17 replies to this topic

[Black Six]

• Why were the forums offline for so long?
  That's a very complicated question. The three main drivers behind the upgrade, Dimensioneer, Binkmeister, and I, all have full time jobs that keep us from focusing the amount of time we'd like on BZPower. We also had to deal with our previous hosting provider, who, in the middle of the upgrade, stopped offering hosting services. We then had to find a new provider, move everything over, and ensure things worked on the new server. There were a lot of issues that cropped up with the new software and we wanted to address as many as possible. Then, there was further coordination to be done with the rest of the staff to try to get us as ready as possible to go back online. These are all reasons, but I try not to think of them as excuses, because we have none. We sincerely apologize that the forums took so long to bring back and we hope to avoid ever having to do this again in the next ten years.
• Why are some of the topics here a few months old?
  Work started on the new forums back in June - that's when new rules topics began to be created. Then things came up that prevented us from getting the forums back online as soon as we'd have liked to (see above).
• The front page still has some links to the old forums.
  We're in the process of updating the front page to reflect the new links. Please bear with us as we work through the process.
• The Talkback links only go to the Talkback Forum, not the actual topic.
  The new forum software broke the previous code we had for creating Talkback topics. Topics will still be created automatically, but not right away. This will remain the case for the foreseeable future while we focus on other aspects of the site.
• What is gone? What is still here?
  All of the posts and topics from the old forum have been removed, but you can still find them in the BZPower Forum Archive. All member accounts (and related profile information), personal messages, blogs, and blog entries are still on the new forums.
• All my topics are gone, can I repost them?
  If your topic was made in the past year and you feel a need to post it again, go ahead. I encourage you to link to the original in the archive where possible, to avoid any repetition.
• Can we repost Official Topics, or does the Forum Leader of the forum in question (e.g: Completely Off Topic) need to re-approve the topic?
  You will need to contact the Forum Leader of the forum in question to get permission to start an official topic, even if you had permission before.
• What about re-posting topics that have no revival date? (e.g. topics in NMQ&A that were not answered and story topics)
  Feel free to re-post them in their respective forums. The exceptions are official topics, as stated above, which need to be re-approved by the Forum Leader.
• I sent in money to become a Premier Member just before the downtime. Will I still get my Premier Membership since the forums were down? What if I had a Premier Membership that expired during the downtime?
  If you sent in money while we were offline you will still get the full period of your membership. Memberships that expired during the downtime will be extended to make up for the time while we were offline.
• Where is my Personal Messenger (PM)?
  In the upper-right corner of the page is a drop-down menu with your screen name. Choose "Personal Messenger." You can also use the open envelope icon (also a drop-down menu) in the upper-right to access recent PMs and go to your inbox or compose a new one.
• Why is the post box all different?
  The board now uses a rich text editor instead of BBCode as the default. This means that some formatting such as bold, italics, embedded images, etc. will show up in the post box. However, some formatting still displays as BBCode, such as the "acronym" tag. You can switch to a full BBCode editor by clicking the tiny switch button on the top-left of the post box, though there will no longer be any buttons to automatically embed tags; you'll have to type it all out or copy and paste it.
• What happened to my Avatar/Profile Picture?
  Avatars and profile pictures are now the same thing.
• Why can't I use an external avatar or an avatar from the gallery?
  External avatars are no longer supported in the new forum software. Likewise, the avatar gallery was also removed in the new version of the software. Avatars, now photos, can either be uploaded to BZP or synced with Gravatar.
• Why won't the photo in my profile change?
  For some users, the photo in their profile reverts to a previous version when it is changed. Uploading a photo larger than 200 by 200 pixels will update it.
• What happened to the online symbol in topics?
  The online/offline indicator was removed in the new version of the software. You can, however, still view a member's online/offline status by rolling over their username. Their last active time is in their profile card.
• The blog layout leaves a bit to be desired and I'm having some issues with content blocks.
  Things changed with the software upgrade. Unfortunately we actually have less control over the blogs than we did before. We've done our best and will continue to look for ways to improve things.
• Have blog favorites been removed?
  Favorite blogs can be found under the "Content You Follow." Choose this option from the drop-down menu in the upper right of the screen and filter by "Blogs" under Type and then "Blog" under Section.
• Why am I logged out here when I go back and view the BZPower Archive?
  We are still looking into this issue. It may or may not be resolved at some point in the future.

[Veon]

I have a feeling that I shouldn't post in this topic, but I will anyways because I have nothing to lose.

