IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Sun May 18, 2003 5:33 pm

Hi Everyone,

I will shortly be getting a second dedicated server, and moving all of the doll web sites to it. I do not anticipate that this will be noticed by anyone except that I will need to have the forums down for an hour or two during the move.

The new server will bring back some opportunities for moving the Doll sites into a more advanced appearence. For an example of what I have referring to please see: http://www.eroticelectrostimmag.com/ . Most importantly, please note the way that News items and announcements can be added, and other information can be incorporated outside of just the forums themselves.

Many of you will remember that we tried this a month or so ago, but that I had to switch everything (within a matter of hours) back to the old forums again for two reasons:

1) Was that the added demand of the PHP-Nuke software from these very busy web sites was killing my other services on the server.

2) There was a problem with login names. The PHP-Nuke forums only have a login name which is also displayed publically. The UBB forums have two: one that is used to login with (and is never displayed) and the other which is displayed publically.

In case (2), we found that some members used private information for their login names. And because of this there was no way to convert over without their private information being displayed publically.

Let me explain this another way: You have an account here on the Doll Forum's UBB. You can login using, for example, your real name (e.g. "ThomasHewetEdwardCat"), but your "nickname" (e.g., "TonyDaFish") is what everyone will see publically when you post. The reason that this poses a problem in converting from UBB to the PHP-Nuke forums is that there is no notion of a nickname. And what will result is that posts will appear with the name "ThomasHewetEdwardCat" displaying rather than "TonyDaFish."

If we were to migrate to the new system, everyone who was using personal information for their login name would need to change it to something else. And they would then need to use that as their new login (i.e., they would need to login as "TonyDaFish" and "TonyDaFish" would also appear publically in their posts.

Regarding issue (1), I am convinced that if everything was on the new server that the performance issue would disappear (the only other thing that would be on the new server would be the http://www.eroticelectrostimmag.com/ which currently I have on a virtual hosted account).

Why bother making this change?

Glad you asked! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" />

There are a ton of features that would suddenly be available to us. The PHP-Nuke forums are far more powerful (it is the same one that is now used in the Health & Safety forum). We would also have the ability to incorporate News announcements without their getting lost in a pile of other forum threads. And since News announcements reside separately, announcements by doll manufacturers would be easily added and available on the front page. Additionally, integrating the Doll Album would be easy because the one that we are using now already has provisions to be seamlessly integrated into PHP-Nuke.

Other features which would be extremely interesting are the Journal options. Any doll owner could keep and publish a Diary (if they wanted to) of their doll experiences, and it would be immediately available to the other members. (See the Journal feature over at http://www.eroticelectrostimmag.com/ .)

There are still more features available (such as a full fledged FAQ system which allows for sub-categories) and many other *optional* features which can be added that are not included on the http://www.eroticelectrostimmag.com/ web site.

I would like to know how you all feel about the idea of making such a major change in the Doll Forum. In the past, this is something that Bill has wanted to do. And we were both very disappointed when I discovered that we could not use PHP-Nuke the last time that I tried this.

So, if you could place a vote in this poll and let me know what your feelings are 9and post any concerns here) I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks,
Ish

Corben_99 · Post by **Corben_99** » Sun May 18, 2003 6:49 pm

Hey that sounds great. Change it! Change it! Change it! hahahahaha!!!! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Big Grin]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif" />

Maybe you could add a short video sequence to the opening of the new forum down the road. Kinda the way Abyss had their old site with the cool beat music playing. Just an idea. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif" />

Something along the lines of a vortex of flames, where it looks like the user/viewer is going to hell. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif" />

Sith_Lord · Post by **Sith_Lord** » Sun May 18, 2003 7:02 pm

O.K. I may be brain fried, But did you guys add a status bar showing who's in the subject areas?

Hate to think it's been there all along and I never noticed it... But it's possible. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif" />

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Sun May 18, 2003 8:57 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by Sith Lord:
 O.K. I may be brain fried, But did you guys add a status bar showing who's in the subject areas?

Hate to think it's been there all along and I never noticed it... But it's possible. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Roll Eyes]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif" /> <hr /></blockquote>No, you're not brain fried. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" />

I turned it on. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif" />

Ish

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Sun May 18, 2003 9:13 pm

Hi Corben,

I want to go to the new system too.

