Important: Upgrading CFF

I will be upgrading ClothesFree Forums this week to use our new vBulletin forum software. This upgrade will give us more control of our site since it will be hosted on our own server.

All members and posts will be imported to the new system. Private Messages and Attachments will not be moved over. So I suggest backing up any PM's and attachments you have on this site

<span class="ev_code_RED">IMPORTANT: Make sure your email address in your profile is valid! We will be unable to import your current password to the new system. This means that you will need to setup a new password and you will need to have access to your email in order to do so.</span>

[Sauna]

I hope everything goes fine but I know that most problems happen when you improve something
Good Luck
Sauna

[sunchaser]

Originally posted by Sauna:
I hope everything goes fine but I know that most problems happen when you improve something
Good Luck
Sauna

[pckcook2005]

Hope all goes well with the upgrade. Good luck.
Phil in Vegas.

Thanks for the feedback.

We are hoping for a very smooth transition. http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/happy.gif

[azgreen]

So where do we to make the changes and when? The instructions are clear as mud.

[nudenwv]

thanks for the upgrade! please just don't forget about me!! if i didn't have this unique forum i'd lose it!!

[Naturist Mark]

We're going to lose all attachments?

Ugh ...

There are going to be whole topics that will become meaningless.

[OZJames]

We're going to lose all attachments?

Does that include the Floppy Bits (floppies) ? http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/laugh.gif

http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/beam.gif <span class="ev_code_RED">JAMES</span> http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/beam.gif

[backwd84]

Hope the upgrade goes well!

[bergler]

Best wishes for the upgrade! Bergler

[eagle59]

Good Luck with the transition, hope all goes well.

[Nudeinbama]

Sandman, So for myself and others, try to explain a good way to save-backup all attachments that we may have sent or posted.Photo albums are counting as attachments or what? and is that also all the avatars and pictures posted within a post? Also, what does this week mean? today, by the end of the week or what? Hey, this is home to lots of us, and suddenly someones coming in and totally remodeling, give us a few details!!! http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/confused.gif http://oakhurstonline.com/icon/anxious.gif Thanks.
Nudeinbama

Instruction for updating your email address:

Go -> Personal Zone -> Profile
or, http://clothesfreeforums.com/eve/personal?x_myspace_page=profile

Then click on View/Edit Complete Profile link.

Click "Change Account Email" and update this with your valid email address

Click Submit at the bottom.


As far as losing attachments and PM's, the new system has a different way of managing these things, so they will not be imported. If you see a picture on the forums, right click and save it to make a backup. Go through your PM's and make sure you dont have anything in there that you need. Make a copy.

I can't give you an exact time and date on the upgrade. I have so much going on right now. It may be as early as tomorrow or as late as Friday. I'll try to post to this thread with info as I get it. Before I make the upgrade, these forums will be closed so that no new posts come in after I export the data. After data is imported, the new forums will open up.

[Bushnud2]

Noted!
My Profile details have been checked and are all current.
Regards Bushnud

[Naturist Mark]

OK, I guess I'll take the rest of the week off work so that I can go through over 5200 posts to save all the attachments ...

or maybe they are all lost forever.

-Mark

[ioannis2001]

ok i got the message

[NakedGary]

This statement is not clear as to what exactly will be lost in the change over to the new vBulletin powered forum and community software program.

"All members and posts will be imported to the new system. Private Messages and Attachments will not be moved over. So I suggest backing up any PM's and attachments you have on this site."

Does it mean:

1. All members past posts [excluding any attached images, graphics, and references] will be transferred over to the new vBulletin forum and community powered CFF forum.

2. Private messages and attachments [NOT AWARE YOU COULD ATTACH IMAGES OR GRAPHICS TO PRIVATE MESSAGES] will not be moved over.

3. So CFF adiminstrator suggests backing up:

a. All pervious or current Private messages [Since registering or becoming a member.]

b. All attachments of images, graphics, or reference [Since registering or becoming a member], any PM's and attachments you have on this site.

[To some this means 5-6 years and thousands of posts many with attached images] Unless members stored those attached images, it sounds as if a lot of "eve powered" forum and formatted images will be lost, or near impossible task to retrieve those past posted images, URL/Hyperlinks before the changeover.

Will the past years of archived "eve forum formatted posts, images, and URL reference be lost or useless after the changeover?