So far, I have been signed out 3 times in under 15 minutes. I tried changing my password but it didn't work. I changed it, got signed out, and still had to use my old password.

Also, I was asked to change my password before the forums went back online, and it reverted to my old one.

Is that a glitch or am I doing something wrong?

[Reznas]

This question is actually being discussed right here. You can go there and follow along and maybe post saying you had the same problem and eventually, you will get your answer.

-Rez

[Shadow Kurahk]

The topic Reznas linked covers the automatic logging out. When you were asked to change your password on the old 9archive) forum, that stayed there. The users were simply copied over to a new database for the new forums, so passwords on the old one can be changed with no effect on this new one.

-SK

[X-Ray]

Pardon me, but is there a limit to the number of topics we can re-post in the Library forum?

Also, there appear to be fewer fonts available here... not to complain or anything. BZPower has returned!

X-Ray (Wow, if feels good to write that again)

Edited by X-Ray, Oct 17 2011 - 11:00 PM.

[Reznas]

Pardon me, but is there a limit to the number of topics we can re-post in the Library forum?

Also, there appear to be fewer fonts available here... not to complain or anything. BZPower has returned!

X-Ray (Wow, if feels good to write that again)

There is no current limit. You can repost as many stories as you want.

And the same fonts are still on BZP, it's just you have to edit them in using BBCode rather than using the font buttom. It was like that on the old Forums as well.

-Rez

[NStephenH]

I cannot P.M.. It says "You do not have permission to accsess the priate messaging system." I am new and this is my fourth post, does that have anything to do with it? I want to be able to contact bzprpg staff, because I need to have things approved on some of my characters.

[Ziko]

You can't send PMs because you're in the New Members group (more information about that in the second section of this topic). Once you've made ten counted posts (in forums other than Q&A, Voting Booth, Games & Trivia, Shops & Kits, or Completely Off Topic), you'll be put in the regular Members group with the ability to use the PM system. =)

[Knave]

This may have been answered in some previous topic, but I'd like to ask why I am still a premier member. I donated for a six-month membership more than 12 months ago, and it seems that the title has remained after the forum change. Is this intended, or can it be removed?

[Ziko]

Is it possible that someone else bought you a longer membership? If nobody did, it shouldn't have stuck around that long; sometimes there are delays before a Premier Membership is removed, but not that long.

If you think you've had it too long, you could talk to Dimensioneer or B6 about it (B6 would probably be easier to get in contact with).

[Ballom]

Premier Memberships are activated and removed manually, so you'll have to PM one of the higher ups about it. I believe Black Six is who you'd want to PM, actually.

Edit: Dangit, Ziko.

~B~

Edited by Ballom, Apr 03 2012 - 07:05 PM.

[BioGio]

Well, counting the board's downtime and the period of free Premier Perks, your PMship may have been extended. In one of (I think) Alex Humva's topics, Black Six said that, while it was difficult to calculate the extra time one would get as premier, it will be longer than you have payed for due to the factors mentioned before.

~ BioGio

[Loganto The Bo-Matoran]

Can you start your own topic for your blog even though it is for premium members?

[-Windrider-]

Can you start your own topic for your blog even though it is for premium members?

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "start your own topic for your blog," but if you mean to ask if you are able to create a blog and post an entry, then no, since the free Premier perks have long since been taken away. If you mean to ask if you can start a topic in one of the forums, such as COT, to serve as a blog, then no, that is not allowed.

[Malignus]

Is it permissible for me to start a BBC topic and link to an album on Imgur?

Edited by Malignus, Mar 29 2013 - 09:23 PM.

[HAZMAT]

Is it permissible for me to start a BBC topic and link to an album on Imgur?

No, because imgur has links to social networks and a comment system. You would need to link directly to the images.

Also, this thread is for questions pertaining to the software upgrade and the downtime from doing so. Since your question is unrelated, it should get its own topic. Keep that in mind if you have future questions.

[GLaDOS]

I get this message:

"IPS Driver Error

There appears to be an error with the database.
You can try to refresh the page by clicking here"

 

When trying to view threads in the archive. Are they gone for good?

Edited by GLaDOS, Mar 30 2013 - 01:26 AM.

[Zeene]

I get this message:

"IPS Driver Error

There appears to be an error with the database.
You can try to refresh the page by clicking here"

 

When trying to view threads in the archive. Are they gone for good?

 

No, it is a result of the recent attack on the database. If I recall correctly, B6 said they will be back, but since the archives (rather logically) only contain old posts/topic, other things have higher priority right now.