Latest upgrade to 3.8.0

[Owen]

A new forum upgrade was released so we just upgraded the forum.

Nothing major has happened for everyone other than a few of the features such as googlemap, arcade & classifieds don't work at the moment.

We'll get those fixed over the week-end as we have removed all of the old forum files and started with brand new ones to make sure the forum is as secure as possible.

[BIG TONY]

Owen,
When are we going to get some sort of chat facility re-instated back on the forum. I know others have mentioned using skype etc, but this is just not viable. Without a facility to communicate with each other "on spec" a major part of this forum is missing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:dry: :dry: :dry: :dry:

[Owen]

The problem is, so far there hasn't been a chat system released for the forum which hasn't been hacked in to. Both of the different systems I have tried in the past have each been used to hack into my server and delete files or the entire web site.

The additional cost is really no longer an issue for me now that there's such a security problem.

[redswanlady]

How come other forums have chat facilities and don't get hacked?

[Suzi]

GCI don't have

[Suzi]

That either lmao

You have to understand 'hacking' before you ask questions and understand the answers.

Both Forums run on different systems. Ask Owen.

[redswanlady]

I did ask the question, I was waiting for the answer from Owen when you answered.

[Owen]

Like Suzie says, the chat systems that can be added into other forums are more secure but the two I have found for this one weren't. I believe the second more recent one is now but nobody liked it anyway.

[Jayme]

Have you looked at enabling 'pager messaging'?

We recently enabled it on Butlins Memories and it has proved popular. Not had any problems with Shoutbox but the photo software we used Coppermine was. Latest version on now and all working fine...

I've not been on here since Christmas when I last went to GC but it's good to be back!

Jamie

[shortie]

Is that the last word on it, is nobody trying to find a solution. As Big Tony said a major part of the forum is now missing for many of us!!!
Very sad indeed I am!!!!!

[chorlton]

Is that the last word on it, is nobody trying to find a solution. As Big Tony said a major part of the forum is now missing for many of us!!!
Very sad indeed I am!!!!!

Have you tried to find a solution? If there is nothing secure enough to make Owen consider attaching it to the site then as far as I can see it is the last word on it at present. This site is linked to his business therefore its critical it is secure and cannot be compromised. The chat box is just a nice to have like the arcade and whilst I'd miss that if it was gone I can understand why if it wasn't secure it would have to go.

I thought with Windows Live Messenger you can chat to multiple people at once? Could that not be a solution as you can add whoever you want to that and add your contact details to your user info on here so people can contact you. http://get.live.com/messenger/overview

[Owen]

Just upgraded to version 3,7,3 today from 3,7,0 so if there's anything not working properly, let me know but hopefully I'll make sure everything is installed properly and updated.

[twinkletoes1471]

Just upgraded to version 3,7,3 today from 3,7,0 so if there's anything not working properly, let me know but hopefully I'll make sure everything is installed properly and updated.

I keep getting error messages when trying to view photo's in the albums
:blue:

Most likely causes:

<LI id=causeSiteMaintenance>The website is under maintenance.
The website has a programming error
can you ix it Owen?

[rab_c.]

I keep getting error messages when trying to view photo's in the albums
:blue:

Most likely causes:


<LI id=causeSiteMaintenance>The website is under maintenance.
The website has a programming error
can you ix it Owen?

yes same problem here.

[malkyem1]

yep me to owen

[roxy]

same for me too

[Owen]

Oh dear, trying to fix it but not so easy ......

[rab_c.]

another problem is editing a post if you make a mistake, if you edit the post then try and save then it goes the same way as the albums problem internal error. page cannot be displayed.

[chorlton]

But at least we are not deleting loads of spammers now.

[Owen]

I am going to do a major upgrade, they have just release beta1 of 3.8 I am going to wait until beta 2 comes out then upgrade to that which I hope will fix the few bugs

[Owen]

Just done another upgrade of the forum which seems to have fixed the problem editing posts and now we can see the albums again.

Hopefully that is everything working OK again for the moment?

