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admin (no pm's please)

Saturday January 6th upgrades

There may be some momentary outages on Saturday January 6th 2007.
By and large outages should only last a few minutes and only effect forums using portal code, use of the control panel, and last but hardly least for a minute or two forums may not be able to be posted to.

The changes involved are:

1) New measure to stop spambots posting.
2) New measure to stop spambots registering.
3) New "caching" portal component system. This will speed up the portal (not that it is slow) allowing the development of new components which would effect speed.
4) New Birthday announcement portal component.
5) phpbb3 ready forum control panel and creation system.
6) For internal use a much better email/newsletter management system.
Overclocker

wow sounds good those updates fella good job and I hope more good ones keep coming
Sapp

Sounds great Thanks,Admin.I like the birthday announcements the best.
admin (no pm's please)

Addendum to this, we also expect a few minutes of downtime prior to next Saturday for server level patches.
Christoph

Thanks for letting us know about this, I shall monitor the forum when this takes place:)

Regards, Chris
broadcastbar.myfreeforum.org.
wannabe

I have no idea what all that means but thanks for letting us know that the forums might be down.

http://cloud.myfreeforum.org/
admin (no pm's please)

This sort of thing always makes me wonder how some other systems proclaim things like 99.9% uptime?

This actually means as a figure 10 minutes a week downtime. My instinct tells me that we achieve this, but how can you tell?

A large forums system will be spread over several servers and for the end user to see the forum is relying on the server itself being operational, web and database services running and nameservers across the net allowing someone to be pointed to their forum, let alone there being no network issues occurring. Plus of course software changes like we are planning for next Saturday may create outages that would be hard to measure.

So when people proclaim their 99.9% uptime are they really telling you the truth? do they really have a good way of measuring it all? or is it just marketing?

I'm hoping practically no one notices next Saturday, as over the next week the best implementation sequence is planned and partially carried out to minimize issues.
CodyT07

Cant wait
Viper

admin wrote:
This sort of thing always makes me wonder how some other systems proclaim things like 99.9% uptime?

This actually means as a figure 10 minutes a week downtime. My instinct tells me that we achieve this, but how can you tell?

A large forums system will be spread over several servers and for the end user to see the forum is relying on the server itself being operational, web and database services running and nameservers across the net allowing someone to be pointed to their forum, let alone there being no network issues occurring. Plus of course software changes like we are planning for next Saturday may create outages that would be hard to measure.

So when people proclaim their 99.9% uptime are they really telling you the truth? do they really have a good way of measuring it all? or is it just marketing?

I'm hoping practically no one notices next Saturday, as over the next week the best implementation sequence is planned and partially carried out to minimize issues.


http://www.uppanel.com/

I have heard that this is a good tool to measure uptime.
admin (no pm's please)

That's kind of my point, that sort of tool may measure for example that web service and database service is there, but that is a cheerfully optimistic view of things that may not reflect whether a forum in particular is really up and running.
admin (no pm's please)

Another new item will be the OPENTICKET component. It will now be possible for mods in a forum to mark a post as an "Open Ticket" and for open tickets to be displayed using the portal OPENTICKET component.
Around here it will be labour saving for myself and the mods, as they will be able to efficiently pass the buck, and I will save time by not having to inspect so many threads myself.
I imagine other forums will also find uses for this.
Mike

admin wrote:
Another new item will be the OPENTICKET component. It will now be possible for mods in a forum to mark a post as an "Open Ticket" and for open tickets to be displayed using the portal OPENTICKET component.
Around here it will be labour saving for myself and the mods, as they will be able to efficiently pass the buck, and I will save time by not having to inspect so many threads myself.
I imagine other forums will also find uses for this.

OMG YES WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Amazing. And admin, its Saturday the 7th Wink
Viper

Mike wrote:
And admin, its Saturday the 7th Wink


Didn't you get a diary for christmas?
admin (no pm's please)

I did Guess Mike didn't
blakelives0312

well, 1 of them is wrong, at the top of my forum i got a message about the updates on the 7th, here it says the 6th
Brandon7

sounds awesome admin! I like the Birthday Annoucement!
Roy

Cool it all sounds good and i can't wait for the 5th of Jan lol.
archers-rest

I have experienced some downtime (approx 3 hrs) over the past 2 days, is this due to these changes?
admin (no pm's please)

No reports of downtime aside from your have been made, so I expect this was something local to you.
Mike

Viper wrote:
Mike wrote:
And admin, its Saturday the 7th Wink


Didn't you get a diary for christmas?