CFI administration mentioned sometime ago the Moderators would have a test site to get familiar with the command, control, and permissions functions of the new vBulletin forum software, but this never occurred. Will they be thrown in cold turkey along with all the users/members as far as moderation and permissions functions, when they switch to the new vBulletin powered forum and community software?

Can the above "quoted statement" as to exactly what will lost in the change over to the new "vBulletin software" be clarified again?
.

All member profiles and posts will be moved to the new server. A post includes any text, links (URL's) and images that are hosted on another server and hot linked in the post.

Private Messages will not be moved. It is not possible to move these with Groupee (Eve). Everyone will start with an inbox of 0 messages. ALL PRIVATE MESSAGES WILL BE DELETED!!! Most of you choose to get email notifications of all PM's, so you will have your email backup.

Any attached files that were uploaded to these forums and are located on the Groupee server will not be moved over. This includes any files that you used the "attachment" option to post. All images including avatars, photo gallery pics and uploaded attachment pics will not be moved over. It's not possible to export this stuff from Groupee (Eve). I am not suggesting that everyone backup all photos to repost them on the new server... just make sure you have a backup of the things most important to you.

Yes, this upgrade was mentioned in the past but was delayed as more pressing issues came up. Now I am working for CFI full time and this is one of my things to accomplish this month.

vBulletin is probably the most popular forum softare on the Internet. Most of the CFF members are already familiar with this software. For others, they will need to spend a bit of time learning how the new features work.

Overall, vBulletin is a much better option. Groupee is moving in a new direction and is not up to date as other software. vBulletin will be great for ClothesFree Forums.

Test out vBulletin here: http://www.yosemitearea.com/forums or check out vbulletin.com or vbulletin.org or do a search in google to find thousands of vBulletin sites. Keep in mind that not all features will be enabled or disabled just like the sites mentioned above... the new forums will be up soon enough here for everyone to see.

[NakedGary]

Sandman, CFF Forums Administrator

Thanks for explaining in detail the expected changes to take place in the changeover to vBulletin powered Forums and Community Software CFF will be running shortly.

Another couple of links [Web Pages] running VBulletin software:


Link to a couple of sites running "vBulletin" Software. (http://clothesfreeforums.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/1260026024/m/4050009094)
.

[Tyciol]

Cool, the changeover to vbulletin is good, I've been on forums that use that software.

I'll be performing this upgrade today. The forums will be closed down in about an hour or two to perform the upgrade. The forums will be closed for at least an hour.

[Nudeinbama]

See you all on the other side, if we can get there from here!
Nudeinbama

[Nudeinbama]

Acually I won't see you ther, until you post new pic's and a new avatar, if thats still done there!
Nudeinbama

here we go...

[Sandman]

This is the first post to the new ClothesFree Forum (www.clothesfreeforum.com)

I apologize that the forums were down for the last 24 hours. We ran into a few problems during the upgrade.

We are still making changes, but the forums are back up.

[rone]

New password, reset password, set avatar. Off we go!
Now I'm looking for how to see the newest posts first.

[Sandman]

Now I'm looking for how to see the newest posts forst.

Look at the blue nav bar at the top of each page and you will find "Today's Posts" and "New Posts" links.

[rone]

Well, that's close to what I like. I just like to see the most current post first followed by the earlier ones in order of time. I'm trying to figure how to do that.

[Sandman]

Click the little blue arrow and it takes you to the most recent post in the thread.

[MJ_KC]

You can set the viewing order if you edit your profile. At least I think that is where I did it.

Any idea why my post count is showing so low? Did a lot of messages not move over? The old site shows 1556.

[Naturist Mark]

I had a heck of a time getting accepted into the new Forum.

Note: Check your spam folder for the registration emails from Clothesfree.com

-Mark

[MJ_KC]

I had a heck of a time getting accepted into the new Forum.
It took me awhile to get it sorted out as well. Did you notice how much lower your post count is? I thought that you had over 5,000 posts.

[Croydon]

I am sorry but I don't like this new version AT ALL. The old way was much simpler and to the point, in addition, pleasing to the eye.

This is complete opposite.

Now I don't see myself coming here much now. I'll give the forum a few days to get use to but on a first try, I don't like at all

[Sandman]

I was expecting some people to disapprove of the change. Most people do not like change. Many of you complained about the Groupee Eve software when we upgraded to that... now those people will be upset to see it go. Please give this forum software a chance. It is much better than the old software and you will see many improvements in the coming weeks. It will take that long to get the kinks worked out.

Everyone needs to update their profiles. Some info may be incorrect, including your timezone and birthday.

