Server Migration is Complete!

[webmaster]

It has been a very intense couple of days and nights but the migration to my new server is complete and (I think) everything is working normally again. Not only did I have to move the site and repair every feature but I also had to configure the new server from the ground up, learning as I go.

Alert: The following is kind of technical and most of you will want to stop reading now!

The site is now running on my own Sun Cobalt RaQ 550 dedicated server. Here's a picture:

For more about the server itself click here.

The advantages of the new server are too numerous to mention but here are a few:

• Completely self contained in a box only 1.7" X 16.8" X 14".
• Dedicated server instead of sharing space and resourses with hundreds of other sites.
• Server is located in Boston instead of Texas
• Server is simultaneously connected to 9 Internet backbones at a very hot InterNAP data center.
• 80 GB storage capacity instead of 800 MB.
• Complete control for the Webmaster!

The server will also host a few other related sites under the banner of:

Now that the migration and all the troubleshooting is complete I really need to pry my fingers from this keyboard, reintroduce myself to my family ("Who are you?") and get some rest before I start to play with all the new capabilities. I have some great ideas. Stay tuned...

Don

[DRH]

Sounds like you're about ready for a vacation at the lake, Don! Thanks for all your efforts.

[trfour]

Everything seems to be running smoothly, Don. Great job!

[Island Girl]

I know how much work this was. Your dedication is just beyond belief. Thanks for all the work so we can all enjoy and share.

Guess I will have to take some more pictures!

[Pepper]

Your devotion to this site never ceases to amaze me. I often wonder if you ever sleep! Your efforts are obvious, and appreciated.

[fatlazyless]

Helloooooo, is there any chance now that you went and set up a new & expensive server that the forum could return to its' Olde Format? It just seems to me when thinking about the New Format and the Olde Format, that the Olde Format was a better format in that it was more functional. It's olde design, set-up, & speed seems to be more user friendly and got more posters & viewers involved & engaged. Instead of itemizing & defining & characterizing the different posts it was more of a free-for-all running string of comments that could be scanned quickly and had a better functionality or someting like that.

In summation, the Olde Format was just plain better, and I will even cough up a twenty buck check-in-the mail or a forty dollar tee-shirt purchase if you decide to redo the forum back to OLDE, thankyou. Photos are super, but the wordy-message part of the Olde, stretched-out, outlined style Forum, was a much more interesting medium to use & read, tanks again!

[madrasahs]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

"...It just seems to me when thinking about the New Format and the Olde Format, that the Olde Format was a better format in that it was more functional.

I'm with FLL on this. Couldn't there be a "Run-of-Message" check-box? (Kinda like "Run-of-Press" that some advertisers use in the printed medium).

The messages/answers/rants/discussions could still continue to be archived on a daily basis in the New Format.

[Steve]

Awesome! Both the migration and the server!

[fpartri497]

Originally Posted by Steve

Awesome! Both the migration and the server!

and dont forget about the webmaster

[Boater]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

Helloooooo, is there any chance now that you went and set up a new & expensive server that the forum could return to its' Olde Format?

Geez, all some people can do is complain, complain, complain.

Don, please don't go back. I like the way I can read an entire thread on one page instead of reloading message after message. I also like how subjects like boating, fishing and restaurants are seperated into different forums.

The new format is a big improvement, don't listen to these guys.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by fpartri497

and dont forget about the webmaster

Of course, that's what I mean by the migration...thanks Don!

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Boater

Geez, all some people can do is complain, complain, complain.

Don, please don't go back. I like the way I can read an entire thread on one page instead of reloading message after message. I also like how subjects like boating, fishing and restaurants are seperated into different forums.

The new format is a big improvement, don't listen to these guys.

I agree, I found the old format very hard to use, and very old technology. I've already found that I visit much more frequently, even more so since the required message review/moderation was lifted!

[SIKSUKR]

I really hate to agree with a few of the posters here but I too find the old format much easier to use.I'm sure there are a lot of benifits in this new software,probably more than I'll ever find out about.For ease of use I found the other format very simple.
Having said that,I'm am in no way asking to go back.I probably just need more time on this thing.Is there a way to see which posts you have already read?Kind of like the old format where the read posts would change to a different color?
I will also echo what others have said here in that I'm sure Don has put in an incredible amount of his time with this website and it is very appreciated.Thanks Don SS

[ITD]

FLL had a valid question that was asked in a nice way. He doesn't deserve to be flamed for asking it. Who knows, maybe there is a way to make the new site act like the old via a setting on FLL's computer. This is the "SITE SUPPORT FORUM" where questions should be asked and people shouldn't be ripped for asking them. I know FLL doesn't need me to defend him, but there may be others out there who are or will be afraid to ask questions for fear of being flamed by the self appointed forum PC cops.

/meekly steps off soapbox


Thanks for your work Don, can't wait to try the new sites, when they are available.

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by ITD

FLL had a valid question that was asked in a nice way. He doesn't deserve to be flamed for asking it.

I didn't notice any flaming.

The short answer to the question is that there is no turning back. The new Forum is here to stay. Although some don't like it most of the feedback is very positive.

FLL didn't mention that he is using WebTV to access the Forum. WebTV's browser is limited and sometimes has problems with many Web sites. FLL and a few other WebTV users have reported problems in the past viewing site features, even the old Forum.

I recommended to FLL that he tries viewing the Forum in archive mode. This is a simple, less graphical way to view Forum messages. Since most visitors only read anyway this could be a good compromise.