I did, but I was using the Windows one, and I forgot to change the year to 2007
admin (no pm's please)

Another planned change is for topic links at the forum level for guests to look like:

http://forum.myfreeforum.org/Welcome_to_phpBB_2_about1.html

This should help that little bit more with search engines.
admin (no pm's please)

Possibly a bit sad for new years eve, but I have added another component:

{MYFF.OPENTICKETTOPIC}

Which sits in viewtopic_body.tpl and adds for MODs a link called either "Open Ticket" or "Close Ticket" to give single click control of the ticketing system for mods.
jackdillon

could you explain the ticket system more. I just dont get it.....
admin (no pm's please)

It allows a forums system to be run as a more "support ticket" type system. People can post questions that mods can elevate to open ticket status. These topics can then be shown separately.
On this forum is will be a way of mods to flag support issues that need my attention. Other forums could have other uses for it.
blakelives0312

so its for mods only and its use is to alert someone (meybe the admin?) for serious issues that need to taken care of soon??
Master Mathandal

That is not available yet right? That is something that will be going in this Saturday, or am I mistaken?
admin (no pm's please)

Yep, all the upgrades will be going in Saturday, better a big upgrade day with possibly a few glitches to fix, followed by there being a clean slate for the new year, than several painful attempts to get all the new stuff in in batches. It is a bit like ripping a plaster off
admin (no pm's please)

Well the ticketing system now accepts parameters:

[OPENTICKET]
user_ticket_forums=4,5,6,7
mod_ticket_forums=4,5,6,7

This allows you to set forums on which the users can open/close their own tickets. If mod_ticket_forums is set then the ticket options will only appear for mods in those forums.
This gives quite a bit of flexibility.
73201

these updates sound good
Master Mathandal

I cant wait for Saturday now admin. Thank you for all this work!
Roy

Neither can i lol.
JerrodDRagon

Quote:
For internal use a much better email/newsletter management system.

So what does this mean just this mean there will be a way to allow people to subscribe to a system that you can use to send New letters???
admin (no pm's please)

JerrodDRagon wrote:
Quote:
For internal use a much better email/newsletter management system.

So what does this mean just this mean there will be a way to allow people to subscribe to a system that you can use to send New letters???


Internal use means it is not on the forums at all, but on the forum management system used to create and manage the forums.
admin (no pm's please)

Well for the forums upgrade, as script has now been written to get the files installed as speedily as possible, in the order that should cause least issues. The script can run in a test mode that helps verify it it correct.
blakelives0312

that sounds excellent and very complex.... then again i have not dabbled in servers... though i probably should..x.x
admin (no pm's please)

Not massively complex really. We use Linux so we have loads of scripts to help the maintenance, deploying, reverting and checking differences between files on the servers.
People tend to see just the forums in action, but there is acres of code that sits behind the forums tending to them.
blakelives0312

linux is fun, that is one thing i did dabble in. it was on a whim but it was fun... i rid my self of the trouble of having to switch between computers though... running windows and linux at the same time with only 512mb of ram between the two just doesnt do the trick.... plus i heard that most linux systems are massive and slow. though i have also heard that they are compact and amazingly fast. i guess since so many companies design so many versions, they all are totally different. any who, il try to get my hands on a free copy of linux sever and work on that... i seriously need to upgrade my ram though..x.x
admin (no pm's please)

I have run Linux as my main desktop for a long time now.

It does not have everything windows does which is a pain at times, but the desktop experience on the core stuff I do is much much better.

All things being equal Linux runs on less powerful PCs than windows.
admin (no pm's please)

One more thing in the new release is an option "database maintenance" in the control panel.
This will for the time being clear session related tables in a forums database, this can fix issues that are showing as database errors. Such errors crop up pretty infrequently in phpbb2, but they do occasionally occur.
With this option people should be able to resolve things themselves without waiting for me to do it.
admin (no pm's please)

The upgrades are now installed. Though error checking continues. There are a lot of changes involved here!
Mike

One reported error is that when you go to PM someone it says 'You must enter a message when posting...'
admin (no pm's please)

Seen it, and hopefully fixed it!
Sukisue

Has the birthday hack been installed too? If so, how do we get it on our forums?
admin (no pm's please)

{MYFF.BIRTHDAY} in conjunction with an xprofile field called BIRTDAY with type=date

How it looks is defined in cms_birthday.tpl and you may want to edit that file.

