- Joined
- Aug 31, 2006
- Posts
- 5,346
PlanetCalypsoForum.com will be taken offline on Wednesday, July 8 at 20:00 UTC (Calypso time) for migration to a new server and software platform (XenForo).
The XenForo forum platform offers improved functionality, security, responsiveness, and future expandability compared to the current software platform (vBulletin).
Moving to a new platform presents several challenges for a forum as big, old, and customized as PlanetCalypsoForum, which has been running for over 15 years. This is a primary reason that the migration was not done sooner, though it has been considered for quite some time.
The migration is expected to require between 12 and 16 hours. Several test migrations have been performed over the past few weeks, and the the time required has ranged from 8 to 12 hours just for the conversion of all the forum data to the new software platform. That is in addition to the actual transfer of the database (12 GB), files, and gallery images (over 80 GB).
Hopefully those test runs have helped to identify and address the more common issues that might arise during the conversion, and thereby minimize the downtime. However, issues can (and do) still arise with a migration of this size, so please be patient if the downtime takes longer than expected.
Most of the current features and functionality that you have grown accustomed to using on PCF will be available on the new forum website. However, some features will be replaced by improved implementations of similar functionality built into XenForo (or available via addons), while some others will become redundant or no longer available. More details below.
While it is very unlikely that any data or files will be lost, there have been a few cases during the test migrations of avatar images or profile pictures that were not properly imported into the new software platform. Just to be on the safe side, I would encourage all members to download to their PC any content they would be upset to lose during the migration process, such as: avatar images, profile images, signature images, or important gallery/album images.
The new PlanetCalypsoForum website will initially offer two (sleek and minimalist) custom visual themes, one light and one dark. These themes are temporary, and will be replaced after the summer by custom themes provided by MindArk, which will feature Entropia-related images and design.
Thanks in advance for your patience during the downtime!
The XenForo forum platform offers improved functionality, security, responsiveness, and future expandability compared to the current software platform (vBulletin).
Moving to a new platform presents several challenges for a forum as big, old, and customized as PlanetCalypsoForum, which has been running for over 15 years. This is a primary reason that the migration was not done sooner, though it has been considered for quite some time.
The migration is expected to require between 12 and 16 hours. Several test migrations have been performed over the past few weeks, and the the time required has ranged from 8 to 12 hours just for the conversion of all the forum data to the new software platform. That is in addition to the actual transfer of the database (12 GB), files, and gallery images (over 80 GB).
Hopefully those test runs have helped to identify and address the more common issues that might arise during the conversion, and thereby minimize the downtime. However, issues can (and do) still arise with a migration of this size, so please be patient if the downtime takes longer than expected.
Most of the current features and functionality that you have grown accustomed to using on PCF will be available on the new forum website. However, some features will be replaced by improved implementations of similar functionality built into XenForo (or available via addons), while some others will become redundant or no longer available. More details below.
- The current member blogs will be moved to a dedicated blog forum section. Blog posts will appear as individual threads, and blog comments as thread replies.
- The current Gratz and reputation systems will be replaced by XenForo's default reactions system.
- The forum Gallery will be replaced by a completely new solution powered by XenForo's official Media Gallery add-on, which offers much improved and expanded functionality compared to the current Gallery. All existing Gallery images will be migrated to the new server and will be permanently available at their current URLs.
- The member Albums feature will become redundant by the new Media Gallery solution described above. All existing Album images will be migrated to the new server and will be permanently available at their current URLs.
- Premium account upgrades will no longer be offered. Any members with an active paid account upgrade will be contacted after the migration to coordinate a prorated refund based on the subscription time remaining.
While it is very unlikely that any data or files will be lost, there have been a few cases during the test migrations of avatar images or profile pictures that were not properly imported into the new software platform. Just to be on the safe side, I would encourage all members to download to their PC any content they would be upset to lose during the migration process, such as: avatar images, profile images, signature images, or important gallery/album images.
The new PlanetCalypsoForum website will initially offer two (sleek and minimalist) custom visual themes, one light and one dark. These themes are temporary, and will be replaced after the summer by custom themes provided by MindArk, which will feature Entropia-related images and design.
Thanks in advance for your patience during the downtime!