Brace Yourselves. Change is Coming. (IPBoard 4)

[TGO David]

Hey folks.
 
It's been a few years since we did a major forum software change or upgrade, but the time to move to the latest and greatest version of IPBoard is almost upon us.
 
In just a few months, all support for the version that we are currently running will cease and we will be forced to upgrade whether we want to or not.  Thankfully there are a lot of really nice aspects to the new Version 4 of our forum software, so making that move is something I hope you will join me in looking forward to, even if it does mean some departures from what we've come to expect things to look like when we sign onto TGO.
 
In order to prepare you a little for what is coming, I thought it would be helpful if I shared some of the differences, some of the new features, and also mentioned some of the things that will stay the same.
 
 
The TGO Look
 
One of the things I have worked very hard on over the years is providing a distinctive “look” for TGO.  Initially, the new software will not be quite as customized to TGO as what you see here right now.  That will change as we get into the new software and I really start exploring what it can do and how it can be customized.  I have been working behind the scenes on a test installation to try and come up with something befitting TGO for our initial outing, but please just be aware that things may look a little different at first.
 
 
 
Trader Ratings
 
A feature that will be preserved is the Trader Ratings or feedback that our members have given each other over years of doing business together.  I know that it is a very important aspect of buying, selling and trading on TGO, so rest assured that this feature will remain intact and all of the existing feedback will be preserved.
 
 
 
Chat Feature
 
Our real-time chat feature is quite popular among our members and it too will be retained.  There really are no differences between the Chat system now and what you will see with the new version of IPBoard.
 
 
 
New Content Search
 
If you are like me, one of the first things you do when visiting TGO is hit the “View New Content” link at the top of the screen to catch up on what’s happened since you last stopped by.  That feature has changed significantly with Version 4.  It is a lot more powerful and flexible with the new version, but with that power and flexibility will come some “getting used to it” on our part.   Here’s what you can expect:
 
Version 4 adopts a technology that Invision calls “Activity Streams”.  Many older areas like View New Content, My Content, and more are now merged into this new Activity Streams feature. One such Activity Stream emulates the sort of result that we experience right now with the View New Content search, and our members can override that with their own defaults if they find they like their own custom streams better.   Members can even share their customized Activity Streams with one another if they desire.
 
A good walk through of the Activity Streams feature is seen in the following video.  Keep in mind that this video was designed to showcase this feature to forum administrators (like me) so some of it may be technical gobbledygook, but it still gives you a chance to see the feature in action better than I can describe it to you.

 

 

Watch Video Here  -->  https://player.vimeo.com/video/139352611

 

 

Use cases for Activity Streams are endless. Some examples might be:

• The current View New Content type of result.
• A Stream of all content from members you follow.
• Show a list of unread items from a specific list of members (perhaps members of staff).
• Rather than following every item you reply to, you can choose to create a feed of all content you have ever participated in.

 

 

The Message Editor

 

Another area that is changed significantly, but for the better in my opinion, is the message editor.  The new message editor in Version 4 is much faster and works far better on mobile devices than what we have currently.

 

With the new software you can move quote boxes with your mouse to embed them or move them above/below existing text. Another great feature is the new cmd/ctrl right-click menu that allow for contextual options. For example, cmd/ctrl right-click on an embedded image attachment yields:

 

 

 

 

 

When pasting in rich text from an external source the editor will now prompt you asking if you want to keep that formatting:

 

 

 

A small, but useful improvement is allowing @member mentions to be selectable by keyboard. Just do @member and use the arrows and tab key on your keyboard to select the member.  When you mention a member, it shows up as an alert to them so that they know to go check out what you wrote.  If you have ever used Facebook, Twitter or other similar social media you have undoubtedly seen @member mentions in action.

 

Another really useful feature is the ability to select and text in any post and get an option to quote just that text.

 

 

The new editor is a total rework and we hope you enjoy the new speed, stability, and options. Using the editor is the core function of any community so getting it right is very important.

 

 

 

These are just a few of the new features coming.   In my next post I'll talk about some of the things that might be more "disturbing" as far as changes go.  Brace yourselves.   ;)

[TrickyNicky]

Allow me to speak for the majority here:

http://youtu.be/rYihhSS9kic

Glad chat will be up and running still :up: Thanks for that David!

[FUJIMO]

Allow me to speak for the majority here:

http://youtu.be/rYihhSS9kic

Glad chat will be up and running still :up: Thanks for that David!

Ditto,lol.

But with that said, it's not enough for me to tuck tail and run so let's do this !! :)

[AtomicRooster]

Ummmm....do whut now....move the clicker thingy where to get on TGO?

[btq96r]

Would that this upgrade came with a free eBook of Who Moved My Cheese.  Some folks are going to need it I'd imagine. ;)

[JohnC]

After a learning curve, I think folks are going to like IPBoard v4 a lot.

Basically, it'll be more Facebook-like in that you won't need to use tags anymore for images, video, and it will embed Facebook and Twitter posts.

You'll also be able to tag a member by doing, for example, the @ symbol before a user name like this: @JohnC.

Get ready for it folks! :hyper:

[Caster]

*Sigh*

 

I just got this one figured out.  

