You can tell by the new look and new location of this forum that something has changed.
What has changed?
- Forum software is now upgraded to newest version! This is a very major upgrade containing security patches, better spam protection, and modern forum features for users. It's actually a brand-new installation (in fact not an upgrade), to ensure that no old code remains.
- Users can change their passwords! (here)
- Users can change their signature! (here)
- Missing posts have been restored!
- New user registration works without administrator approval; hardened against spammers!
- Generally friendlier security settings; in particular less restrictions placed on new users.
- Everything works again!
What hasn't changed?
I was able to migrate all the content from the old forum. All the old posts are here, all included images and attachments, all users including their avatars and signatures and old passwords. Nothing should be missing!
Also, the old wiki website is still live at the direct URL http://fingerfans.dreamhosters.com/bin/view/Main/WebHome where it has always been. Until now, users would be redirected to the wiki when going to the domain http://fingerfans.dreamhosters.com/ which then links to the forum. This has now been reversed so that the domain URL shows the forum first. I still need to find a way to elegantly link to the wiki. Update: I've added links to the wiki and to our read-only copy of the original FingerWorks forum in the section Support Central.
We should consider if we even need the wiki at all; could we move the content into this forum instead, perhaps inside a new area? This would be simpler for the users (and simpler to manage, too).
Summary
Oh boy, I've been looking forward to this for more than three years and now I finally succeeded. I can't tell you how much that pleases me. It is my hope that this major update takes away all obstacles for new and existing users. Perhaps we will see a new rise in activity again, driven in part by the new multitouch hardware Apple is bringing to market.
Keep in mind that this update was only made a few hours ago, and that some administrative settings might still change, or need to be changed, for everything to run smoothly. So much has changed behind the scenes that it will take a while to see what settings provide the smoothest operation. This means that any and all feedback is very welcome!! In particular I ask for your criticism because that will help me further improve the forum!
That's some news!
And some unexpected ones as the tone of things was not leading to this outcome. Thanks Torben, Your efforts really mean something to me as I too shared this forum's members enthusiasm about Fingerworks contribution/spirit long before Apple snatched it.
I don't know whether it means a new life cycle is coming for we're still in need of something that Apple is not ready to give us yet. Anyway, it means that, thanks to your dedicated efforts, we'll be ready to express ourselves with the weight of an long-lived community.
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