405th Community Software Update!

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I just looked at the old File Archive, but there wasn't any Halo stuff... Was it taken off or something?

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Never mind! Realised I wasn't logged in to the old webpage, so I couldn't see it! Derp!
 
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Okay, I have one suggestion that I would like your opinion on Art Andrews

Backstory: I really liked being able to see when a member joined right under their name. I liked it because if they joined this month I knew that I needed to welcome them, give them extra patience, give them the intro pointers, etc.

I understand that you may not want to display how long people have been a member because it would be a badge of pseudo-seniority and result in some feeling entitled and metaphorically walk around the site with bravado. But, what about the member's forum rank? Is it possible to have that change based on post counts and time? For instance, for the first month a member is listed a "New Recruit" and the next two months they are simply listed as "Recruit." If this works you might even be able to step it out further and have a badge that says "Enlistable" when they have reached 3 months and 50 posts... Thoughts? I am mostly interested in being able to see when they are in their first month.

Good morning everyone.
However, that has been changed and the archives are once again accessible at the old forum location. You will have to log in as usual to the old site.

Will this work for people who have become a member only on the new site? I have a new member Feanaro who is saying that they can not access the content from the old site archive. He is looking for the Stalker armor set.
 
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People without accounts on the old site can not download files, and account creation is disabled. Just found that out for myself. Would it be possible to have account creation enabled for those of use who just started? Thanks for all the hard work guys! As someone who has been thrown into a job that requires web design and having little to no web design experience I totally get how daunting the task is, but these forums and you guys are absolutely amazing!
 
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It is very unlikely that account creation will be reactivated on the old site, as the intent is to shutter the old site completely once the files are transferred. If there are members who do not have an account on the old site and I want files for a build, I myself am wiling to email them the files off the old archive until the new Resources section is up and running. I would hope that others would also be willing to step in and render assistance in disseminating files to others in a similar situation.
 
I'm on line for most of the day and would be willing to "render assistance" to anyone needing help w/ file location and acquirement.
 
Okay, I have one suggestion that I would like your opinion on Art Andrews

Backstory: I really liked being able to see when a member joined right under their name. I liked it because if they joined this month I knew that I needed to welcome them, give them extra patience, give them the intro pointers, etc.

I understand that you may not want to display how long people have been a member because it would be a badge of pseudo-seniority and result in some feeling entitled and metaphorically walk around the site with bravado. But, what about the member's forum rank? Is it possible to have that change based on post counts and time? For instance, for the first month a member is listed a "New Recruit" and the next two months they are simply listed as "Recruit." If this works you might even be able to step it out further and have a badge that says "Enlistable" when they have reached 3 months and 50 posts... Thoughts? I am mostly interested in being able to see when they are in their first month.

As a default, this software doesn't show enlistment date or post count in the User Info Block. The User Info Block is the section you see to the left of each post showing who posted and a little bit about them. For a long time, forums have been moving away from time and/or posts being in this section because it gives a bit of a false impression about a member; ie if a member has been here a long time they are given more consideration, even though there participation might be next to nothing or if a member has a high post count they may be given more consideration, even though many of their posts may be essentially valueless. One way the software now combat's valueless "atta'boy" posts is by using the Likes system which simply allows you to like another members posts. Additionally, this software has a trophies system, which allows us to define actions on the site that will award you trophy points, which in turn apply to a Title Ladder. The title ladder is the Covenant name you see beneath most member's account. Honestly, we are still working that out a bit as it seems a bit random and unclear at the moment but the Title Ladder is a FAR better estimation of a member's contributions to the community than simple post count or time (although both of those do contribute in a small way to the trophy count which in turn applies to the Title Ladder.

I do like your idea of new members being marked as "New" for the first so many days... let me see if there is an easy way to do that.

In the meantime, while it isn't quite as easy, you can click on the member's name and the popup window shows their registration date.
 
As a default, this software doesn't show enlistment date or post count in the User Info Block. The User Info Block is the section you see to the left of each post showing who posted and a little bit about them. For a long time, forums have been moving away from time and/or posts being in this section because it gives a bit of a false impression about a member; ie if a member has been here a long time they are given more consideration, even though there participation might be next to nothing or if a member has a high post count they may be given more consideration, even though many of their posts may be essentially valueless. One way the software now combat's valueless "atta'boy" posts is by using the Likes system which simply allows you to like another members posts. Additionally, this software has a trophies system, which allows us to define actions on the site that will award you trophy points, which in turn apply to a Title Ladder. The title ladder is the Covenant name you see beneath most member's account. Honestly, we are still working that out a bit as it seems a bit random and unclear at the moment but the Title Ladder is a FAR better estimation of a member's contributions to the community than simple post count or time (although both of those do contribute in a small way to the trophy count which in turn applies to the Title Ladder.

