Pweb Meta Talk: Can we move it? Make it better?

[Mich]

Only lowercase allowed in usernames? Well, I'm out.

[Wind Swept]

They're not case sensitive. You can type them however you'd like when you login. Also, you can change your display name.

[Petrie]

By the way, Chris? If we plan to make a move anytime in the near future, if the word Phoebe is at all part of the official name of Pweb, I'm out.

If Jan isn't the head honcho, I'm out.

If oldies like Nomi and Steph and the rest of the YOPers aren't happy, I'm out.

If any of the key nerds disagree on things and can't come to a consensus, I'm out. I'd like to see what zero has to say, to be honest. He's the most active nerd we have on this board, which to me somewhat translates into investment, so I'll put a lot of stock in his opinion. If Ed wants to be a part of the technical end, I'd really like his opinion, too since I know he's more invested than his post counts would indicate. Not that I want to volunteer either of them but I would at least like their opinions, even if it's just a "This is a stupid/good idea."

[Dr. Mobius]

If you guys are serious about it, you'll need to decide on a domain name.

www.philoticweb.org is available. -.com appears to be available as well but I don't really like the sound of philoticweb.com.

If anyone has any other suggestions, my ears are open. I'll make a poll in a few days. Maybe I'll even include Phoebe for s***** and giggles.
Why does a five letter word become six when censored?
Wil, you written that script yet?

Someone needs to find Steve and see if he has a backup copy his scientific battle school stuff that used to be on 2.0.

[ender1]

If you guys are serious about it, you'll need to decide on a domain name.

www.philoticweb.org is available. -.com appears to be available as well but I don't really like the sound of philoticweb.com.

.org isn't available.

[mr_thebrain]

i'd be happy if we had actual content on the website again.

screw wiki. i have the concept behind wikipedia as it is. i want no part.

SMF has been good to me in the past. very easy to make it your own and keep it running.


i have to say i'm here every day... several times a day even if i don't post. the look of the site has never been a problem for me, because i'm coming to talk to people i've known for years or what have you. but i think we will not get new users without a major site change. i mean i enjoy you all, but it seems we're losing people more than gaining them soon enough it'll just be 10 stubborn people using it to keep in touch. it's a slow death, but a death all the same unless something changes.

[Dr. Mobius]

If you guys are serious about it, you'll need to decide on a domain name.

www.philoticweb.org is available. -.com appears to be available as well but I don't really like the sound of philoticweb.com.

.org isn't available.

I gave up pretending to understand that stuff years ago. If I did understand it, we wouldn't have been using a s***** shell of a site for the past four years. My ears are still open, if .org/com aren't for sale, tech boy, find something that is.

[ender1]

If you guys are serious about it, you'll need to decide on a domain name.

www.philoticweb.org is available. -.com appears to be available as well but I don't really like the sound of philoticweb.com.

.org isn't available.

I gave up pretending to understand that stuff years ago. If I did understand it, we wouldn't have been using a s***** shell of a site for the past four years. My ears are still open, if .org/com aren't for sale, tech boy, find something that is.

Take a look at the whois for the .org address again.

[steph]

i have to say i'm here every day... several times a day even if i don't post. the look of the site has never been a problem for me, because i'm coming to talk to people i've known for years or what have you.

This is pretty much me. The site doesn't bother me at all. If we move, I'll be fine. If we don't move, I'll be fine. I don't even really care if things are saved, but then I'm the type that tends to throw away or burn any old journals of mine I come across. (I know it's horrible, but I don't like me very much, so reading about me is not very fun at all.)

[Petrie]

the look of the site has never been a problem for me, because i'm coming to talk to people i've known for years or what have you. but i think we will not get new users without a major site change. i mean i enjoy you all, but it seems we're losing people more than gaining them soon enough it'll just be 10 stubborn people using it to keep in touch. it's a slow death, but a death all the same unless something changes.

Emphasis mine because that is my greater concern in things; my annoyance with the site is deeper than just the appearance in the most literal sense. Rei touched on it:

place that looks less... well, interim.

I come here and it looks like Rei suggested, like some placeholder. Still, after four years of 3.0. I want the site back, I want a better maintained forum, and yes, I definitely want people staying and joining, not leaving and not sticking around because this place is no longer anything more than a hangout for a tight-knit group that can't even hold itself together beyond about...30ish people?


