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Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:37 am
by CapnK
Hello everyone -

You may remember that in late spring, Tim posted a message looking for someone to take over the ownership and administration of plasticclassicforum.com. Having the ability, experience, and resources to do so, along with a deep appreciation for all of the incredible content posted here by the membership over the past 6 years, I volunteered right away. I've spent the intervening months lurking more actively :) and handling administrative tasks as they've come up, and now the time has come when we are in the process of beginning to move the site and forum to its new server.

That will be completed some time this week or coming weekend, and when it is finished everything should work and appear just as it does now*. I'll be doing my best to make it that way, as quickly as possible. I'll let you all know beforehand by a day or so when the the move will be, so that it is not a big surprise.

During the move, the forums will be 'locked' so that they are unusable. This will allow me to move the database and update the forum software without losing any posts that might get made during the process. When you are able to log back in and post, then you will know that PCF is on the new server.

Thanks in advance for your patience during the move and upgrade! :)

Kurt


*(Any apparent changes will have been made by the forum software developers, as a result of the upgrade which will be in place after the move.)

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:21 am
by s/v Faith
Outstanding!

I greatly appreciate Tim's great work in putting this forum together, and know what a great job you do with SailFar.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:24 am
by Rachel
Welcome, Kurt!

(I mean, I know you were already here, but welcome in your new role!)

Tim started and maintained a great and unique forum here, and for me there would be a huge "hole" in the Internet without it. The expertise, the history, the well-written/extensive/searchable information, and the dignified tone*. Not to mention the camaraderie that has developed over the years (which does not preclude warm welcomes being extended to new folks).

For all this to have gone missing (or even stayed around as a fixed reference that was no longer "alive") would have put a real dent in my morning coffee and my boat project(s). I'm *so* glad you were interested and stepped up to take over the forum. I've been reading your Sailfar forum for years, and although the style is a bit different than this board (good, more variety!), you have shaped a friendly, welcoming and thoughtful group there, plus kept it all up to snuff technically (which is the part many of us are uninterested/un-skilled at, but would sure notice if things went awry).

So once again, welcome and thank-you! And of course a giant thank-you to Tim for starting the forum and making it what is is. And to Nathan for his work, and to all of the members too :)

Rachel

PS: Now post a few additions to "Faces in the Boat" and we will know you are truly a member of the asylum ;)

*There don't seem to be that many places on the web where you can read in depth (or occasionally silly) posts with the full benefit of capital letters, punctuation, and sentences; and without text-speak or three hundred emoticons. Not that there's anything wrong with those, but I've always appreciated how the information here was presented a little more "seriously," and felt it suited the purpose of the forum. Of course, I may be a curmudgeon ;)

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 12:01 pm
by MikeD
What she said!! And a grog to both you and Tim!

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 1:41 pm
by Shark
I would like to second Rachel's comments and give a special thanks to Tim.

Thank you Tim for your work in maintaining the forum over the years. The work I've done on my boat is very modest compared to what you and others on the forum have done but I've learned a lot from the forum and also from your own website.

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:28 pm
by Chris Campbell
Welcome, Kurt, and farewell, Tim.

Although both of those statements aren't strictly applicable, since you've been here already, Kurt, and Tim won't completely disappear, I'm certain!

It's great to know that what has become easily the best boat-lover's do-it-yourself hangout will not fade into oblivion - it's impossible to keep up the kind of energy with which Tim has maintained this site over the years, and I'm both grateful to him for it and glad to see him take some of that time and energy back for himself.

You've taken on a big task, Kurt - this forum is full of great people sharing what they know freely and without prejudice - but it didn't become that without Tim actively guiding along the way - never calling people down for missing the point, but always making sure that we remained civil, kept topics on track, and stayed far, far away from politics, religion, and other strongly-held topics of conversation.

Good luck to both of you in your new roles!

Cheers,

Chris

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 6:40 pm
by CharlieJ
Hi Kurt-congrats

see you again in a while. Keep the beer cold- Grin

I'll be starting back your way in a few weeks. Plan to stop again.

