The Desert Colossus

After the ZU hacking(again) we've come to realize just how old this site is, and just how vulnerable we all are to an attack. Through discussion, we've come to realize that its time for an update in not only security, but an update in whole. I'm sure you all remember when Jack opted to do this a few years ago, but hesitated when he realized all forum status would be lost.

Thanks to modern miracles, we've come to a solution to the problem(I apologize, but I've always wanted to say that). Now, we can update without losing anything by using a converter to save everything when the site undergoes the update. We're not 100% sure of this, which is why KamakaziPlumber is testing it before we officially go through with it. There are only two more things we need to do after that until we decide to do to ensure that its okay to proceed.

1. Consent from Jack, which could take anywhere from a week to a month or two.

2. Your vote on whether or not we should update and become safer from hacker attacks.

The votes will be finalized and the polls will be closed three weeks from now. That deadline is subject to change if it is seen unfit. With that, I open the polls! Vote, vote, vote!

Thanks for going through all this for the site and it's members! You mods are great help  :D

As long as there's a chance that we won't lose anything, I'm all for it.

We'd really need to make a backup first, in case it doesn't work out right.

I'm totally down with it, homeskillet.

The only constant is change, and all that.

Quote from: JQ Pickwick on July 27, 2008, 03:08:04 PM
We'd really need to make a backup first, in case it doesn't work out right.

Right. We're just getting this step out of the way now, so we don't have to get the members' thoughts and ideals later. This way, everyone can vote on it while we're waiting for KP to give us the test results, AND while we're waiting for Jack's response to the idea. We're performing all three steps at once.

He's already responded. KP Will tell you more.

Even if we DO lose everything, so what?  We could consider it a fresh start-- for everyone.

OK. First of all, TDC's host does daily backups (says Jack himself), so we have very little to worry about here. In regards to the forum upgrade, Jack said the problem he had with upgrading was getting the new forum to work with the layout in the same way as this one. He had nothing on the converter, which is why I'm trying to create a test server on my desktop, into which I can install this forum software, and try to upgrade.

Jack said to do what we want to do, so, you guys decide. I vote in favor of an upgrade, could use the upgraded stuff anyways. Plus, there will be added security regardless; you can never be too careful, no?

Is this for just the forums or the whole site?

YabbSE is for the forums only.

I know that, but are we going to do the main site as well sometime?

I do believe that Tac's working on a new layout for the site, if that's what you mean.

As long as it keeps us from getting hacked, I really don't care. :D

This poll looks pretty one sided. I don't think we'll need an entire 3 weeks at this rate :P

Yea, I'm pretty sure that half the active members have voted, concidering there is 10 votes already for yes, and zip for no, its fine.
Question, if we do do an update, would it the main site and the forums? Or just the main site? Or just the forums? Seems kinda like a dumb question, but I was just wondering....

*peers at above posts*

Did you read the posts in the topic, Jordon?

And I'm not really sure whether I'm doing the layout or not.

I'm just really blah about that kind of thing at the moment.

Wow. So, um. Epic fail.  :'(

I spent most of today getting my Apache, PHP and MySQL installs to work, then getting them to work together. Upon successfully doing this, I attempted to install YaBB SE, only to find that the install wouldn't work for no apparent reason. To top it all off, my Desktop has a virus now. Don't ask how, I don't know. Apparently, it doesn't even really have the virus anymore, it's just not letting me access the internet. Or, at least, access websites. Sigh.

That being said, I don't know how successful my laboratory reproduction of TDC's dilemma will be. I still vote yes for the update, though. This whole test is only to be sure that we won't lose stuff. I'll keep trying, I suppose.

Quote from: kamakaziplumber on July 27, 2008, 06:53:05 PM...it doesn't even really have the virus anymore, it's just not letting me access the internet. Or, at least, access websites. Sigh.

Er...?

Good thing you saved that Monocular Scanner?

Hey KP, what does your scanner say about the number of viruses on your computer?

--------------------

Anyhow, I hold fast in my motion that even if we do lose everything, we can get off to a fresh start.

It's over 9k.

Actually, 0. And my internet came back.... for a time. Now it's gone again. Sigh.

