A new Cafe message board is coming

[Scott Tichenor]

Dan Beimborn and I have been working diligently for about six weeks researching, installing and testing new forum software. The moderators have had a chance to jump in and test it out a bit and although we don't have an exact launch date, it's a good time to make the announcement. I'm guessing we're about two weeks away but can't be sure.

Message boards have come a long way since this version of 2002, which was launched literally on fumes, as I'd been run off of four different internet service providers for taking up too much processing power and was ready to pull the plug on it. Without Dan jumping in, we'd not be at this point and I'm grateful for his continued expertise and support.

We've selected VBulletin, probably the most popular and robust forum software available, and is driving tens of thousands of forums across the web. The capability and options in the new software is nothing short of mind boggling, but the board itself is very familiar in many ways.

We would have already launched this new message board by now but there's one minor hitch. Most sites start over when new forum software is selected. We've chosen a different route. Read on...

A very short feature list includes:

- All user names, passwords and personal account information, posts, images and attachments from existing board will be imported into new software

Partial feature list:
- Ability to rate threads
- Ability to "tag" threads with keywords to assist searching
- Ability to upload six images at a time per post
- Auto-thumbnailing of larger images to conserve space, usability and download time
- Personal image "album" in your control panel where you can post personal photos
- Individual 'ignore list' where you can block your ability to see posts or receive contact from members you wish to never seen again (sorry, excludes moderators and administrators)
- Special dynamic menus that allow you to access features without having to leave the page
- Collapsing forum controls: allows you to see only those areas of interest to you
- New post searches as in current board but now extended to guests
- Easy ability to collectively view all of your own posts or those made by other individuals
- Personal contacts and friends lists capabilities in your personal Control Panel
- Improved overall board layout, readability, usability
- Ability to search by posts or by threads
- Capability to create our own 'social groups' -- still under evaluation
- Searchable board FAQ (how to use the board, features, etc.)
- Ability to automatically pull in news feeds from other mandolin related web sites like JazzMando and others
- Polls
- Personal blogs (not activated--will evaluate after launch)
- Community Calendar (not activated--will evaluate after launch)

Much more, but that's enough. So, stay tuned. We're well aware of the shortcomings of this current forum and will be as happy as the rest of you to kiss those good-bye.

[Chris Biorkman]

Sounds great. Keep up the good work.

[Pete Braccio]

Hi Scott,

That's a pretty impressive list of features. I can't wait to see the results.

Thanks,
Pete

[TonyP]

wow, I'd read from the mods that there was something new coming. But I'll be honest, as one of the fat dumb and happy, I thought the "old" forum was just fine. Can't wait to see what happens with the new one. Hope it goes smoothly as I'd hate to see headaches for you and Dan, and can't hardly live without my Cafe fix.

[bradeinhorn]

awesome. way to go guys. it sounds great.

[mandopete]

Scott and Dan rock!

[steve V. johnson]

Wonderful! Thanks! It looks as tho importing the past and present may be a really big job, so thanks so much for that!

Much appreciation to Scott and to all our wise and wondeful moderators!

stv

[Jim Garber]

Hi Scott and Dan and Staff:
Great news!! Sounds like a good decision.Running a small board and a bunch of hosted blogs myself I sort of know what is involved tho can't imagine what is involved in porting all the posts and photos over to the new board.

Good Luck!!

[F5GRun]

Sounds awesome. Thanks everyone at the cafe for the great site and hard work!

[Spruce]

"It looks as tho importing the past and present may be a really big job, so thanks so much for that!"


OK, as a mandolin maker, take yourself back to 1975.

The total amount of written knowledge about how to build an F5 mandolin was contained on two 8 x 11 sheets of paper... # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif
(The Morgan plans).

That's not an exaggeration...
That was all the info that was out there until Roger wrote his book....

Now, look at all the info that is contained on these wonderful pages...

You could easily kill a full day learning how the points on a Loar were executed...

