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Forum Rollback [Why Your Posts Are Gone!]


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Hi guys, in case you don't follow the Facebook page or the Twitter feed, or didn't connect to the IRC channel via the alternate path, here's what went down.

Server crashed, waiting on techs to respond to support ticket and find out why it happened and when they can get it back up and running.
Techs still haven't bothered to respond. Seems the majority of the providers servers seem to be down as well. Looks like I'll end up having to pay for a different server and move everything. Hope I don't have to as the last backup is from May 15th. -_-

FYI, you can still access the IRC channel using "irc.xertion.org" as the server in replacement of "irc.kametsu.com".

Apparently I was using PHP4 on my old server, but I'm running PHP5 on the new server and it's causing issues with the forum script because it's so outdated. The forums version was release in 2007 and has become depreciated. Looking into how I can run PHP4 alongside PHP5 to make the forum work for now, but this is definitely a good reason to finally upgrade. The upgrade license though is $195. I could use the donations we currently have to help with that but it wouldn't be enough and then we'd not have that money to pay for this months bill (and with the added cost of switching servers, we're already going to need about $20 for the end of the month added), thus we're looking for help to raise the money to finally upgrade.

I don't see Koby around at the moment, but I'm posting this now to stem off any complaints about not being able to access the downloads any more.

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It is a shame that we always seem to have constant server troubles and that also our last back up was a fair distance away from today but oh well all we need to do is pick ourselves up and keep on moving. The server and site are still here which is all that matters.

I think I shall help with the donations to get this server upgrade Koby talked about in his last tweet.

Come on fellow Kametsu brothers and sisters lets not let this set back turn us away, let it make us stronger and fight out way to the better and greater times that are before us!!

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I think I shall help with the donations to get this server upgrade Koby talked about in his last tweet.

Not a server upgrade, but rather an upgrade to the software the forum is ran on.

We use vBulletin 3.7.0 which was released in 2007. They now have vBulletin 4.2.0 out and have announced they are working on vBulletin 5.

However, looking more into it and such, I think I may go with Invision Power Board instead of upgrading to the latest vBulletin. I like the way IPB has been heading as well as their recent track record of updates, listening to the community, implementing what the people want, etc.

vBulletin has really went downhill since Jelsoft sold it to Internet Brands and a lot of their new projects for it has been abandoned with no word as to if it'll be finished. I've also been able to test out vB4 and wasn't really impressed.

I haven't had the chance to test out everything about the latest IPB yet but I've been impressed with what I've seen. Plus if you were a long time member of my past communities, you'd know Kametsu started out using IPB back when it was a free software and only switched when that version became so outdated that it was being exploited. IPB2 versus vB3, I ended up going with vB3 because it was for it's time the best option, had the best modding community, the highest security etc... but I think from the little I've seen of IPB3 that IPB3 vs. vB4, IPB takes the cake and eats it too. So I'll read more about it, try out their demo and see what I think.

There are other options out there as well such as xenForo which was created by the team that built vB3 and was fired when vB was bought out by InternetBrands so they made their own software. So I'll keep an eye out. If anyone has any recommendations or opinions on the matter, please feel free to discuss them. I want to hear what you think we should do.

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Relevant to my interests!

I was actually reading about different forum software recently on a whim and I looked at a lot of different XenForo based fora and things like this looked real neat! I don't know much about forum security or whatever--still reading--but I have heard there are possibly some legal issues with XenForo? I don't understand science. I just know I really like the look of it, personally.

Whatever you choose to do, I am totes okay with and willing to learn new things. I also sent another donation just in case??

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I have heard there are possibly some legal issues with XenForo?

Internet Brands bought vBulletin from Jelsoft. There was a falling out between the main coders of vBulletin 3 and Internet Brands and either they quit or were fired. As a result those people created XenForo using knowledge and experience gained from working at for Jelsoft on vBulletin.

Internet Brands didn't like the competition that XenForo brings to the table and because of that has filed a suit against them claiming they basically used knowledge of vBulletin code to create XenForo and therefore it was a breach of copyright, yada yada yada.

Personally, I don't think the lawsuit should hold up. It mostly just seems like Internet Brands trying to kill off a competitor before they even get started. After all, at the time of the lawsuit, XenForo wasn't even actually available to the public, so it's not like they could have gotten a look at the source code to prove anything. Besides if they win a suit because of the XenForo staff using code they learned through experience, that'd pretty much mean any coder who is hired at any company could be sued if they ever worked for a competing company... they can claim insider knowledge, blah blah. So yeah, I feel the case should be thrown out.

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Not a server upgrade, but rather an upgrade to the software the forum is ran on.

We use vBulletin 3.7.0 which was released in 2007. They now have vBulletin 4.2.0 out and have announced they are working on vBulletin 5.

However, looking more into it and such, I think I may go with Invision Power Board instead of upgrading to the latest vBulletin. I like the way IPB has been heading as well as their recent track record of updates, listening to the community, implementing what the people want, etc.

vBulletin has really went downhill since Jelsoft sold it to Internet Brands and a lot of their new projects for it has been abandoned with no word as to if it'll be finished. I've also been able to test out vB4 and wasn't really impressed.

I haven't had the chance to test out everything about the latest IPB yet but I've been impressed with what I've seen. Plus if you were a long time member of my past communities, you'd know Kametsu started out using IPB back when it was a free software and only switched when that version became so outdated that it was being exploited. IPB2 versus vB3, I ended up going with vB3 because it was for it's time the best option, had the best modding community, the highest security etc... but I think from the little I've seen of IPB3 that IPB3 vs. vB4, IPB takes the cake and eats it too. So I'll read more about it, try out their demo and see what I think.

