February 2009 - site moved to new server

[Julie2owlsdene]

I've only just managed to get into the site today. All day yesterday it kept saying being updated etc. So I'll have to plough through it to see if everything is working. The thing for me is that the avators are blurred and the 'post a reply' box has words on top of each other. Also when I first go into the site before I log on, there is no 'View Active Topics'.

Just noticed, I too can't view 'who is on line' and cannot view members profiles.

More work for poor Keith

[Anita Bensoussane]

Yes, accessing the Forums is still problematic. Sometimes I can get in but other times I still get the "under maintenance" notice. As Keith said, that should sort itself out sometime today once the site has been updated around the globe.

Anita

[Aurélien]

Definitely not griping , but will mention that it took ages before the forums were accessible from NZ - reason I know is that when I finally snuck back in there were already a fair number of new posts...on this thread and others.

‘Aurélien Arkadiusz’

[Ming]

I like those blue icons, but if it will be possible to have all the reddish ones, it would be nicer! Blue is nice, but kinda looks out of place on these red themes.

PS., Who is "Admin1"?

[Bannerman65]

I've only been able to even view the forum page, a few minutes ago, much less log in.

Out of interest Keith, may I ask how long this took, please?

[Ming]

Oh yes! Half the strawberry yogurt explosions are back! Thanks a lot Keith.

[Anita Bensoussane]

The "Post Reply" button looks fine to me now. Thanks, Keith.

Just noticed that although I can click on "Who is online" when I'm logged in, I can't click on it when I'm logged out.

And I can't click on usernames when I'm logged in, but I can when I'm logged out (though I can't get as far as seeing profiles - I just get a message saying I need to log in to see those!)

Also, "Vix" seems to be permanently online.

Anita

[Julie2owlsdene]

My post reply button is back to normal now, but the avators are still blurred and the online stripe is blue. Is it now suppose to be blue and not read?

[Anita Bensoussane]

The avatars are not blurred for me but the "online" stripe is still blue.

We've got a "Members" link now at the top left - cheers, Keith!

Anita

[Keith Robinson]

I've been tinkering today, on and off, and have sorta-kinda fixed a a number of things. First and foremost was the strange December 1969 dates in the main site -- thanks to Kate Mary for spotting that!! This new server has a slightly different script configuration and it rears its head in unexpected places.

As for the forums, many of the pink icons are back in place, although the PM is still blue. Was it always? I don't know, but it's not a big deal to make it pink when I get a moment. But the ONLINE stripe should be pink, so maybe I'm still missing a few themed images here and there.

I've re-arranged the links at the top of the page, so we now have "View new posts" in a better place as well as "Search," "FAQ" and "Members." (I'll probably remove the "Search Forums" link at the very top right of the page now, since it's the same function as "Search.")

I fixed the "Add New Post" and "Add New Topic" buttons which previously had text links written over the top of the buttons.

I believe "Who Is Online" is fine, and that you can only click it while logged in.

The problem that's really bugging me is the fact that we can't click on usernames to view the user profiles. This is a strange bug but probably a simple fix... when I can find where to fix it! As Anita said, you can only click on those links when you're logged out, which is the opposite of what it should be. So I just need to find the bit of code that says "if logged out, make usernames clickable" and changed it to "if logged in, make usernames clickable" and we should be fine (this is a simplified version of what the code actually says!!).

In the meantime, rest assured that all your profiles are intact -- it's just a simple case of making the link work. It doesn't even work in the member list page!

Bannerman, you asked how long it's taken to move to a new server. I actually started fiddling around 1.30pm on Friday -- that was when I did an upgrade to the system. But it didn't go very well, so I decided "what the heck" and started to move the entire site to the new server, with a fresh new board installation. Since then I've been working at it bit by bit -- most of Friday night and Saturday morning, and part of this morning (Sunday).

I switched the domain over on Sunday afternoon. This means I pointed the web address at the new site on the new server. Unfortunately domains never switch instantly, as the whole world has to update its servers and caches. So while I saw an immediate change here in the USA, Tony and Anita in England didn't see the new site until later in the day. Even when Anita finally got to the new site, it was short lived and the server switched back again soon after. This sort of thing happens all the time. When you view a website, you're being routed through maybe 5-15 different servers across the country or world, and what you "see" on screen depends on what those servers think is the most up to date location of the website. They all update at different times, but normally ALL have fully updated within 24 hours, or 48 hours at the absolute most. This is why poor Aurélien in New Zealand had to wait so long while others could get access quickly.

Julie's problem with "blurred avatars" reminds me of something someone said once before, maybe after the last move -- but it was a browser issue. Julie, try refreshing your screen and see if that clears things up.

As for Vix being permanently online... well, maybe she just is!

Ming asked who Admin1 is. That's me, in my boiler suit. I'll delete that user id sometime.

Sallfernow!

[Keith Robinson]

Hurrah! The usernames in forums, posts and the member lists are now clickable as they should be, so you can view member profiles. Turns out I just had to clear the board's cache to make it work correctly.

I've also reinstated the remaining themed buttons, so the "Online" strip is back to pink. Funny thing is, this set of images has orange "post reply" and "new topic" buttons, rather than pink... but I honestly can't remember if that's correct or not! I think my brain is fried.

[Ming]

Hurrah! Everything is back to normal now!

Thanks for all the hard work, Keith.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Funny thing is, this set of images has orange "post reply" and "new topic" buttons, rather than pink... but I honestly can't remember if that's correct or not!

I think they might always have been like that, though I'm not quite sure.

Thanks for sorting everything out, Keith!

Anita

[Eddie Muir]

Your hard work on sorting out the website is much appreciated, Keith. A BIG thank you from me!

[Julie2owlsdene]

Refreshed screen, Keith, and cleaned out browser, the problem is not as blurred now, but slightly hazy. I'm sure it will sort itself out as time goes by. (Sounds like a song)