old vs new forum posts

Celtic Wolf

To repeat what has already be posted (I think).

If a post is in BOLD LETTERING the post originated on the old forum. Answering here most likely will not be read by the original poster.

Post originated on the old forum are replicated here. Posts\Replies made on the new forum are NOT replicated on the old forum.

Personally if we are switching to the new forum then we should switch and not have the old forum straggling.

WMK if you need help fixing this thing let me know. If I can't fix this board it probably can not be fixed.

Michael B

I believe the goal is to perfect the format here and then move this forum to the .com address.

I still like the old forum better.

Celtic Wolf

Old or new I don't care as long as there is ONE forum.

citychicken

its refreshing to see someone come up with an offer like yours cw. since the changeover to this new format i have read way too many posts with people just bitching and complaining. you at least offer to help.

btw, i personally think that bge should step to the plate and pay wmk reasonably for his services. if not wmk, then someone, who's job it is, to construct this forum in a way as to make it really hummmmmm. i can only imagine the volume of sales and repeat sales of eggs and accessories generated by the forum.
for example read this post http://www.greeneggers.net/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=420740&catid=1

in my opinion, for bge not to take a more proactive position in this transition has been less than professional,

Celtic Wolf

My wife often reminds me if I can't offer a solution then stop bitching..

Point is I run a web hosting business. Besides the normal web pages I offer two different types of Forums, and a Java based chat. I have written many a PHP page. In fact much of my BBQ site is embedded PHP. I don't make a living off of the hosting I do (just ask WessB), but I do know what I am doing.

I can either fix this board or tell them why it can't be fixed.. If they refuse or ignore my help then I'll ****

citychicken

you seem to be an old timer here. care to opine why you suppose bge hasn't been a more aggressive and active partner in the transition and maintenance of this site?

i have read wmk's circumstances and i understand that this is a labor of love for him. however i really think that bge has failed miserably (or should that be failed perfectly) throughout this transition.

i suppose i should just stop belaboring this point. perhaps i don't have all of the information to make such remarks.

Celtic Wolf

Only WMK and BGE know why BGE doesn't financially support this forum..

I am just happy it is here.,.

Unknown

I know that I only speak for myself but I personally like the old forum much better. In fact I now find that I only come to the forum two or three times a week whereas with the old forum I would be on it that many times a day.
There are some aspects of the new forum that I like however. I just didn't think the old forum needed "fixing". Bucky

Eggtucky

The ONLY reason I could even speculate why they don't take a greater interest is to keep it 'non-commercial'. And lord knows I don't wanna start seeing ads on the forum..but to not give it SOME financial support given all of the business this forum generates for them, even if given in the form of a 'donation' is a travesty. Maybe we should be calling/emailing BGE about this...I'd say several hundred calls or emails on the subject would get someone's attention??

Michael B

The new forum has driven many people away; some looking for help in deciding for or against their first BGE.

Katodude00

That is a great offer. I cannot see a reason they would not take you up on it. I dont think it would take much to get this forum up to the standards that we all expect out of a forum. It just seems like the improvements have stopped in the last little while.

stike

WMK is paid for his time.

how much, and how much time it equals would probably never be enough, though.

i'm at times confused too as to the logic. is it an OFFICIAL bge forum? or is it a fan site?
why the link to the site from the BGE homepage (which implies you are LEAVING the BGE site and visiting an independent forum), but no link back to BGE? a little schizo. but at least it errs on the side of making it clear that this isn't moderated by BGE.

i don't think they want a forum where people assume anything here is condoned by the BGE company automatically by appearing here. there's a disclaimer to that effect. but BGE may very well want to stay even further away. letting things ebb and flow without their input answering questions. if a person has questions they should contact their dealer and/or bge for an "official" answer.

it might be best in the long run to make clear what the set-up is. not because we have a right to know (we don't). but to protect BGE further, or simply clarify the relationship. witness the "guestbook" portion of this site. some folks land there thinking it's a BGE entity. "hey, i'm interested in one of your cookers. how can i find a dealer?" ...and it's forever crickets. no answer. whether BGE is running it or not, people think they are. and i would think BGE's self-interest would have them saying "we need to clear that up, because it has the potential to reflect negatively on us".