[Naturist Mark]

It took me awhile to get it sorted out as well. Did you notice how much lower your post count is? I thought that you had over 5,000 posts.

Yep, my count went down by about 1500. And the welcome thing up on the right says I last visited on 07-21-2005 at 12:28 PM. No big deal though.

I'm still trying to figure out how to use formatting features. A lot of my old posts are gobbletygook now because the UBB codes didn't convert.

Some did convert, like Bold. But I don't see any way to apply it other than to enter the code by hand.

-Mark

[Sandman]

The post count now reflects the actual number of posts each user has in the system. The old software counted all posts ever posted, including posts that were later deleted or archived.

[luvnaturism]

As others have said, the new version seems unnecessarily complicated. However, like others I'll give it a try and see how it goes. Like others my count of posts made dropped a lot. I understand Sandman's explanation, but frankly it seems like a strange way of doing things. In the end, though, it really doesn't matter.

There is inaccurate information in my profile, but I haven't been able to find a way to edit it. Maybe someday.

[Sandman]

As others have said, the new version seems unnecessarily complicated. However, like others I'll give it a try and see how it goes. Like others my count of posts made dropped a lot. I understand Sandman's explanation, but frankly it seems like a strange way of doing things. In the end, though, it really doesn't matter.

There is inaccurate information in my profile, but I haven't been able to find a way to edit it. Maybe someday.

Please understand that we are using different software. Therefore, things may be handled differently. The import was successful in many ways. However, some people may have some invalid Profile info. You can edit your profile from your User Control Panel. You will find a "User CP" link in the blue navigation block at the top of each page.

[rone]

Hum. Maybe the 'edit options' on my setup page will do what I want. Some interesting things there to work on to see how they work.

[RichNH]

Well, I can understand some people being confused and/or disappointed with the new version, I've worked in IT for 30 years and see this (people's reactions to software changes) on a regular basis when upgrades are made. Personally, I'll withhold judgment for a few weeks as I know from experience that the frustration experienced with new software usually disappears as you start to learn it although I have to say that what I've seen and heard so far is encouraging. The software industry is constantly changing and upgrading. It's only a matter of time before every software product you see on the internet changes. It's the nature of the internet.

For those who have a problem with change, read "Who moved my cheese?". It may help you understand a bit what's going on emotionally and pragmatically when things change like this.

I am curious as to what happened to the new nudists forum.

Rich

[Sandman]

Thanks Rich! I have also worked in IT for many years and have found that there are always going to be people that are upset with change. Believe me, we considered this when we decided to make this change. The positives outweighed the negatives, so we performed the upgrade.

I can think of a few negatives here. For one, I'm not happy about losing the attachments and PM's from the old software. Also, I understand that we may lose a few members that simply are not willing to adapt to the new software.

But like I said, there are way more positives. For one, vBulletin is more common. More people know vBulletin and are comfortable with it. This will attract many new people. Groupee is less common and more people would have to learn how to use it. So this upgrade is better for getting new members to participate. Also, the site is now hosted on the CFI server instead of the Groupee server. We purchased a license that allows us to install it on our own server. Not only does this help to cut monthly cost, but it gives us more flexibility. We had bandwidth and storage limits with Groupee that we no longer have, giving us more room to grow. In addition, vBulletin is constantly being improved. This means that when new security issues or bugs are discovered, we have a team of developers that work hard on releasing a new update. Groupee was starting to focus on other things and we were not getting regular updates and improvements like we used to. vBulletin is very popular and is open source so that developers can create their own plugins. For example, a developer created a spell checker plugin that I will be installing pretty soon. Another example of an added plugin is our new photo section. When I see a cool new plugin, I'll add it to this site. I also think that vBulletin is faster and more user friendly. I have been using it for several months on another site I own and my members there are very happy with it. They do not miss Groupee (eve) one bit. It took some of them a bit of time to adapt, but they are all happy campers now.

So I ask you all to give this new software a chance. Use it for a few weeks or months, then decide if you like it or not. I do appreciate the feedback, both positive and negative. I will make adjustments based on the feedback and suggestions I see here.

Well, I can understand some people being confused and/or disappointed with the new version, I've worked in IT for 30 years and see this (people's reactions to software changes) on a regular basis when upgrades are made. Personally, I'll withhold judgment for a few weeks as I know from experience that the frustration experienced with new software usually disappears as you start to learn it although I have to say that what I've seen and heard so far is encouraging. The software industry is constantly changing and upgrading. It's only a matter of time before every software product you see on the internet changes. It's the nature of the internet.

