The forum will be down for probably a day or two at most from the 11th May
As mentioned some time ago the developers who make our forum software are working on their next major update. This brings many feature and fixes and my initial plan was to update to this. I would have to for security reasons anyway as it's never advisable to run outdated software.
That being said, I have been following their beta version for a while and am not liking the direction it is going. Yes, there are fixes and more features and more modern code BUT as a result, it is also making the forum more busy and confusing for users. Put simply the majority of our members are not technically minded (no offence) you want to come on, chat and post and be part of the community. The new update just makes this more complicated than is needed.
What I am going to do rather than update to this version or stay on the current at the risk of security, is migrate our whole forum to a new software that pretty much has the same functionality but is generally more user-friendly. Of course, there is going to be a small learning curve but in the long run will be better for WCF now and in the future. This is quite a time-consuming process with lots of work for
so please bare with.
When we are on the new software, please remember there will be a few teething issues and the best way to get these fixes is for everyone to contact me directly with the issues you face in detail so i can fix them. I may not always have the issues you are facing so is important for you to let me know.
When on the new software it's important that all users clear both their browser cache and cookies to ensure there are no conflicts with your browser trying to get info from the old software. (Don't do this until we are on the new software)
If you wish to discuss this with me please send me a PM rather than creating lots of threads with your thoughts or concerns.
As mentioned the new software is pretty similar but will still be a few things that will take a little adjusting. I will be creating tutorial videos for anyone who is struggling. To help with the transition I will also be adjusting our current software colours to match what they will be on the new software hopefully helping with the adjustment that way hopeful the change won't be too jarring when I make the switch.
So we will have a couple of weeks or so on this software slightly adjusted colours to ease you in then 11th May i will be doing the conversion.
UPDATE
Just a quick update to this.
The software update will have two phases.
In May I will do the bulk of the work and migrate everything over. I will then spend a month or so ensuring everything is working correctly and well.
In June/July will be the final part of the update which will refine the forum software.
This will consist of refining the sites theme to simplify some areas of the theme with mobile experience in mind. The second phase will also bring some features like:
As mentioned some time ago the developers who make our forum software are working on their next major update. This brings many feature and fixes and my initial plan was to update to this. I would have to for security reasons anyway as it's never advisable to run outdated software.
That being said, I have been following their beta version for a while and am not liking the direction it is going. Yes, there are fixes and more features and more modern code BUT as a result, it is also making the forum more busy and confusing for users. Put simply the majority of our members are not technically minded (no offence) you want to come on, chat and post and be part of the community. The new update just makes this more complicated than is needed.
What I am going to do rather than update to this version or stay on the current at the risk of security, is migrate our whole forum to a new software that pretty much has the same functionality but is generally more user-friendly. Of course, there is going to be a small learning curve but in the long run will be better for WCF now and in the future. This is quite a time-consuming process with lots of work for
so please bare with.When we are on the new software, please remember there will be a few teething issues and the best way to get these fixes is for everyone to contact me directly with the issues you face in detail so i can fix them. I may not always have the issues you are facing so is important for you to let me know.
When on the new software it's important that all users clear both their browser cache and cookies to ensure there are no conflicts with your browser trying to get info from the old software. (Don't do this until we are on the new software)
If you wish to discuss this with me please send me a PM rather than creating lots of threads with your thoughts or concerns.
As mentioned the new software is pretty similar but will still be a few things that will take a little adjusting. I will be creating tutorial videos for anyone who is struggling. To help with the transition I will also be adjusting our current software colours to match what they will be on the new software hopefully helping with the adjustment that way hopeful the change won't be too jarring when I make the switch.
So we will have a couple of weeks or so on this software slightly adjusted colours to ease you in then 11th May i will be doing the conversion.
UPDATE
Just a quick update to this.
The software update will have two phases.
In May I will do the bulk of the work and migrate everything over. I will then spend a month or so ensuring everything is working correctly and well.
In June/July will be the final part of the update which will refine the forum software.
This will consist of refining the sites theme to simplify some areas of the theme with mobile experience in mind. The second phase will also bring some features like:
- Post reactions (think similar to Facebook)
- Clubs (users will be able to create their own groups on the forum. Pending view of users on the usefulness of this feature) Vote for clubs feature here https://windowcleaningforums.co.uk/threads/clubs-feature-should-we-have-one.25205/#post-365176
- Rich embeds (you will be able to post links to things like Facebook posts, tweets and more which will automatically display the content)
- A new fluid forum view. (Users will be able to set the forum to show latest posts all the time. You can still switch back to default category if you wish)
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