See ya then

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 08, 2011 10:29 pm
by Lloyd
A very big THANK YOU to both Tim and Kurt.

Tim you have been my inspiration that has kept me going on my project boat. With out this site I do not think I would have tackled it. The information here is endless and the people it has brought together is priceless. I thank you. (PS. I am not much of a poster but I have read posts here almost daily for almost ten years.)

And Kurt, thank you for stepping up to carry this site on into the future. I am sure with you at the controls this site will be in very good hands. Thank you.

Re: Site move

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:05 am
by Ric in Richmond
I'll just second and third all the posts above and be on my way...Best place on the net...

Re: Site move

Posted: Tue Aug 09, 2011 8:37 am
by Paulus
Glad it's you and not -you-know-who-, Kurt...

Image

Re: Site move

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 6:58 am
by preserved_killick
Kurt,

Thanks for doing this. Would be a shame if this forum were to go away.

After the move, would you consider adding Tapatalk? It's a smart phone app that gives a great interface for smart phone users to check out forums on their phones. I use it for a number of forums. Granted, I don't know what's involved with setting this up on your end.

http://tapatalk.com/

Re: Site move

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 8:36 am
by galleywench
I'll second the registration of the forum for mobile devices. I'm partial to ForumRunner (www.forumrunner.net), but I'd be happy with tapatalk as well.

thanks for taking on this job.

Re: Site move

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:30 am
by Rachel
Maybe too /much of a tangent, but as a new smartphone user, what is the advantage of these mobile formats? I'm accessing the board on my phone just using the usual interface, and it seems fine, but maybe I just don't know how much better it could be?

Re: Site move

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 10:29 am
by Case
Faster loading and less need to zoom in/out. That is about it for me.

- Case

Re: Site move

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:29 pm
by preserved_killick
Rachel wrote:Maybe too /much of a tangent, but as a new smartphone user, what is the advantage of these mobile formats? I'm accessing the board on my phone just using the usual interface, and it seems fine, but maybe I just don't know how much better it could be?
The screen is formatted for a phone's screen, much more efficient. No zooming, scrolling left or right.

Looks like this:
http://www.tapatalk.com/

Very handy. I think the downside for this forum, is that I think if ,lots of people responded with phones, we'd get short cryptic answers. at least from me. LOL GFO!! (I hate phone text talk).

If possible, I try to model my questions and answers using Tim's style as a format. Try to be detailed and articulate.

-jeff

Re: Site move

Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2011 4:45 pm
by Rachel
Thanks for the additional info on the mobile interface. I agree, Jeff, and tho' I've been looking at the board from the phone, I wait till I'm on the computer to respond --- unless it really lends itself to a brief note.

Re: Site move

Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:28 pm
by CapnK
Sounds like a good idea. I'll look into it after I get the move completed.

Speaking of which, I'm shooting for early next week to make that happen. This week wound up getting a 'by' due to an unanticipated burst of extra work.

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 2:42 pm
by CapnK
OK, folks - gonna take a swing at it late tonight. Hopefully, if all goes well, tomorrow we'll be running on different hardware - but undetectably so. :D

Re: Site move

Posted: Mon Aug 29, 2011 3:13 pm
by galleywench
Good luck, I hope all goes well.

Re: Site move

Posted: Tue Aug 30, 2011 8:02 am
by Ric in Richmond
If it happened....I didn't notice it.....all good from this end!!!

Re: Site move

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 10:03 am
by CapnK
Just a quick update:

I ran a test move of the database to the new server and software and it was successful from a functionality standpoint. There are some finer details that need taking care of in order for the move to be a 100% success, so I'll continue working on those until it can happen 'just right'. :)

I don't think I'll be able to give y'all a definite time of it happening, but instead will wait until everything is ready, and no user happens to be logged in at the time, in the timeframe of "sometime soon/ASAP".

Thanks for all the encouragement!!! I'm glad to be able to help, to give back a little. :)