Anyways, as per vbulletin.com here are all the latest changes and extra features:



Social Group Discussion Threads


Messages in Social Groups are now threaded into 'Social Group Discussions'.
Discussion are sortable by creator, replies and last post.
Discussions can be filtered with a simple full text search on titles.
Discussions can be managed with Inline Moderation to soft delete, physically remove, approve and unnapprove them.
Discussions are Read Marked using both database and cookie methods, with a jump to go to first new post.
Users can subscribe to discussions and receive email notifications on new messages.
Subscribed discussions with new posts are aggregated in the User CP.
Individual Discussions have social bookmarking links (user defined, such as Digg, StumbleUpon etc).
New 'Can Always' permissions to create and view both discussions and messages, simplifying access.
Fallbacks implemented for non javascript users.
Moderators can Quick Edit social group messages using AJAX.
Posts are now ascending, which is more intuitive in threaded discussions.
Users can configure their groups so that only the group owner can create new discussion threads.
Moderated and Deleted discussions are aggregated in the User CP where the user has moderator permissions.
Moderation permissions are seperated for discussions and threads, including deletion.
Some extra database cleanup is performed with discussion related data when a user is merged or deleted.
On upgrade from < 3.8, existing messages are moved to an initial discussion with the same name as the group.
Social Group info is hidden when entering a discussion or viewing pages of results to move focus to discussions.


Social Group Changes


Social Groups are Read Marked using both database and cookie methods, based on new messages or discussions.
Mark All will read mark all discussions in a group via AJAX.
Social Groups can be subscribed to, adding group aggregation to the User CP.
Social Groups now belong to a category.
A group's category is displayed in the navigation breadcrumb, group lists and group info.
A new overview page displays a random group, your groups, new groups and groups that you created.
Groups that you created are navigatable via AJAX and display further information about the group, including pending members and moderated items.
A category cloud is displayed in the group overview with popularity weighting based on the number of groups.
Categories can be created and deleted and merged in the Admin CP.
On upgrade from < 3.8, existing groups are moved to an initial 'Uncategorized' category, which can be renamed.
Groups can be filtered by category, via the category cloud or advanced search.
Social Groups can now have a group icon. The icon is displayed in the group info, and a thumbnail version is used in group listings.
Icons are displayed on the User Profile page for groups that the user is a member of.
Permissions control user abilities to upload icons for their groups, including file size and the ability to upload animated icons.
Icons can be stored in the database or filesystem.
A new permission can limit the amount of Social Groups an individual user can create.
Social Groups can now be transferred between users. The group will only be transferred if the recipient accepts the transfer.
Moderators with the appropriate permission can transfer any group. This is useful when a group owner becomes inactive.


Private Message Changes


Read receipts are automatically accepted when a PM is replied to.
A new Quick Reply can be used to reply to PM's.
A new user option is available to set the default value for 'Save Copy' which is also used with Quick Reply.
PM's can be ordered by Title, Date and Sender.
When ordered, PM's are grouped by:

Title - Alphabetical ranges (A-H, I-P, Q-Z, 0-9 and other) - Non ASCII chars are grouped based on transliteration where possible
Date - Today, Yesterday, individual day names, Last Week, 2 Weeks, Last Month, Older, etc.
Sender - Grouped by Sender

Private Messages can be filtered by Sender, Title, a given date period, and whether the message has been read or not.
Message Throttling. Admins can define a time period and the maximum amount of message each usergroup can send within that period.
Message selections are remembered over multiple pages for bulk actions (Move, delete, mark as read etc).


Profile Privacy


With the appropriate permission, users can now configure which parts of their profile is visible, and to who. The configurable components are:

Profile Picture
Visitor Messages
Contact Info
Albums
About Me
Friends
Recent Visitors
Group Memberships
Custom Field Blocks where the admin has allowed it

The components can be configured to be visible to:

Everyone
Registered Members
Contacts
Friends





Generally information is only hidden/displayed within the user profile page with the exception of Albums which also affects the ability to view the albums.
Also, custom field blocks can be configured by the admin as to whether they will be included in users' privacy settings.


