upgrading wiscuba.com

[jasondbaker]

This isn't an mnscuba.com support issue, but I thought I would still post it here. I'm currently rebuilding the wiscuba.com forum. After 10+ years of running the forum on YaBB/SMF software, I've decided to port it over to a new software platform called MyBB. This is a big change and I'm trying to navigate the process quickly, but carefully. I'm also moving the hosting of the website from VISI to Amazon AWS. The wiscuba.com forum will be down over the next week as I make these changes. I'll restore the forum as quickly as I possibly can.

Changing the forum platform means members will see several benefits:

-- Tons of new features, better mobile support and social(facebook) integration
-- Faster forum updates
-- Much faster registration approvals (hopefully automated again)
-- I will transfer all existing member accounts, threads, postings, and private messages to the updated forum

Here are the short-term disadvantages of the change:

-- I'm sure we will encounter some issues with the transition. Please be patient while I work through them.
-- Members will need to re-upload their avatars. Sorry, I can't transition the current ones.
-- Currently I cannot transition posting attachments to the new system. I'm trying to work through this issue but I can't make any guarantees.
-- Some of the top links (diveshops, divesites) may disappear for a couple weeks while I figure out how to
incorporate this content into the new system.
-- I will most likely eliminate the gallery feature. We don't have many members using this feature and several free solutions are available on the Internet. People generally use sites like Facebook and Flickr to publish images today.

I will begin transitioning mnscuba.com after successfully transitioning wiscuba.com. As always, your patience and support is appreciated!

[freedivernd]

Yeah, that's what we like to hear... practice on wiscuba before messing with mnscuba!  Thanks for the work Jason.  What kind of a nuisance is the gallery going to be?  Easily integrated?
Fred

[jasondbaker]

Well, I don't want to make it seem like wiscuba.com members are guinea pigs or something. I've actually been having stability issues with the wiscuba.com site over the past 4 months. Recent issues have forced my hand. I've been planning to make these updates over the past year.

I updated my original posting to confirm that the gallery is going away. Trying to port it would be way too much effort given its lack of use. The features of the gallery just don't compare to all of the other photo gallery solutions out there today. My goal is to integrate the forum with other social-based platforms like Facebook and Flickr. I'll keep the gallery operational for awhile so that people can download and transition their photos to a different platform.

[jasondbaker]

The wiscuba.com forum was successfully upgraded this past weekend. I've re-opened the site to the public. The site is pretty basic right now. I want to dial in the forum configuration and address any issues before adding new functionality. The design will probably change once I find a new template I like. Please let me know if you encounter any issues with the new site.

A couple notes:

-- I was able to transition approximately 75% of the attachments on the site. Unfortunately I couldn't move them all due to the crazy way they were stored in SMF.

-- I was not able to port avatars to the new platform. Members will have to re-upload any custom avatars.

-- The photo gallery feature is going away. I will make these photos available for a limited time (30-60 days) at the old site. After this time I will backup the photos and remove the old gallery completely.

[Mr.Pitbull]

Jason, the login doesn't seem to be working. Keeps saying "login failed and you must wait 15 minutes before re-trying"

[scubafreek864]

I can't even get onto the site.  It says that site is not found.  ???

[jasondbaker]

Pitbull, your existing login information should work. If you continue to have problems I can reset the password for you. Send me a PM.

scubafreek, you should be able to access the site at or just wiscuba.com. Do you have a bookmark to the actual forum? The old forum was located at . This URL will no longer work with the new forum (perhaps I should remedy this).