I've been working on the upgrade process to the forum software we use here from SMF 1.1.13 to 2.0 RC5. Why? Because there are several key features which have been added to the latest version. Additionally the add on feature development for 1.1.13 is almost completely stale. Everyone is creating the new features for version 2. What that means is, it will be harder to add new features and get bug fixes for existing features unless we consider an upgrade in forum software.
The upgrade should take less than 6 hours if all is done well. The database will be backed up, as it is every morning at around 2-3 am so that data loss is unlikely to ocurr. The look and presentation of the forum will change upon the upgrade as the current theme is not supported for the upgrade. There will be a short period of time after the upgrade where settings will likely have to be tweaked and some bugs worked out. For example the classifieds section will need to be merged again with the userlist but that should not take long.
Anyway when we set a date in the next few weeks for doing a forum software upgrade we'll have to go offline for up to 6 hours. Preferrably on a weekend. I'll work with Dale on the exact date.
Attached are some screen shots of how the new forum will look as far as color scheme and logos are concerned. It does not represent in complete form how things will be layed out. The images are meant to present an idea of what the user interface is like. I spent some time creating this theme and testing it during the past couple of weeks. It has already been released for public consumption.
There are not a whole lot of user end features coming and I don't plan to list them all but we do get some key backend features which are going to make things better. Including "Paid subscritions" for sponsors, opting in and out of viewing specific boards if necessary, additional features to help manage the backend and to help with moderation.