While I believe we could "start over", too, it just seems crazy to do it. So much lost... and all for an upgrade? I think the test is worth doing.

Have we settled on what forum software we're going to upgrade to?

I talked to gamefreak about this today, he never mentioned anything about saving our data, he said everything would be gone

I'm not 100% sure we could keep everything, but, I'm not 100% we'd lose it, either. All my attempts to set up a working environment on my desktop failed. Everything needed to be an older version, and reinstalled, and uninstalled, and reinstalled again, and of course the latest MySQL didn't work for it. Too many problems, I give up on that. I really wish I could have figured out whether or not the upgrade would cause us to lose our stuff, but, nothing wants to work with me. Maybe tomorrow I'll start fresh, I don't know.

Do I have to? Or would you guys just be willing to upgrade and see what happens?

Well, Jack says the whole site gets backed up daily right? I say go for it!

I think, in the end, that it's up to GF. What he says, goes.

GF said " I'm up for it.  A change in scenery would be nice."

I wouldn't say everyone is fine with it without hearing what the forum Administrator had to say.

I.... I did it. I didn't think it could be done, but... I did it. I... installed YaBB SE on my computer... and successfully upgraded. No loss at all, it even backs up the database for us. Heck, we can even keep the current theme if we want to. I... there's no reason to even wait any longer. Are we still all up for it?

Make it so Number 1!

YES DO IT NOW!!!!!!! DX
Why is there any reason to wait?
Like anyone changed their opinion since the last few hours?

Actually, i'll have a problem with it if it doesn't work with my dial up

I don't think dial-up will be much of a problem. It shouldn't be much heavier than these forums... at least, I don't think. I could look it up.

Y'know, the forums will be down for maintenance while this thing is happening. Like, five minutes tops. No big deal, but, no posting either....

OK, checked really quickly for any dial-up problems, and I don't think there are any. Forums are generally geared to operate smoothly, after all. You shouldn't experience any slowdown compared to your current speeds.

FIVE MINUTES?!

YOU'RE KIDDING ME

I cannot wait that long, I refuse to allow this to continue.

I'm tired of your whining, Tacheon. Don't make me turn this forum around! I'll do it! I'LL TURN IT AROUND!  >:(

Anyways, so, I'm going to do it then? For sure? Today? Right now?

Do it right now, nobody seems to be posting...

[size=1/16]like that's anything new[/size]

Yes KP. Yes. Do it. Right now. This moment. Today. No more questions. Just click.

OK, OK. Sheesh. Going to download this forum first, just in case. Wouldn't want to lose our smileys, after all. THEN I'M DOING IT!

EDIT:: Done! What a relief...

EDIT2:: OMG! It doesn't kick you out of the topic anymore! LOVE SMF! Will work on getting old smileys up now.

oh god I didn't read this before it updated and freaked out.

The text is... uh, weird to say the least, but it's not TOO bad.

Look at the reply buttons!
And we lost our smilies :-\

I don't get a new notice by topics I haven't checked now. o_o

Oh well.

The text is a little weird, you're right Fisk. The forums are a little jumbled, and we lost some of the icons we had. Icons as in the sword for stickied topics, and the scroll for polls and stuff. wow.

:-\ Got some back. I'll see about the rest.

Hey, and my stars are green again!  ;D
Also, see if you can get more than we had in the first place.
I know there are a lot of these smilies that we never got.

Also look how east it is to modify your posts now! Just click the paper and pencil next to your post!

Are the polls weird for anyone else? it has all these empty voting things for me.

Yeah, strange. I'm not sure what to do about that, though. Probably just a problem with the conversion, shouldn't happen with any new polls. And I'll try to get all the other images up, but that's about all I can do. GF (or the mods?) will have to reorder the forums and such...

Whoaaaaa

This is weird.

I'm diggin' the green stars again, but I'm a little upset about how drastically different everything is.  This is going to take some getting used to...

>.> How is everything "drastically" different? You should see the other layouts. As it is I'm trying to get the normal buttons and icons back (which is a feat, considering most have been renamed). Everything else seems minimal...

