Software Upgrade

Discuss recent changes, make suggestions, etc.
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crfriend
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Software Upgrade

Post by crfriend »

Good morning Skirt Cafe Denizens!

You have likely noticed that we've been in a read-only mode for a few days with the forum emitting large numbers of PHP errors at the top of many pages. Please accept our apologies for that, but our hosting provider upgraded the version of PHP from 5.{something-or-other} to 7.2.24 and that version was too new for our old version of phpBB3 (3.0.14) which is what you interact with here to work with.

I'm pleased to announce that we're now on a modern version of phpBB, but it was not without some pain. The immediate changes that folks are going to notice is that the old-style "subsilver2" is gone, as are all the localised languages that were installed. I'm going to be working on getting all of those re-loaded on the system, but unless I can resurrect an old version of the database I'll not be able to reset everybody's personal preferences. By far and away, the biggest "hit" is the interface "skin" (the loss of "subsilver2"). However, comma...

We're back on the air!
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
trainspotter48
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by trainspotter48 »

Thanks, Carl!
I hope it didn't cost you too much sleep.
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crfriend
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by crfriend »

trainspotter48 wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 1:56 pm Thanks, Carl!
You -- and the entire Skirt Cafe community -- are more than welcome!
I hope it didn't cost you too much sleep.
This didn't cost me any sleep -- it was my day job that kept interfering with solving this problem as my day job was consuming about sixteen to eighteen hours per day.

Once I realised what was going on, I spent about 45 minutes figuring out what to do, then about an hour or two last night to get a prototype of the deed done in my lab at home, and then about 45 minutes to actually do all the work here this morning. And, of course, there's still work left to do like the alternate style (I detest the new one -- it wastes too much screen real-estate) and alternate languages.

I'll update the thread as I progress on those fronts.

What I will say, is that this upgrade was a bit of a "heavy lift" as it required some reverse-engineering of the database because the canned patches weren't working properly "out of the box" -- and there were a lot of patches!
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
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beachlion
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by beachlion »

Thanks Carl, I already started to get the withdrawal phenomenon.
All progress takes place outside the comfort zone - M J Bobak
STEVIE
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by STEVIE »

Thanks from me too.
From the other thread, I don't mind the new style either.
Steve.
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Fred in Skirts
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by Fred in Skirts »

Carl, May the makers you believe in shower upon you all of the blessings they can, :sunny: :pray:

I can not begin to tell you of the pain of withdraw I was feeling, as I have been through this before. This is the thread that helps keep me sane. :compress: (If that is even possible)

Dealing with the changes that are now required to get back to the old look can take time I know but you are the one capable of doing just that.

SO ONCE AGAIN THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

:thewave: :thewave:
"It is better to be hated for what you are than be loved for what you are not" Andre Gide: 1869 - 1951
Always be yourself because the people that matter don’t mind and the ones that mind don’t matter.
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Sinned
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by Sinned »

Thanks Carl, your dedication is to be admired. I know well the sinking feeling when the system returns multiple errors when you haven't done anything. Did you get any advance notice of the upgrade including details of what has changed? Like others I quite like the new format although the one option that I used almost every time I logged on was the "show any unread posts". That this is not there is not a killer, it just means a bit more time picking through the threads.
I believe in offering every assistance short of actual help but then mainly just want to be left to be myself in all my difference and uniqueness.
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Jim
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by Jim »

Thanks, Carl. I would have been disappointed if this one did like another bulletin board I was on that still has the under construction sign up a year after the "upgrade".
SkirtRevolution
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by SkirtRevolution »

Thankyou for all your time. The new site looks excellent.
weeladdie18
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by weeladdie18 »

Thank You Carl...I have found that to submit a P.M. one has to reload the Name of the Addresse and
the subject title....This is not automatic from the old system to the new one...Roderick.
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crfriend
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by crfriend »

Thank you gentlemen, thank you all. I appreciate your sentiments. However, do recall that when I "signed up" [0] to do this job I did so with the intent to put the full force of my competency to bear on keeping things running smoothly. I view it as a professional obligation.

The above having been said, I stand proud to serve this community -- as small as it may be -- and am entirely happy that the forum is viewed as being important to folks. That just steels the resolve that was already there.

This, I believe, is an important space; as far as I am aware, nothing else like it exists. Thus it serves a need. From a very personal perspective, I'd prefer to occupy a world where a space like this would be superfluous, but we're not there yet. We may never get there, but that should not stop us from striving towards the end-game.

Thanks lads -- and gals -- for being here, and for trying to widen the world's view of things one mind at a time.


[0] See Tracy Kidder's Pulitzer Prize winning book The Soul of a New Machine for precisely what it means to "sign up". It's a geek's book to be sure, but it's a damned good read.
Retrocomputing -- It's not just a job, it's an adventure!
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denimini
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by denimini »

Thanks Carl your time, skill and commitment.
Many things seem to rely heavily on one person to keep them going, although others are involved and contribute.
I can empathise with your situation, busy otherwise but committed to keeping this forum going. I volunteer one day a week putting the local paper together ready for printing. Others print and distribute but I know that without my time and skill that it would not happen. I decided to do it because it was a good and necessary facility for the community and I am committed without resentment, although I already have more to do than time permits.
Anthony, a denim miniskirt wearer in Outback Australia
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moonshadow
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by moonshadow »

Jim wrote: Sat Nov 23, 2019 10:53 pm Thanks, Carl. I would have been disappointed if this one did like another bulletin board I was on that still has the under construction sign up a year after the "upgrade".

That's the difference between a run of the mill amateur (like me) trying to run a BB service online vs a man like Carl... a master in his craft.

Nicely done. If this were my site... it would have certainly perished into history the other day.
-Andrea
The old hillbilly from the coal fields of the Appalachian mountains currently living like there's no tomorrow on the west coast.
john62
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by john62 »

Thanks C :D arl
pelmut
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Re: Software Upgrade

Post by pelmut »

One big improvement is the appearance of the Subject of the latest posts as links in the main menu, instead of the names of the posters which previously appeared there.  It might sometime have been a bit helpful to see who had most recently posted, but there wasn't much point in following the link to their personal information each time ; now it is possible to jump straight to the actual post instead.
There is no such thing as a normal person, only someone you don't know very well yet.
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