Forum Software Upgrade - Known Issues - Read this First!

[intelliot]

Dear Google Community members and moderators,

We've finally made the jump from our previous forum software, phpBB, to vBulletin. On December 12, I switched the forum completely. Here's a brief overview:

• Forums, threads, replies, and members have been transferred
• GC$ is gone, as I've said many times would be happening
• phpBB still exists, but it is not allowing any new posts nor registrations
• All new posts should be created here in vBulletin

Note Birthday is required for new registrations. This is used for age verification only, in compliance with COPPA. You have an option to hide this information.
Having birthday info also allows us to celebrate your special day, if you choose to share it.
Existing members Please add your birthday to your profile.

Over the next few days, the forum styling will be customized so that it looks more like what we had before.

What's been customized so far:

• Logo (Christmas themed!)
• Most colors (now with a green gradient!)
• I'm not an artist, so let me know if you have any suggestions, or if I've missed something!

Here are some known issues:

• We still have some vBulletin blue. This will be swapped in favor of Google Community green.
• Some post formatting (from the old Rich Text editor) did not convert properly. These posts will be edited manually.
• Some users' passwords did not transition. If you can't login, email me or send me a message on Google Talk: elliot.lee@gmail.com
• If you find any other problems, please send me a PM or reply to this thread.

Here are some of the benefits of the move:

Better rich text editor

• To enable this option, go to User CP -> Edit Options -> (Near the bottom, under Miscellaneous Options) Set Message Editor Interface to Enhanced Interface

Faster performance

• vBulletin is arguably more efficient than phpBB

Report to moderator button

• If you find a post that doesn't comply with the rules, look for this icon:
• Thank you for reporting spam and off-topic posts!

File uploading

• Attachments can now be associated with posts
• Uploaded images will have automatically-generated thumbnails

Better user management

• Captcha to prevent spam registrations
• Differentiation between active and inactive members
• Birthdays so we can ensure legal compliance with COPPA, and also celebrate you on your special day!

I hope you enjoy the new Google Community, and I think this software will serve us for years to come. Thank you for your support.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please PM me or post a reply here.

Thanks!
Elliot Lee
Administrator

[Anirudh Vasudevan]

Well..I have created this thread inorder to know the views of all you members on the new forum software vbulletien.
According to me it is an excellent decision by Elliot to change the forum software.The new one has many more options and has added to the beauty of the forum.
Well for me it is a wonderful job done by the admin.
Good job Elliot.Congrats!!!

[IamTheKing9]

Yeah, its much, much better now. The look's very Google-like (as usual), and vBulletin has many features that phpBB doesn't.
It was a good decision on Elliot's part to change the forum software.

[sirlaguna]

Cool I am glad to hear this I hope things are back to normal very soon If you ned any help Elliot feel free to ask!

[arun.v]

absolutely right,its very good that elliot changed it to vbullettin and it does have many features which phpBB doesnt,one big thing is the report spam feature,its really good,the gc dollars have been removed which is also good and last but not the least the font is too good now.
congrats elliot!!!!!!!good job

[Andylkl]

I merged the thread from the Site Reviews & Suggestions Forum into this thread so that discussions about the same topic would not be strewn all over the forums.

As for my thoughts about this sparkling new forum software, I love it! I've been rooting for the implementation of vBulletin for quite a while now, and thanks to Intelliot we finally have a chance to put its potential into good use! I'm also thankful for the new features, and it was really timely that we get to see a brand new facelift for the Google Community forums.

As for us moderators, having vBulletin means that spam will be dealt with more effectiveness if compared to the previous forum software. I won't reveal any details about the new system, but watch out spammers!

[dineshjk]

Originally Posted by Anirudh Vasudevan

Well..I have created this thread inorder to know the views of all you members on the new forum software vbulletien.
According to me it is an excellent decision by Elliot Good job Elliot.Congrats!!!

I second your views. The new look is very impressive.

[Pepper]

cool cool..looks good!

[andrew247]

Yes, it looks good.
I think the report button will be helpful.

[Random]

Actually I dont like that information about author in on the top of the message, It's better when it is on the left as it used to be