Wow... A day of leave, and I come back to an updated forum! Excellent work, KP!

OK, I think I got the bulk of the icons. Let me know if I missed any and, if possible, where to find it/what the icon is called. Right click and hit properties to find out. It helps, a lot.

Also, let me know about anything else you find strange. I'd try to fix the font but, I have no idea what the original font was >.> Most other things (i.e. the forum order) has to be fixed by an admin or, possibly, a mod.

The forums are all... different. We've upgraded, though, and we didn't lose anything, so I'm happy about that. Nice work, KP!

Now to get used to the unfamiliar forum layout... That shouldn't be too hard.

(I love the "Quick Edit" option. Very convenient.)

Well, it's working fine, i just think everything looks wierd nwo, i got usede to the mod's blue stars

I think the blue stars looked better, personally... Can't complain too much, though. We've got a faster, more feature-rich forum than we used to, and I'm still really pleased that we didn't lose anything.

Finally, someone posted!

Yes, there are things to get used to, but most things can be reverted to their original state. Just takes time and effort. And, some of the things you guys are mentioning are probably done via the admin panel. But, I'm not 100% on that.

Meanwhile, should we add a shoutbox? It's possible, now, to add modifications and such. So? I've always liked them, and wanted one here at TDC...

Is a shoutbox one of those things that's like a chatroom on the forums?

If so, don't.  It'll kill the site, every conversation'll take place there.  Trust me.

Eh... Whether having a shoutbox is a good thing or not is debatable. While it'd be cool for people just to say "Hey, everyone! Send me a message!" with no hassle, I'd be worried about anonymous jerks posting... err... inappropriate things. I've witnessed this occurrence on shoutboxes many a time...

I've used shoutboxes before... Just depends on the modification, some have extensive administration options that can prevent, say, anonymous postings. Or ban people from it, etc.

While it's true that most conversations might go on there... isn't that partially why we have a Chatboard, anyways? And there's no convo posting allowed, so... that's another thing. I don't know, I just thought it would be cool to have a shoutbox.

Also, I might be able to fix the gap that appears in FF3... but that would involve editing the template file, which I can't access apparently. I believe it's in the admin panel. So I'd need some kind of temporary administrator powers to edit it. I would also need to do this for any future layout changes, such as the banner I've been working on, which I need to get posted soon since Jack approved it. >.>

Quote from: kamakaziplumber on July 28, 2008, 02:54:00 PMAlso, I might be able to fix the gap that appears in FF3... but that would involve editing the template file, which I can't access apparently. I believe it's in the admin panel. So I'd need some kind of temporary administrator powers to edit it. I would also need to do this for any future layout changes, such as the banner I've been working on, which I need to get posted soon since Jack approved it. >.>

We don't trust you enough to make you an admin here as well :P

Just kidding.

But not really.

Seriously though, just PM whatever you need done to Gamefreak (as well as instructions)... there's no real need to make any staff changes.

But that would be so tedious :( Especially considering that I don't have any idea what the template editor is like in the admin panel, which makes instructions pretty difficult to give... I suppose Gamefreak would have to walk me through that first, then I'd have to use that information to try to figure out where the changes he'd have to make are exactly, and then tell him what to change them to and hope he can find it.

Not to mention I'm not even close to being sure what I think the problem in FF3 is, I just know what to look for I suppose. And I think I may have found it in the template file (which I can download, and edit, but can't overwrite via FTP).

Um... My panel's a bit jumbled up as well, so I'm going to have to situated with that. 

Maybe when I'm home later, I'll sort through it.

I have the panel in front of me now. Remember my test forum? Anyways, it wouldn't be horribly impossible to do, but, it would involve a good bit of cooperation and such. And PMs full of code. >.> Although it just boils down to copying and pasting anyways. I'm more concerned with the fact that the template editor seems to split the file up into blocks of text, so it's harder to tell exactly where the portion you'd have to edit is. And that's assuming that it's the right file... on mine it doesn't seem to be, but, kinda does too. I don't know, like I said, it would take a lot of cooperation. But I'm up for it, whenever you have time.

>.> No one else wants a shoutbox? KP sad. :(