You could spend a week groking all the wonderful close-up photos of Loars in one thread alone....

You have some of the finest mandolin makers working today chipping in on a regular basis on how they do their magic....

So-ooo, a big giant "thanks" to Scott, Dan, and all for providing this forum...

And, even more importantly, for preserving that body of knowledge so that future generations of mandolin builders to come will have it at their fingertips...

[herbsandspices]

Thanks Scott & Dan! vBulletin forums are awesome.
john

[Kevin K]

Can't wait. Thanks for all the work you all put into it.

[Sean Greer]

Can't wait. #Thanks for all the work you all put into it.
Great work Scott and Dan. Just so you know that it's not a thankless job: Thank you!

[billkilpatrick]

must be an enormous program to do all that - "awesome" is not hyperbole! bless it and all those who sail in 'er.

[CES]

Thanks for all of your work, guys...I really tend to shy away from forums but have made an exception for the Cafe based on the quality of he people, information, and "governing powers" involved. I hope it the transition goes smoothly for you guys from a work standpoint, and thanks for preserving all of the information contained herein!

[woodwizard]

It just keeps gettin' better ... good work

[Ken Olmstead]

Uh oh! Your moving my cheese?! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif #Oh well, doctors who are experts in age related diseses say that computer system changes are one of the best ways of creating the perfect type of "frustration state" that develope duplicate neuropathways and delay the effects of certain nuero problems like Alzheimer's. So thanks Scott and Dan for watching out for our mental health!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/laugh.gif

Seriously, I really appreciate what you guys do for us!!

[weleetkaoutlaws]

Thanks for all you guys do!

VBulletin is awesome, customizable, and easy to use.

Congrats...and thanks again.

[Timbofood]

INcredible work guys! I am looking forward to trying to figure out how to use the new site with as much nail biting excitment as I did the old one.
Spruce, You just jogged a ton of memories with your post, Working in a music store just out of High school, learning about all the things you poasted and the "business" of bluegrass/folk music! How far it has all come still amazes me

[Rick Schmidlin]

Sounds Great, Thanks

[Mike Bunting]

Thanks guys and I hope this makes it easier for you. This site is one of the great reasons to own a computer. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Bob Wiegers]

many many thanks guys. one question: will links to old posts still work? like from my blog, for example, not to mention those linking from one post to another. if so, even more thanks, as that'll be a nifty trick.

[MikeEdgerton]

Scott can correct me if I'm wrong but I can almost guarantee the the links to search threads will not work. The links to individual threads may not either. I plan on spending 24/7 for the next 20 years trying to fix them all. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Scott Tichenor]

many many thanks guys. one question: will links to old posts still work? like from my blog, for example, not to mention those linking from one post to another. if so, even more thanks, as that'll be a nifty trick.
External links pointing at the old board will continue to work because the plan is to leave the board where it is, as it is, and set to read only. The new forum resides at a totally different web address we'll reveal at launch.

Auto-redirection of external or internal links to the new forum is doubtful and problematic in my mind. Leaving the old forum in place assures no broken links and preserves ability to locate content, and with everything else we have to do to pull this off we'll proceed without addressing that unless a dead simple solution presents itself. That change, if possible, can be handled at a later date.

[cooper4205]

Scott can correct me if I'm wrong but I can almost guarantee the the links to search threads will not work. The links to individual threads may not either. I plan on spending 24/7 for the next 20 years trying to fix them all. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
you don't want all of that hard work to go to waste http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[fwoompf]

In 2090, web historians will search desperately for the old boards, with their incredible tonal character, unparalleled fit and finish, and their ability to cut through all other boards to be heard in the most cacophonous of webboard mixtures.

And maybe if you're lucky, hidden under your holo-bed will be Grandpa's old MacBook Pro -- and what's this in his browsers cache? Oh my...

