Unhappy With The Site, A preview of what's to come Options

[Coomer]

I'm really unhappy with the site right now. Not the people or the stuff being posted or anything like that, but rather the way the forums are coded with HTML that'll crash in Mozilla occasionally, the way the main site is coded right now, the way the search function works(more like doesn't work), the fact that I can't upload multiple attachments to posts, the fact that the ads aren't performing well due to poor placement(I think), the way that .htaccess is giving me problems, the fact that hardly anyone uses the "add your part info" feature, etc.

However, I am very happy lately with a lot of the discussions. There have been many great threads about all kinds of stuff lately. Also, the growth of the site is just great...we're now more than 3,000 members strong and still growing! I'm also happy with the main site's design at the moment(Though expect a few enhancements when I'm re-coding stuff, and expect a modified look for the forums. ), and the parts database and how-to articles and stuff like that are all good too.

But I know some people are getting discouraged. People always IM me and complain that the search function doesn't work, and sometimes comment on some of the other problems with the site.

So once Invision Board 2.0 Final comes out, I plan to purchase a lifetime license for $200(Finally, the money you guys sent to me is actually going towards something that I can show for it. ), which includes technical support, which I'll definitely need, as the last two attempts to upgrade the forums to version 2.0 resulted in disaster. I'll probably end up clearing out off-topic completely, as the upgrade will go better if there are less posts in the database. Sorry in advance, but it'll probably need to be done, and I'll let you guys know when that date is approaching.

Also, chances are that the site will be down for as long as two or three days on a weekend while I upgrade the forums manually and re-write the forum integration code for the main site, as version 2.0 of the forum software has a revised member system that's tough to integrate with. Also, once the site is back online, the forums will probably be ugly while I work on skinning them to make them look better.

Anyway, I just thought I'd let you guys know what's in the works. I'll let you know again when I'm about to upgrade and stuff, and I'm sure you'll all like version 2.0 of the forum software way more than the current broken version.

[jgreening]

Thanks for the continual efforts to make the site better. However, I think you are being too hard on yourself. The site is great and your ideas will make it better.

As for off topic, I honestly do not care but get ready for the revolt from others. I am sure some will tell you that such a change will make the off topic comments end up in the on-topic forums. If that would happen, I would prefer a designated place for all the garbage - especially when it comes to reviewing my search results. I think a better idea is just to clean it out every 60 days. Too bad if someone wants to search for some old pointless thread.

This post has been edited by jgreening: Sep 8, 2004 - 12:52 PM