Welcome everyone to the new forum software as of 12/9/21!
If you have questions, want to report a bug or missing feature, you can do that over in the Test & Help forum. Also, check out this thread showing where things moved to.
There are several improvements with the new forum software, which I'm pretty excited about. Following is a partial list;
For Contributors who upload photos directly to the forum, there are some really great improvements! You can now copy and paste photos directly into a post! This is HUGE! This can be done from several sources, including a file on your computer, from your phone, a screen shot or an image anywhere on the web. And once the photo is inserted you can now easily adjust the size and alignment, so the text of your posts can now nicely wrap around photos. (example to the left) .
You can also still insert photos the traditional way with the "attach files" button. And now you can select multiple photos at the same time. Phone orientation is also recognized by the forum software, so sideways or upside down photos should no longer be a problem. (and if a few sneak through, I can now rotate photos on the fly) Full size photos also now automatically adjust their width to match the size if your browser window or device screen.
Mobile friendly...
Yes, I know. It's about time! Welcome to the 21st century. The forum now works on your phone! It uses a responsive design to adjust to your browser window size. So as your screen increases or decreases in width, the forum display will adjust, rearrange, grow or shrink as needed to stay readable on that small screen. For Contributors photos can also be uploaded directly from your phone into a post.
Enhanced security...
The previous vbulletin software was very out of date and no longer supported. The new XenForo software is much more advanced and regularly updated. It's more secure and does a much better job of keeping out spammers and scammers. And behind the scenes it allows me to upgrade other server software like PHP and MySQL. This means improved server speed, stability and security.
Improved search...
By default the search features are better, but there's also an option enhanced search that I will be installing once the dust has settled from the forum upgrade. That enhanced search will let you search for shorter words and provide more relevant results.
Similar threads...
When you start writing a new thread or you read an existing one, you'll now see at the bottom a list of "similar threads". These are past threads that are automatically suggested based on the text of the thread you are starting or viewing. It's a great way to find threads that may already answer the question you're going to ask.
Improved PM's...
PM's are now called "conversations" because they act more as a true back and forth conversation. They are more like texts, with both parts of the conversation kept together and clearly organized chronologically. They can also include multiple people. Others can be added or removed at any point in the conversation.
Drafts automatically saved...
This is good new for anyone who has been frustrated after writing a long post, then not hitting the "submit" button in time. All that work was lost. Now, a draft of your post is autosaved every few seconds. If you don't finish typing your message, and then leave the site, you can still come back and finish. Just start a new thread and your previous draft will be automatically brought in. If you didn't mean to keep the draft simply delete the text and start over.
Better quoting...
Now you can quote just a portion of someone's post by simply highlighting the text you want to quote, then clicking the "reply" button that pops up. No more quoting entire posts, then having to delete all the extra stuff you don't need.
Bookmarks...
You can now bookmark your favorite threads, conversations or photos. This will let you easily access these later. This is in addition to "subscribing" to threads, which remains similar to the old system. (now called "watch" instead of "subscribe")
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