We'll just need to see what kind of response we get from the membership.

Ish

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Sun May 18, 2003 11:16 pm

BTW Everyone, the PHP-Nuke forum will allow you to upload an Avatar that no one else can use. Totally solves the Avatar ownership issue...

Ish

fourmaki · Post by **fourmaki** » Mon May 19, 2003 1:50 am

O my I am a member there also. I want to look into the electro stimulation in a doll. Nice front-end forum. I so want to thank you guys for this place again. I don’t much understand the bits and bites. Maybe the drums of solvents have taken their toll. Either way thank you for this forum.

Mark <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_cool.gif" />

Davecat · Post by **Davecat** » Mon May 19, 2003 1:51 am

Now see, I like the way the current Forum is going. That status bar is pretty hep, and the avatars & private messaging are rather ace as well. My only concern with the new Forum is being able to customise the general look ov it. I would have to agree with what Guy-Louis XVI had said when we changed Forum software the first time; the layout was kinda claustrophobic, and all ov the Shiny New Features!! being presented at once was a bit much to deal with. I mean, there's people who don't use the extra customisation options that this board offers.
I'm not saying I won't visit the Forum if the switch is made, but all the new bits & bobs will take a lot ov people some time to get used to..

Cheers,
Davecat

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Mon May 19, 2003 10:32 am

Hi Davecat,

Thanks! I was hoping that the topic would lead into a discussion alone these lines.

One of the nice things about PHP-Nuke is its fluidity. I've been working with the latest version (released about a month ago) and have found it to be a drastic improvement over the previous ones. There are also a host of new "themes" (the same idea as a "skin") which provide a variety of "appearances" of the user interface.

Here is a nice collection of very artistic "themes" from the Nukemods theme gallery.

The one that I am using as the default for Erotic Electro Stimulation Magazine
is called "fiblue3d." I think it works well for that web site, but I don't think it would be an ideal default for the Doll Forum. The one that I am quite fond of is called "Aeolus." For an example of what that one looks simply go to the Health & Safety Forum.

Keep in mind that once someone is logged in, that they can have the option of selecting a different theme other than the default one. Once a member does that, the theme they selected would automatically appear after they have logged in. We could add any of the themes found in the Nukemods theme gallery as long as they are designed for PHP-Nuke 6.5.

Regarding the additional "features" found on the left and right hand columns (again, using Erotic Electro Stimulation Magazine is an illustration), any of these can be turned "on" or "off." Or, they can be restricted to only registered members, or to only non-registered members (i.e., as soon as someone logs in such "features" would no longer display).

So we could start with only the simplest elements included, and add more later on. In most cases, it's simply a matter of turning the option on or off. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" />

Ish

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Mon May 19, 2003 10:41 am

JR,

Have a look at the themes I mentioned above.

Ish

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Mon May 19, 2003 10:46 am

Hi Mark,

<blockquote>quote:<hr />Originally posted by fourmaki:
I don’t much understand the bits and bites. Maybe the drums of solvents have taken their toll.<hr /></blockquote>I'd say it's more so due to the long hours you put in building such beautiful dolls. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" />

Thanks Mark <img border="0" title="" alt="[Wink]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif" />

Ish

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Mon May 19, 2003 1:31 pm

Oh Mark,

If you ever decide to try incorporating electro stim into a doll I know several electro stim companies who might want to work with you on it.

Just let me know when you're ready. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" />

Ish

ClosetMonster · Post by **ClosetMonster** » Mon May 19, 2003 1:55 pm

The move sounds like a cool idea.

You've got my vote for a "Go for it!"

Ishtaria · Post by **Ishtaria** » Mon May 19, 2003 2:07 pm

Thanks CM <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="modules/Forums/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif" />

Once I'm sure that this is what people would like to do, we'll need to discuss how best to address the LoginName/NickName issue.

Ish

jackrabbit · Post by **jackrabbit** » Mon May 19, 2003 2:27 pm

The simplest way to do it is to simply lock the accounts so that people can't log in until they update their profile, if the software will support this.

People like me, who don't have a problem because the two names are the same, can simply update the profile with no actual changes.

Those who have a login name which they would prefer not be revealed can change the login name to match the displayed name and then update the profile.

As each profile gets updated, the account becomes reactivated and the person is back online.