VBForums: Change is coming....

[brad jones]

This is just to let you know that change is coming to the forum.

We are in the process of upgrading this form to the latest version of the forum software. This newest version uses different manners to do page layout. As such, the internal change is pretty big. More importantly, the new version changes things on the page around a little bit.

There is nothing to worry about. Features will still be here. You might even notice additional features .

This is just a heads-up that we are working on this.

Brad!

[Shaggy Hiker]

There is nothing to worry about.

Oh yeah!! No scarier sentence.

[EntityX]

Worry. Make sure to worry. Exercise those worrying abilities to the max.

[RhinoBull]

Remembering the big crash take screenshots to include your post counts, etc so you can at least be credited back with something...

[brad jones]

The big crash was a database crash. This will be just an update. As they say on TV.... no data will be harmed during the course of the migration.....

Brad!

[Nightwalker83]

I hope nothing goes wrong with the update! I hope all my posts are still here afterwards.

[brad jones]

Guys - there is nothing to fret about. This thread was simply to give you a heads up. We've actually been testing the update and migration interally. We won't do it until we are confident things will go relatlively smoothly. There is also this concept called "backing up" that we will do

Brad!

[akhileshbc]

Guys - there is nothing to fret about. This thread was simply to give you a heads up. We've actually been testing the update and migration interally. We won't do it until we are confident things will go relatlively smoothly. There is also this concept called "backing up" that we will do

Brad!

Silly guys ! They are worried about their posts!

Brad, will my threads get affected during the updation process ?

It's would be nice to see VBF in new outfits.
Have been waiting for a long time.

Good luck

[RhinoBull]

Guys - there is nothing to fret about.

I was only kidding. Who gives a turkey about post counts? Well, maybe some people...

On more serious note: any hints on the new look? Can we keep the old look with new functionaity? There is a lot of history with this classic schema...
If it's how new vBulletin looks then it's modern but ugly...

[akhileshbc]

Well, maybe some people...

You looking at me ?

Can we keep the old look with new functionaity?

I would like to see it in a modern look. Not the classic look! But we could keep the old color schemas though.

[brad jones]

The look current look and feel is being maintained as much as possible to make the transition to the version as smooth as possible.

[RhinoBull]

Thanks for the heads up Brad.

[gep13]

Cool, looking forward to seeing the new update and what new features there will be

Gary

[brad jones]

We are in the final stages of testing. The update to the forum is getting closer.

Brad!

[akhileshbc]

We are in the final stages of testing. The update to the forum is getting closer.

Brad!

Means we will be able to see the new VBF in a couple of hours ?

[brad jones]

No - still "days" I believe. We are planning a move to new servers too, so we are not rushing things.

Brad!

[abhijit]

Will there be a mobile friendly interface in the new version?

[Max Peck]

Will there be a mobile friendly interface in the new version?

Yeah ... will it interface to "Tapatalk"?

-Max

[akhileshbc]

Any updates... ?

7 months are over..!

[brad jones]

Still working on it.... We actually have over 20 forums and are rolling them out in groups. VBForums is a larger forum, so it was pushed near the end of the list. If there are going to be issues, we'd prefer to find them on the smaller forums

Stay tuned.... it *is* coming.

[FunkyDexter]

no data will be harmed during the course of the migration.....

Hah! That's what I told the marketting department.

[dilettante]

VB City more or less committed suicide by their last big change. One word: unusable!

Avoid anything like a farcebook look, excessive clickity-click AJAX, etc.

[brad jones]

VB City more or less committed suicide by their last big change. One word: unusable!

Avoid anything like a farcebook look, excessive clickity-click AJAX, etc.

The update is focusing on internals -- upgrading vBulletin, which means changing from tables to divs, etc. We are trying to hold the look on this update relatively close to what it is now. We will be more modern on the internals and better positioned moving forward since it will be a newer vBulletin version.

[brad jones]

I should add -

It will look a little different...

Here's a teaser:

[akhileshbc]

I should add -

It will look a little different...

Here's a teaser:

That threaded view is much more neat now.
But are those colors a bit faded ? Maybe it's because you took the picture in IE

Also, make sure to give a new look for the top section too. That CodeGuru NewsBox. It's a bit harder to find out the logo of VBF. It is not given enough projection so that it would strike first for all users.

And when I first came here, that Internet bar was there. And it was my first time using a forum. So, I thought that register button on the Internet.com bar was the one to be used to register an account in this site..
Later only I recognized that the Login & Register button are below that.

[brad jones]

That screen shot is of the site that is currently still in development. It was also captured with the browser at 75% resolution. It isn't done yet.

Brad!

[Shaggy Hiker]

Well, 2013 isn't all that far away.

[gep13]

Well, 2013 isn't all that far away.

Don't be saying things like that!!

[brad jones]

2014 comes after 2013 too.....

If these site isn't done before 2013, then I would expect that there will be a couple of technical people within our company looking for new jobs....

Brad!

