No, its not the same. But at least its still here. The problem was the old setup started having glitches and bugs, the site would go down, features stopped working, and the traffic was more than it was originally set up to handle. I'm not privy to the details, or savvy enough to understand even if I was, but a major overhaul was due.
The erBB is run by a corporation, swaylocks is set up by one guy, Mike Paler, who likes having a place for us to talk shop. I've set up websites before (using a template, which is nothing like working from scratch), and I know a lot of work goes into every page and feature, and lots and lots of bugs have to be ironed out and codes have to be rewritten and rewritten.
Its a great site, and its gonna get better, but IMO it isn't exactly a linear continuation of the old site. Its a fresh start with as much of the old site and features as possible, and eventually the glitches will get ironed out, and we'll figure out all the nuances and get comfortable again, but some things were lost in the process that I suspect will never be recovered.
Just hang in there, keep moving forward, and it'll all be good. Heck, even Bert Berger dropped in recently, and said he's planning on coming back soon.
I dont think this has been answered definitely elsewhere, but are the PM's of the past lost to the void? If so, I really REALLY wish we had been given a headsup before the update so I could have archived my few precious pages of data and insights that I have gained over my time on this site. Perhaps advanced warning before implementing such fundamental changes to the site architecture in the future? A sticky thread a few days prior would do. I know do-overs arent owed to anyone, and we all reap the benefits of this site basically gratis, but I can't help but feel really bummed to have lost such one-on-one nuggets of wisdom and story… I absolutely dig all the hard work that gets put into this site, but Mods/Admin- is recovery even possible?
At present, yes, they are lost. The site owner / designer is aware of the issue, and is attempting to retrieve them, but no promises.
We were all told ahead of time that a major makeover was in the works, but no one knew all the implications. I warned that in the case of a major platform change, anything could happen.
The old site had developed some major glitches and bugs that even the site administrator was struggling with - it would sometimes go down for days at a time. I knew there would be some major speed bumps in the road, just didn't know exactly what they would be. I lost a lot of valuable information too - threads I was following with design information specific to my needs, pm's with contact information, etc. etc.
If we get our old pm's back, great. If not, then let it be a lesson to all of us: any information gleaned from the forum that we want to preserve, its up to us to do so. Its not a good idea to rely on the forum to keep all this information indefinitely at our disposal. Copy/paste is a basic computer tool we should put to good use for valued information.
Huck wrote: "If we get our old pm's back, great. If not, then let it be a lesson to all of us: any information gleaned from the forum that we want to preserve, its up to us to do so. Its not a good idea to rely on the forum to keep all this information indefinitely at our disposal. Copy/paste is a basic computer tool we should put to good use for valued information."
Thanks for all the feedback and your patience with the changes. I will be working on restoring most of the missing functionality over the coming weeks. Things I have improved already are Quoting (be sure to select the editor to advanced before you post) and forum speed. It should be much faster now.
Many more improvments and return of old functionality coming soon.
The new format SUUUUUCKS!!! MAKE IT GO AWAY!!! Can't edit / format text now. Copying and pasting is a hassle. Posting pics is a hassle. Now we have to type in a security code to complete a post. Doesn't work on iPhone…all squished on one side. And most of all, after all this the site is still the slowest loading forum I know of.