[Jim Garber]

Scott can correct me if I'm wrong but I can almost guarantee the the links to search threads will not work. The links to individual threads may not either. I plan on spending 24/7 for the next 20 years trying to fix them all. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
I think Mike can be christened the King of the Missing Links. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Most important... will be have serious expansion of the emoticon capabilities?

[Bob Wiegers]

External links pointing at the old board will continue to work because the plan is to leave the board where it is, as it is, and set to read only. The new forum resides at a totally different web address we'll reveal at launch.

Auto-redirection of external or internal links to the new forum is doubtful and problematic in my mind. Leaving the old forum in place assures no broken links and preserves ability to locate content, and with everything else we have to do to pull this off we'll proceed without addressing that unless a dead simple solution presents itself. That change, if possible, can be handled at a later date.
makes sense thanks. good plan. the closest I can come up with as far as "dead simple" goes is somethin like this:

assuming you're importing the old board into the new, when you do the import, save the unique ID of the old post, paired with the unique ID of the new. you'll then have a simple table with the key pairs. when somebody hits an old post on the old board, do a lookup with the old ID and shoot them over to the new board with the new ID. this is also assuming you can bring up a post on each board by ID. anyway, just a thought.

thanks again. oh and I'd hope for LESS emoticons, but perhaps that's just me...

[billkilpatrick]

while waiting for the curtain to go up ...

in theory - if i put someone on an "ignore" list, would that make his or her posts invisible to me but readable to others? will an "ignoree" even be able to post to a thread initiated by an "ignorer?"

i don't think i'll ever use it but in the case of those prone to flare-ups and getting the wrong end of the stick, i can see how an "ignore" list - being placed on one - could be a real boon to dialogue ... to say nothing of making the moderator's job easier.

[fredfrank]

Man, I've just become proficient with this version. Looking forward to learning again!

[jasona]

Thanks for your continued efforts on our behalf guys!

[J.Albert]

I hope I don't come across as a troglodyte in this post, but I think themandolincafe message board _as it is NOW_, is one of the "cleanest" I've seen, in terms of layout, speed, and user-friendliness.

I'm hoping that the new format retains these qualities. Most other internet forum message boards I see and use, regardless of the fact that they may be running on more recent software and that they may offer more "features", fall far behind in this regard.

Don't take this posting the wrong way. I'll take a "wait and see" attitude, and wish you the best in getting the new boards up and running.

Will you put up something like a "beta preview" for us to check out before you go live with the new format?

Giving members "space" to post pics with their profiles is a good move. Any chance of going just a bit "further" and implementing the ability to post _sound files_ as well?

For an example of what I'm referring to, I suggest going to banjohangout.org and checking out the member's pages there, with sound files attached. It's the nicest implementation I've seen - they even have a "jukebox" that plays selections from all the members' homepages [what would be a "profile" page here]. Very, very slick.

- John

[LateBloomer]

All this sounds super..... but will it still be considered a "message board" - and therefore be blocked by the new (pain in the rump) firewall at work? What am I supposed to do at lunch if I can't read the posts on the cafe?

[Doug Hoople]

If you guys need to put us on new forum software, then go for it. If there was no benefit to us, but a lot of benefit to you, then you'd still have my support. That we'll (ultimately) benefit too is gravy. #

I expect we'll all have to learn all over again how to quote and attach text files and all that, but no big deal.

The Cafe is Dead... Long Live the Cafe!!!

[Douglas McMullin]

Thanks for the hard work. I like the feature list.

[Spruce]

"External links pointing at the old board will continue to work because the plan is to leave the board where it is, as it is, and set to read only."

Where, in the future, it will become the "Library of Congress" for those wishing to build the F5 mandolin...

[Magnus Geijer]

Consider me a beta tester volunteer if you need any. I have played at programming some and have an amazing talent for breaking things.

/Magnus

[northfolk]

Sounds like a plan to me? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[Eugene]

I've enjoyed this place for a while now and am looking forward to the upgrades. Thanks, Scott and Dan.

