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Forum Upgrade

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ainsworth74

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We are pleased to announce that the long expected upgrade to the Forum's software is now scheduled to take place. From approximately 10am on Wednesday 4 October the Forum will be offline to allow for the upgrade. We anticipate that the Forum will be unavailable for most of the working day and possibly longer.

Currently the Forum runs on vBulletin 3. As I'm sure people have noticed this software is now increasingly obsolescent and in order to keep the Forum running our Technology team have had to disable more and more functions. Whilst it remains functional in this reduced state the Staff Team have had to think about the future stability of the Forum, it's usability and security therefore we have decided to move to XenForo.

This new software is a significant improvement on the current software and after testing we believe it is the best choice for the Forum. We also sought feedback from a number of members who also agreed that they preferred the new software.

As well as modernising the Forum's basic infrastructure the new software will come with a number of other improvements:

  • Improved usability and readability for mobile and tablet users
  • Improved Private Messaging functions
  • Better basic posting functions
  • Improved security as we transition to HTTPS
  • A significantly better search function
  • Various behind the scenes improvements to improve the speed of the Forum
  • And various other changes and improvements

All existing posts that are on the Forum will be transferred to the new software so there should be no risk of any posts going missing after the upgrade.

We are all very excited by this upgrade and we hope that you will all enjoy the improved experience of using the Forum after the upgrade is complete.

If you have any question in advance or after the upgrade please feel free to post them below!

All the best,
The RailUK Staff
 
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Crossover

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Ah, may have to go out for a walk on Wednesday lunchtime (on an old railway line, of course!)
 

roversfan2001

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Another forum I use is XenForo powered, take some getting used to but it's streets ahead of vBulletin. Hopefully the alerts feature is used as I tend to forget about threads I've created/replied to :lol:
 

jon0844

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While I have no doubt newer software will render better on small screen devices, can I ask if Tapatalk support will remain?

The app has improved considerably of late and is particularly useful for anyone who is on multiple forums. It has good notifications and can show new posts, or the latest participated posts, across forums - which is popular with users.

As someone who has a rather high post count, of which over 50% can be attributed to Tapatalk, I can vouch for the convenience. Although, by the same token, perhaps that's a good incentive not to support it. ;)
 

Cowley

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Following on from the digital railcard thread, I was wondering the administrators were considering a paper based forum where people can reply by post. :D

Like Points of View? Dear sir...

I'm interested to see the new upgrade. I wouldn't say that I'm the quickest to grasp new technology but I'll give it a go.
 

Mag_seven

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We anticipate that the Forum will be unavailable for most of the working day and possibly longer.

During this time will you be providing a "forum replacement bus service". :D
 

cf111

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Xenforo is excellent software, it takes a bit of getting used to but it it will be an improvement.
 

Class172

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Following on from the digital railcard thread, I was wondering the administrators were considering a paper based forum where people can reply by post. :D

I do recall a Morse code reply system was briefly proposed, however it would have been rather prone to line-side equipment failures.
 

IanXC

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During this time will you be providing a "forum replacement bus service". :D

Deary me, you can't write on a bus!

There will of course be the usual forum replacement Facebook and Twitter services tho ;)
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Will any of the forum facilities that were temporarily removed during this long process of transition, such as the tabular 4-column "Top Posters" statistical information (24 hour, weekly, monthly, grand total), be reinstated under the new software.
 

SpacePhoenix

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Will there be any change to the email addresses that PM and subscribed thread notification emails come from?
 

Trainfan344

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Are we getting rid of the semaphores and introducing new, safer, digital signalling?
 

CaptainHaddock

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In line with the national rail infrastructure perhaps forum users in the South should get the shiny new upgrade now while those of us up North will have to make do with old, outdated software with the vague promise of an upgrade some time in the next 10 years? ;)
 

Crossover

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It's a new build forum, so like the new trains, it'll be good for doing your ironing ;)
 

Blindtraveler

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But hopefully woant have the irritating habbit of sitting down as soon as its confronted with a large number of users, we can't have the class 700s position as the crappest modern thing in the industry ruined can we?
 

Mojo

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Would the emojis change?! :s

At least initially, we would request that customers continue to refrain from using Emojis due to accessibility constraints, and that they continue to use the Smilies/Emoticons that are built into the forum. However I hope that as time progresses and more devices are able to display and type them, that you will all be able to use them.
 

matt

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Good news by and large. Will all existing styles/versions be available post upgrade?

The styles will be similar. It is likely we re-visit the forum styles after the upgrade. The main focus at first will be functionality.
 

matt

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Will any of the forum facilities that were temporarily removed during this long process of transition, such as the tabular 4-column "Top Posters" statistical information (24 hour, weekly, monthly, grand total), be reinstated under the new software.

Currently there will be a top posters list but only over the life of the forum not 24 hours for example.
 

D365

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At least initially, we would request that customers continue to refrain from using Emojis due to accessibility constraints, and that they continue to use the Smilies/Emoticons that are built into the forum.

I agree entirely; keep this site a safe haven from the emoji characters that are all too rampant elsewhere ;)
 

61653 HTAFC

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Any chance that the "double post prevention system" can make a return? I liked that, though it has made me get an OCD twitch whenever I see double-posts on other fora!
 
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