Thread: Site move

Originally Posted by Bruno

Attachment 353816

More or less.
A long long time ago when I was still an admin here I offered to help move this place to a different platform because what it runs on now is the software version of a carton of buttermilk left in the sun for a long, long time.
And then there was the thing and I was out. Anyway Ivan approached me recently to ask if I still wanted to help.

My own forum runs on Xenforo which is what Ivan is moving to so , I figured it would make a big enough difference that I should.
I mean Xenforo is not rocket science but when migrating the old mess it helps if you know why things were the way they were or why certain decisions were made. I configured most of the structure and permissions setup which, due to all the software legacy, has the elegance of a watermelon shot at a wall from an air cannon.

And yes, things will get a new feel and look familiar but different. This is not the late 2000s anymore and SRP doesn't have a host of graphic designers and web wizards like it used to, or my participation wouldn't have made much difference. In case this isn't obvious, modern social media has decimated forum participation on all forums, across all hobbies.

So we'll focus on preserving historical data, getting the software to work properly on a day to day basis without hickups, and that's it.
If we do have people with software experience or graphics experience, I'm sure Ivan would love another helping hand. I certainly won't be touching anything in that regard because I'm the type of admins / developer for whom a grey form with a square button is still the end of my capabilities.

Incidentally I'll still be over at my own place.

Thank you Bruno,
Are you allowed to post a link to your own forum?

Originally Posted by Bruno

Attachment 353816

More or less.
A long long time ago when I was still an admin here I offered to help move this place to a different platform because what it runs on now is the software version of a carton of buttermilk left in the sun for a long, long time.
And then there was the thing and I was out. Anyway Ivan approached me recently to ask if I still wanted to help.

My own forum runs on Xenforo which is what Ivan is moving to so , I figured it would make a big enough difference that I should.
I mean Xenforo is not rocket science but when migrating the old mess it helps if you know why things were the way they were or why certain decisions were made. I configured most of the structure and permissions setup which, due to all the software legacy, has the elegance of a watermelon shot at a wall from an air cannon.

And yes, things will get a new feel and look familiar but different. This is not the late 2000s anymore and SRP doesn't have a host of graphic designers and web wizards like it used to, or my participation wouldn't have made much difference. In case this isn't obvious, modern social media has decimated forum participation on all forums, across all hobbies.

So we'll focus on preserving historical data, getting the software to work properly on a day to day basis without hickups, and that's it.
If we do have people with software experience or graphics experience, I'm sure Ivan would love another helping hand. I certainly won't be touching anything in that regard because I'm the type of admins / developer for whom a grey form with a square button is still the end of my capabilities.

Incidentally I'll still be over at my own place.

Thanks for helping with this. It is much appreciated.

How much is this going to cost for the server and software? Give us a ballpark number please.
We should be able to help defray some of the costs.

i hope threads and pictures related to razors, shaving, and history can be saved.
Lord knows there is a huge pile of B.S. that can be omitted. Lots of irrelevant threads, pictures, non contributing, long absent members, spam, etc. (Guilty!)

Going through it all seems a herculean task. I suppose some sort of basic criteria or it's gone.

Don't take it as a reproach, but it's about time something was done.


While I won't commit to anything on the long term, I used to be an IT "House M.D.", if things go wrong and you don't know where to go or who to ask, I most probably will help.

Thanks to every involved and Bruno for coming back

Originally Posted by stoneandstrop

Thank you Bruno,
Are you allowed to post a link to your own forum?

Seeing as I am an Admin now, I declare that I am allowed. ....
I don't really compete with SRP. At least not in any real sense.

My forum is www.wetshaversworkshop.com
It started as a general 'Razor workshop" forum back in the day when we prepared for the eventuality of this place disappearing. The idea was to have a workshop related forum for honing, brushmaking, restoration, etc. Things didn't pan out that way and I am now the sole owner.

It's mostly me and a half dozen of regulars, talking about razor making itself (the forging and metal aspect) as wel as generic day to day banter and showing off what the various people made or did that week.
I like the atmosphere and the laid back bantering so I keep it alive as long as there is at least 1 member
I do razor and knife making but everyone has their own side interest and we talk about it all. 'Eclectic' is the word

As I said we don't compete with SRP so by all means come check it out and if you like what you see, stick around and be part of it. It would be great to have a couple of more people posting.
The only reason it's still called wetshaversworkshop is that changing it is more hassle than it's worth and coming up with an alternative name that is still free is hard.