[Bill Halsey]

Absent M/C, a Blackberry would do me. But this forum was justification plenty enough for a new iMac.

Don't have adequate words of appreciation for the superb management of this fine resource that has brought so many of my heroes into the daylight, and allowed me to interact with them.

Thank you Scott, Administrators, Moderators and Contributors for elevating our interest to ever higher levels.

Sincerely,

[mickey.cole]

love it bring it on

[Joel Spaulding]

Thanks guys and I hope this makes it easier for you. This site is one of the great reasons to own a computer. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif
This site has become almost the only reason I own a computer! Well - it also acts as juke box with some 20 gigs of music at present.

Thanks again to Scott, Dan and all the moderators.

[Marcus CA]

Thanks for everything you do and have done to make this such a special cyberplace. #The current board is easy enough for me to use, so I hope the new one makes it easier for you to run.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I go along with Marcus above. The current 'board' IS easy. You're doing a lot of work to make things 'better /easier',i sincerely hope they work out for us,but mostly for yourselves in particular,after so much effort. Many thanks,
# # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # # #Saska

[Ted Eschliman]

Having personally spent some time in beta test, I'll offer assurance the new version really is more intuitive loading pictures. That in itself will make the transition worthwhile.

[Mark Walker]

Thanks for all your efforts Scott & Dan. #
I work in the software industry, and do a lot of testing and user-manual creation. #Many of our clients upgrade to new softare versions (or entirely new software - replacing a legacy product with ours), and migration can be a challenge. #Sounds like you've got a great plan in #place and are double and triple-checking with beta and parallel testing.

All the new features sound great! #Good luck and thanks again for all you do for us mando-holics.

[Philip Halcomb]

Thanks for keeping it going all these years...

[El Greco]

Thank you all for the continued interest in improving our message board and mandolincafe.com

It will be great to see the Calendar features enabled, if you decide to do so. It'll be so much easier to follow mandolin events and happenings all around the country and the world.

Thanks!

[JeffD]

Having an "ignore" feature is probably a good idea. Needing one is not so great. Its exactly like having a fire extinguisher in the car, probably a good idea - while having a car that needs a fire extinguisher - not so good. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

I make my living in technology, so I have some inkling of the task at hand. At least to the extent that I am glad there are folks that are good at this stuff, cuz it ain't me.

While the technical infrastructure is important - the real class act is Scott and the gang in their operation of the board.

[Mike Crocker]

You guys are already gods of the internet with the best run forum. If you say you can make it better...I'm not worthy!

I frequent the Mudcat Cafe, Acoustic Guitar forum, Telecaster forum, Canadian Guitar forum, and the Banjo Hangout forums but the Mandolin Cafe has them all whipped.

It's humbling.

Peace, Mooh.

[PhilGE]

Swell stuff, Scott and Dan. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Jkf_Alone]

will the new board work as well with dial up? some of the new features seem to be geared more towards high speed.

[mando.player]

will the new board work as well with dial up? some of the new features seem to be geared more towards high speed.
This is a good question and not one that I personally thought about while testing the new board.

You could check out the support forum (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/) at Vbulletin.com. Assuming they eat their own dog food, this should give you a pretty good idea of the performance via dial-up.

Please report back with your experience.

[tango_grass]

Cool news. I look forward to this new board, should be fun. Thanks for all of the hard work!

[harrykat]

hey guys,
it really sounds great and can't wait to see. thanks for all your work, i know every one here really appreciates it. i know i look forward to every evening with the cafe (a real learning experience !)

[Steve Cantrell]

I frequent another board using this software, and it's a Cadillac. If this software is a similar version I think we'll all be very pleased with the result.

[MikeEdgerton]

It's a customizable product, it doesn't look exactly like that. It will look different than it does now. When we were doing the beta testing it did take me 2 or 3 minutes to get used to it but after that I didn't have a whole lot of trouble. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[Scott Tichenor]

In the words of the wise man Jethro Burns, "no need to get all lathered but if ya ain't gonna shave." Lotsa lathering going on here http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif.