In other words, I agree with the gist of your post.

[Dr. Mobius]

Take a look at the whois for the .org address again.

I honestly, didn't look past the "Available Domains" section after the first time, which still has it listed for sale.

Thank you!

[Dr. Mobius]

(I know it's horrible, but I don't like me very much, so reading about me is not very fun at all.)

You should like you. You're a good you. I like you.

[ender1]

I've been having the .org address redirect here since last night.

[Dr. Mobius]

That would explain why yesterday it sent me to a "site not found" page and today it sent me here.

You should put the redirect on a ten second delay with an "Under Construction" placeholder, imo.

[Wil]

Yeah! Then you could totally toss in the rad under construction animations!

Wil, you written that script yet?

Tomorrow, I hope. But don't hold me to that. Also, I'll need to know what CMS or forum or whatever you all agree on so that I can format it for the correct database.

[Dr. Mobius]

I have no preference myself. This is the only forum I use regularly and all I know. From a brief glance a Wiki's charts, though, it would seem phpBB is one of the better options. Which is a bit annoying since I hate the current version of Pweb, but I guess I can't hold that against the neglected software.

About the only requirement I have, or at least the most important one, is that we have everything backed up in a RAID or whatever this time around in case there's another crash.

As far as the forum goes, as long as we can customize it the way we want it and it's easy to use for both basic users and admin/mods, I don't really care. (Though, I'm sure I'll let you know if you choose the wrong one. )

[Luet]

(I know it's horrible, but I don't like me very much, so reading about me is not very fun at all.)

You should like you. You're a good you. I like you.

I both totally agree with this statement and love that it sounds like something Mr. Rogers would say.

[Jayelle]

If Jan isn't the head honcho, I'm out.

For serious? Nobody else? I don't mind being in charge (POWER! GIVE ME MORE POWER!), but I don't have to be. Do we need to vote me in?

I do promise to never, ever abandon this place like Ami did.

[Luet]

You do realize that means you'll have to write it into your will that Ginny take over head mod duties upon your death, right?

[Petrie]

If Jan isn't the head honcho, I'm out.

For serious? Nobody else? I don't mind being in charge (POWER! GIVE ME MORE POWER!), but I don't have to be. Do we need to vote me in?

I do promise to never, ever abandon this place like Ami did.

If you want to get other people to help you -I'm assuming someone would need to be brought into the mod group for the nerd stuff- I'm fine with that. But in the most official capacity of Boss, I wouldn't want anyone but you there (unless I was given a compelling argument for someone else). I trust you to stick around, you showed the initiative in approaching Ami in the first place, you'd care about the opinions of the group in important decision making processes and include us in that, and you're certainly qualified.

Frankly, unless anyone really has a hankering to be that person and steps up, I don't think voting is necessary.

But don't let my opinion be the end all, be all. Ask them. *points to the quiet ones*

[starlooker]

Agree. Unless anyone else is really wanting it, I would be comfortable with you taking it over with whatever level of support from others you need.

[Mich]

But in the most official capacity of Boss, I wouldn't want anyone but you there (unless I was given a compelling argument for someone else).

Okay, okay, sheesh, stop hounding me. Yes, of course I'll take over as head mod, but only because Alea wants it so much.



(couldn't resist, but really, I have no problems with Jan being head honcho. I'm pretty blown away that things appear to be moving so quickly...)

[powerfulcheese04]

I think Jan would be great!

[Petrie]

But in the most official capacity of Boss, I wouldn't want anyone but you there (unless I was given a compelling argument for someone else).

Okay, okay, sheesh, stop hounding me. Yes, of course I'll take over as head mod, but only because Alea wants it so much.

What, am I Lola now? Whatever Alea wants, Alea gets...?

*thumbs down*


Oh, zero should be peeking onto the board tomorrow, so he can weigh in.

[Wil]

Proof that I'm actually working on it in my spare time - the complete extracted user list in CSV format (only took 4020 seconds to execute with a one second buffer between each request!). Still needs some work, as some HTML code remains in the values, and the CSV might not be set up perfectly. I plan on creating a script which will automatically save every (working) avatar as well.

