I realize that anyone who stuck with CathInfo this long has probably gotten used to the old software, both the good and the bad. After all, I stuck with the same software for 11 years!
But that software, Mercuryboard, is from 2006 -- and it hasn't been updated since then. It is a DEAD piece of software, kept alive only by my own Dr. Frankenstein scientist programmer powers. Seriously, without my personal contributions, the old CathInfo wouldn't have had the Likes/dislikes function, Anonymous subforum, Mens/Womens subforum, ignores, or a dozen other features.
Fortunately, there is a modern forum software package (SimpleMachines Forum) which offers a conversion script to import data from a Mercuryboard forum! At least the basics: posts, topics, subforums, private messages, users, and attachments.
But this conversion script is ALSO a few years old. If SimpleMachines changed their shape a bit more (in a future update), that script might become obsolete and stop working! And the conversion script in question would NOT be updated by any kind soul. How do I know this? Because no one uses Mercuryboard anymore, and that situation gets more serious with every passing year. The fact is that Mercuryboard is positively ancient.
If I waited too long to migrate to a modern "forum software", I risked losing ELEVEN YEARS of posts and everything else that goes with it.
I didn't want CathInfo to be marooned on an island, stuck forever on a dying, isolated Mercuryboard.
The fact is, I can personally compete with a whole community of programmers. Many of the features I was so proud of having created by hand on the old CathInfo are standard-issue in the new software! Other features are implemented BETTER than what I had before. Other features I can add by simply installing a "site mod", of which there are hundreds.
But most important is the fact that I can now add new features easily. I can also add new "themes" which is the look & feel of the site. There are a lot of options open to me now, going forward. Those options weren't there when I was still using the old Mercuryboard.
So although I have foisted a certain amount of sudden change upon the CathInfo community, I ask you to have patience and give the new software a chance. I'm not a teenager myself, so I know how older people feel about change. Sometimes it's annoying, sometimes it's downright frustrating or painful. Don't get overwhelmed -- just learn one small area each day. Before long, you'll be flying around like a pro.
NOTE: This software might be drastically different from the old CathInfo, but it shouldn't be strange. It's actually MORE STANDARD. Some things are way easier -- the posts editor, for example. It acts like Microsoft Word! I can hit <CTRL> + I to make italics. It's a standard What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get editor. (I actually paid money for that particular feature.) This forum software is similar to what you might have seen or used on any other forums you've visited recently. It's standard 2017 fare. A lot of it should be intuitive, if you've used other modern web software.
Topic: Why I decided to upgrade CathInfo (Read 682 times)