Don't worry, the Cafe isn't adopting vBulletin's stock pale powder blue motif. Believe I said it's going to look like the Cafe main site, and I meant it. Otherwise, the first page will be almost identical to the current layout. I've selected one of the quick links dynamic menu here in this screen shot.

[JEStanek]

Having done some testing in there, I believe once you get accustomed to the new way to do things (they're pretty intuitive) most of you should be pretty happy. Pictures will get resized automatically, you can use normal formatting keys (e.g., ctrl+b for bold) as you type. Lot of great features and it looks and feels quite familiar. I'm really looking forward to it.

Jamie

[danb]

Don't worry about the change. We've done some work to make sure it appears as incremental rather than radical- the board works quite intuitively like the old one with some extra features we've been wanting. the core features of log in and post are pretty much as they look here. Behind the scenes there are also many upgrades that make Scott's life easier. New server, updataed database, faster machine, etc

[Keith Erickson]

Scott & Dan,

WOW!!! # http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

...a "thank you" to the both of you wouldn't be enough to express how we feel.

However I do have a question...

...where do you both find time to fit your families into your lives with all that's going on with the Mandolin Café?

[sgarrity]

C'mon y'all....change is good. Thanks for all the work that goes into this site. Lord knows I waste a lot of time on it!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

[JimRichter]

Thanks Scott and Dan for all the time, energy, and thought. I"m sure it'll be a much improved experience for everyone (including the Admins!)

JIm

[Ed Lutz]

Scott and Dan and the host of moderators and sponsors:

Many thanks to you who have made this website famous, successful and totally possible. You have my lasting gratitude and admiration for all you have done.
I am looking forward to your new ideas and gifts to the folks who participate on the Mandolin Cafe Forum.
All y'all are truly gifted and blessed with a giving nature.
Much success in this work.

[Mark Walker]

I tend to agree we'll all be fine with the new 'look and feel.' #It's not like Scott and Dan are changing from oranges to kumquats; I'd guess it's more like red apples to green apples!

I'm sure looking forward to it! #Thanks again Scott & Dan. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[JGWoods]

Will we get the feature that monthly transfers a donation from my bank account to the cafe?
weekly?
yearly?
http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif

[shadco]

Wow !!!

looking good. What an undertaking and just for us, that's so cool

Now I can think or 3 or 4 other sites I'd like you guys to run ;)

You game?

[mandocrucian]

If I change my signature line when the new thing comes along, am I right in assuming that all the old stuff will retain the previous tag line?

And what about the avatar picture? #I don't know if I want Groundskeeper Willie as a permanent mascot for all my old posts. Maybe I'd go back to Young Frankenstein. #But once you lock down the old board....then there's no changing the avatar? #If this is the case, will we get some advance notice before lockdown so an avatar change can be made?

[groveland]

What Niles said, plus:

Any wiki capability in the future? And, I link directly to a specific post within a thread (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=12;t=56113;st=69) from time to time (to spare the reader sequential hunts through an entire thread). #Will that capability or the equivalent exist in the new version?

[Scott Tichenor]

If I change my signature line when the new thing comes along, am I right in assuming that all the old stuff will retain the previous tag line?

And what about the avatar picture? I don't know if I want Groundskeeper Willie as a permanent mascot for all my old posts. Maybe I'd go back to Young Frankenstein. But once you lock down the old board....then there's no changing the avatar? If this is the case, will we get some advance notice before lockdown so an avatar change can be made?
Niles, you're correct that once the move is made, the old board retains everything as is. Best advice is, if you don't like it and don't want to see it in the future, best not to put it on the web. We'll give advance notice, but we're not going to try to chase everyone down. Once the old board is in read-only mode, it stays.