Originally Posted by sharptonn

i hope threads and pictures related to razors, shaving, and history can be saved.
Lord knows there is a huge pile of B.S. that can be omitted. Lots of irrelevant threads, pictures, non contributing, long absent members, spam, etc. (Guilty!)

Going through it all seems a herculean task. I suppose some sort of basic criteria or it's gone.

Ivan has tools o automatically import things. All public discussions will be migrated there is no big task there. The issue is more related to things like the library, Obie's interviews, etc. Those are kinda tacked on to the side and may require manual work or at the very least, editing work to make it look proper again after import. Where I come in is mostly double checking that all permisisons and access levels are correct, that permissions are assigned properly, etc. Because that can be complex.

Whie we are at it, Ivan and I will also be harmonizing various moderator tasks, the ability to delete spam, etc. Xenforo has the nice ability to decide on those things on an individual basis, whereas moderator status used to be a one size fits all approach.

The high level approach will be to migrate the data, going through the structure to make changes as needed, and then have users test things on a test forum. Basically try to poke at things and see if they work. Once we have that down, we go down for a day, do the final import of that day, do the required changes, and go up. At that point we will be live, but without the articles, interviews, etc. That will be step 1.
And then we decide on which things need to be migrated first in terms of articles etc.

We talked about this a couple of times, and our agreement was that if we tried to do everything in 1 go and then do it with a big bang, it would be so overwhelming that it would never get done.

Originally Posted by Aggelos

Don't take it as a reproach, but it's about time something was done.


While I won't commit to anything on the long term, I used to be an IT "House M.D.", if things go wrong and you don't know where to go or who to ask, I most probably will help.

Thanks to every involved and Bruno for coming back

Oh, we know. We knew it 5 years ago. But real life threw a spanner in the works, and then life happened and so on. Things have been long in the tooth for a long time. But now Ivan finally has the opportunity to invest the time. I understand perfectly not committing to anything long term. This project, once the first step is done, may require 'hands at the wheel' for specific tasks and we'll be certain to check back with you to see it you have some time to spare for specific actions.

As for me coming back, thanks.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

How much is this going to cost for the server and software? Give us a ballpark number please.
We should be able to help defray some of the costs.

I cannot say. Not because I don't want to but because I simply have no clue. The software isn't a huge deal. My place costs about 300 per year but we are talking about different amounts of data. The server and hosting is going to be the brunt of the cost but I have no idea. Incidentally, I also want to state for the record that just like back then, I have absolutely no server access whatsoever. I never had the slightest possibility of changing how things played out.

Originally Posted by Aggelos

Don't take it as a reproach, but it's about time something was done.


While I won't commit to anything on the long term, I used to be an IT "House M.D.", if things go wrong and you don't know where to go or who to ask, I most probably will help.

Thanks to every involved and Bruno for coming back

Thanks, it's always good to have backup even if it doesn't get to having to use it

Believe me, I know better than anyone else how overdue this is - I'm somewhere on the records here around 2013 that I think it should be done, and I had been considering it for another couple of years before that, but it wasn't time yet

In many ways things are easier now, there are a lot of better tools, the test conversion went pretty smoothly because so many people have done this switch over the years that almost all kinks are ironed out.
Another issue back then would've been handling the system mail once we move from our IP address where we've built a stellar reputation as sending high quality mail only. Nowadays smtp relay services are plentiful and very good - I tested about a dozen and all were fine, so in choosing I can be very picky about the less important things.

It seems true to form that one of the harder things would be the same as in the last major upgrade - keeping the old links alive. It's because they're done with a 20-year old software that has been dead for over a dozen years.

As far as cost goes, altogether it's about few k/year, a small part is covered by the google ads that run here and there, plus some change from people buying on ebay after going there from a link from here, a larger part is from the subscriptions, and the largest is my tab. And recently there was a very generous donation by someone who'd rather stay anonymous!
We should be able to keep the costs the same or may even be lower - we'll see.
There's always the possibility of just getting it as a fully managed service from, for example, xenforo.com but I like the flexibility that comes with having full control - we can do custom things we couldn't otherwise. Basically I like to pay more money to be forced to do more work kind of deal

Oh, may be we should also carry over these old smileys - as a reminder that value does not necessitate NFT.