Note that no one has tested this "live" yet.
Sukisue

Thanks. I'll give it a go! I'm not sure where to put {MYFF.BIRTHDAY}, but I will have a mess around.
CodyT07

'5) phpbb3 ready forum control panel and creation system. '
How we create a PhpBB3 forum? I thought the .Myfine were going to be PhpBB3?
Viper

CodyT07 wrote:
'5) phpbb3 ready forum control panel and creation system. '
How we create a PhpBB3 forum? I thought the .Myfine were going to be PhpBB3?


phpBB3 isn't at release stage yet, so it would be crazy to publish it to a free forum service in Beta stage.
CodyT07

Viper wrote:
CodyT07 wrote:
'5) phpbb3 ready forum control panel and creation system. '
How we create a PhpBB3 forum? I thought the .Myfine were going to be PhpBB3?


phpBB3 isn't at release stage yet, so it would be crazy to publish it to a free forum service in Beta stage.

O wait I read it wrong
Sukisue

I failed in getting the birthday hack to work properly. Mine looked a bit lame, so I think I will wait for a step by step guide - if there's going to be one.
toni470

Sukisue wrote:
I failed in getting the birthday hack to work properly. Mine looked a bit lame, so I think I will wait for a step by step guide - if there's going to be one.


that would be cool
CodyT07

toni470 wrote:
Sukisue wrote:
I failed in getting the birthday hack to work properly. Mine looked a bit lame, so I think I will wait for a step by step guide - if there's going to be one.


that would be cool

I believe I will take this and make a guide. Wink
CodyT07

Alright feedback is welcomed
http://templatetester.myfreeforum.org/sutra32.php#32
There it is, as I said feedback is welcomed.
kingz4dragon

Ty for all your hard work and I would like to see this step by step guide when it is done.
CodyT07

kingz4dragon wrote:
Ty for all your hard work and I would like to see this step by step guide when it is done.

See my above post, I have done a guide ^^^
admin (no pm's please)

The system is phpbb3 ready in that I can flick a switch in "MY" admin panel and it will start creating phpbb3 forums, albeit for an older beta version.

This is a pretty important point for the future of the system, even if it adds nothing visible to the user right now.
Symon

CodyT07 wrote:
kingz4dragon wrote:
Ty for all your hard work and I would like to see this step by step guide when it is done.

See my above post, I have done a guide ^^^


Cody this is a good guide and i would like to put it on howtodoit
CodyT07

Didnt want the thread to become long. But here it is
Remember to backup your forum template and use editor before you do this incase something goes wrong.
This will tell you how to easily add the Birthday Hack. Quite Simple Really
Go to the forum Control Panel.
My Free Forum
My Fast Forum
My Fine Forum
And add in the "X Profile Tab"
[BIRTHDAY]
title=My Birthday
access=user
visible=all
type=date

Save The forum and now Go to your forum's Administration Panel.


Open profile_view_body.tpl and add where you want it to appear.(NOTE:IT is case sensitive, if the code below is capaltalized, keep it that way Wink )
Code:
<tr>
<td valign="middle" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gen">{L_BIRTHDAY}:&nbsp;</span></td>
<td><b><span class="gen">{BIRTHDAY}</span></b></td>
</tr>


So I want it to appear after OCCUPATION So my code will look like this when im finished
Code:
 <td valign="middle" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gen">{L_OCCUPATION}:&nbsp;</span></td>
        <td><b><span class="gen">{OCCUPATION}</span></b></td>
      </tr>
<tr>
<td valign="middle" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gen">{L_BIRTHDAY}:&nbsp;</span></td>
<td><b><span class="gen">{BIRTHDAY}</span></b></td>
</tr>       
<tr>
        <td valign="top" align="right" nowrap="nowrap"><span class="gen">{L_INTERESTS}:</span></td>
        <td> <b><span class="gen">{INTERESTS}</span></b></td>
      </tr>
     </table>
   </td>
  </tr>


Alright open Profile_add_body.tpl
Add {XPROFILE} where you want it to appear. So I want it to appear after OCCUPATION so my finished code looks like
Code:
<input type="text" class="post" style="width: 200px"  name="occupation" size="25" maxlength="100" value="{OCCUPATION}" />
     </td>
   </tr>{XPROFILE}
   <tr>
     <td class="row1"><span class="gen">{L_INTERESTS}:</span></td>
     <td class="row2">
      <input type="text" class="post" style="width: 200px"  name="interests" size="35" maxlength="150" value="{INTERESTS}" />
     </td>
   </tr>


Then your done

Finished images
In Adding in Profile

Click to see full size image

In a Topic (NOTE: I highlighted it by the way)

Click to see full size image
Symon

Symon wrote:
CodyT07 wrote:
kingz4dragon wrote:
Ty for all your hard work and I would like to see this step by step guide when it is done.