Signatures will be moved. Avatars WILL NOT be moved, and all avatars on the new forum will need to be re-uploaded. There's a good reason for this. This current forum allows any size of image to be uploaded so we're having people cram huge images into a 100 x 100 pixel size which is why so many of them look so bad. The new board intelligently resizes avatars on the fly during upload if they're too big, within a reasonable size limit we set. They'll look much better and not take up near as much space.

[45ACP-GDLF5]

If it ain't broke, don't FIX it!!!

[Scott Tichenor]

If it ain't broke, don't FIX it!!!
Your avatar will sure look a lot better sized correctly. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/avatars/uploaded_the_gibson.jpg

[Scott Tichenor]

What Niles said, plus:

Any wiki capability in the future? And, I link directly to a specific post within a thread (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=12;t=56113;st=69) from time to time (to spare the reader sequential hunts through an entire thread). Will that capability or the equivalent exist in the new version?
Yes, you'll be able to link to individual posts.

No plans for a wiki, and if it had that capability, I'd turn it off. Not a wiki fan, sorry.

[45ACP-GDLF5]

If it ain't broke, don't FIX it!!!
Your avatar will sure look a lot better sized correctly. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/avatars/uploaded_the_gibson.jpg
My avatar was pre-installed when I uploaded it. I couldn't resize it. If the new one will be larger, then I guess it will look better.

I'm not bent out of shape. Just bent. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[Scott Tichenor]

I'm not bent out of shape. Just bent. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif
Well, not everyone is going to figure out how to use image editing software. No one should expect that, and I'm totally OK with that. There are a lot of reasons the new board will be light years beyond this rickety bucket of code--that is, once it's fully set-up. Here's one minor reason. I uploaded the graphic on the home page as my avatar. Avatars are currently set to 100 x 100 max on the new forum. Here's the original and the resized version. Not bad for doing it on the fly.

Original:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/graphics/giveaway.jpg

Uploaded avatar resized by new forum:

[Paul Hostetter]

One of many things I appreciate about the current forum is that the emailed notifications contain the text of the post, which saves a lot of time. I hope that feature is retained in the new program. I also hope the look of the new one is as clean and as uncluttered as the current one.

[JEStanek]

To answer your concerns, Paul, Yes and Yes.

Jamie

[JeffS]

Really? I've always thought this was one of the best working forums I have ever used. I didn't know that it had bugs.

[Paul Hostetter]

I do too, miles ahead of the others. But if these guys think they can make it better, why not?

[TWINGDAE]

Been browsing here for awhile...Looking forward to the new board !

[man dough nollij]

I have a question about the current board. Sometimes when I click "New Posts", I'll only get one page of threads in response. Right now I get four pages, going back 14 hours. I know it works like a search function (because the word "new" always shows up in red). Sometimes it considers "new" everything in the last day and a half, and sometimes "new" is just the last couple of hours. Why? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/rock.gif

[Chip Booth]

I often browse the message board from my iPhone and one downside is that the current Forum Jump popup menu is clunky to use on the phone. How will that be implemented in the new board?

Chip

[Scott Tichenor]

Sorry I haven't been answering questions of late. Work on the new forum hasn't moved forward much of late because I've been a single parent the last nine days--but that ends this evening. My wife had to attend to her elderly mother in Wisconsin who had major surgery, and while its been rewarding in many ways, everything else definitely took a back seat. I was also working from home, and covering for a co-worker who is out, and there are only two of that do what I do at work which means I got the entire workload. I now have a new and permanent profound respect for single parents. In addition, Dan took a couple of weeks off to a location that didn't have internet access--a good move on his part. So, things resume to normal tomorrow. I anticipate it could be another week to 10 days after that, but no promises, and no need to attempt that.

[Mark Walker]

Scott - hope things are working out okay with your wife's mother and she's on the mend. No problems on the updated site - it will 'be here when it gets here' and we'll accept it whenever that's convenient for you and yours. Family first! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Good luck.

