Archived Posts » 59,646,491
Another Year, Another Upgrade!
5/30/2006 12:23:04 PM
With July approaching quickly, we are hard at work preparing an upgrade to the site's software. We have been addressing issues which will improve the quality of life on the site with items such as being able to keep threads and forums you are interested in organized and more easily accessible, expanding the power of our search engines, and more!
We've also been pushing a few early fixes already, including the launch of a new spell check server for our team members and a brand new mail service which features an impressive spam blocking appliance. We are also working on replacing the current photo server with a brand new media server which will allow for extended file sharing capabilities as well as an easy to use system for adding these files to your posts!
There will be a lot more information coming as we close in on the launch and a special preview was already posted in the Team Member Forum with screenshots of the new interface!
We've also been pushing a few early fixes already, including the launch of a new spell check server for our team members and a brand new mail service which features an impressive spam blocking appliance. We are also working on replacing the current photo server with a brand new media server which will allow for extended file sharing capabilities as well as an easy to use system for adding these files to your posts!
There will be a lot more information coming as we close in on the launch and a special preview was already posted in the Team Member Forum with screenshots of the new interface!
5/30/2006 8:32:24 PM
Keep up the good work GoatBoy!
6/2/2006 12:41:21 AM
For those team members out there, make sure to keep an eye on the special preview thread in the team forum! I have been keeping everyone up to date on changes and additions to the site as well as releasing preview images of the new site in action!
Post was updated tonight with a preview of the upcoming "My Board" tool for team members. (This tool allows users to create a virtual board of their favorite forums, to keep them readily visible no matter where on the site they reside!)
Post was updated tonight with a preview of the upcoming "My Board" tool for team members. (This tool allows users to create a virtual board of their favorite forums, to keep them readily visible no matter where on the site they reside!)
6/2/2006 10:45:45 AM
Originally Posted By GoatBoy: For those team members out there, make sure to keep an eye on the special preview thread in the team forum! I have been keeping everyone up to date on changes and additions to the site as well as releasing preview images of the new site in action! Post was updated tonight with a preview of the upcoming "My Board" tool for team members. (This tool allows users to create a virtual board of their favorite forums, to keep them readily visible no matter where on the site they reside!) |
Sounds great!
6/2/2006 10:52:42 AM
Spel cehecker! swet!
Thats what I have been waiting for!
Thats what I have been waiting for!
6/4/2006 1:09:58 PM
Alright, it's time to release a little more information on what you all can expect to see with the new site changes. (This has all been posted previously in the Team Forum.)
ALREADY COMPLETED:
- Upgraded Spell Checker
This thing flies and seems VERY stable. Should not be any future issues with the service going down and it's fast enough that I use it all the time myself!
- Upgraded Mail Services
Team Members with mail accounts suffered through a migration to a new server, new software, and a new firewall to block out spam. Again, it's been a very significant change and spam is barely making it into mail accounts.
In addition, we finally worked through our AOL issues after going through about a dozen people and multiple requests to correct things which were unsuccessful.
- Archive Searching
This service was upgraded with an advanced search engine which allows for full text searches and scores results. This was really a testing ground for the upgrade to the site search which will get a face lift as well. (Main search changes will include: message text searching, 3 month limit for non team members, and most likely a shorter timer between searches or it's removal!)
- Canadian Support For the Online Store
Our brothers to the north can now shop and upgrade memberships online and force me to send goods across the border!
- Online Account Upgrades Pro-rated
You can now upgrade your site account and your previous team membership balance will be prorated into the upgrade. So if you go from bronze to gold, you will get the remaining time from your bronze account automatically pro-rated and added to your gold upgrade.
COMING SOON
- New Site Layout and Skins
Ok had to throw this in there. The current skins never came out the way they were meant to, but it helped get the underlying code in place. The new site will have a number of colorful ways to dress up your experience without looking out of place.
- Upgraded Text Editor
The new text editor for posting includes a number of easy to use buttons in a simpler interface. The full collection of smilies and animations have also been added to small pop-up windows to allow for easier access.
The Topic Viewer for replies has been removed and replaced with the post you are replying to. This helps speed up the text editor screen loads to avoid waiting for the window.
- Active Topics will be removed from the site
In it's place will come new tools:
Popular Topic List (Technical Forums Only)
Newest Topic List (Technical Forums Only)
Tagged Topic List (Team Only Tool)
The goal of these are to offset the benefits of the active topic list and improve them. You'll now be able to get into the more important discussions taking place without having to hunt through pages of fluff.
TEAM UPGRADES:
- My Board Feature
With all the forums on the site it's very easy to get annoyed by having to navigate to different sections to get into your favorite discussions. This tool will allow you to create your own personalized collection of forums from across the site in one location. Simply click on the forums you want added and you're good to go!
- Tagging Topics
You will now be able to click a "Tag" button on threads and create your own list of topics to follow. With the My Topics tool and My Active Topics tool, you should have a very easy way to track every discussion which you're interested in! This will also help us keep the "tagging" of posts out of discussions in order to keep the topics clean and focused.
