READ THIS! Important ClassicCougarCommunity News!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is kind of long… but you really do need to read this. Big changes are coming very fast.

The software we use to run the board has been pretty stable over the past five years. This has allowed us to make many modifications to the basic software package. Things like the Ride of the Month photo at the top of the page, and even the “view new posts” button are all things that Jay has done to make the site easier and hopefully more fun to use. But time has caught up with us.

A few days ago we learned that there was a major security issue with the current software. Patching this will require many many hours of work because Jay would have to basically re write all of the modifications made over the course of the past 5 years. Ugh! But it gets worse. Our current software version will only be supported for another 6 to 9 months max. That means that all that work will be lost in less than 9 months. A newer version of the software has been out for some time and they are suggesting very strongly that we make the transition.

In the mean time, as Jay put it so eloquently, our ass is hanging out, and we are in danger of being hacked in a very bad sort of way.

This brings us to decision time. After much deliberation, chest beating, whining, bitching and moaning… Jay has to put up with all of this… We have no other real choice than to bite the bullet and make the transition to the new software. Please Dear God, make this better than that time I switched from Windows XP to Vista.

So what does this mean? There are some pretty cool new things, but let’s get the bad news out first.

The bad news!

Jay has been working diligently to try to recreate our customizations, but inevitably we won’t be able to have them all, at least right away.He has been able to keep Ride of the Month, and he has been able to add a new posts button. As of right now he is working on top poster status and a few others things.

The photo gallery is going away. You will be able to access the images, but not to upload anything new. We will require outside development to add this feature in the future, but there is no ETA right now.

The site will look a bit different. The most important thing to know is that there is an icon (three horizontal bars) in the upper left hand corner. That Icon is for a drop down menu that lists a bunch of stuff, that you will be using. User information will move to the right hand side of the screen. Jay has been able to keep most of that intact. The word TOP in the bottom corner of each post is now an arrow pointing UP. You will also see other changes from day to day as we are working on it.

There are so many browser and operating systems out there that there is simply no way to test every combination, unless you have a few billion like Facebook. We will need your help to get the bugs out.

The good news!

No changes to User Names or Passwords. We keep all existing content. User stats and post-counts stay the same.

The site will allow you to drag and drop photos directly into the posting box. (There is still some limitation on sizes but we are up from 256K to 3Meg)

The site works fantastic on mobile devices! No need to use tapatalk.

Due to a radical change in the way the site works under the hood Jay shouldn’t have to spend as much time rebuilding the site after even the most minor patches are installed. In general the software is much more compatible with current technology.

We will have to rewrite the how-to section as much of that will be changed (generally easier).

We will need your feedback. Change is hard and we will do our best to make it go as well as possible. Post here with your feedback, good and bad we need to hear it all.

Thanks for the incredible support and confidence!
Bill and Jay

There will be a period of downtime when make the transition to the new software. Probably just a few hours, when you won’t be able to post anything new. You will see a notice that will advise board status during the change.

We’ll all adapt, after all we were smart enough to own Cougars!

Bill, Jay,

We know and trust that you two will do your best to make this work.

What I expected but did not see, is a request for a new assessment from supporting members. I’m ready for that if needed.

Will the “view active topics” tab remain? That’s the one tab I use the most when I get on the forum. Everything else as other members have said we will adapt. I like the extra pictures size as compressing some pictures down is a pain. For me the photo gallery won’t be missed and I’ve only been in there a couple of times. I refuse to install tap talk on my phone, so accessing this site easier from my phone will be a big plus as well.

Godspeed Bill and Jay. Sounds like a mostly good thing. I like the idea of dragging and dropping pictures into posts. I’m sure we’ll get used to the changes and it will be better than ever.

Any idea when the transition will happen?

We are pretty close to being ready and the sooner we do it the less risk we have. The problem is that once they publicly explain a vulnerability then every one knows how to hack your site. The word Cougar in our URL makes us attractive to “different” kinds of hackers. Jay assures me we could do a restore from back up so we would not lose a lot, but it would be better to just move forward.

Jay has made amazing progress and we may be ready to pull the switch today. Stay tuned.

Sounds great and I’m sure everyone will be able to adjust to the changes. Will the view unread post button remain? That is something I use every time I visit.
Steven

This is not about money, so no special requests there. It is about the amount of time it takes to do the work. The new soft ware should, in the long run, be a step forward. I hope.

FWIW Jay thinks I am overstating the security risk, but I seem to be a crap magnet so we will see. I also misunderstood the support time frame for the existing soft ware. The clock actually started ticking back in October, so in reality we potentially had less than three more months on the old software.

GOOD NEWS! Jay got the View Active Posts button set up and working, even if you are not logged in. I think the lurkers will really like that a lot. (Many people can’t actually log in from work, but they can view the site).

View Unread posts will be there. That is the most important button on the site, but Jay had to create a link for the function. It is also in the drop down menu in the upper left hand corner of the new site.

Wow, this stuff changes fast. You say no need for more money, but I just sent a few anyway. it had been awhile so it was time any way. Here’s hopping al goes smoothly.

Neal, you are so right about how fast things change. Hopefully this is will stay stable as long as the old version. Every one has been through the change from Windows 95 to Windows 98 to Windows XP… I guess I should be happy this doesn’t change as often.

Sound like you are moving off of Windows 2003 Server. The drop dead date is July 14, 2015.

What a great quote! I wish I could use that every day…unfortunately, “normal” people would look at me with that look that only non-Cougar owners get…you know the look!

We’ll all be fine and will adjust to the changes…In a few months we will probably be talking about how great the upgrade has been.

That’s good to hear. How much will the graphic design change on the new site?
Steven

Any teaser print screen shots of the new set up to share?

Change every now and then is good.

Screen shot new forum.JPG1159×705 98.8 KB

We are 100% Linux… The issue here was the version of the board software (phpBB).

Theme is a OEM match.

Mobile version looks great!

Personally, I couldn’t care less who the top posters are. Even less than that, the join date anniversaries.

As long as the “View New Posts” button returns I’m happy.

Thanks for all your hard work guys!