I do like your idea of new members being marked as "New" for the first so many days... let me see if there is an easy way to do that.

In the meantime, while it isn't quite as easy, you can click on the member's name and the popup window shows their registration date.

I do get why it is not shown in the info block. I wasn't looking to add it. I just wanted to be able to quickly see when a member is brand new. I also thought it would be nice to quickly see when we should be recommending they join a regiment. Mostly just the new thing. I look forward to your findings and all the new additions you have been implementing. In the meantime I will click on their name to check their registration date as you suggested. Thanks!
 
Just want to say that I LOVE that you are reaching out and welcoming new members! Still searching for a way to ID them easily for you.

I do get why it is not shown in the info block. I wasn't looking to add it. I just wanted to be able to quickly see when a member is brand new. I also thought it would be nice to quickly see when we should be recommending they join a regiment. Mostly just the new thing. I look forward to your findings and all the new additions you have been implementing. In the meantime I will click on their name to check their registration date as you suggested. Thanks!
 
Heads up folks.....the site is being moved to a new server tonight so there will be some down time while that happens. I don't know if we're talking a few minutes or a few hours and if I find that out or any other important info I will let you all know.
 
So the partial move of last night went well and the rest of the move will continue tonight and tomorrow night, again with some downtime here and there. The purpose of this move is to increase the server space available for the 405th which I'm told will double.
 
New addition!

Some of you will have noticed by now that there are now documents saved under specific areas of the forum, instead of being links at the top of the forum. Specifically the Mantle in the Regiment area and the guidelines for the marketplace area. This should make it easier for you to find the information that you need.
 
To keep this thread complete, I'm copying and pasting Art's Updates, Updates and more Updates post here:

Today we made three more advances in updates.

1) We moved to a new server that is twice as large as our previous box. This was crucial because we are now hosting all images locally which takes up a lot more space (but means photos will always be available to you.

2) We installed a much more comprehensive search tool that will makes your searches faster and more effective.

3) We made updates that continue to make the site more mobile friendly. We have now swapped the flash based file uploader with an hmtl5-based uploader. Many mobile devices, including iphones don't support flash, so removing it means you will be able to more easily use the site with those devices.
 
Goooood morning all! For your daily website move heads up.....there is NOTHING major happening this weekend! I'm told that all of the major stuff is now done. We now have lots of room to move around in our new home (we were apparently running at 90 to 95% capacity on the other server) and things should be ironing out. Small tweaks here and there but I don't think we're looking at any further downtime for the forum.

Have a great weekend everyone!
 
Hello, I've had trouble with the search tool...every time I search something I get redirected to a error page.

it says:
"Security error occurred. Please press back, refresh the page, and try again."

every single time! I follow the directions, and it always fails.
 
Hello mblackwell1002! Can you give me an example of something you've searched? I'd like to test it out and see if I can get it to happen as well.
 
I have noticed something today that I am unhappy with. New Recruits are now able to create threads in any sub forum (from what I can see). There are a lot of threads created on this site on a regular bases and as such we have sub forums to help manage them better. For instance, I really like to keep a close eye on Pepakura (bondo/resin) builds and as such I use the subforum Pepakura Costumes. Now I am seeing new recruits posting in that subforum about builds that are not specified yet as pepakura costumes, making it very confusing.

I highly recommend reinstating that New Recruits can only create threads in the New Recruit sub forums before this problem multiplies. It is not their fault, without being on the site for awhile it can be hard to know the purpose of the sub forums and therefore when to use them.
 
I searched "foam covenant weapons" even if I just search "Master Chief" it comes up with nothing.

Make sure you don't have "Search this forum only" or "Search this thread only" checked when you are doing a search. The search box is "smart" and will try to search the location you are in unless you let it know you want to search the whole site.
 
I have noticed something today that I am unhappy with. New Recruits are now able to create threads in any sub forum (from what I can see). There are a lot of threads created on this site on a regular bases and as such we have sub forums to help manage them better. For instance, I really like to keep a close eye on Pepakura (bondo/resin) builds and as such I use the subforum Pepakura Costumes. Now I am seeing new recruits posting in that subforum about builds that are not specified yet as pepakura costumes, making it very confusing.

I highly recommend reinstating that New Recruits can only create threads in the New Recruit sub forums before this problem multiplies. It is not their fault, without being on the site for awhile it can be hard to know the purpose of the sub forums and therefore when to use them.

You have a very valid point and having newer members post in incorrect forums can be an issue. However, we feel that keeping them confined to a single area of the site is a barrier to entry and our stats indicate most never make it past that stage. We are going to try this for a while and see how it works. If you see a member posting in the wrong forum, feel free to coach them or simply report the thread and we will address it. Thanks!
 
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