Click on this link and make it a "favorite" and you can skip all the bells & whistles.

Another option if you long for the old Forum is to change the Display Mode to Hybrid. In Hybrid mode you'll see a threaded message index where you can click through the messages one-by-one, just like in the old days.

Thanks for all the support and nice comments.

Don

[mcdude]

"Having said that,I'm am in no way asking to go back.I probably just need more time on this thing.Is there a way to see which posts you have already read?Kind of like the old format where the read posts would change to a different color?" quoting SIKSUKR

I'm not sure if you are doing this.....after signing in, simply click on the button above that says "New Posts"...it directs you to any threads that may have new responses since you last signed in. Works Great!!

Great work, Don! - McD

I can't seem to get the hang of this "quote" feature....

[ITD]

Flamed may be too strong a word, please substitute "labeled as a complainer" for flamed in my previous post.

[madrasahs]

I'm trying the "Hybrid" Display Mode. This may be the answer for FLL's viewing pleasure -- it's most like the "Olde Format".

How does one access the "Olde Format" archives? "White-tailed hawk" or "Polansky", for example, returned "no results".

[webmaster]

Originally Posted by madrasahs

How does one access the "Olde Format" archives

Links to the old Forum are in the "Welcome to the NEW Winnipesaukee Forum" announcement at the top of the General Discussion Forum. Here's a direct link:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/oldforum/index.cgi

The old Forum shows the last 2000 messages posted or click on the "Search the Archive" link to go back through 56,000 archived messages. Searching 56,000 text files takes a while so be patient.

[Drummer Boy]

Don,

How do I get into the "hybrid mode" ?

[Rattlesnake Gal]

Upper right side of your screen. Click on Display Modes.

[fatlazyless]

So, this new forum may be more up-to-date with the latest chatline technology but so where have all the people with their messages gone. It reminds me of the computer generated signs one frequenty sees on a standard 8 1/2 x 11" paper sheet. Colored markers and some personal style have been replaced by the perfectly scripted but boring computer generated signs.

In case you forgot, the olde forum showed in one glance the when-who-what-old-new info in a growing and changing thread that was fun to use. Does this new forum format do that and so where-0-where have all the posters gone?

[Island Girl]

Here is how I see what's new. I have my pages set to Hybrid mode (click on UserCP in the tool bar and then click Edit Options, then Thread Display Options. Select the mode you want.

Then I have a shortcut on my desktop to http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/....php?do=getnew, which will only display what is new since my last visit. I can then see the whole thread in the upper window and click on what I want.

Hope this helps, FLL

[Mee-n-Mac]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

In case you forgot, the olde forum showed in one glance the when-who-what-old-new info in a growing and changing thread that was fun to use. Does this new forum format do that and so where-0-where have all the posters gone?

As IG indicated above, the hybrid mode is most like the olde forum in that a list of titles, posted by, and time & dates, displayed in the olde "responded to/related to" hierarchical style is presented at the top of the page while the posts (not just the single post per olde forum) are displayed in the bottom of the page. Whereas the olde forum gave all the threads in 1 long, scrollable list; the new segregated forum(s), even in hybrid mode, require you to click among the various forums and threads to see it all. Hybrid mode only displays 1 thread (but all it's posts) at a time. I too found it easier to scroll rather than click, click, click but hybrid mode plus 'new posts' button works pretty well too. In ye olde forum I could see the list of posts by scrolling but still had to click, click, click to read them post by post. So the new forum isn't that much different for me. Perhaps the olde forum was easier to see the "big picture" via scrolling but about the same amount of clicking to read all the posts as now ? One BIG plus is the immediate posting, which cuts down on the missed/crossed responses. My guess is the registration might have scared off a few people.

[islandAl]

I have found the hybrid the best thread format. Open the forum, click "New Posts" find a thread I want to read, click on it and scroll thru the top section to see the new items marked with red symbol instead of blue that I have read and click on the first one I want to read (sometimes back up one or two to refresh my aged memory) and then can scroll thru the new replies. Hit the new posts to go back to the overall listings of threads.
Sometimes just click on the icon that takes me to last post and then work backwards using the method above or the (what to call it) post listings

[Lakegeezer]

It seems the new forum does not have the same rate of posts/day. Maybe I'm missing them. I've settled on hybrid mode for viewing and can't quite figure out what I should be reading. The other posts in this thread pointed out a few differences in the GUI. I can't quite put my finger on it but the culture of the winni forum crowd has changed. Maybe it will just take more time. The editing tools are nice but overall, the service has too many features that aren't being used. Three steps forward and two steps back. That's progress.

[RI Swamp Yankee]

Originally Posted by Lakegeezer

..I can't quite put my finger on it but the culture of the winni forum crowd has changed...

I think you are correct to a certain degree Lakegeezer but I don't think that is all that bad. I did and do miss seeing posts by some of the regulars like FLL. I never did find out if he got that outboard fixed but I did like his posts on ice thickness after he got that auger from wally world. I still miss the old "look" a bit but I don't miss the threads that turned into endless "did not...did to... etc". I must have been a nightmare for Don as he remained the impartial webmaster. As Jan said, I think the nonsense has diminished at the same time Don doesn't have to read every post. Change is not always easy for us old Yankees, both those from the "swamps" of RI or the "hills" of NH. I think most of the good people are still here.