[ArmyBrat61]

*Sigh*

 

I just got this one figured out.  

 

So did I....oh well...onward we go...

[56FordGuy]

I have to say, the highlight and quote feature sounds pretty nice. It would make it a lot easier to have a point by point discussion vs quoting the same post multiple times and editing out the specific parts.

[NextExit]

"Facebook like"??? That's not a selling point for me :P

[Pete123]

Would that this upgrade came with a free eBook of Who Moved My Cheese.  Some folks are going to need it I'd imagine. ;)

 

This is really funny because of how true it will be.

[TGO David]

Notifications

 

Version 4 also introduces two new notification features: instant notifications and HTML5 browser notifications.

 

HTML5 Browser Notifications

 

IPB have built in support for browser notifications where they are supported (right now, this includes desktop versions of Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera, but not IE, and mobile browser support is patchy). This allows IPBoard to let you know when important things have happened even if you aren’t active in that window at the time.

 

IPB have enabled browser notifications in three areas. When you upload files using any attachment area, you will be notified when your files have finished uploading; when there are new replies to a topic you have currently viewing; and for instant notifications (more about that below).

 

 

 

Instant Notifications

 

Instant notifications has been a long-requested feature, and they are now included in Version 4.  IPB have worked hard to build an approach that is as light on resources as possible.

 

If you are active in the window, instant notifications will show as a standard flash message at the bottom of your screen; if you are not active, and your browser supports them, you will get a desktop notification instead, and a chime will sound to alert you. Clicking the notification box will take you to the new item (or open the notification menu if alert is telling you about multiple items).

 

 

 

Both of these things should make it a lot easier for you to keep on top of what's happening within areas of interest to you while you are signed in to TGO.

[TGO David]

Turbulence Ahead?

 

So far everything I have covered should seem pretty positive, even if you *are* a little (or a lot) adverse to change.  These are changes that I honestly think will provide a much improved "user experience" for TGO members and make this forum even better than it is now.  Hopefully you will agree, if after some time, that they are largely evolutionary changes rather than something revolutionary that totally messes with your ability to use TGO.

 

But of course there are some things that I need to mention before we start heading down this road.  :)

 

 

First...  As I mentioned above, the signature "TGO Look" will be slow to come.  When you first visit the site after I complete the software conversion, things simply are going to look very plain and very much like any other IPBoard does straight out of the box.  The color scheme will probably be the bone-stock IPB blues.   I will be working pretty hard to get the forum looking like TGO during the first few days.

 

 

Second...  Banner ads for our Vendors may not be immediately present, but I will be working just as hard to make sure they are back on display so that we continue to support those who have supported us.  If you are a Vendor, rest assured that I will add time back to your subscription to offset the time that ads are not shown.

 

 

Third...  The conversion process is rather intense and TGO's database is pretty darn big.  You can expect that TGO will be offline to some degree for about 6-8 hours during the day of the big move.   I am still working through the logistics of this, but I will *TRY* to make a "read only" copy of TGO available to you while I am doing the conversion.  However I must caveat that statement with this one:  I will only do that if it does not present problems to the conversion process and is not so time-intensive of an operation that it takes away from the time I would otherwise be working on the conversion.

 

In other words, this will be a thing that I think is nice to do, but I am not 100% positive it is something I absolutely will do.   Please be patient with me in that respect.  My ultimate goal is to get us back online as quickly as I can, and that has priority over the nice-to-do things.

 

 

Fourth... And this is a big one...

 

 Once the forum software and database have been upgraded to the new version, and we throw open the doors again to our members, several important features will not be immediately available.  The following features rely on additional database "jobs" that will run in the background for the first 24-48 hours while:

 

--- Searching for content will not be immediately available.  The search index for TGO is massive and took about 36 hours to update on the test server.  There is very little way for us to speed this up so we will just have to grit our teeth and bear it.

 

--- The ability to view new content or use the Activity Streams and them yield any results will not be immediately available.  Because these rely on the search index, these features too generally start producing results at around 36 hours.

 

--- The appearance of post and private message content will be a little "wonky" for the first 24-48 hours.  Because of the changes made to the editor with Version 4, the content has to be reformatted to look right.  Until these processes complete, posts may look a little odd.

 

 

 

So is That It?

 

Yes, as far as the "bad news" goes, that is really it.  The first 2-3 days will be a little bumpy, but once that passes, we will be back to normal and things will be pretty much as you expect them to go.

 

Again, a lot of this just boils down to all of us -- and I include myself in that -- being patient and letting things sort themselves out as the forum software runs through all of its maintenance routines.   I really wish I could speed these things up but so far neither I nor the developers of the software who are the real pros at that sort of thing have been able to squeeze any more speed out of it.

 

As we in the south have been known to say, it simply is what it is.

 

 

 

Ask any questions you might have!   I'll try my best to answer them.   Also, one of our moderators (JohnC) has gone through this conversion on his performance automotive forum and can likely chime in on his own experiences and correct me on anything I may have missed or mis-stated.

