Upcoming downtime!

[BossTamsin (imported)]

This is to inform everyone that on Thursday Nov 2, at approximately 1:00AM PST (09:00 GMT), the EA Bulletin Board will close for several hours.

This is to effect an upgrade of the software to the latest version. I will be backing absolutely everything up prior to the upgrade, and will have the backup standing by in case of problems.

If there is a problem that I cannot repair within an hour or two, I will roll everything back to the state it was in before the upgrade, and reassess the situation. I will do everything I can to prevent the loss of data in this process.

I do not forsee any difficulties, and the new version will allow us to install some new abilities into the vBulletin software, including a better backup solution, more stable code (not that the current version is unstable), and best of all - spellcheck. As well, only the current version of the code is eligible for technical support should it be needed, and there are a number of behind the scenes improvments we can definitely take advantage of.

If all goes well, when you visit on Thursday you'll get to see our shiny new message boards. I hope you enjoy them.

[Riverwind (imported)]

Thank you my friend, your the man.

I am so looking forward to the upgrade.

River

[n3rf (imported)]

Teeerrrriiiific. Thanks N3RF

[Falcon (imported)]

You guys are the best. Thanks for your hard work.

Terry

[plix (imported)]

Thanks so much I know it will be great.

[thefraj (imported)]

Yey new features to play with!! I appreciate the time and effort you're putting in IE! I will be keeping my fingers crossed, and can't wait to see the new version!

[tugon (imported)]

Thanks for all the hard work and the forewarning. Now other members won't be bothered by my panic e-mails asking what is wrong. I will also much appreciate the speelcheck.

[thefraj (imported)]

I will also much appreciate the speelcheck.

Too me, pity it grammar check can't. LOL

[Riverwind (imported)]

I just thought of one more thing,

Will the new system support a diary section. One like BME has, a place were we can have our own page? Not sure what kind of band size it would take or if we even have enough room for one, but it might be nice.

River

[kristoff]

I just thought of one more thing,

Will the new system support a diary section. One like BME has, a place were we can have our own page? Not sure what kind of band size it would take or if we even have enough room for one, but it might be nice.

River

I believe it would simply take the start of another forum, with some clearly established guidelines at the outset. I think a separate section for these may well be in order. As a forum(s), it would merely take a little bit of work in the back room of VB. I suspect even a computer boob like me could do it.

[BossTamsin (imported)]

Ok. I THINK things are all here and working properly.

If you run into any problems, please message me.

I should point out, however, there is a bit of a good news/bad news thing.

The good news is I do believe all the posts and user information made it through intact. The bad news is that at the moment, the customized skins the EA was using are kaput, and we are running on the default skins. This shouldn't be a major issue, however we shall see.

[BudleyBare (imported)]

Ok. I THINK things are all here and working properly.

If you run into any problems, please message me.

I should point out, however, there is a bit of a good news/bad news thing.

The good news is I do believe all the posts and user information made it through intact. The bad news is that at the moment, the customized skins the EA was using are kaput, and we are running on the default skins. This shouldn't be a major issue, however we shall see.

Unaware of the pending change until just now, I logged on, and find that I am apparently just after the completion of this upgrade. Everything looks fine to me. No problems here.

I don't understand the "skins" thingy, but my skin is still attached to my body. Should I be worried?

[BossTamsin (imported)]

Unaware of the pending change until just now, I logged on, and find that I am apparently just after the completion of this upgrade. Everything looks fine to me. No problems here.

I don't understand the "skins" thingy, but my skin is still attached to my body. Should I be worried?

Good to hear things look fine to you.

As to what 'skins' are, if you look at the very, very bottom of the page you'll see a little pulldown box on the bottom left. In there are some choices for how you want the boards to look. Colours, fonts, etc. Those are skins.

[Robby (imported)]

IE,

Just wondering around the upgraded house. Looks good but still slipping under the covers to see what is really happening. I will report any anomalies if found.

Take care and thanks for the upgrade...

[surf_toad (imported)]

hey I just changed skins and the ones on the menu work fine. they even load the next time you enter so i don't see a problem there. the blue default ones always worked well for me.

Thanks.

[Hairless (imported)]

I guess some things are improving before the down time. I'm really enjoying the spell checker. Makes my life a lot easier. Thanks so much for all the work you're doing. Steve

[EricaAnn (imported)]

Dear IEunuch,

Everything looks GREAT! I love the new features in the post writing area. Very nice work my friend.

Thank you for all your time and effort.

[BossTamsin (imported)]

Ok, there've been a couple new changes to the system.

First, you may have noticed when you go to post, there are fewer smilies showing on the right. Never fear, they're all still there. This way though, the box doesn't stretch off the side of the screen, and you can see the new button.

What new button? Why the new spellcheck button. Yes, we now have a spellcheck, located on the top right-hand corner of the edit box.

It works, and everything. Although it won't check grammar, and may not know all the words we use here. But that's ok! It's there, as promised, and it works! (At least it works for me. Please let me know if it fails to work for you.)

[surf_toad (imported)]

now if we can get it to spell check in any language other than canadian we would be good.

[surf_toad (imported)]

<=bad bad toad! (waiting 50 seconds between posts sucks too)

[Riverwind (imported)]

I see a spell checker - and it works for me too.

Thanks IEunuch

River

[kristoff]

<=bad bad toad! (waiting 50 seconds between posts sucks too)

Actually it is set to 60 sec to help defeat spammers, who should all be sent to a hormel rendering plant for canning as Spam.....

[tome (imported)]

Spell Check is Great

[Slammr (imported)]

I see a spell checker - and it works for me too.

Thanks IEunuch

River

Why, River. You're the reason they included it in this version.

Actually, I've cheated all along, using Google's spell checker. It's included in their tool bar.

[n3rf (imported)]

NOOO - the spellchecker wasjustforme...n3rf