BP REBOOT/MIGRATION (Welcome to BP 2.0!)

[Clarity]

If you have questions, thoughts, feedback, ideas, or concerns (or anything else, including but not limited to drawings of unicorns) -- post them here.

Digested Q&A (from this thread):
Q: When do you expect the switch to occur?
A: Before the season starts. My best guess is the 12-16th, somewhere in there. We'd be down for about half a day during that process, it's going to be a massive undertaking, and I've hired staff members from the team that produced the core software to migrate the data, and do the complicated work of rewriting our old URLs to the new structure so that no links will be broken despite the new friendly URLs.

Q: Bpspy (ispy) for mobile?
A: Yes! Provided your phone's browser can handle AJAX. If it can't, there are some more static equally (perhaps even more) functional alternatives. Staying connected with what interests you is central to the new design.

 

[UpNorth_Buckeye]

Sorry if you've already stated as such, but when do you expect the switch to occur?

 

[Clarity]

Sorry if you've already stated as such, but when do you expect the switch to occur?

Before the season starts. My best guess is the 12-16th, somewhere in there. We'd be down for about half a day during that process, it's going to be a massive undertaking, and I've hired staff members from the team that produced the core software to migrate the data, and do the complicated work of rewriting our old URLs to the new structure so that no links will be broken despite the new friendly URLs.

Some of our new software is literally being coded as we speak, so it is very much a work in progress. That said, no matter what, we have enough to go live (confidently) before kick off.

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

Awesome.... my biggest question..

Bpspy (ispy) for mobile?

 

[Clarity]

Awesome.... my biggest question..

Bpspy (ispy) for mobile?

Yes. :) While we will have Spy, and it will be responsive, there are some great "what's new" resources that I'll describe in future reveals that are a fantastic way to keep on top of what most interests you.

In fact, I'll demo Alerts tomorrow.

 

[AuTX Buckeye]

Yes. :) While we will have Spy, and it will be responsive, there are some great "what's new" resources that I'll describe in future reveals that are a fantastic way to keep on top of what most interests you.

In fact, I'll demo Alerts tomorrow.

I could hug you right now

 

[AKAK]

For haters of Change, please order via the Amazon link from BP:

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing/dp/067104334X"]Who Moved My Cheese: An Amazing Way to Deal With Change in Your Work and In Your Life[/ame]

 

[Bucknut24]

I hope it works out, I believe it will be for the better here, and I definitely like the idea you mentioned about having people beta test it, Scout tried to move forums over a few months ago and it was a DISASTER

 

[Wingate1217]

Remember the mantra "Trust the Coaches" well in this case "Trust in Clarity" is well deserved and justified.....looking forward to seeing the "new look" of BP.....

 

[Clarity]

I hope it works out, I believe it will be for the better here, and I definitely like the idea you mentioned about having people beta test it, Scout tried to move forums over a few months ago and it was a DISASTER

What made it a disaster?

The good news here is because the new software is developed by the people who originally built this platform, we're going to change while still feeling very familiar in terms of how things work.

 

[Bucknut24]

What made it a disaster?

The good news here is because the new software is developed by the people who originally built this platform, we're going to change while still feeling very familiar in terms of how things work.

I honestly can't remember anymore, but it was flipped back to the original after about 2 days of it

 

[Clarity]

Remember the mantra "Trust the Coaches" well in this case "Trust in Clarity" is well deserved and justified.....looking forward to seeing the "new look" of BP.....

I've been waiting for an opportunity to move to new software for about three years. vB4 only became production ready in the last 8-10 months, while vB5 came out and has destroyed some sites. What we're moving to is only now ready for us, and my confidence that this is the right platform for us is exceptionally high. I wasn't able to say that about any of our options before, and so we didn't move.

I've lined up and hired experts to code what we need, transition us, and make sure it's all working properly. A few of us have been working on styles, the logo, layout, and other tweaking issues on a development test bed. And now I'm going to demo new features and invite a few people here and there over to test the new software and provide feedback.

My goal is to make this not just a smooth and comfortable transition, but one that basically everyone can agree is the right evolution for this community.

We're going to be faster, smarter, more intuitive, less cluttered, more modern, and yet more feature rich. That's not to say that there won't be growing pains, but I expect those to be minor, and mostly limited to myself.

 

[Bucknut24]

I've been waiting for an opportunity to move to new software for about three years. vB4 only became production ready in the last 8-10 months, while vB5 came out and has destroyed some sites. What we're moving to is only now ready for us, and my confidence that this is the right platform for us is exceptionally high. I wasn't able to say that about any of our options before, and so we didn't move.

I've lined up and hired experts to code what we need, transition us, and make sure it's all working properly. A few of us have been working on styles, the logo, layout, and other tweaking issues on a development test bed. And now I'm going to demo new features and invite a few people here and there over to test the new software and provide feedback.

My goal is to make this not just a smooth and comfortable transition, but one that basically everyone can agree is the right evolution for this community.

We're going to be faster, smarter, more intuitive, less cluttered, more modern, and yet more feature rich. That's not to say that there won't be growing pains, but I expect those to be minor, and mostly limited to myself.

yep, gaming forum I post at just switched to Vb5 about a week ago, and it's been awful, and right now it's shutoff til they can switch back to 4

 

[Clarity]

I honestly can't remember anymore, but it was flipped back to the original after about 2 days of it

Well, this install of BP will continue to exist even after we moved over. If for some reason we had to do the same, we could. That said, I've been living this migration day and night for a couple months now, using the new software on a daily basis. From a user perspective, the new software feels more like a pair of familiar and comfortable shoes than a real departure from what we're used to.

VBulletin has a real learning curve. The new setup is far more intuitive, but I'm anxious to get people trying it out (pre-launch) and posting here about their perspectives and experience.

Moreover, we'll be working on the whole thing well after the move, tailoring it to our own needs based on our day-to-day experiences and needs.

I have some things in the pipe that are incredibly exciting (to me, anyway), that I won't even detail until after we're comfortably on the new platform. So this is the first step in a maturation of the site. We're making it more accessible and powerful, without reinventing the wheel at the user level.

The recruiting forum will be a great example of that. Smarter, not different for the sake of different. I'll demo that after I've had a chance to get feedback from those who drive (and have driven) that area.

 

[Clarity]

yep, gaming forum I post at just switched to Vb5 about a week ago, and it's been awful, and right now it's shutoff til they can switch back to 4

Unfortunately they can't just switch back. They can restore an old backup if they have them, and rewind that way. But anything after they 'upgraded' is lost.