[jpx2rk]

Oh well, there goes the neighbor.  I'm sure it will be just peachy when every one stops complaining.   :wall:  :clap:  :drool:

[Raoul]

Here, Who moved my cheese for the masses.

 

https://archive.org/details/WhoMovedMyCheese

[FUJIMO]

Will the NOTIFICATIONS also show when someone feels the ban hammer and the related thread ??? That would be a nice touch for those of us that miss out :)

[No_0ne]

Will the NOTIFICATIONS also show when someone feels the ban hammer and the related thread ??? That would be a nice touch for those of us that miss out :)

 

Yes, lets incorporate the "Dipshit" Hall of Fame" in the new board ...

[Pete123]

The upgrade isn't optional, so it has to be done.  We'll all get through it.

Edited May 4, 2016 by Pete123

[TripleDigitRide]

Sounds like a few TGO Meet-N-Shoots need to be scheduled for Upgrade Day.

[TripleGGG]

Sounds like a lot of good things will be coming. Funny, I have sat in 2 days of meetings focusing on a lot of changes we are making. I was dead set against it until we got into what the changes can do for us. Now I'm excited and can't wait to get the new processes in place. I guess I've changed in the fact I now like change. Haha. Edited May 4, 2016 by ggwilde

[TripleGGG]

Turbulence Ahead?

So far everything I have covered should seem pretty positive, even if you *are* a little (or a lot) adverse to change. These are changes that I honestly think will provide a much improved "user experience" for TGO members and make this forum even better than it is now. Hopefully you will agree, if after some time, that they are largely evolutionary changes rather than something revolutionary that totally messes with your ability to use TGO.

But of course there are some things that I need to mention before we start heading down this road. :)


First... As I mentioned above, the signature "TGO Look" will be slow to come. When you first visit the site after I complete the software conversion, things simply are going to look very plain and very much like any other IPBoard does straight out of the box. The color scheme will probably be the bone-stock IPB blues. I will be working pretty hard to get the forum looking like TGO during the first few days.


Second... Banner ads for our Vendors may not be immediately present, but I will be working just as hard to make sure they are back on display so that we continue to support those who have supported us. If you are a Vendor, rest assured that I will add time back to your subscription to offset the time that ads are not shown.


Third... The conversion process is rather intense and TGO's database is pretty darn big. You can expect that TGO will be offline to some degree for about 6-8 hours during the day of the big move. I am still working through the logistics of this, but I will *TRY* to make a "read only" copy of TGO available to you while I am doing the conversion. However I must caveat that statement with this one: I will only do that if it does not present problems to the conversion process and is not so time-intensive of an operation that it takes away from the time I would otherwise be working on the conversion.

In other words, this will be a thing that I think is nice to do, but I am not 100% positive it is something I absolutely will do. Please be patient with me in that respect. My ultimate goal is to get us back online as quickly as I can, and that has priority over the nice-to-do things.


Fourth... And this is a big one...

Once the forum software and database have been upgraded to the new version, and we throw open the doors again to our members, several important features will not be immediately available. The following features rely on additional database "jobs" that will run in the background for the first 24-48 hours while:

--- Searching for content will not be immediately available. The search index for TGO is massive and took about 36 hours to update on the test server. There is very little way for us to speed this up so we will just have to grit our teeth and bear it.

--- The ability to view new content or use the Activity Streams and them yield any results will not be immediately available. Because these rely on the search index, these features too generally start producing results at around 36 hours.

--- The appearance of post and private message content will be a little "wonky" for the first 24-48 hours. Because of the changes made to the editor with Version 4, the content has to be reformatted to look right. Until these processes complete, posts may look a little odd.



So is That It?

Yes, as far as the "bad news" goes, that is really it. The first 2-3 days will be a little bumpy, but once that passes, we will be back to normal and things will be pretty much as you expect them to go.

Again, a lot of this just boils down to all of us -- and I include myself in that -- being patient and letting things sort themselves out as the forum software runs through all of its maintenance routines. I really wish I could speed these things up but so far neither I nor the developers of the software who are the real pros at that sort of thing have been able to squeeze any more speed out of it.

As we in the south have been known to say, it simply is what it is.



Ask any questions you might have! I'll try my best to answer them. Also, one of our moderators (JohnC) has gone through this conversion on his performance automotive forum and can likely chime in on his own experiences and correct me on anything I may have missed or mis-stated.

Sounds like you will have enough on your plate without adding the "read only" page. For me personally I think being offline for a few hours to upgrade is 100% acceptable without a read only page.

[glowdotGlock]

As long as Tapatalk still works I am happy!

[JohnC]

As long as Tapatalk still works I am happy!

It will, but IPB v4 has a MUCH better mobile theme than v3. I suggest trying both to see which you like best. :up:

[Chucktshoes]

I've been on the board through multiple software updates. First couple of days are always bumpy, but things smooth out quickly. Thanks for the heads up that it is coming, but I second the thought that the read only version is unnecessary. I don't think you need to add extra work for yourself on that front. We'll survive a few hours without TGO. It'll be aight.

[Grand Torino]

Contrary to what most people think about us old folks I don't hate change....I just hate trying to figure it out. A lot of it comes from not understanding terms and nomenclature...and probably never will.