Autonerdz forums

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

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

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


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:


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. 

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


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."

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


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.