COMING SITE UPGRADES

[Telos]

Hello everyone;

We (Telos Alpha) have been working in the background to get a temperature of the site from a technology perspective. The overall consensus is that the next generation of vBulletin is "buggy and risky". With that in mind we will be staying on this version of vBulletin for the next little while (12-18 months) until we can ascertain exactly what a major version upgrade will look like and how it will impact this community.

Something we do NOT need to wait for is to get the server migrated to a new host that is both more powerful and more affordable. We have migrated the site to this new system over the last week over a dozen times and are getting the same positive results, so we are going to move the site for real shortly. The server will be moved overnight with very little downtime (if any). There will be a separate post here with schedules and timings once we lock them in.

Once that is complete and we will start asking YOU for what we could be doing better via a couple of polls to get your feedback. We need the community to be involved and have a voice in this going forward.

There are some basic features/work we know the community wants and needs however. The first thing we will be tackling is image uploads and getting the site cleaned up from a "TACCOM 2020 Ads" perspective.

Thank you all for being patient with us as we worked with the new owners to figure out a direction for this site.

Stay tuned.

Telos

[Dewey Cox]

Sounds promising.
Don't let us down telos.

[Camo tung]

Re: Coming Site Upgrades...

Will the server migration result in change(s) noticeable by Users or will any "performance" improvements be in the background and mostly geared towards the System Admin?

In what context are you asking for member feedback on what could be done better? GOC site features? System Admin response to performance issues? (There was a thread closed that detailed member concerns quite clearly). Site security?

Will a poll/polls have enough options to capture a clear picture of the Member's concerns? No one wants to receive and read 400 essays but poll "choices" are limiting in scope and detail.

What is the full list of "features" offered in the current version of vBulletin used by GOC? Are other sites using different parts of the same version of vBulletin and would they be useful/helpful here (thinking thread tools, messaging management tools, more profile options, etc)? Members might help develop ideas on how to improve this site if they knew of what was possible within this version of Vbulletin. No sense asking for something that isn't possible with existing code, etc.

Will communication during this next 12-18 month period be open and timely? Performance concerns have been previously raised and it appeared to fall on the forum Admins to either respond to a thread, or close it. Each of those closed threads had a lot of member feedback that seemingly evaporated. Will you commit to a specific mailbox whereby you can receive and respond to feedback/questions/suggestions in a timely fashion?

[Telos]

Hey there

Will the server migration result in change(s) noticeable by Users or will any "performance" improvements be in the background and mostly geared towards the System Admin?

Both.

In what context are you asking for member feedback on what could be done better? GOC site features? System Admin response to performance issues? (There was a thread closed that detailed member concerns quite clearly). Site security?

- We hadn't framed that yet, but both sound reasonable.

Will a poll/polls have enough options to capture a clear picture of the Member's concerns? No one wants to receive and read 400 essays but poll "choices" are limiting in scope and detail.

We have to start somewhere. They will start with broad strokes and be narrowed down as time moves on. Happy medium.

What is the full list of "features" offered in the current version of vBulletin used by GOC? Are other sites using different parts of the same version of vBulletin and would they be useful/helpful here (thinking thread tools, messaging management tools, more profile options, etc)? Members might help develop ideas on how to improve this site if they knew of what was possible within this version of vBulletin. No sense asking for something that isn't possible with existing code, etc.

We are restricting our scope at this time to making this older version stable and safe. Anything else is out of scope until we decide a path forward in 12-18 months. What we can turn back on or enable now depends on the fact that the site is running old code and that introduces risk.

Will communication during this next 12-18 month period be open and timely?

This requires some clarification. On the technical side, Telos Alpha will be responsive on break fix, site performance and feature releases/tuning issues within the scope of our support contract. We will be facilitating user feedback to the owners via various technologies (polls, discussion etc). Moderation and dealing with the day to day operation of the site is out of scope for Telos Alpha. Managing moderators, policing the site etc will remain the responsibility of the current staff/volunteers.

Performance concerns have been previously raised and it appeared to fall on the forum Admins to either respond to a thread, or close it. Each of those closed threads had a lot of member feedback that seemingly evaporated.

This is before our time and we cannot comment on it. To be clear, we take direction from the site owners with feedback from the community. This site is a business, and its ability to offer performance has to fall into its ability to make enough revenue to offset those performance costs.

Will you commit to a specific mailbox whereby you can receive and respond to feedback/questions/suggestions in a timely fashion?

No. We will solicit input when we require it for planning on the technical side of things. To clarify again, we are not talking about the day to operations of the site (thread moderation etc). We are only handling the technical aspects/performance and break fix.

I hope that helps to clarify what we are aiming to do.

[M1917 Enfield]

We (Telos Alpha) have been working in the background to get a temperature of the site from a technology perspective.

I rate the current temperature to be -5 and think we should aim for a more pleasant and balmy +25!

[JustBen]

I don't want to pay taxes any more.

[SIR VEYOR]

I don't want to pay taxes any more.

Learn the “Roadrunner Maneuver” and blow up an asteroid…

[SwissArmyMan]

I think Dewey is the most disappointed man on this site…

[Purdom234]

1) Ability to post photos
2) Robust member ID security
3) Speed

Please and thank you.

[Telos]

1) Ability to post photos

On deck. We just have to navigate managing security restrictions without making the site vulnerable.

2) Robust member ID security

Can you go deeper on this one please?

3) Speed

Will be better with the next server move.

T

[blacksmithden]

Re: robust member ID security. I think he's referring to the issue of bots infiltrating the site. Better 'prove you're human' front door security....although its been pretty quiet on the bot front lately.

[kennymo]

although it’s been pretty quiet on the bot front

Great, you said it out loud…..now we’re going to wake up to 400 necroposts.

[RangeBob]

Re: robust member ID security.

I thought it was simply having a logon required for most forums, to prevent search bots (google) from scanning them, and evil bots hitting them.
(and unlike Off Topics, they must still be searchable)

These are the 33 most-searched-for thread tags
anti-terrorism anti-terrorism act april fool bill c-51 blaney cariboo challenge coin cse csis extremism extremist gerhard baur goc harper instructor zero isis islam islamic minority report muslim niquab pre-crime rcmp religion safety slowness snc-lavalin stephen harper surveillance terror terrorism terrorist veil
-- https://www.gunownersofcanada.ca/search.php

That's not human beings doing that. That's bots.


The idea is that in addition to increased privacy,
it should also reduce server load and increase uptime.


Although sometimes google is a superior search for Gun Owners Of Canada, especially for 3 letter acronyms (e.g, "NFA").

[Dewey Cox]

I think Dewey is the most disappointed man on this site…

I'm disappointed that you think that.

[Camo tung]

On deck. We just have to navigate managing security restrictions without making the site vulnerable.

Can you go deeper on this one please?


Will be better with the next server move.

T

I think he's referring to an often noted situation whereby there can be 7 members logged in and 500 or more guests. Even with limited access these "guests" still have the ability to view posts that potentially reveal personal information (aliases, locations hunted or travelled to, items purchased, personal vehicles, personal opinions on politicians or police, etc). We've asked before about the feasibility of all site visitors having to log in as members.