Bill

ghost307 I agree. In an attempt to add features and information the screen has become too busy and you have to click to too many pages to see the recent posts. More topics on one page was better.

Steve,

I don't know if you realize it, but Ghost was talking about the interim version before this software.

Have you tried the 'Active Topics' Link?

https://www.electrical-contractor.net/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/activetopics/range/1

Hey, that's pretty nice! Thanks

I think a slightly longer time limit might be worth considering -- Maybe 10 or 15 minutes? That would still prevent edits long after the event but allow typos etc. to be corrected without having to bother mods.

If somebody is trying to post a link and having problems getting it right, going back to check spelling, and so on, it's surprising how quickly 5 minutes can pass.



It appears not. I've just managed to edit two posts above 4 days later.

Yep, got it set on that right now.

Growing up with "old time" video terminals, DOS and CP/M, I tend to prefer light characters on a dark background.

I don't know if others are experiencing the same thing, but some posts are half-invisible when I am viewing them on my iMac.

For example, in this post by wa2ise I can only see the first line of the post - if I click and drag, highlighting the text of the post it shows the whole post, but only in the first available line in the frame.

It could be my browsers - my iMac is getting pretty old, I'm running OS 9.2 with Netscape 6 (also happens with IE 5.1). It seems as though it happened on my new PC as well, but I can't be sure of that now.

I'm also in favor of a 15-20 minute edit window.

I know, I'm the whiniest lurker on the site!

George,

I haven't seen the problem that you're describing yet, but I know some parts of this software were meant to take advantage of new IE 7 features so I wouldn't be surprised if there was some issues with older Browsers.

Regarding the edit time limit, this software allows for an edit to be made without it showing as such, that's probably why there is a time limit associated with it. Based on recommendations made I think 12 min. would be a decent compromise. I expect Members will use their best judgement regarding this.

Bill

Just noticed that when doing a "Search" the maximum date range is 1 year.
Any chance this will be extended? There is a ton of good info on this site which is older than one year!!

Im using firefox giving me no problems

just one more chime-in for a longer edit window, maybe 30 minutes or so, long enough to liesurely edit something, not long enough to change a post in response to comments, which seems to be your concern

just my $0.02

Elviscat,

There is a preview feature which seems to work pretty well. If you use that you can take all the time that you need.

Bill

Bill, you're right, on the PC the post looked normal. Thanks!

I've lost too many posts to timeouts and back buttons to risk the preview button, Bill. This is really no different than hitting the "save" button in word while you're working on something. Only in this case, once you save it, you only have 5 minutes to finish what you're working on...

I favor unlimited edit time, but at the very least a wider window, 30 minutes to 1 hour. When has posting & editing ever been a problem here? The 5 minute edit window seems to be a draconian solution for a problem that doesn't exist.

Ditto. Firefox 1.5.0.4 here and it's fine.

Steve,

It is different that saving something on word because soon after you've posted it is likely that someone has begun reading your post and started formulating their own opinion and possibly a reply about it.

The setting was recently modified to 12 min. I wouldn't have a problem with unlimited editing time if there wasn't an option to not have the edit show. I didn't design this software and am just trying to find a setting that is best for the Membership overall.

Bill

Haven't read all thru the problems thread, but I have noticed that when I use the quote button , twice now only my reply shows up, not the original posters message. However their message does come up in a window when I am making the reply, it just doesn't carry over to the post itself.

bigrockk,

The default setting was 1 year. They have a warning that long periods can cause problems sometimes. I raised it to 3 years, let's see how it goes.

Bill

Thanks Bill,
Three years should work pretty well!

While I had some free time today, I surfed thru classified ads. I believe I saw ads from 2002. It might be time to purge some of the older ads.

Larry C

Yes, it was overdue. I just purged all the old ads.

BTW, I encourage the Members to make use of that area. It only requires a simple registration to place ads there:
Go to http://www.electrical-classified.com/ , Click the 'Place Ads' link near the Top and then 'Register for an Account'.

The ads must be approved (this is how we keep out the spammers) before they will be visible. For those that may not know, there is a link near the top of Forum pages to the area, and there is absolutely no charge.

Bill

Can you enable avatars? All modern forums use avatars these days.

No plans regarding that at the moment.