Major Update Pending

[bradl]

Soon CairnTalk will have its software upgraded to the most recent version. This particular upgrade is more than just an update it's a complete rewrite of the underlying software. It requires the site and all content to be converted. 

 

You may notice

 

The changes will be noticeable but should be quite positive overall. I have been using this new version on two other sites I support and have found it well worth the effort to convert.

 

Things you will notice immediately:

• The "theme" or appearance will be somewhat different. I've been working on simplifying the theme a bit but keeping the same general appearance. You should not have the feeling you accidentally logged in to the wrong site! There's a sample screenshot below.
• The main menu navigation will be slightly different. Instead of floating links in the header there will be tabs. 
• The new editor (the box you type into to make posts) treats line breaks very differently. Every time you hit <enter> or <return> you will create a new paragraph — not a line break. If you are used to making paragraphs by hitting <enter> twice (as we all are!) you will learn to hit shift-Enter instead. Until you get used to that, your multi-paragraph posts will look double-double spaced. I've been using the new version on several other sites for a while and I promise you get used to it, easily and quickly.
• Embedding video and remote photos is getting simpler. In many cases just pasting the URL on its own line will do the trick. Embedding images from your desktop is also easier as in most cases they can be simply dragged onto the editor. 
• There are many new ways to slice and dice activity on the site. These are called Activity Streams. I don't use them much but I have observed on the developer forums that many people do so I'm guessing at some point I'll adapt to them
• No post content should be lost, although it's possible some old posts may not convert perfectly. You may see some broken links in old posts or code where emoticons should be.
• The member map has not yet been updated to the new platform, so will be disabled until a new version is released.
• The new site will be much better on a mobile device - both in looks and functionality.

The other adjustments are primarily for me as immediately after conversion to the new version I will scramble to identify what customizations I've made over the years didn't make it onto the new platform or were temporarily broken by conversion.

 

I've elected to just lightly modify the software default theme provided by the software so that future upgrades are easier to implement. I am very fond of the purchased theme we have been using, but I've found that using third-party themes makes upgrades much more complicated.

 

I've been developing the new version theme on an unrelated site that is already at the new software version (hence the non-Cairn content). This is the rough sense of the likely theme once conversion takes place:

 

 

Ignore the trees. Those are part of the other site installation I'm borrowing to work on the CairnTalk theme.

 

Other adjustments — I know already that the custom databases (e.g., recipes, dimensions) will all need to be rebuilt on my end. So I will turn those off now until after the transition and I have time to rebuild them. I will post a note as each returns.

 

While I have been dreading the work that will come immediately after the conversion, having used the new version elsewhere for a while I'm looking forward to getting CairnTalk on the new platform. I hope you can be patient with me as we sort out together the hiccups that will inevitably occur during the transition period.  

 

Timeline

 

I still have some work to finish updating my local club's site (which is barely used) and I'm still working up the courage to throw the switch on CairnTalk which is a much larger and more active site overall.

 

I'm thinking it may be as early as this coming week, or the week following. The actual down-time or lockout should be only a matter of hours. It should be less than when I moved the site from cairnterrier.org to cairntalk.net. 

 

The process is more or less as follows: I trigger the request with our provider.  Once I trigger the request I lose control of the actual timing of the conversion. The actual conversion time depends on how busy the vendor's support queue is.  At some point a technician from the vendor will log in, convert the site, and then let me me know "it is done."  The site is likely to display an offline message or even errors during this period. Then I log in and begin cleanup.  Once it's mostly working I will reopen the site and you'll be able to log in again. 

 

The very first thing you should do when you notice the site has changed is clear your browser cache. 

 

For a period of days or weeks after that, you and I will both be coming across things that are "not quite right." That's normal and I look forward to tweaking and adjusting and optimizing things so that we can all enjoy the sweet new software and get back to business, which is talking about Cairns!

 

Thank you

 

Thank you for your support of CairnTalk, your participation, and your patience.

[bradl]

A change I forgot about is that during the conversion all member accounts will be converted to authenticate using Display Names or Email Address.

 

If you had a Display Name that is the same as your login name, in other words you log in with the same name we all see on your posts,  you will not be affected. Nothing changes. All is golden. This is most people.

 

If you chose to use a public Display Name that is different than your login name, once the conversion takes place your old Display Name will become your username for both logging in AND display on posts. If you log in using a different name than what we see on your posts, your login will change in the new system.

 

Examples:

• Member A has the login name doghouse and his display name is exactly the same. His posts all say "posted by doghouse."
• Member B has the login name cairntuckyderby but uses a different Display Name. All her public posts are shown as "posted by Lady Cairn McBarkly."

After conversion, Member A will log in like so:

• doghouse / password OR email_address@example.com / password

After conversion Member B will log in like so:

• Lady Cairn McBarkly / password OR email_address@example.com / password

You can edit your profile to see if you are using a Display Name, and what it might be. You can also change it there.

 

Don't worry. When the time comes, the login box will tell you what do: Enter your Display Name or Email Address. If you have a moment of confusion, just use the email address associated with your account here.

 

Every login box also has a link to reset your password, so there is just no excuse for not logging back in If you are really stuck, I promise I will help you. 

[Autumn & Lola]

Thank you Brad for all you do for us to keep this forum up and running!  I know it is a lot of work and you so lovingly donate your time so that we all can discuss all things Cairn. We all appreciate your time, effort and devotion so much!  You are a STAR!

[bradl]

OK, the upgrade request has been submitted. Pandemonium may ensure any day or hour within the next week or so.  I promise I'll work as fast as practical to get us back online ASAP

[tlwtheq]

Isn't it insane how quickly people's opinions change with respect to what software desires/requirements

are at the forefront?  It changes every 5 minutes.

[Hillscreek]

That'sok Brad. Thanks for all you do to help us keep in touch with one another!