Question, though: Do the mods see the email address of people who have hidden theirs when they go to view a profile? If so, I might need to look in to having temporary access to a mod account so that I can get a complete list of emails for re-verification purposes later on.

[Wind Swept]

Lots of spam accounts in there...

[Eaquae Legit]

Proof that I'm actually working on it in my spare time - the complete extracted user list in CSV format (only took 4020 seconds to execute with a one second buffer between each request!). Still needs some work, as some HTML code remains in the values, and the CSV might not be set up perfectly. I plan on creating a script which will automatically save every (working) avatar as well.

Question, though: Do the mods see the email address of people who have hidden theirs when they go to view a profile? If so, I might need to look in to having temporary access to a mod account so that I can get a complete list of emails for re-verification purposes later on.

Yes, we can. We also see them in the admin section when we pull up profiles.

[VelvetElvis]

I'm just popping my voice in to say that I am following this thread, even though I am silent. If I feel I have something worthwhile to add, I will. Keep up the good work!

[Syphon the Sun]

I'm just popping my voice in to say that I am following this thread, even though I am silent. If I feel I have something worthwhile to add, I will.

Ditto.

[Wil]

Lots of spam accounts in there...

So there are. I didn't look at the list last that close last night as once it was done I went to bed. Perhaps I should filter the list by post count to remove a majority of the spam accounts? Five posts or something like that?

[Dr. Mobius]

Wil, if it took an hour to get the bloated member list, how long do you reckon a scan of the significantly larger thread and PM archives would take? Assuming of course that you have all the information you need to preserve the formatting and make the transfer to the new board as seamless as possible (one of the reasons I'm begrudgingly casting my vote to retain phpBB).

Do we need to vote me in?

I believe we just did.

[wizzard]

[delurking to throw in my 2 cents]

I agree that this place could use a good makeover, but the content is far more important to me than the look or feel of the place. I would feel like I was losing a part of my life if I lost some of my Bob posts. I don't come here as often as I used to (or as often as I'd like to), but it's still a meaningful place for me, and I really don't want to lose any of it.

That said, if we do go ahead with a switch, I'm willing to pitch in if there's anything I can do. I'm still only a nerdling, but I've dabbled in various programming methods and can usually pick things up pretty quickly if I have a reason to. Or, I can do mindless data entry .

I'll also add my vote for Jan.

[/delurk]

[Petrie]

Because I haven't said it yet, thank you to Wil and Chris and anyone else who has or is willing to work on this. You guys are awesome for that.

Secondly, one thing at a a time and not that I want to burn anyone out or take advantage, but I'm wondering how hard it would be to get an actual site, the way we used to have, attached to the forum. If people who can't do the nerd stuff were willing and able to gather/create the content, how much more difficult would it be to try to return this place to its former glory?

For further interest's sake, would anyone be willing to help brainstorm and gather stuff?

Lastly, the stuff that Elf collected off wayback, that used to be the site content, would that be offlimits for using as a base to build from (content, not the nerd aspect)?


I can do non-technical things and I can donate time. I'd be willing to throw myself into things, for the record.

[Wil]

Wil, if it took an hour to get the bloated member list, how long do you reckon a scan of the significantly larger thread and PM archives would take? Assuming of course that you have all the information you need to preserve the formatting and make the transfer to the new board as seamless as possible (one of the reasons I'm begrudgingly casting my vote to retain phpBB).

76447 posts, at one post a second, plus 10% for download times is roughly 85000 seconds, or about 24 hours.

Also, we don't have to use PHPBB just because this forum is PHPBB. It truly doesn't matter what forum software we use.

[Dr. Mobius]

Another somewhat technical thing I just thought of. We'll need to be able to disable post counts on parts of the new board to avoid the whining that went on during the early days of this iteration concerning certain game room addicts "cheating" to get higher post counts even though post counts supposedly didn't matter.


Alea, as far as having a real site to go along with the forum, even with just my limited technical knowledge it should be easy. I thought that was what this whole discussion was about anyway. If we're just going to half-ass it again, we might as well stay here.

As for brainstorming,

Someone needs to find Steve and see if he has a backup copy his scientific battle school stuff that used to be on 2.0.