There are other options out there as well such as xenForo which was created by the team that built vB3 and was fired when vB was bought out by InternetBrands so they made their own software. So I'll keep an eye out. If anyone has any recommendations or opinions on the matter, please feel free to discuss them. I want to hear what you think we should do.

Ah ok I get it now, my knwoledge when it comes to things like these is pretty poor so I won't be much help recommending new ones or giving reviews on others. Although in saying that I have been reading what other people think of IPB vs vB, though the reviews im reading are a couple of years old. Bascially most love the change over from vB to IPB, they say IPB can look a little complex but allows you to do things that you would do on vB in a fraction of the time.

This is what I read if your interested:

http://www.theadminzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63915

I may read up on a few more reviews and other software.

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Techs still haven't bothered to respond. Seems the majority of the providers servers seem to be down as well. Looks like I'll end up having to pay for a different server and move everything. Hope I don't have to as the last backup is from May 15th. -_-

The forum has been rolled back to the 15th of May as mentioned in the above quote.

The Admin Zone is a really neat place to read stuff at! I know some of the stuff there is outdated, but they talk about some interesting things.

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If you registered since the site was put back up, or have tried to reset your password.... you would not have received your email to confirm. The problem was I forgot to install the Send Mail Server to the server. So, now it should work to send the emails out. You'll need to click resend email confirmation, or re-use the forgotten password link again. Sorry for the trouble, things happen. I'm still trying to work out all the kinks and make sure everything is installed and working properly.

Also, if you've donated between May 15th and July 4th, please contact me so I can re-add you to the donators group (you'll need to tell me the email addressed used for the donation for confirmation).

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I haven't had the chance to test out everything about the latest IPB yet but I've been impressed with what I've seen. Plus if you were a long time member of my past communities, you'd know Kametsu started out using IPB back when it was a free software and only switched when that version became so outdated that it was being exploited. IPB2 versus vB3, I ended up going with vB3 because it was for it's time the best option, had the best modding community, the highest security etc... but I think from the little I've seen of IPB3 that IPB3 vs. vB4, IPB takes the cake and eats it too. So I'll read more about it, try out their demo and see what I think.

The header and navlinks and such on vB4 are incredibly annoying to use with full width banners. There are three different menus, and no front-end options to change their positions. Their styling system is also incredibly complicated, like 50 different CSS files, and hundreds of template files. They do have a large list of variables to edit colours, fonts, borders, etc. but it isn't all-inclusive. But, other than the styling, vB4 is pretty versatile and comes with almost more options than you could use.

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The header and navlinks and such on vB4 are incredibly annoying to use with full width banners. There are three different menus, and no front-end options to change their positions. Their styling system is also incredibly complicated, like 50 different CSS files, and hundreds of template files. They do have a large list of variables to edit colours, fonts, borders, etc. but it isn't all-inclusive. But, other than the styling, vB4 is pretty versatile and comes with almost more options than you could use.

Yeah, I had opportunity to check out and edit a couple skins on vB4. To be honest, I completely hated the styling. It was for the most part, just click and choose, and didn't really allow much freedom to add special effects and such. I mean, it was more or less designed for admins who have no clue about how to actually code and just lets them pick and choose colors from a grid. I much preferred the way vB3 handled the skins as it has a single stylesheet which you can fully edit and add extra styling options to every part, as well as being really simple to finding the template you wanted to edit the html code to. Of course I've had a good 5-6 years of using this though to learn the ins and outs and get the hang of it so I've grown attached to it. As you can see, Kametsu's current skin was custom designed and coded by myself, and I'm proud of it.

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I contacted IPB regarding a few pre-sale questions. One of which is whether or not their conversion program would work for us or not.

We have free converters available for converting from vBulletin, however you will need at least 3.8. If you do not feel comfortable converting yourself we have several people who offer this service.

Looks like IPB isn't an option then. Because with the way vBulletin's licenses are now, instead of paying a small fee to get access to updates to vB3, I've now gotta pay the full licensing fee. I do not wish to pay $195 to vBulletin just to upgrade to 3.8 and then turn around and pay for IPB and convert to it. That'd be just like throwing away nearly two hundred bucks.

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Yeah, that doesn't sound like a great idea. If you're going to do that, you might as well just stick with the new vB for a while, haha. Is buying a license from someone else a viable option? Like maybe one that'll expire relatively quickly so you can make the jump and not put so much money into the trash?

Well at least the forums is back but downside alot of us might have to build up posts again.

Everyone does. That's just the way it goes, haha.

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Yeah, that doesn't sound like a great idea. If you're going to do that, you might as well just stick with the new vB for a while, haha. Is buying a license from someone else a viable option? Like maybe one that'll expire relatively quickly so you can make the jump and not put so much money into the trash?

The way vB licenses work now is that, once you buy into it you have access to updates for as long as that version is supported. Pretty much if you pay for vB4, you have access to updates for the life of it and don't have to pay again until vB5. They just seemed to throw vB3 owners under the bus and forced them into buying vB4 so as to continue to get the updates to vB3 (many vB owners stuck with 3 anyhow).

If nothing else, I might find a pirated copy... I mean I would not want to run it for daily use, but it'd be good enough to simply upgrade to it and then convert right away. IDK. Or I can talk to my friend who has a vB4 license and download the latest vB3 from it to upgrade then convert.

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With Kametsu always having problems like that, i started making backups of the threads I start or the long posts I make. I might sound weird, but I'm just sharing an idea. At the same time I can write a thread when I'm not connected to the internet.

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