--> New domain Name: https://vccachat.org --> Moved to new server --> Updated Software --> Mobile Phone and Table Friendly! --> Lots of cosmetic changes including no left column, header updated, etc. --> Forums updated, rearranged and consolidated to reduce clutter --> Updated old and outdated images and icons IMPORTANT: Delete all old bookmarks and replace them with the new domain name https://vccachat.org
--Click your username in the top-right. --From the dropdown menu choose "Preferences" --Choose "paleCoffee-bb" under "Your Preferred Forum Style (aka Skin/Theme)" --Click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the page.
Click "Attachment Manager" below a post or reply, and chose the files you wish to upload. Up to 10 images, and up to 2mb each. They will automatically be scales to 700 pixels wide max to save space.
Is there an option to go back to the old Chat site format? I am not impressed with the new look. I think it looks very busy, it's hard to read and I certainly do not plan to use it very much as it currently is.
--Click your username in the top-right. --From the dropdown menu choose "Preferences" --Choose "paleCoffee-bb" under "Your Preferred Forum Style (aka Skin/Theme)" --Click "Save Changes" at the bottom of the page.
One of the notes is to change back to the old template. Might make it look more familiar to you.
With that said, I feel the new forum is much less cluttered. ---No left column ---Moderators not listed in the list of forums ---Forum Images reduced dramatically ---Removed or combined 10+ forums ---Combines many of the categories
---No left column ---Moderators not listed in the list of forums ---Forum Images reduced dramatically ---Removed or combined 10+ forums ---Combines many of the categories
Impressed everything is back up so quick. Great job!
I only ever look at "Active Threads" as it shows me everything going on. I don't like the way the new site shows so much of each thread.
It was much easier to read/scan when it showed a chart format of minimal detail for each thread. Now it shows huge paragraphs of info requiring me to scroll down several pages to see a small number of posts. It's very cluttered and each post is not well defined like it was with the chart format.
Right now I'm honestly just really happy that we are back up without a long wait!
Actually just browsed some more and the chart format now exists in the Active Threads.
At first look the new format is definitely different but I wont throw any bricks or roses yet, I will give it a week or so before I decide. Like Tim I am impressed at the speed of change over and so far I havent found any glitches. If I continue using the old bookmark on google will it continue locating the forum??? Tony
Two issues I see so far are One: When you visit a thread you have visited before you now get put at the top of the thread instead of at the newest post. Stovebolt.com uses the same forum software, made the same upgrade and has the same issue there. If it's a short thread it's no problem but if you've been following a long thread and have to scroll all the way to the end every time you come back to it, it's a real PITA.
Number two is the option "Add this thread to my Followed Threads" is now the default setting. Every time you post to a thread you have to remember to un-check that box or you'll get an email every time someone else posts to that same thread. That is a REAL PITA!!! That "upgrade" came a couple of updates back that Stovebolt made. UBB hasn't seen fit to fix it yet. When the active site users start getting dozens of emails every day simply because someone posted to the same thread I suspect the complaints will come a running. Stovebolt has a workaround with a Quick Reply box at the bottom of every thread as the default. If a user uses the Quick Reply the user doesn't get the thread added to their watch list. It's only when a user selects Use Full Editor that they have to remember to un-check the box. Hopefully that will happen here as well.
I did NOT see an option to change the display font size. Though I can read what is on the screen I would prefer a much larger font so it will be easier to read. It is much easier to scan a post to get the gist of it than be forced to read each word.
At first look the new format is definitely different but I wont throw any bricks or roses yet, I will give it a week or so before I decide. Like Tim I am impressed at the speed of change over and so far I havent found any glitches. If I continue using the old bookmark on google will it continue locating the forum??? Tony
It will take google a week or 2 for its searches to update.
I did NOT see an option to change the display font size. Though I can read what is on the screen I would prefer a much larger font so it will be easier to read. It is much easier to scan a post to get the gist of it than be forced to read each word.
Most browsers have a way of increasing the font size. Check your specific browser preferences for exact instructions.
....Stovebolt has a workaround with a Quick Reply box at the bottom of every thread as the default. If a user uses the Quick Reply the user doesn't get the thread added to their watch list. It's only when a user selects Use Full Editor that they have to remember to un-check the box. Hopefully that will happen here as well.
I just checked and have the default font size set at 16 on Firefox browser. My display on Chat is definitely not Arial 16.
Goto Firefox Preferences. Under "Language and Appearance" click the "Advanced..." Button. Increase Monospace to 16 Increase Minimum size to 16 Click "OK"
Question: Under the "Members Only" Forums it states: "VCCA Members-Only Forums. Non-Members my view but not post." Since that area is for VCCA members only shouldn't it be that the non-VCCA members cannot view the posts either?
Also, "my" should be "may".
