Forum and Website Changes

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Note! This post has been edited as I initially misunderstood the intended changes.

Mortons Media are in the process of integrating the MyTimeMedia websites into their own setup. At the moment they are still running under the original bespoke MTM software.

The old software has been living on borrowed time and can no longer be maintained so it is essential that the changes take place. Whilst these may take a bit of getting used to, the underlying principles are the same, user posts supported with images so it is just a question of becoming familiar with the new format.

It has now been clarified that the MB and MEW website will be converted to WordPress

The Model Flying website will be converted to WordPress but the Forum will continue to use the Invision software to which it was migrated from MyTimeMedia

I will update this topic when I have more information on timings. I am pleased that Mortons recognise the value of the forums and are prepared to invest time and money in updating them.

Colin

Edited By Colin Bishop on 20/06/2023 17:00:57

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The shape of things to come…

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

We should all be delighted that the forum is being updated rather than scrapped. I have no problem with the Model Flying forum so all good.

Is there a timescale for this changeover?

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

They were hoping for end of May but the 3rd party consultants have hit some problems. The Forum and the website use different software and there have been integration issues. Been there, done that so have plenty of sympathy.

As Chris says, the important thing is that the developments are going ahead. We should be able to adjust to the changes.

Colin

Edited By Colin Bishop on 20/06/2023 17:02:03

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Colin are we going to loose the archives and have to start again or is the existing data transferable?

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

Richard

The model flying forum still goes back to 2007 so fingers crossed.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

That's better than many forum platform changes I have seen then. All credit to Mortons for this.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

It is not just the Forum that will change but the whole website.

With regard to a FAQ facility the Editor of Model Engineer Workshop has put forward the following subjects. Any additional suggestions will be considered..

Note reference to classified ads – Mortons apparebtly have a separate facility for these off forum. I think thay are charged for with some titles and not others.

Colin

********************************************

Usual questions:

 

• How do I access digital issues?
   
• How do I renew my subscription/get help with my subscription?
   
• How do I post photographs?
   
• How can I contact a forum member?
   
• Can I delete/edit my post?
   
• How do I report a post?
   
• What are the terms and conditions?
   
• What are the forum rules?
   
• How do I place/manage classified ads?
   
• Why can't I place a classified ad? (people who haven't previously made posts)

Edited By Colin Bishop on 20/06/2023 11:17:53

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Please note that I have edited the initial post on this thread as I misunderstood which software applications are to be used.. The main websites will all be migrated to WordPress as will the MB and MEW Forums with some extra software ( bb Press and BuddyPress) but the Model Flying Forum will continue to use Invision.

I am not a Mortons employee and have been left out of the loop a bit and only now catching up! Sorry for any confusion.

Colin

Edited By Colin Bishop on 20/06/2023 17:17:44

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Some testing of the new site has now started. There are issues due to the unique structure of the presnt MTM forum which makes it difficult to map data from one to the other. In particular at the meoment:

• Old posts on this forum should still be visible and topics continued. Photos in posts should still appear in the new forum as thy will be mapped to the relevant post but for the moment other access to images that have been uploaded will be unavailable. You won't be able to see your albums. Only those images which have been included in posts. Reading between the lines it might be possible to combine your albums into a single gallery but don't hold your breath at this stage.
• Any links on the forum which reference other topics on the forum will be lost as it has not proved possible to convert them.

I will give further updates as things become a bit clearer.

Colin

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Spent a fair bit of time looking at the new Beta test Forum and still trying to get my head around it all!

One fundamental change is that what we now call Threads will become Topics and wnat we now call Topics will become Forums grouped under the Model Boats Heading.

Albums will defiinitely disappear but the images may become accessible later in some sort of 'Gallery'. The assumption is that you will all have your images stored on your device or in storage so ca retrieve them from there if necessary. The upside is that it will be possible to post photos directly into posts without having to go through the album creation process.

The BBPress Forum software is a bit like LEGO and can be configured in different ways so the idea is to make the changes as logical as possible and to produce some sort of user guide.

Model Boats and Model Engineer will have the same setup but Model Flying will retain the conversion that they already have.

Colin

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I have made a few changes in the list of forum topics to tidy things up and cut out some deadwood.This will make the conversion a bit easier.

One other point, existing Avatar images will not be carried over so you will need to reload them.

Colin

Edited By Colin Bishop on 24/08/2023 18:51:34

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Cor. I will have to start a brand new “todays boating” thread, or I could call it something else?

Ashley

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

All the old stuff and photos should transfer over OK Ashley but there is still a lot of work needed to make the new site sufficiently user friendly.

Colin

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Many thanks for all the effort you are putting into this Colin. Not the most enjoyable task and not exactly for a huge audience but I'm sure I reflect all the regulars here who appreciate you keeping the forum together and available for us to use.

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Yes, I concur with Richard. Thanks Colin.

Chris

[Stephen GarradParticipant @stephengarrad28964]

Here, Here, there's not enough Colin's in this world. All that technical stuff goes right over my head so I need someone to explain it to me.

Stephen

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Colin is a gem. It’s a shame these things are not designed to be user friendly to start with.

Whew..threads transferring over!

As Richard alludes to, it’s not the worlds biggest forum, but it is currently very user friendly, Some of the other ones I visit now and then are to either vast or have so many threads and is why I don’t bother generally.

Being able to post a picture in your post would be handy. Even handier if they were toge able to appear in your album as well!

Ashley

[geconParticipant @gecon]

Well….if the Cannon is 'cutting out dead wood' I'm nipping down to the cellar store to find my double-visored, helicopter flying helmet. It may protect my lightweight balsa top section from the wood-cutter.

Interesting to see how this all ends though. Hope it's not too complicated for my Covid-infused cell.

George

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

As at the moment there are still a lot of issues and bugs to be resolved. The person responsible for tackling them has been away this week and will resume work on Monday.

Colin

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The latest situation as I understand it is that the ME/MEW and MB websites will be taken offline from 6th Octover for the data to be transferred over from the MyTimeMedia system. This process, including testing and fixing any obvious bugs may take up to a week, although it is hoped to be less. If it is likely to be longer I will put up a post on Mayhem.

I will be removing all the 'Sticky' tags from existing threads as otherwise the change in software will put them all at the head of each topic on the new system which would be very confusing. They can be reinstated after the changeover.

Colin

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

Colin

Is the web site address for the forum changing or will my bookmarks continue to find it?

My present link to the forum.

Edited By Chris E on 21/09/2023 12:26:56

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I have no idea Chris, your link goes straight into the forum. I normally go into the website home page myself.

I think Mortons probably have the rights to the current addresses.

Whilst we have been talking about the forum in this thread, Mortons have been designing a new home page and other related links to bring the MTM titles into line with their current stable of titles. The forums will hang off this standard format as bespoke extensions to the WordPress home pages.

Possibly bokmarks will need to be updated. I hope to have more information over the next week or so.

Colin.

[Chris EParticipant @chrise]

Hopefully there will be a link that I can set up that goes straight to the forum without having to go through the homepage and fight off the subscription offers. I say this as my browser is set to delete all cookies etc every time it closes. This means that until I log on to post it has no idea who I am. Just how I like it.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Colin,

As the clock is ticking to this forum changing format , is there anything we need to do to re-join ? or will we still be able to use our emails and still log in , I have made a point of keeping my regular contacts email address's If it all goes Pete Tong

Regards to all I've met over the last 8'ish year's on here

Ray

[Author]

Posts