For those who have a problem with change, read "Who moved my cheese?". It may help you understand a bit what's going on emotionally and pragmatically when things change like this.


Rich

[RichNH]

Hmmmm, more speed? Computers hate being fast, whenever things are made faster, the user community instantly finds a way to slow things down again. So when can we expect to see a plugin that not only allows pics to be loaded, but AVI clips too?

Rich

[Sandman]

hmmm.... uploading .avi files? That sounds interesting. That may be a possibility. I'll talk to Corky. avi files use a lot of disk space. Perhaps we will offer some sort of Premium Membership option for members that would like to make a small donation. In exchange for the donation, the member would get additional disk space and maybe a few other perks. I'm just thinking out loud here.

There is another cool feature with vBulletin I have not mentioned... I can create more styles for this site and allow users to change styles. This would give the site a new look for those that don't like the current colors. For example, your favorite color may be purple and you may rather see this site in purple instead of blue. You could select the Purple Theme in your profile options. At Christmas time we could have an optional holiday style for users to select. That's just a small preview of whats to come...

[Illinois07]

I don't see any members photo albums in the new format. Will these be added later, or am I missing something?

[Bushnud2]

I am here in the NEW Forum. Looks excellent.
Well done CFF team.
Bushnud

[Sandman]

I don't see any members photo albums in the new format. Will these be added later, or am I missing something?


As mentioned previously, attachments were not moved over from the old server. We have a new Photos section. See the link on the dark blue navigation block at the top of each page.

[missouriboy]

When I first logged in, it says "You last visited in July 2005" (over two years ago!) Could this be why it also says "You have 2,377 posts" when I really had about 3,580? Did it lose my post-counts of the last two-plus years? (That's an idea... I'll check to see if my recent posts, themselves, are still here.)

[sentynello]

It would seem as if a lot of folks are not aware that the site is back up and running, I am looking forward to reading some new and interesting thread soon.----one love---nudist
4-eva!!

[Sandman]

As I mentioned previously, post counts on the old system included all posts, including anything that was deleted or archived. The new system only counts the actual number of posts you have on the forum. Deleted or archived posts are no longer included in the post count.

As far as the last visited date goes, that just defaults to the year the software was released or something like that. Once you login, it will give accurate info from here on out.

When I first logged in, it says "You last visited in July 2005" (over two years ago!) Could this be why it also says "You have 2,377 posts" ghen I really had about 3,580? Did it lose my post-counts of the last two-plus years? (That's an idea... I'll check to see if my recent posts, themselves, are still here.)

[nudenwv]

still navigating around the new look. so far i like what i have seen! good job as usual for the cfi team!! special thanks to matt who helped me get back in after me screwing up to get myself back in. also nudeinbama! three days without clothesfree and i felt left out! matt is the second person behind the scene i have talked to and very impressed with their personality and hospitality! thanks again folks!!

[Sandman]

still navigating around the new look. so far i like what i have seen! good job as usual for the cfi team!! special thanks to matt who helped me get back in after me screwing up to get myself back in. also nudeinbama! three days without clothesfree and i felt left out! matt is the second person behind the scene i have talked to and very impressed with their personality and hospitality! thanks again folks!!

Thanks nudenvm! I am happy that I was able to help you get back on the forum. Enjoy! -Mat (Sandman)

[RichNH]

Sandman I have to say it. I'm REALLY liking this new software. I'm seeing features that I've been wanting for some time.

EXCELLENT JOB!!!!

Rich

[luvnaturism]

Nitpicking aside, of which I just did some in another thread, I have to cast my vote with those who think this is a major improvement. The most important upgrade is that pages load so much faster. It's obviously more powerful software, and that always leads to more complication in using it; that just goes with using computers.

It brings a lot of control for users into one space at the top of the page, another way of saying that each person can pretty much use the site according to their own preferences. I really like being able to preview and correct my posts before putting them up.

Good job, gang.

[rone]

You're right. The pages DO load much faster. I didn't really think about it until you mentioned it. This is a much crisper system with respect to response, IMO.

Nitpicking aside, of which I just did some in another thread, I have to cast my vote with those who think this is a major improvement. The most important upgrade is that pages load so much faster. It's obviously more powerful software, and that always leads to more complication in using it; that just goes with using computers.

