caserri Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Well I will be very honest with everyone. When I started VENDiscuss a year ago, I never expected or thought that it would take off like it did. I admit, I did everything "on the cheap". From software to hosting. I was able to work with what I had and managed to paint what I consider a "pretty face" on VENDiscuss.com. Whats going on behind the scenes here is another story. The support system is lacking and is held together by nothing more than some duct tape, Popsicle sticks, and rubber bands. We are more than due for a major upgrade to our system and thanks to the generosity of our supporting members, I am in a better position to shore up the weak points and add some much needed features and enhancements to the site. Introducing VENDiscuss 3.0 You charter members may remember the change from the original "white background" site to the current "easier on the eyes" version where a few minor enhancements were introduced. 3.0 will be a complete system upgrade. I will be upgrading the site to include some cool new features that I will list below. In addition to the new features, I am going to be moving the entire site to a new server. This new server will allow us to store more data to accomodate our growth. We will have the ability to expand our library in the PLUS section. In addition to all of that, I will be working toward adding a "screening room" where our PLUS members can access video tutorials covering all kinds of vending topics from machine maintenance and servicing to locating. In addition to the added benefits to our members, the new host will be available with much better 24/7 technical support in the event there is a problem with the site. Moving the site from one server to another may cause service interruptions at various times. Please keep this in mind and keep checking back. I will remind everyone as this time approaches. In the event that the site is down for an extended period of time, feel free to drop me an email at support@vendiscuss.com. Now on to the good stuff that you guys will see immediately after the upgrade... Posts of the Day Rating System. A rating system for user-rated posts. Promotes and focuses on good contributors and posts. Multiple Attachments Allowed Your own personal favorites Tab. Forum Jumper Custom Title editable by you, shown with your avatar Quick Reply window below all threads Topic Mouse over. Allows you to read the beginning of the topic without having to open it. (ala VBulliten) Who's Viewing. See who is currently viewing any given topic. Added support for FireFox users. (Spell Checker!) Once again, thanks to all of our supporting members who have made it possible for us to implement this much needed upgrade. I will update all of you here as we get closer to making these changes. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert_gold_hound Posted July 24, 2008 Share Posted July 24, 2008 Sound good. Quick thought though you gave the E-Mail you gave the one that will be dependent on a new e-mail server as well. Are you sure this is going to transfer without problems LOL Good luck and I will understand any problems that may arise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted July 24, 2008 Author Share Posted July 24, 2008 DGH, Thanks for pointing that out. However, that email address is in no way connected to the site.:shock: Figure that one out! To explain, when I originally started the site, I used the domain vendiscussforums.com and registered vendiscuss.com separately to use the shorter URL and for email purposes. They are essentially two completely different sites. In short, this site can "go away" forever and I'll still have access to the email. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay-Son Vending Posted July 25, 2008 Share Posted July 25, 2008 Steve, Isn't it wonderful to watch the baby grow up...now that we have passed the first birthday and the teething is done..I am very happy that you have been able to see your baby walk and talk... Here..Here... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 Thanks Jay. Yes it is very gratifying. But just like a child, there are ups and downs. I'm not sure why but I feel obligated to keep this thing evolving. I feel such an intense desire to have it feel like it's living and breathing for the members. I have been a member of many other vending forums that just didn't have that feel. They all felt "static". Almost like someone just created it and walked away. There was never any interaction between admin and members. They (admin) just didn't seem to care about what happened to it, what was posted, or how it was perceived by its membership. I don't want that to happen here. I want VENDiscuss to always feel warm, inviting, and alive. This upgrade is very exciting for me. There are a lot of new features coming up. I'm really looking forward to opening the screening room. I will need help from some members who have experience in digital video production and editing as I have none. Hopefully we have someone with experience on board who is willing to help out. My goal is to have video tutorials produced exclusively for VENDiscuss, not just the standard you-tube rip offs. The upgrade is also very scary as well. There is a lot that can go wrong with the transfer. We have accumulated a lot of data over the past year that I obviously do not want to lose. Wow, sorry for rambling! Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MountainMan Posted July 27, 2008 Share Posted July 27, 2008 Congrats Steve! This is a great thing. It will make the site even more useful. Make sure you do a complete back up before the transfer! LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 LOL. No need to worry about that. I usually back everything up every few days anyway. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert_gold_hound Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 Well I see you moved everything from vendiscussforums.com to vendiscuss.com So you did move your e-mail:P Just have to give you a hard time. Nice job on getting everything back up and going for now. I am going to have to reset the cockie becouse its not logging me in automaticaly though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 Well I see you moved everything from vendiscussforums.com to vendiscuss.com So you did move your e-mail:P Just have to give you a hard time. Nice job on getting everything back up and going for now. I am going to have to reset the cockie becouse its not logging me in automaticaly though. what he said,except for the cockie part:shock: I tried to log-in to day and I couldn`t get it,I was haveing withdrawls by the time I got home from work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antoniocinisi Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 am I going to have to go over all my watched topics and mark them as watch this topic?I havent gotten any topic reply notifications today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
desert_gold_hound Posted July 30, 2008 Share Posted July 30, 2008 I think it will be worth it in the end. Looks like we are getting some good stuff. I just hope there are not that many bugs. The softwere I am working on right now has enough bugs. It only took me 2 weeks to program it but so far I have been debugging for 3 months. Can't wait tell its done so I can make a vending softwere for myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumpy Posted August 1, 2008 Share Posted August 1, 2008 Not knowing where tp put this question, but why are old posts showing up with today's date? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caserri Posted August 1, 2008 Author Share Posted August 1, 2008 Not knowing where tp put this question, but why are old posts showing up with today's date? Grumpy, We lost 24 posts during the update. All the posts that were made to the old board after the database was taken and installed over here did not make the move. I have been pulling those posts from the old board and re-posting them here so they were not lost forever. Unfortunately, they will all show as being posted today. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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