Major Website Changes

[John]

Hi guys,

This weekend you may have tried to visit the website to find that it had issues loading a few times. I am working on some pretty major upgrades and doing a complete overhaul on the software the website runs on. Over the next few days you may try to visit the site to find that is is down for a few minutes. This is because I'm in the software making changes. Any down time shouldn't be more than 5 minutes though. When I "flip the switch" and launch the new website software for everyone to use there is probably going to be about an hour total of downtime. I plan on doing this later in the evening (11pm or midnight) so it affects as few people as possible. I plan on making the final change sometime between tonight and Wed night. When I do, I will update this post a few hours ahead of time.

To kind of give you an idea of what is coming, here is a quick run down.

• Better interface[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Easier to use[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Faster[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• More stable[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Better customizations to cater to our needs[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• More visually appealing[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Multiple themes to choose from (not stuck with black and orange anymore)[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Social media integration[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Better image attachment methods[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Embeded video links (play the video directly from a post like how Youtube videos work on Facebook)[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Easier website navigation[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• Integration of the homepage and the forum[/*:m:1nqarcnv]
• and much more.[/*:m:1nqarcnv]

This is a BIG change for the better guys. It is basically going to be a whole new website. I'm importing all the data from our existing forums we use right now so all the user accounts, posts, etc transfer over into the new software. I do want to give everyone a fair heads up though, sometimes with imports like this things like avatars, signatures, custom profile fields, etc don't make the transfer. I'm doing my best to make this as seamless as possible for everyone but there might be a few minor things you have to redo (like your signature and avatar if you have one).

I had this upgrade planned from the start, but I was not expecting to do it this early. The decision was made to just get it out of the way because it would be easier to do it now rather than when the website is larger. I can confidently say though that this is the last major software upgrade for the foreseeable future. The software we are changing everything over to is pretty powerful software and allows us to customize it to our needs more so than any other software, so it should take care of our needs for years to come.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns. I will do my best to answer. You can e-mail me at john@azgunbuy.com or message on Facebook at www.facebook.com/azgunbuy

Thanks guys!

[John]

I am planing on flipping the switch over to the new forum software late tonight. It is near completion now.

A few things to note.

• I can't get custom avatars to transfer over. So if you have one you will need to redo it.[/*:m:3u2lomlx]
• Users custom signatures seem to be transferring over OK but I did notice a few formatting errors one one or two of them. Double check your signature if you're using one and make sure it is displaying correctly after the change.[/*:m:3u2lomlx]
• Post attachments (like pictures) all transferred over but for some reason are not displaying on posts. I'm experimenting with a few things in the database to make them work right but if I can't then I'm going to have to go through and manually re-link post attachments. I will start with the current active posts so those at least display correctly. Then I will move on to the older posts and get those done as well.[/*:m:3u2lomlx]
• With a total 100% revamp and software upgrade there are bound to be a couple of glitches that are run into during the first couple of days/weeks. I am doing my best to find glitches and patch them before it goes live but I very well miss one or two of them. If you come across anything that looks or acts funny please let me know so I can fix it.[/*:m:3u2lomlx]
• I have several social media integrations on the website. One of them being a Facebook login option. You will be able to link your Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc accounts to your account here on the website. This is OPTIONAL. It is not required. I know some will not want to do that for privacy reasons and that is OK. You will still be able to use the traditional normal forum login method as well. We just wanted the convenience of social media logins and registrations available for those of you who want to take advantage of it.[/*:m:3u2lomlx]
• Custom formatting on pots (like if you make part of your text bold, a different color, change its size, etc) may not all properly transfer over to the new software correctly. You may see codes in text like [.b]example text[./b]. If you see that type of stuff you can hit the "report post" button to let me know about it so I can go in and correct that individual post. [/*:m:3u2lomlx]

Overall the transition should be pretty smooth, but as with any major software change there might be a small glitch or two. For those of you who are not computer savvy and don't understand what I'm talking about, think of it this way. This is kind of like changing from a Windows computer to an Apple computer and trying to get all your Windows programs and files to work on the new Apple computer. This is obviously different from Windows vs Apple but that kind of gives you an idea of what I'm talking about when I mention importing and converting everything into the new software.

I plan on making the official switch late tonight as long as I don't get hung up on anything between now and then. I'll make an announcement an hour before I flip the switch. Also one thing to note is the forums current link (the one we are using now, the black and orange one) is www.azgunbuy.com/forum THIS IS GOING TO CHANGE. Once I make the switch, www.azgunbuy.com without the additional directory on the end of the link will be where everything is located. The new software covers both the home page and forums, so www.azgunbuy.com is all you will need to type in your address bar after tonight.

[testadmin]

almost there

[John]

Hey guys,

We completed a transfer to some new forum software. This upgrades expands the customization abilities we have so we can cater the site more towards our community than we were able to with the old software.

There are tons of new features! Social media integration, WYSIWYG text editor, better layout, a "like" button (called thanks button but its the same thing), things are easier to navigate, this software is much faster, and the list goes on.

This was a MAJOR change to the website, so there have been a few technical speed bumps to get past. There are currently two known issues. One is the password problem. Passwords from the old database for user accounts were not able to be transferred over so you will have to have the e-mail reset sent for your password. If you're reading this, you probably already did that. The other known issue is the images that were attached to posts on the old software. While the posts themselves transferred ok, the attachments did not. Any post that had attachments on it before does not have them anymore. I will be going through and manually adding them over the next several days. If one of your posts is missing attachments, you're also free to edit the post and attach them again or place them in a comment on the post.

Not only have we made a huge upgrade now, but this also lays the foundation for future growth and improvement. I will be constantly tweaking things and adding new features to make this site better for everyone. It is awesome now, and its just going to keep getting better. I can say though that this is the last major software upgrade for the foreseeable future. The software we are using now is extremely powerful and can be customized in virtually any way you can imagine. We planned on upgrading to this software, but we were not expecting to do it this early. This page has grown so fast and become so active that it is shocking.

I hope you guys enjoy the improvements. If you notice any glitches on the site please let me know and I will address them as soon as I can.

[AnitaEmelt]

epicly awesome. Will all the tracks, carsets, mods, and misc program stuff be linked in the downloads section too? Just wondering