Please Read: BITOG forums migrating to Xenforo

wwillson

Staff member
Joined
Aug 20, 2003
Messages
6,732
Location
Colorado
We have decided to migrate the BITOG forums from UBBThreads to Xenforo. The decision was made after several months of carefully considering the benefits and risks. The moderator team put many hours of work into testing a full test migration to Xenforo. We unanimously gave the green light to migrate.

We also read several threads from the past about concerns members have with migrating to a different platform. One of the most common points is that the modern forum platforms don't have the simple look we have become accustomed to with UBBThreads. We put hours of work into duplicating the look of UBBThreads. We think you'll be happy with the nearly identical look of simplicity as we enjoy with UBBThreads. Many have asked for more features that UBBThreads didn't have. Xenforo has so many cool features, we think you'll be amazed.

Search has long been one of the achilles heels of UBBThreads. Xenforo has a very good search engine, but we're taking it even further and implementing ElasticSearch. We can't wait until you try it out, it's very much like using Google.

There is one technical hurdle that we couldn't overcome. UBBThreads uses an old password hashing mechanism that makes it very difficult to migrate passwords to Xenforo.

You will have to change your xenforo password before you can use your account.

Probably the most important user account issue is that Xenforo only has one account username. We used your UBBThreads display name as your Xenforo username. You will log into Xenforo with your UBBThreads display name.

Donor avatars may not display at first, but we will get them loaded as quickly as possible.

Edit: please make sure the email address in your profile is correct, so you can receive the password reset email.

We are aiming for the week of July 13th for the migration, we'll let you know when we have a definite date and time.

Please thank the moderator team for all of their hard work to make this migration happen.

Wayne
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by Marco620
Is there going to be a bootcamp for us as I'm not the most pc savey individual. Thanks!

Browsing and posting in the forums is so similar that you won't have any troubles.
 
Thanks for all your hard work. As an old IT guy, I know how much work goes on behind the scenes to keep applications afloat.
Upgrades are a bear, but are necessary.
Again, well done and a big thanks.
 
I hope you post step by step, with that screen shot thing how to do these things you speak of. Because to me it sounds like Greek. I don't understand Greek.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Thanks for all your hard work. As an old IT guy, I know how much work goes on behind the scenes to keep applications afloat.
Upgrades are a bear, but are necessary.
Again, well done and a big thanks.


I'l second that, update are a pain but have to be done.
Thank mod's
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by FordBroncoVWJeta
Will BITOG be down for some time during the update? Will old threads still be viewable/comment-able?

Yes, there will be some downtime, but it shouldn't be more than an hour or two.

Yes, all threads will still be viewable and you'll be able to reply to them as usual.
 
This is some of the best news ever!
happy2.gif


Thanks to all of you for your hard work!

I pinky promise not to complain one tiny iota during the transfer progress. If I do, just ban me for one month.
 
Wow ! I'm shocked ! Xenforo is one of the better forum software packages out there though so this is a good thing.

I remember when this site transitioned from a very old version of UBB to a more up-to-date one and that caused heartache for a lot of people.... This change to Xenforo will be a doozy !!
grin.gif


Originally Posted by wwillson
One of the most common points is that the modern forum platforms don't have the simple look we have become accustomed to with UBBThreads. We put hours of work into duplicating the look of UBBThreads.

Will the typical Xenforo themes/styles also be available in addition to the custom, BITOG theme ?
 
Quote
Will the typical Xenforo themes/styles also be available in addition to the custom, BITOG theme ?


Yes, there are three themes ready to go. The default BITOG Red and a grey and blue theme to choose from.
 
Originally Posted by Gebo
This is some of the best news ever!
happy2.gif


Thanks to all of you for your hard work!

I pinky promise not to complain one tiny iota during the transfer progress. If I do, just ban me for one month.


You heard it here folks! Deal
 
Originally Posted by oldhp
I hope you post step by step, with that screen shot thing how to do these things you speak of. Because to me it sounds like Greek. I don't understand Greek.

Don't go into this presuming you'll be lost and unable to navigate. All forum software is similar enough for the basic things like browsing forums, opening a thread, and so on. To respond, there will always be a "Reply" button. To make your own thread, there will always be a "Create new thread" or similar wording with a button.
 
Hallstevenson,

Yes, it's very similar. XF opens a reply box automatically when you read a thread. The one difference is in XF "Reply" button means quote. If you don't want to quote, then just type a reply in the reply box that's open. The button should say quote, but we don't want to customize anything if we don't have to.

[Linked Image]
 
Back
Top