As stated in the news article on the front page, on Monday July 31st and continuing through to August 1st, the BGDF will be transitioning to the new site and software.
In this thread I hope to provide you the members of this community the information you need to make the transition as smooth as possible. If you have a question, please reply and I will answer it to the best of my ability and then add it to this post.
1. What exactly is changing?
We are migrating not only to a new ISP with better bandwidth and storage capabilities, but we are also moving to a new content management software (CMS) called Tiki Wiki . Basically this is a CMS centered around a tightly integrated Wiki.
2. I like current site. Why are we changing?
One of the problems we have with our current CMS is that it is centered around discussion forums. While the forums have served as well for these past three years, we have a lot of repetitive content because as new members come on board, they oftentimes will ask the same questions. With a wiki, we have the ability to effectively structure these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) into an organized manner, thereby cutting down on the time it takes to answer those questions. We can also add other structured content which will effectively turn the BGDF into a constantly evolving and up to date online encyclopedia of game design!
3. Will I need to sign up again on the new site?
No. Zzzzz already has a script in place that will transfer all existing active members’ usernames and passwords to the new site.
4. How long will the site be down?
The current site will go down at approximately 9 PM Eastern time on July 30th. At that time we will transfer the BGDF.com domain name and begin the process of migrating the users to the new site. The domain name may take 24 to 48 hours to transfer, but we will be providing a link to the new site on the current site as soon as the new site is ready. If you have a book mark to the BGDF that points to anything other than bgdf.com (for example, straight to the forums) then it will no longer work. Please book mark directly to bgdf.com until you get used to the new site.
5. Great! So the new site will be basically like the current site with a wiki bolted on, right?
Well, not exactly. While we have tried to make the new site ‘look’ as much like the old site as much as possible, it is quite different. Given that it is a completely different software package, there will be a learning curve while you try to figure out how things work.
6. That’s fine. As long as all of the forum content gets ported over and we stick with using PHPBB as our forum software, right?
Well…. These two issues are intertwined. We tried to see about getting a port of PHPBB for Tiki Wiki and importing the forum posts, but unfortunately such a port does not exist and would be too time consuming for us to try to write ‘in house’. For that reason, we are starting off with a clean slate using the built in Tiki forums. One thing that you will notice is that the Tiki forums are not quite as elegant and user friendly as the PHPBB forums. We feel that as we make improvements to these forums, and as you the members get used to using them, then this difference in quality will be negligible.
7. Wait. Back up. Three years of forum posts…Gone?
Sort of. We will be installing a copy of PHPBB on the new server which will serve as an archive of sorts temporarily. This archive will be ‘read only’ meaning you won’t be able to make any new posts. We will then be implementing a quick and dirty search engine that will allow you to search the archives from within the new site. The whole purpose of these archives will be to allow you, the members of BGDF, to search through the mountain of posts and compile them into meaningful topics that can then be inserted into the wiki. After some time, this forum archive will be removed but not before it has been picked over thoroughly.
8. So what else is different?
Basically everything will be somewhat different. Rest assured that we will be constantly striving to make improvements to the site. We all love the current site, but we feel it’s time to move on in order to raise the overall quality of the community. One of the neatest features of the new site is the ability for every member to set up and maintain their own wiki user page. These pages can hold any sort of information the member wants to share with the community. Most folks like to keep a list of their current game designs, but as said, you can really put whatever you want on it.
9. What about the messages and the journals?
Yes messages *and* journals will be lost. However, we can provide a link to the current site for approximately one month so you can move your current journals over to the Tiki Wiki blogs. Basically you'll have one month to get all of your non forum 'stuff'.
That should answer a lot of the questions you might have. Again, if you have a question, please reply to this thread and I will add it to this list.
Thanks!
-Darke
P.S. If you see Zzzzz online, please thank him. Without his help this upgrade would not have been possible. He has really shouldered most of the load for this endeavor and he needs to be thanked often for his hard work.
I haven't really used my journal so far, but some people has, do they need to backup theyr journals and post them again in the new site? Some of the journals are really interesting, and it woud be a shame if they get lost.
Seo
Good questions. Yes messages *and* journals will be lost. However, we can provide a link to the current site for approximately one month so you can move your current journals over to the Tiki Wiki blogs. Basically you'll have one month to get all of your non forum 'stuff'.
-Darke