- Mark

[Scott Tichenor]

Just a note that when the switch is made, we may not be able to provide a lot of notice. 24 hours, we hope. It is likely to occur in the next 4-5 days, and if not then, then may have to wait until later in the month as I have some conflicts. Dan and I have complicated work schedules so getting this lined out can be interesting. When the switch is made, it's likely there will be no board access for up to 24 hours, but that's yet to be determined.

[Mike Scott]

I don't think anyone would fault you for any delays or whatever. We should all be thankful that you do what you do here for all our benefits. I am new, but already have found this to be one of if not the most informative sites on the web. Thanks for everything you do!

[MikeEdgerton]

When the switch is made, it's likely there will be no board access for up to 24 hours, but that's yet to be determined.
Will online counseling be available for those of us suffering from withdrawal?

[Austin Koerner]

When the switch is made, it's likely there will be no board access for up to 24 hours, but that's yet to be determined.
Will online counseling be available for those of us suffering from withdrawal?
Well, it's going to be a good chance for most of us to get off the computer and practice.

[JEStanek]

When the switch is made, it's likely there will be no board access for up to 24 hours, but that's yet to be determined.
Will online counseling be available for those of us suffering from withdrawal?
I believe that's offered for free at http://www.getbacktoworkyou.com/ http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

Jamie

[Scott Tichenor]

A note we may need to close down the message board this afternoon in preparation for our move to the new forum software. Once we've determined we have a clean export, we'll close this one down and begin preparation for the launch of the new forum. Once the old forum software is closed, we anticipate 24-48 hours of down time before re-launch. Status of the move will be clearly posted on the Cafe home page.

[PaulD]

Thanks for all the hard work on this, Scott. I can appreciate how time consuming and stressful it can be to cut over to a new system. My hat's off to you and Dan for the great job you already do with this forum and I appreciate the time you're putting in to make it better.

Paul

[John]

While I'm not currently playing my mandolin every day, I still somehow manage to find my way to the cafe just about every day to view what others have to say and I do appreciate it's existence.

Thanks,
John

[danb]

Welcome to the new Board. I'm very happy with how well the old posts came through in translation!

[Ted Eschliman]

Welcome everyone. I don't know who the 24 hour downtime was harder on, you or your friends and family who've had to get to know you all over again.
;)

Enjoy your stay here.

[mandopete]

The new forum software looks pretty good so far. Thanks to everyone who works so hard behind the scenes to keep this cafe cookin' !

[mandopete]

Looks like my avatar went bye-bye.

[mdlorenz]

Lookin good! Maybe attached photos will show up on my ipod touch/iphone?

[JimRichter]

Looks good, Dan and Scott. Been experiencing some buggy-ness w/ resetting my password. Otherwise everything looks great!

[Steve Cantrell]

The new board is excellent. Great work to all involved.

[mandopete]

New day, new forum software, new avatar.

I feel shiny!

[Michael Pilgrim]

Looks great!

Congrats and Thank You.

[John Flynn]

Whoo Hoo! Very nice! :disbelief:

[shadco]

Great Job

Now it's time to go exploring

Thanks

[Jim Broyles]

Wow. Looks great. Thanks for all your hard work, guys. I guess I'll go with the The Fab Lonesome Four Mersey Valley Travelers as my avatar. Nobody recognized Bill Napier anyway.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Scott,Dan,and AOP involved,you 've excelled yourselves. The 'new look' is great & i personally as do all of us i'm sure,thank you for all the work you've put in - BRILLIANT !!!!,
Saska

[sgarrity]

This looks very similar to the Acoustic Guitar Forum. So it shouldn't take too long to figure out. Great work guys!!

[Tim F Thornton]

wow.

[PaulD]

I know "ditto" posts are lame, but I also wanted to thank you again for the hard work. It looks great. Besides, I needed to post to see if I like my avatar or if I should go back to the old one! :)

Paul

[Tom Sanderson]

Great Job Guys

[Jim Broyles]

I can't get my signature to show up.