might be better to have a blatant disclaimer that this is a fan-site, whose moderator only gets a stipend from BGE for maintaining it and paying for band width. ..that BGE isn't running it or monitoring it, and whatever WE say here doesn't constitute policy.

it would be top-notch to have another forum section here (like the feedback forum) where someone could ask a question of BGE HQ and get an authorized answer. still. suddenly Bobby-Q has another thing on his plate. and every answer he types is forever cached by google, making policy changes a pain in the butt.

i REALLY think a partial answer might be a PayPal tip-jar. imagine if everyone who was a semi-regular sent 5 or 10 bucks to WMK once a year for some forum upkeep.

WMK

Celtic Wolf,

There are still a few "die hards" that are using the old forum, like drbbq, but most have now taken the "plunge" to the new one; and, the volume of registration problems has dropped off of late. So, now we can focus on fixing things.

And, of course, there are still a number of valid complaints about the new forum.

I appreciate your offer of help; however, I too am quite capable of fixing whatever needs fixing. And, though integrating a more "modern" forum with the look of our old one, has complicated things somewhat, it absolutely can be fixed.

Finding the time has, however, been a bit difficult of late -- release time at my day job. But, we are through that now; so, I should have more time available this month and next to get some of the nagging problems fixed.

Thanks again for your offer of assistance,

WMK

All,

BGE *does* support this forum up to a point; however, the support they provide does not cover the kind of work required during, usually brief, periods like this.

Software development is expensive, and it is not their business. I cannot be sure, but I suspect that they would not have tried to be so "accommodating" w/ respect to preserving the old forum's look and feel if they had to foot the full development cost. Instead, they would likely have simply replaced the old forum with a newer one and started over (i.e. no profile imports, no recipe imports, etc. from the old site).

The forum has always had a bit of a life of its own owing to the way it began -- a happy, interested customer, my father, just did it. He did it very early on in the "web phenomenon", when many were not yet "riding the wave". Very good for BGE.

Celtic Wolf

I won't belabor my point, but my offer still stands. I have the time and I am up when the forum is least used.

Unknown

Since you named me, I'll comment.

I really don't see this as a "Die Hard" issue. I have to sign in every single time I want to post. I visit many forums and this is the only one where I have to do that. I tend to see it as a software issue.

WMK

drbbq,

Perhaps I misspoke. I remember a recent request for "responses on the old forum please" on a question you posted; so, I took that as meaning that you didn't want even to read responses on the new forum -- apologies if I "over-interpreted".

We have already changed the timeout to 24 hours on the login, but the server seems to be ignoring it so far. We are still investigating why. It will soon be fixed.

As to other forums, I must confess, I've visited many, but only as a "lurker"; and, usually because of a Google search. Most of them say that I cannot post a response because I'm not logged in. Are you saying that on such forums, once you get logged in, you stay logged in forever?

HungryMan

I said that about kicking in some cash via pay pal a while back. Strictly voluntary.

WMK

Celtic Wolf,

Okay, that's very generous of you to offer; and, we'll certainly keep that in mind.
How about we discuss it offline via email; and, if you really want to help, we can work out how to get you set up.

Celtic Wolf

You have mail

Celtic Wolf

Well not forever, but a lot longer then the two hours of so you have here.

For instance I am still logged into the CBBQA Forum and I am not on it. Nor does it show I am online. However, if I don't log in in the next day or so I will be logged out.

Unknown

Yes. Some keep me signed in for an extended period of time, until I have a software issue or something that causes a problem.

Other keep me logged in for two weeks and still others keep me signed in for that day.

Most keep my info so all I have to do is click on log in anyway. I believe it's all cookie related.

OzarkQ

First - thanks WMK for the work it takes to keep this forum going. I'm sure it's a royal pita. I've sure learned a lot and appreciate the supportive people here.

CelticWolf - Have you done phpBB work before? I've been on some other forums for years, such as:

http://www.home-barista.com/forums/

I wish I knew more about the innerworkings of online BB's, but it would be great to have an interface like the barista site above, here.