And.......I noticed that the "reply" function is no longer working. If I click on "reply" nothing happens because the quick reply window is open. Earlier today, before you added "Quick Reply", I could click on "reply" and the reply window opened and there was no quick reply window below the post. I checked several other posts and it is the same.....a "Quick Reply" window is below the post and the "reply" part on the existing post doesn't work. Also, with the quick reply the icons cannot be accessed. You should delete the quick reply and reactivate the "reply" feature that is on each existing post.
Question: Under the "Members Only" Forums it states: "VCCA Members-Only Forums. Non-Members my view but not post." Since that area is for VCCA members only shouldn't it be that the non-VCCA members cannot view the posts either?
Also, "my" should be "may".
And.......I noticed that the "reply" function is no longer working. If I click on "reply" nothing happens because the quick reply window is open. Earlier today I could click on "reply" and the reply window opened and there was no quick reply window below the post. I checked several other posts and it is the same.....a "quick reply" window is below the post and the "reply" part on the existing post doesn't work. What happened?
----Typo fixed. (thanks)
----I've hidden the posts from non-members.
----I turned on "quick reply" at the request of another forum user. When you click "reply" it should jump you down to the quick reply at the bottom of the age. Does it not do that for you?
No, the quick reply is already there when I go to the post and the "reply" function doesn't work like it used to......it only takes you to the quick reply which is already there. Also, with the quick reply you cannot use the icons because they are not activated like it was when the reply function worked and there was no quick reply. The system worked like it should with the icons and etc. before the quick reply was added. It is better to have the reply function work like it did originally, otherwise the icon function and etc. doesn't work.
No, the quick reply is already there when I go to the post and the "reply" function doesn't work like it used to......it only takes you to the quick reply which is already there. Also, with the quick reply you cannot use the icons because they are not activated like it was when the reply function worked and there was no quick reply. The system worked like it should with the icons and etc. before the quick reply was added. It is better to have the reply function work like it did originally, otherwise the icon function and etc. doesn't work.
If you click "Use Full Editor" below the quick reply you get the full functionality as before. Did you try that?
Thanks for all of your efforts and diligence. I like the cleaner look. And I am very impressed that you were able to bring the 16+ years of information to the new server.
What are your plans to disable the old url? Right now it still gives the user full access and functionality to the new site.
In another phase of my life I worked with teams that made transitions like this. We used a multi-step approach to make sure we did not lose our user community but got though the transition in a reasonable amount of time. 1) If possible we would start with a solution similar to what you have now. Either url works interchangeably. 2) After a couple of weeks we changed the landing page for the old url to simply a message screen that told the user to go to the new url and change bookmarks 3) In another couple of weeks we converted the old landing page to a redirect message with an automatic redirect after 10 seconds.
We would monitor the traffic on the old url to determine when we could disable it completely.
On a completely different note, are you going to be at the Central Arizona Region VCCA Swap Meet in mid-March?
Thanks for all of your efforts and diligence. I like the cleaner look. And I am very impressed that you were able to bring the 16+ years of information to the new server.
What are your plans to disable the old url? Right now it still gives the user full access and functionality to the new site.
In another phase of my life I worked with teams that made transitions like this. We used a multi-step approach to make sure we did not lose our user community but got though the transition in a reasonable amount of time. 1) If possible we would start with a solution similar to what you have now. Either url works interchangeably. 2) After a couple of weeks we changed the landing page for the old url to simply a message screen that told the user to go to the new url and change bookmarks 3) In another couple of weeks we converted the old landing page to a redirect message with an automatic redirect after 10 seconds.
We would monitor the traffic on the old url to determine when we could disable it completely.
On a completely different note, are you going to be at the Central Arizona Region VCCA Swap Meet in mid-March?
Rusty,
Currently the URL www.vcca.org/forum automatically forwards to vccachat.org. (zero wait)
When the DNS changes propagate (shortly) the url www.vcca.org/forum will still forward to vccachat.org
Once the DNS has propagated Im going to submit the new sitemap Google Webmaster as well as Bing. that'll address about 95% of the search engine issues.
You have to remember it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks.
And, you have to remember that you can teach an old dog new tricks but you have to show him where the trick is hidden first so that the dog can learn the trick!
The forum members should check their time zone settings under "Preferences". My time zone setting was incorrect thus it reflected the wrong day and time that the post was made. I corrected the time zone setting in my preferences and that corrected the posting time error.
For those with a font issue I know with Windows 10 if you hold your control button and roll the wheel on your mouse you can change the size very easily.
I really like the new look. Thanks for the update.
If I could suggest one improvement for a future update, it would be to add a feature (sorry. no idea what the proper name is) where you could place the cursor on the thread title and the first sentence would pop up, without opening the complete thread. That feature exists on several other forums I belong to and it makes scanning the threads much faster as you don't have to open the thread, if the title is ambiguous and find out it doesn't interest you.
How is one notified that there is a PM waiting to be read and how do you send a PM with the new format.