[Niya]

I hope the new upgrade doesn't put that god awful side panel like over at CodeGuru. It drives me absolutely totally, completely, utterly insane to always have to click "Expand to full width" every time I follow a link over there. Please tell me that would NEVER come here. Its the first thought I had when I read this thread.

EDIT:

Just checked. CG is using an earlier version of this forum software so maybe there's nothing to worry about.

[brad jones]

I hope the new upgrade doesn't put that god awful side panel like over at CodeGuru.

That side pannel could eventually come here. I think everyone that knows that this site is associated with Codeguru and other forums knows that this has always been a possibility. I've worked to keep it off, but eventually I'll lose that battle or will no longer be able to justify not having it.

If you are using a wide screen monitor, then that side bar doesn't take a lot of space relative to screen resolution. Additionally, we try to put it on the pages that it has the least impact (once where the width is less important).

For now, it is not here and for now it is not a part of the upgrade that will happen.

Both CodeGuru and VBForums will be migrated though. Both to the newer versions of vBulletin. For the most part, ad placements will remain as they currentl are. Hopefully we'll even fix the Codeguru article list that is messed up above! (actually that fix is independent of the upgrade )


So fret about the side bar a little, but don't expect it in the near future. At least I don't!

Brad!

[Niya]

That's bitter-sweet news. Good god, what kind of person would ever think that such a panel is a good idea ? I know websites need to advertise to generate revenue but that way is much much too intrusive and obstructive. It takes away 1/2 your real estate for crying out loud. There aren't words to describe how much I hate that panel . I hope this future that you are fighting against comes a long time from now. If it comes any sooner, then as much as I love this site, my participation here would drastically decrease. There is no way in hell that I can learn to tolerate that layout.

So please continue fighting hard for that to stay away from here. I implore you, don't give up. Fight to the death if you have to lol.

[brad jones]

half? are you viewing this on a mobile device? Based on the average screen resolution, the right bar should take 1/4th of your screen (or possibly less). On Codeguru, we added the ability to hide it (although you have to keep saying to hide it). On index pages, this really doesn't have as huge of an impact as it would on post pages.

Trust me when I say..... there are much, much worse ad units, forms, and other features for driving revenue that could be used. Pop-ups, flyovers, bars across the bottom that don't scroll when you scroll a window, animations, ads between each post, etc...... Relatively speaking, there are a lot worse things happening on other sites that are not happening here....

Then again, maybe we'll try some of those out here!

First things first.... let's get the site updated to vB 4.x. Just doing that is enough to take on for now!

[Niya]

My resolution is 1024x768 and yes it takes 1/2 or to be more accurate, I'd say about 40 %. Point is, it feels so intrusive, that it might as well take 1/2.

I mean couldn't you guys add an option to keep it permanently closed ? Like a CP option or something ? Its really distasteful to shove ads down people's throats like that without an option to disable it.

Oh another thing. I noticed at CodeGuru that it doesn't intrude when actually view a thread, so I may be able to stomach it if it reaches here...just maybe.

[brad jones]

My resolution is 1024x768 and yes it takes 1/2 or to be more accurate, I'd say about 40 %. Point is, it feels so intrusive, that it might as well take 1/2.

350 pixels max, 350/1024 == 34%

As a stat, more than 80% of the people coming to this forum are at a resolution of 1280x or higher. Many are much higher than that. It is a small minority operating at 1024x or less. If you are using a work computer, it is time to ask the boss for an upgrade.....

I noticed at CodeGuru that it doesn't intrude when actually view a thread, so I may be able to stomach it if it reaches here...just maybe.

Right - we avoid the right rail on th threads because there is a good chance there will be code listings and such that stretch to the right. We'd do the same thing here if/when we add it. We aren't totally evil

Brad!

[iPrank]

I agree with Niya. A smaller topbar will be better.
My laptop's resolution is 1280x800 (15", 16:10). The (current) top bar is too big.

[brad jones]

would you prefer a little more on the right (350 width seems to be as big as i generally see on the right rail), or would you prefer the top placements (generally 250-300 in height for ads)?

Do you prefer one over the other?

[brad jones]

And to repeat - this first upgrade will be to just get the software to the new version of vBulletin. We won't be making major changes to structure in that move.

We've migrated ASPMessageBoard.com to the new version this week. You can see how icons and such look a little different. The same will happen here when this site gets its turn to update.

Brad!

[iPrank]

would you prefer a little more on the right (350 width seems to be as big as i generally see on the right rail), or would you prefer the top placements (generally 250-300 in height for ads)?

Do you prefer one over the other?

(I'm NOT a web designer. What I'm writing below is my personal preference only)

Topbar is not that bad, but the combined height of Adv+Menus+UserInfo+ThreadTitle etc is too big. So, you could see if total height of those elements can be reduced so that the actual post starts (atleast) near the middle of the screen.

A rightbar could be a good idea. Currently, in a post, the leftbar uses lot of space. Most of it is blank. You can change it like codeguru. Then you'll have space (width) to place a rightbar - without reducing existing post width.

[brad jones]

After we get the forum software updated, I'll see if we can have a designer do some work withteh design a bit.

Brad!