Albums


Pictures can now be moved from one album to another.
Album covers are regenerated when moving images if the cover is moved, or the destination album has no cover.
The default albums view now displays recently updated public albums.


Lightbox


Lightboxes can now be used to view all images in a post.
Next and Previous buttons can be used to navigate the attachments, and wrap when the first/last image has been reached


Other Changes and Additions


Options and permissions for Human Verification checks have been streamlined. There is now a single bitfield option to select which HV checks are used, and a single permission to select who must pass the HV checks.
Thread tags can now be merged and renamed, and threads are updated to reflect the changes.
Tag selection in the Admin CP is remembered over multiple pages for bulk actions (Delete or Merge).
A new Terms and Conditions link is configurable and displayed in the footer by default.
A new Community link replaces the Members List link with a submenu for Social Groups; Pictures & Albums; Contacts & Friends; and the Members List.
Deleted and Moderated items in the User CP menu have been collapsed into submenus to reduce clutter.
A New Items submenu is also available with the newest Visitor Messages; Group Messages; Group Discussions; Picture Comments and Album Pictures.
Some cleanup has been done on the User CP menu to ensure only links that the user has permission to are displayed.
A new permission to view thumbnails in posts has been added. This allows users to see thumbnails even when they do not have access to view the full image.
Improved RSS filtering for RSS Feed Forums. Terms can now be quoted into phrases, and a new 'match all' option is available.
Templates can now be compared with 'inline diff', reducing the screen space used to find differences while displaying line numbers. Diffs are wrapped in an optional number of lines for context.
Thread Prefix Permissions - Thread prefixes can now be configured so that only certain usergroups may use them.
Support for TypePad Anti-Spam
Username availability now checked via AJAX during registration
Notices can now be configured to be dismissible, allowing users to close notices that they have read.
Post edit histories can be pruned in Admin CP.
Forum rules can be viewed outside of the registration process, which is useful for logged in users when multiple registrations are disabled.
PM Reporting.
Subscription folders can be emptied with one click.
Quick Edit is available for Visitor Messages and Picture Comments, as well as Social Group Messages.
New UTC and user date and time criteria for Notices.
Improvements to Contact List editing. Show Avatars option is now preserved.

[rab_c.]

just noticed when registering a thank you its coming up as the following two users have registered a thank you.
but not a major problem

[Owen]

Wierd, see what you mean but now it just says "The Following User Says Thank You to rab_c. For This Useful Post:" like it should

[mary]

I'm not allowed to thank anyone now!!! Was only trying to be nice and it chucked me off saying I didnt have permission!!

[rab_c.]

I'm not allowed to thank anyone now!!! Was only trying to be nice and it chucked me off saying I didnt have permission!!

but you thanked owen just above your own post mary.....and it allowed me to thank you gremlins at work methinks as halloween approaches ....wooooooo wwwwhhooooooooo

[mary]

It did then but since Owen finished the upgrade, I cant now

[claire P]

It did then but since Owen finished the upgrade, I cant now Me too and I can't seem to send P.M's which I really need to do!

[mary]

I've sent you a pm to see if i can - that seems to work for me

[claire P]

I've sent you a pm to see if i can - that seems to work for me
I have recieved your PM Mary but stil can't send one out! Getting a bit desperate now as there are some people I really need to get in touch with!! (been double booke for apartment at xmas, so looking for another) tried to pm Owen but no go!

[mary]

email Owen is better as he checks his emails more than his pm box
For pm's, now you have to find a post by the person, left click on their name and then it gives you the option - other wise its a message in their profile section which can be a bit public

[Owen]

I got your pm claire, will have a look in the office tomorrow for you!

[Owen]

Just done another upgrade today, nothing major or notable other than security and compatability fixes on the main forum, the chat and the arcade.

Hopefully everything works just as good if not better than before but let me know here if all of a sudden something looks off to you?

Thanks!