See my above post, I have done a guide ^^^


Cody this is a good guide and i would like to put it on howtodoit
CodyT07

yes you can use it if thats what you are asking.
Symon

CodyT07 wrote:
yes you can use it if thats what you are asking.


Thankyou

I,m always on the look out for good guides that can go on their mainly portal ones as that is my weak area as i don't like them Wink
CodyT07

Symon wrote:
CodyT07 wrote:
yes you can use it if thats what you are asking.


Thankyou

I,m always on the look out for good guides that can go on their mainly portal ones as that is my weak area as i don't like them Wink

Im jsut good at writing guides once i figure out how to do it. Though a little off topic but has the Howtodoit bug been fixed yet from a long time back?
http://forum.myfreeforum.org/ftopic1593-15.php
Nick(NR)

Symon wrote:
CodyT07 wrote:
yes you can use it if thats what you are asking.


Thankyou

I,m always on the look out for good guides that can go on their mainly portal ones as that is my weak area as i don't like them Wink


Just link here: http://portalogy.myfastforum.org/index.php
Guides are welcomed, as my time is now being spent getting my pc sorted out, yet again, might be better off buying a new one? anyways, portal guides via pm there please, Cody I'm hijacking this one( with credit and a link exchange too ), if you don't mind .
CodyT07

You lost me But if you want to use my guides, go ahead. Just be sure to give me credit.
Nick(NR)

CodyT07 wrote:
You lost me But if you want to use my guides, go ahead. Just be sure to give me credit.


You know what ignore me, it's symons fault, the birthday hack hasn't got anything to do with portals at the moment
Symon

Nick(NR) wrote:
CodyT07 wrote:
You lost me But if you want to use my guides, go ahead. Just be sure to give me credit.


You know what ignore me, it's symons fault, the birthday hack hasn't got anything to do with portals at the moment


My fault ?? hmm how that happen.

And no i dont think that bug did get fixed hope admin reads this and he might be able to help.

And will add this guide now aswell
CodyT07

http://howtodoit.myfreeforum.org/about610.html&highlight=birthday there it is.
Amelia

Hi, I have followed the guide to installing the birthday componet and it's showing up in the profile nicely, but it's not showing up in the posts..could someone tell me how to do that?? Thankyou

http://parentsandproviders.myfreeforum.org
Symon

Amelia wrote:
Hi, I have followed the guide to installing the birthday componet and it's showing up in the profile nicely, but it's not showing up in the posts..could someone tell me how to do that?? Thankyou

http://parentsandproviders.myfreeforum.org


Seems this bit has been missed

to see it in the post you would have to enter the code in

viewtopic_body.tpl

you could try and add the following code where you want it to appear

{postrow.BIRTHDAY}<br/>
Amelia

Thank you I will try it!
archers-rest

How would we get the birthdays to show on the index page at the bottom under the who's oline section, as seen on v-buliten boards.
admin (no pm's please)

By using {MYFF.BIRTHDAY} in index_body.tpl
archers-rest

Doh! asked the question without thinking , but I have edited MY birthday to 7th of Jan and it does not show up

I have this in control pannel

[BIRTHDAY]
title=My Birthday
access=user
visible=all
type=date
register=yes

I also have it showing in users profile
admin (no pm's please)

Try changing it to the 8th and telling me if it works tomorrow!

One reason the hack was delayed was that it is very server intensive and we needed a caching system in place. If {MYFF.BIRTHDAY} got calculated before you changed your birthday it won't be rechecked today.
archers-rest

Was thinking along those line so I changed it. Will let you know either way
Animefreak

Will the control panel look different and have different features when
phpbb3 ready forum control panel and creation system upgrade is complete.
deandre81

I been playing with the birthday mod
what i want to get is that in the left hand side where it has the username, avatar, date joined etc..i guess that is the viewtopic.tpl file, i added the birthday, but how can i get it to say Birthday and not just give the date.....


http://forum.dadli-scene.com
admin (no pm's please)

Don't you think the question should be in its own topic with a lot more info as to what you have done!
Amelia

Where in the viewtopic_body.tpl did you put it? It isn't showing up for me?

http://parentsandproviders.myfreeforum.org
deandre81

new topic

http://forum.myfreeforum.org/alter_Birthday_mod_about7441.html
Amelia

Thank you!
Roy

Have all the new features been installed yet?
admin (no pm's please)

Yes and more!
Roy

Excellent thanks Admin.

Is there a list of all the new features?

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