We’ve been putting this off for a while, but I believe the time has come for a forum upgrade. We have security concerns and many users have requested a more mobile friendly platform.

I was hoping to get some input before we do anything. I’ve always felt that these forums are yours, the contributors. I do not want some radical change Like IATN did, losing many members https://www.autonerdz.com/cgi/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1605026853

What I would like to see:

Nothing lost. All past information needs to remain searchable and have the ability to resume past discussions.

Keep forum member accounts, might require new passwords.

Keep a similar forum layout, yet a more mobile friendly platform.

One login to access forums, PicoGroup training materials, past orders, etc.

Thoughts?

Yes  [smiley=thumbsup2.gif]

Yes, I like your suggestions. The most important thing to me being able to search and find past posts/discussions.

Solera seems incapable of identifying what it has of value, and how to transfer that to a new forum. That debacle is why I have not voiced a desire to see changes to the Autonerdz forum. 

Regarding the mobile friendly platform, I agree this change is necessary in the near future.  If no change is made to be more mobile friendly, Autonerdz as a business will not grow as it should and forum participation will suffer.

I have many more thoughts but will have to finish them later when I have more time.

      

Mobile friendly is high on the list. Then comes what you call complete search capabilities of past information. Thanks.

This migration is beyond my abilities, so we're hiring a 3rd party that specializes in this type of thing.

I've been told that personal messages might not migrate.

Brian Haley wrote on Mar 16^th, 2022 at 8:28am:

One login to access forums, PicoGroup training materials, past orders, etc. Thoughts?

Many of the existing assets could be moved to the drop site and secured with a PC specific password if the new forum doesn't have a logical place.  One login might help with that?

Preservation of existing forum data with an excellent search feature are the top priorities on my list.  What is the plan to improve the database of basic forum members/Picogroup members from the existing member list and map?  There was a forum discussion with Trevor's involvement on this subject.  This seems like an appropriate time to decide how to resolve that issue.


Brian Haley wrote on Mar 17^th, 2022 at 8:15am:

This migration is beyond my abilities, so we're hiring a 3rd party that specializes in this type of thing. I've been told that personal messages might not migrate.

I hope you are setting the third party's expectations appropriately.  I have no faith in "a third party that specializes in this type of thing."  Web designers are like technicians: the 80/20 rule applies. Meaning, there is a good chance the third party's results will let us down.  Best to have backups of your backups of the existing forum.  Have you looked at the third party's portfolio/results: active forums that were migrated from older platforms...such as migrated from the YaBB type?

I'm not concerned about personal message saving, but I've only been here a little over two years.  Members that rarely visit the forums may feel differently about the personal messages.  Based on my experience as an iATN 2.0 Beta tester, I suspect you will get little feedback from Autonerdz members on the migration in general until its too late.  Another reason to backup the existing forum.   

Rod Maher and Steve McGrew came to my mind because of past software development.  Rod Maher hasn't logged in here in a couple months so you should probably contact him about his forum and web experiences at TAT.  I'm sure there are many others that would have valuable input that don't visit the forum often. 

Hi Brian,
    The upgrade sounds like a very good idea.  Especially if the search function tends to work better.  I have had about a 50 - 60% success rate with searching, but that may be the way I am trying to phrase what I'm looking for.   ::)
Take care,
Doug S.

Grant B wrote on Mar 18^th, 2022 at 12:33pm:

What is the plan to improve the database of basic forum members/Picogroup members from the existing member list and map?  There was a forum discussion with Trevor's involvement on this subject.  This seems like an appropriate time to decide how to resolve that issue.

I could not find a forum post from Trevor on this topic.  I believe Trevor asked for feedback on this subject in the July 2021 Group Therapy.  He called his idea "find an Autonerd locator." I sent an email to Trevor as a reply to his feedback request.  The following are my thoughts regarding the "find an Autonerd locator" idea; and, are from my email:

"I would like to see this happen.  I’m shure there’s many challenges to overcome to make this happen.  Privacy/legal hurdles, inactive members, transfer of data.  If you made it entirely voluntary it won’t likely get participation to the extent that it should. The member map or any future member locator needs a zip code search.  Maybe something that can interface with an existing template like your customer database software, maybe placed at the Drop Site, maybe individual contacts could be shared like you would in a smart phone contacts App."

What platform are you planning to move to ? I used to administer a phpBB forum and did the migration to Invision. Not for the faint of heart when the site has with lot of posts and file attachments, like this one. I think Vbulletin would be a good fit.
Are you going Cloud hosted or your own server ?

denisf wrote on Mar 27^th, 2022 at 1:50pm:

What platform are you planning to move to ?

Our options are limited due to the yabb file structure complicating the migration. Looks like wpForo could be good fit for us.

We'll likely use our own server.

That's right! If memory serves me right, Yabb doesn't use a database. More like flat text files.