- Ignore User List
You can now setup ignored users and avoid seeing topics or replies made by people who seem to drive you nuts. This tool is still being worked on, but the idea will be to simple replace their user's post/topic and replace it with an "IGNORED" text. You will then have a link you can click on in case you REALLY wanted to see what they wrote. This way there is no need to alter your ignore list if you happen to be in a curious mood.
Ok that's enough for now, but there's a LOT more coming! I will try to get another post in here in a week or so to keep everyone on top of the changes you can look forward to!
In addition, we've been working to move some forums around to their proper locations and have created a group of forums in the Armory section for NFA / Class 3 discussions.
Thanks for all your support and we hope to make the new site the ultimate upgrade! No other site offers user tools like AR15.Com and we're proud to continue to create custom solutions like the My Active Topics, My Board, and Tagged Topics tools for you!
ALREADY COMPLETED:
- Upgraded Spell Checker
This thing flies and seems VERY stable. Should not be any future issues with the service going down and it's fast enough that I use it all the time myself!
- Upgraded Mail Services
Team Members with mail accounts suffered through a migration to a new server, new software, and a new firewall to block out spam. Again, it's been a very significant change and spam is barely making it into mail accounts.
In addition, we finally worked through our AOL issues after going through about a dozen people and multiple requests to correct things which were unsuccessful.
- Archive Searching
This service was upgraded with an advanced search engine which allows for full text searches and scores results. This was really a testing ground for the upgrade to the site search which will get a face lift as well. (Main search changes will include: message text searching, 3 month limit for non team members, and most likely a shorter timer between searches or it's removal!)
- Canadian Support For the Online Store
Our brothers to the north can now shop and upgrade memberships online and force me to send goods across the border!
- Online Account Upgrades Pro-rated
You can now upgrade your site account and your previous team membership balance will be prorated into the upgrade. So if you go from bronze to gold, you will get the remaining time from your bronze account automatically pro-rated and added to your gold upgrade.
COMING SOON
- New Site Layout and Skins
Ok had to throw this in there. The current skins never came out the way they were meant to, but it helped get the underlying code in place. The new site will have a number of colorful ways to dress up your experience without looking out of place.
- Upgraded Text Editor
The new text editor for posting includes a number of easy to use buttons in a simpler interface. The full collection of smilies and animations have also been added to small pop-up windows to allow for easier access.
The Topic Viewer for replies has been removed and replaced with the post you are replying to. This helps speed up the text editor screen loads to avoid waiting for the window.
- Active Topics will be removed from the site
In it's place will come new tools:
Popular Topic List (Technical Forums Only)
Newest Topic List (Technical Forums Only)
Tagged Topic List (Team Only Tool)
The goal of these are to offset the benefits of the active topic list and improve them. You'll now be able to get into the more important discussions taking place without having to hunt through pages of fluff.
TEAM UPGRADES:
- My Board Feature
With all the forums on the site it's very easy to get annoyed by having to navigate to different sections to get into your favorite discussions. This tool will allow you to create your own personalized collection of forums from across the site in one location. Simply click on the forums you want added and you're good to go!
- Tagging Topics
You will now be able to click a "Tag" button on threads and create your own list of topics to follow. With the My Topics tool and My Active Topics tool, you should have a very easy way to track every discussion which you're interested in! This will also help us keep the "tagging" of posts out of discussions in order to keep the topics clean and focused.
- Ignore User List
You can now setup ignored users and avoid seeing topics or replies made by people who seem to drive you nuts. This tool is still being worked on, but the idea will be to simple replace their user's post/topic and replace it with an "IGNORED" text. You will then have a link you can click on in case you REALLY wanted to see what they wrote. This way there is no need to alter your ignore list if you happen to be in a curious mood.
Ok that's enough for now, but there's a LOT more coming! I will try to get another post in here in a week or so to keep everyone on top of the changes you can look forward to!
In addition, we've been working to move some forums around to their proper locations and have created a group of forums in the Armory section for NFA / Class 3 discussions.
Thanks for all your support and we hope to make the new site the ultimate upgrade! No other site offers user tools like AR15.Com and we're proud to continue to create custom solutions like the My Active Topics, My Board, and Tagged Topics tools for you!
6/4/2006 5:12:22 PM
GoatBoy,
this is great. But here's my question...will TM's be able to "un-tag" threads from tagged topics?
this is great. But here's my question...will TM's be able to "un-tag" threads from tagged topics?
6/4/2006 5:53:50 PM
Originally Posted By Deej86: GoatBoy, this is great. But here's my question...will TM's be able to "un-tag" threads from tagged topics? |
Of Course!
There will be an interface similar to the manage subscriptions one where you can cancel (or "un-tag") threads.
6/4/2006 7:20:28 PM
Originally Posted By GoatBoy:
Of Course! There will be an interface similar to the manage subscriptions one where you can cancel (or "un-tag") threads. |
That's outstanding.
