Forum Upgraded

[Ian]

The subscriber addon for phpBB3 is still in beta. I was going to wait and see if there was still a demand for the subscriber program before installing it.

If you guys want special subscriber tags and/or avatars, this can be done without the addon being installed.

[Ian]

The ads are still there on the login screen (after logging in), but that's no problem, they're gone after that. However, now some sort of word tags show up in the posts, and these are more annoying.

You shouldn't be seeing the word tags anymore.

[MediumRare]

You shouldn't be seeing the word tags anymore.

They're gone, thanks.

I think the subscriber status was more of an information thing- if it's still active- rather than something we'd want to have as a perk or whatever.

A bit OT- the forum seems to be very slow the past couple of days- almost as though it's being funneled through a dial-up line.

G

[Ian]

I'm currently doing a few things with the database. That's why its slow.

[Ian]

Socheat and I have been looking into the periodic slowness you guys have seen. To make a long story short, the server was running out of physical memory. As a result, it was hitting the page file and slowing everything down. The memory on the server has been upgraded and things should hopefully be back to normal.

[eliminator]

Nice job Ian

[Ian]

Thanks elim. Wait until you see the new website design.

[Ian]

I upgraded the forum this morning. Let me know if you run into any problems.

[stix]

I've noticed I can't find some of the older reviews anymore. Occasionally I come accross an older drive and I want to look up the review, if there was one. For example, I do a search on "Lite-On" or "LTR-52246S" or combine the two, and nothing is found. I know there was a review on this drive. Have the reviews from before a certain date been removed? Also I can't find a good way to search for reviews on particular drives, and I don't see an index of reviews like there used to be. Am I missing something or are those capabilities gone?

[Ian]

After years of neglect, the forum has been updated to the latest version. I finally got rid of the remaining legacy subscriber code too. I will be upgrading the link between the CMS and the forum later this week.

If you run into any problems, let me know ASAP.

[SithTracy]

I imagine it is tough to keep this going, but I still use your site as a tech news/trend source and appreciate your efforts. Thanks!

[Ian]

Thanks Tracy. Its a hobby for me and honestly after 10+ years of doing this, I don't know what I'd do with my free time.

[stix]

Appreciate your efforts Ian. Just wanted to mention how much I enjoy the site as a place to keep tabs on a few things, as I have for years now. Also enjoy posting the occasional tidbit I come across. I do wonder where all the users have gone. Seems like there is much less participation than there used to be. For some time I've been curious where all the "new product" content on the home page comes from, as it looks like manufacturer promotional boilerplate.

[Ian]

They've all gone to Facebook.

Yes, a lot of the stuff on the main page is press releases. Gotta do our part to get access to new hardware to review.

[SithTracy]

You mean Farcebook? I use it very casually, also on Google+, even less... Not a fan of it for many reasons, but it is killing the online forums and the senseless babble is magnified there. For me, I like Google+ a little more because I see better forum type communication happening there, but it's not in my cards... I look for specific industry news for my hobby and hobby time is hard to come by with work and kid activities.

[Dartman]

I've never done facebook or any thing like that, just not interested. I do IRC chats a bit on some of my other places that support it but even my little sisters hubby who is a bit older then me use FB now with his extended friends to keep in touch.
This was one of the first burner type forums I ever joined so I'm here for the duration even if I don't post all the time or it's just not real busy now.
It is too bad many of the old regulars have drifted away but life does that and sometimes they get bored or find a new toy and pop back in to say hi.

[Ian]

My wife is big into Facebook. I really didn't understand the draw until I signed up myself. I have no interest in reconnecting with people from high school, but it goes give me a chance to talk to those that I don't see very often.

Oh yeah.. CDRLabs is on Facebook too: https://www.facebook.com/CDRLabs

And don't even get me started on the latest generation of marketing people who think they're social media experts and can't even do email well...