Dick
At the top of the page you'll see your handle on the right side with a down arrow next to it. Click the down arrow then Preferences. Make sure you have the option checked to receive email notifications. When you receive a PM the envelope icon next to your handle will flash.
The 'insert a video link into your post' function does not seem to be working.
I used the Insert Media tag icon and pasted the youtube address of a video that I uploaded. The code that was inserted into my post looked like this:
Code
[yt]https://youtu.be/ENf1beVu2MU[/yt]
.
When I make the post, nothing appears for the video. On the old server and software, the first frame of the video appeared with an arrow to click on it and see it run.
The only way I could get it to work now is to use the Link icon and just link to the video. For example,
While the "new" forum is different I have found my way around it and not disliking it. Apparently there are a few features that I havent explored yet (may have been in the old forum). Tony
Since the update I'm no longer getting email notifications when I'm sent a PM. I do have that option checked (to receive notifications) in my preferences.
As I mentioned, I never received a response from Peter so you guys might want to send him either an email or a PM to let him know that there is an issue with the PM email notification.
Chevgene, try not erasing the cookies for a while. I think that Chatter puts a cookie on your computer to remember you for the next time you visit this site to enable you to stay logged in.
I agree with the Junkyard Dog. The only way I know I have received a PM is by noticing the flashing envelope. I do have email notifications selected and there is nothing in my Spam folder.
Seems to be affecting all. I tried Emailing the post yesterday and this AM it has not been received nor the PM that I had. Might be a little early for a phone call but will do so this PM if no fix is evident. Having the site available 24-7 and intermittent maintenance monitoring can be frustrating .
Might be a little early for a phone call but will do so this PM if no fix is evident.
Please do so since we are all having the same issues. As I mentioned previously, I discovered the email problem about 12 days ago and I sent an email to Peter 11 days ago and never received a response, consequently the issue was never resolved. Hopefully it will be fixed soon.
I will call today and leave a message but according to the "office hours" it's 10-6 M-F central time. Also will Email this post to Peter seeing as his Email is working. Phone call and Email have been sent.
I just spoke with Peter G (1: 15 PM Eastern) and he is aware of the Email problem and is hoping to have it resolved today.
Tomorrow is April 1st and the PM email notification is still not working. Any updates on the issue?
Also, in some areas of the forums I have to double click on the topic to view the posts, while in other areas only one click is needed to view the posts. The same is true for the "Who's Online" as well......it takes two clicks to get there. For me this issue has existed since the PM email notification problem started.
Another issue I have found is the "New" icon that is supposed to appear on all new posts that have not been read by the individual forum member. For example, some of the new posts that were posted 5 hours ago that I have not read do not have the "New" icon to inform me that the post was new. However, other new posts that were posted 3 hours ago, or 6 hours ago or even 8 hours ago that I have not read have the "New" icon. There doesn't seem to be any consistency here.
Peter, I've noticed the following problem now on several occasions after making a new entry or replying to an thread. When I put in the CAPTCHA code I evidently put in a wrong character, it takes me to a new page that says that there was an error and I need to reaccomplish the CAPTCHA verification. When I try to do this it says my comment has already been submitted and that the submit button has been disabled. However my comments are not added to the forum. Can you check into this?
Thats a new one to me too. NEVER had CAPTCHA turned on for posting, so how you get it is a mystery.... until i found the problem. You were both the "member" and "newbie" groups. I turned off "newbie" and that should have solved the problem. Let me know.
I'm sure you have probably seen it before. It's an application that prompts you to enter a couple of words or letters to prove that you aren't a computer, but an actual human making a response. See image.
A lot of issues regarding the new upgrade have been posted here in the past couple of months by members and not much seems to have been corrected or acknowledged. Just curious if anyone is monitoring this site on a regular basis or if anything is being done to correct the problems.
I appreciate everyone's frustration. Know that it frustrated me too!
We have a fundamental problem with the UBBTHREADS software. It is not sending email in all instances and there is ZERO help to fix it from the UBBTHREADS community. The reality is, UBBTHREADS is a dead product and the chances of a solution to the problem appear to be zero.
THEREFORE: The only solution is to move to better software.
This is NOT a trivial task and must be done methodically or old data will be lost. I presented to the board my solution a few weeks ago and they've approved it. With any luck it will be in place in the coming weeks.
peter: thank you for all the work u are putting in to get the chat members satisfied. i have problem, in that i can log on to vcca chat but i need my password to view vcca chat of my cell phone. i've requested an email from you responding to my "forgot my password" but no emails have come thru in the last 3 or 4 weeks for requesting help with"forgot my password".. can you email me my password so i can get the vcc a chat on my cell phone? thanks again for your help, mike mccagh
Mike McCagh, Send an email request to memberservices@vcca.org with your desired password. Also note: you could go into your profile and change your password to whatever you like. Then just login with your computer and phone and all should be well. Peter
![[Linked Image from vccachat.org]](https://vccachat.org/gallery/48/full/5608.jpg)
It all works for me just different place and process to get used to. 
