Gram wrote:
<<snip>>
Jeff: one thing you will have to address is the high number of 404 requests you are going to get in the new solution. Please be prepared for that. It may be addressable off the shelf at the new forum.
<<snip>>
Steve (Gram)

I believe we can setup a custom 404 page & if so, I'd just bounce them with a zero-second redirect right to the front page.
Another option would be to bounce them to a search page with a note saying:
'Sorry, there was an error in your request. Please use our new search function to find what you're looking for".
... or something along those lines ...

I like it!

BubbaKahuna wrote:
Spoke with Gram today & got site stats on bandwidth.
We're currently just peaking traffic at 25GB/month so we're going to need to get the 75GB/month hosting package.
If everyone who's pledged covers their donation we'll have more than enough for the new site paid a year in advance.

Details to come - very soon ...

Gram also said he'd make a formal announcement when he gets a little free time, he's swamped with work right now.

Is there a donation you all would like to see and how is it made?
Thanks
Kent

We're just working out a few server setup kinks right now.

The site will go down completely for a day or two on Feb 28th for the conversion.
Only Gram can make the actual switch because he personally owns the domain name.
As soon as that happens I'll be working behind the scenes to get the new site up as fast as possible.

At re-launch the site will grow from what will look like almost nothing there on day-one, to a full site over a few days to a week.
We're really starting the place over from scratch but the old site content will be available through a link on the new site.

I'm also going to try to keep the same organization of forum sections close to the existing site, but there will be a few unfamiliar things.
Nothing drastic, just expect it to look a little different.
In exchange for a very short learning curve we'll have a far more stable & secure site with features that will make it not only easier to use, but easier to manage behind the scenes.

In addition, once setup, the site will not require any advanced computer skills to take care of it.
That alone was probably the biggest selling point for the setup we'll be using.

I belong to an antique tractor forum and have for many years. Several years back the very same thing happened to it. The same owner switched to the new setup and it took a while but it wound up being much more user friendly and much easier to maintain for the owner. after a while we forgot about the old setup.
Thanks to all for keeping this alive.

Thank you Steve and Jeff for everything!

Jeff, I know you have you hands full, so whenever you're ready perhaps you can set up another PayPal collection that's open-ended, so we all can make ongoing donations indefinitely. And once you do maybe you could start a new thread informing everyone. In fact, it might be a good idea to keep a permanent "Make a Donation" link in the page header of the new site, where people can easily find it.

Cheers,

Doc_V

BubbaKahuna wrote:
We're just working out a few server setup kinks right now.

The site will go down completely for a day or two on Feb 28th for the conversion.
Only Gram can make the actual switch because he personally owns the domain name.
As soon as that happens I'll be working behind the scenes to get the new site up as fast as possible.

At re-launch the site will grow from what will look like almost nothing there on day-one, to a full site over a few days to a week.
We're really starting the place over from scratch but the old site content will be available through a link on the new site.

I'm also going to try to keep the same organization of forum sections close to the existing site, but there will be a few unfamiliar things.
Nothing drastic, just expect it to look a little different. In exchange for a very short learning curve we'll have a far more table & secure site with features that will make it not only easier to use, but easier to manage behind the scenes.

In addition, once setup, the site will not require any advanced computer skills to take care of it.
That alone was probably the biggest selling point for the setup we'll be using.

KISS is a very good way to keep it. Thanks for the work you are doing.

BubbaKahuna wrote:
We're just working out a few server setup kinks right now.

The site will go down completely for a day or two on Feb 28th for the conversion.
Only Gram can make the actual switch because he personally owns the domain name.
As soon as that happens I'll be working behind the scenes to get the new site up as fast as possible.

At re-launch the site will grow from what will look like almost nothing there on day-one, to a full site over a few days to a week.
We're really starting the place over from scratch but the old site content will be available through a link on the new site.

I'm also going to try to keep the same organization of forum sections close to the existing site, but there will be a few unfamiliar things.
Nothing drastic, just expect it to look a little different. In exchange for a very short learning curve we'll have a far more table & secure site with features that will make it not only easier to use, but easier to manage behind the scenes.

In addition, once setup, the site will not require any advanced computer skills to take care of it.
That alone was probably the biggest selling point for the setup we'll be using.

What about our post counts? Are we all going to have to start over as FNG's? How are we supposed to know who the post whores are?

Tug wrote:

What about our post counts? Are we all going to have to start over as FNG's? How are we supposed to know who the post whores are?

I sincerely hope this is the biggest problem we run into.

And yes, everyone will probably start over at FuNewGee status.
Post whores will soon stand out on our ... I mean THEIR own.

Doc_V wrote:
Thank you Steve and Jeff for everything!

Jeff, I know you have you hands full, so whenever you're ready perhaps you can set up another PayPal collection that's open-ended, so we all can make ongoing donations indefinitely. And once you do maybe you could start a new thread informing everyone. In fact, it might be a good idea to keep a permanent "Make a Donation" link in the page header of the new site, where people can easily find it.

Cheers,

Doc_V

I had considered that and we'll probably do that.
Once we find out what the one-time 'Closure Crawl' service to completely archive the entire existing site by WebArchive will run I'll make a separate post for that so everyone who wants to contribute will know exactly what they're paying for.

Barring a big increase in bandwidth use (and the cost of that), we now have the 1st year of the RSC paid for.
At least during the launch, I'd like to keep the fundraising 'A la Carte' so tracking funds doesn't get in the way of the work that needs to be done.
Once we're flying on our own we can explore funding options and there will definitely be a Contribute link right on the front page of the site.

- Jeff