[Jim Broyles]

Never mind. It isn't in my first post above, apparently because it was not set at the time I posted. I expected it to show up in all posts by me.

[jasona]

Very nice job guys!

[Rick Banuelos]

Great implementation.

Seriously great.

:)

[Bob Wiegers]

sweet! many thanks. yall need a "donate" button on here somewhere...

[ronlane3]

Looks really cool. Thanks Scott and the rest of the Mods for hosting such a great site. Scott rocks.

[Avi Ziv]

Works great!

Thanks for all the hard work

Avi

[Steve Davis]

This is going to take some getting used to.

[Kevin K]

Very nice, thanks for the work!

[Brad Weiss]

Very nice!

[Pete Braccio]

Looks nice on both my Mac and on my Windows based phone.

Thanks,
Pete

[jasona]

The "Similar Threads" function is also nifty keen.

[mandolirius]

Quick question...is there no longer a "delete post" function? I see the edit/delete button but am not sure how to delete a post. Not that I do a lot of that...just curious.

[Keith Erickson]

WOW!!! Hat's off to the Mandolin Café Team and cheers ~o)

This pop corn emoticon is going to get lot's of use :popcorn:

[Help Desk]

Quick question...is there no longer a "delete post" function? I see the edit/delete button but am not sure how to delete a post. Not that I do a lot of that...just curious.

Hi, I answered this inquiry here (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=43927).

[Scott Tichenor]

Thanks to everyone for their patience. This has been a big chore, and it's not over yet. My hat is off to Dan Beimborn, who without his support and expertise this would not have happened. He's worked some very long hours the past few days. A few bumps in the road today, but we've taken care of most of them. Sure there will be more.

I'm digging that "similar threads" feature at the bottom of each page of the thread. And those smiley icons!
:grin:

[billkilpatrick]

i like it fine so far ... but it's a bit like the first dance you ever attended at school when all your friends showed up in clean white shirts, shined shoes and suits ... "is that you?"

[mandopete]

...and those smiley icons!
:grin:

~:>

...like this? Wazzup with dat one!

[Scott Tichenor]

~:>

...like this? Wazzup with dat one!

Inside joke only Dan and I are privy to. You'll just have to wonder! Brawwwwwkkkkk

~:>

[JeffD]

Its gonna take me a few times to get used to it - things are in different places. But, really, things are in more convenient places. Its like when you rent a car, at first things are hard to find but soon enough you realize some of those things are better placed.

[Jerry Byers]

I've been using this forum software for years - thanks for upgrading, Scott.

[Jerry Byers]

I did notice that the top menu links are slightly different between the home page and the forum wrapper.

[Tim Pike]

Great work Scott-new look is awsome!

[Scott Tichenor]

I did notice that the top menu links are slightly different between the home page and the forum wrapper.

That's my doing. To me, the Mandolin Cafe means the Cafe home page, mandolincafe.com. To many people it means the message board. Suppose I could drop the "Mandolin Cafe Home" to just "Home". I think I got busy with other things and forgot to change that.

[chasray]

I like the changes!
I wonder if there should be a survey to determine if jazz people are more accepting of the changes than Monroe purists? Just kidding...

[Doug Edwards]

At last a spell checker for us ignorent folks. GREAT WORK!

[brunello97]

Great work, Scott (and Dan, too, right?) I like the new format and appreciate all the clear updates and instructions during the remodeling.

Mick

[danb]

Great work, Scott (and Dan, too, right?) I like the new format and appreciate all the clear updates and instructions during the remodeling.

Mick

Yeah.. Scott's design, I'm implementation (and snarky comments). My part was quite a few major upgrades under the hood to make it fast, as secure as possible, and stable. I go for a "dial tone" approach on this, and it's good practice for my day job too.

[fishdawg40]

Great stuff guys! I really like it.

Edit: Why did my posts number go down about 300?

[Jim Hilburn]

Spel cheker? thatll run everthin sum of my faverit posts hav bad spelin