It brings a lot of control for users into one space at the top of the page, another way of saying that each person can pretty much use the site according to their own preferences. I really like being able to preview and correct my posts before putting them up.

Good job, gang.

[Sandman]

Better software and a more powerful server are the reasons that the forums are much faster now. I'm glad that CFF members are starting to appreciate the new site. In about a month or so, I'm sure everyone will be happy with the upgrade. It'll just take a little getting used to.

[Croydon]

I have given the forum a few days and I am still not liking it. I have noticed that I even visit the site less now.

I still don't understand why CFI changed the layout anyway. If it wasn't broken, don't fix it. It was fine and perfect.

I thought my dislike was due to resistance to change but after visiting the site for past few days, I've concluded that I am not liking it.

It is hard to follow forums, hard to know if someone is making a statement or replying to a previous statement.

I am quite dissapointed in this. I will continue to visit the site from time to time but I don't forsee myself coming here often or contributing much.

[EricNY]

NOt sure what you mean "hard to folow"

This format is much easier and has more options. If you look around you will see.

If you need help just ask. There is a good chance you have some settings that can be changed and make all your trouble go away.

[Sanslines]

Overall, it is a much stronger and more powerful system with more capabilites as compared to the older system. However, I do sincerely hope that honest and constructive information from the forum members can be used over time to fine tune the software to make it slightly more relevant to the poster's particular and specific needs. I would be curious to know what initial information the software engineers used to create this software. The first step in software design is always to define a set of design criteria based upon the specific needs of a certain application.

[OZJames]

I cannot see how to put smilies etc within my post. Is there a way to do that ?

[Nu]

Just wondering if all new forum polls are required to be public (like the tattoo poll), or if there is an option for a poll to be private.

Some may not post on a poll, if they know their vote will be known.
Thus, overall response to a poll may be low, therefore reducing the poll significance.

Isn't a public poll,like identifying how each person voted in an election?

[Sandman]

The creator of the poll has an option to make it private or public.

[Sandman]

Overall, it is a much stronger and more powerful system with more capabilites as compared to the older system. However, I do sincerely hope that honest and constructive information from the forum members can be used over time to fine tune the software to make it slightly more relevant to the poster's particular and specific needs. I would be curious to know what initial information the software engineers used to create this software. The first step in software design is always to define a set of design criteria based upon the specific needs of a certain application.

Keep in mind that CFI is not the developer. vBulletin developed the software. But yes, we are fine tuning things to work well with our site. Thanks for the feedback! :)

[Sandman]

I cannot see how to put smilies etc within my post. Is there a way to do that ?

Check your posting options in your User CP.

[shaneone]

Is there anyone else experiencing difficulty when in the forums? Whenever i hit 'today's posts' or 'new posts' I get a database error. I can view posts individually in each category, but not thru 'new or today's'???

[newfred]

Hope the upgrade goes well

[NakedGary]

Yes the same discussion is going in two seperate threads.

Yes, everyone is experiencing SQL database errors and most search functions and routines are not operational.

There is no estimate as to when the vBulletin forums will be fully configured, optimized, and operational.

see link:

http://www.clothesfreeforum.com/showthread.php?t=10671

[Sanslines]

There may be actually two distinct problems.

The first may have to do with the new servers. The new servers may be unable to handle the volume of traffic and will either substantially slow down or stop allowing members or visitors to gain access to the forum.

For those unfamiliar with what server and server computers do, a server application or device is a set of code or instructions that allows or accepts a 'client-server' relationship to exist (in this case the relationship would be between forum member or guest and forum). A dedicated server computer is a computer specifically set up to run the server application code or instructions.

The second problem may have to do with the actual forum operational code itself. This has nothing to do with the server code and will not affect a person's ability to establish a conection with the forum. Problems with the operational code would affect certain code features such as the use of smiley faces, etc.

[Boreas]

Overall, it is a much stronger and more powerful system with more capabilites as compared to the older system. However, I do sincerely hope that honest and constructive information from the forum members can be used over time to fine tune the software to make it slightly more relevant to the poster's particular and specific needs. I would be curious to know what initial information the software engineers used to create this software. The first step in software design is always to define a set of design criteria based upon the specific needs of a certain application.

I hope we get to see more evidence of this soon. I have gotten used to the new format and quite like it. What I don't like is the frequent "break downs" it seems to be having.

[nudeM]

Thanks for clariying. I know there may still be bugs to be worked out.

[Sandman]

I'm closing this topic. There are newer topics that make this topic obsolete.