Greetings fellow RPF members!
(First let me say that I am largely ripping this announcement off from another site (AnandTech) who made this same upgrade and documented the process thoroughly.
)
In the interest of substantially improving your experience and security, we have migrated our forum software from vBulletin to XenForo (as we have done for The Dented Helmet, Predatorium and the 405th previously). We made this move for a number of reasons:
We know that jumping platforms can be disruptive to your routine; familiarity and comfort of habits are as important in online communities as they are in real life. We are making this change to safeguard the continued growth of the RPF. While the migration is complete, there are some lingering issues. During the transition, please bear with us patiently as we work diligently to work out any remaining gremlins in the system.
If you encounter a bug with the new platform, please respond in THIS thread and we will address them as quickly as possible.
AA
To learn more about some of the big changes and how they might affect you, continue reading below:
The Account Page
Before you start exploring the forums proper, check out your Account Page first! You can reach your Account Page at any time by clicking on your username at the top right corner of the page. You'll find many new features and options to customize on your Account Page.
Account Page Quick Links
There are many handy quick links located throughout the new forum interface. If you ever need to access your account settings simply mouse over your username at the top right of the screen.
Two-Step Verification
We now have Two-Step Verification built in. Secure yourself and your passwords. Highly, highly, recommend you enable this feature. Here's a direct link to the two-step verification page. Click it. Enable it. Be secure.
Account Page User Menu
The Account Page User Menu is located on the left hand side of your Account Page and contains links to settings, options, as well as forum feeds and alerts.
Status Message
You now have the ability to create a status message for your profile page. Simply type up to 140 characters and press enter. You now have a status message!
Your Alerts
Alerts are notifications that alert you to happenings around the forum. You can find alerts both on your Account Page or by mousing over the flag in the upper right corner of the page. Alerts can range from receiving a like to receiving a trophy or you can even be alerted when another user quotes your message. To customize your Alerts check out your Alert Preferences page.
People You Follow
You can follow any user to keep track of their posts. Think of followers of friends who really like what you have to say. The list of users you follow will populate this list. You can follow a user by clicking on their username and selecting "Follow."
People You Ignore
You can ignore users as well. Ignoring a user will result in all of their posts being hidden. To ignore someone click on their avatar and click on the Ignore link on their member card.
Watched Threads and Watched Forums
Subscriptions have been replaced by Watched Threads and Watched Forums.
You have the option to watch any thread you like and also to receive emails when there are new posts in that thread. To do this go to the thread you want to watch and click on "Watch Thread" in the top right of the thread.
You will receive either an e-mail notification or forum alert whenever someone posts in a "watched thread." You also have the ability to get alerts and updates for new posts in forums by clicking "Watch Forum" located at the top right of each forum.
Conversations
Private messages are now called "Conversations." Most other boards split private messages into an "Inbox" and "Sent." In contrast, "Conversations" are threaded. All private messages to a user or users appear in a single thread, and you will always be able to see when your conversation was last read. You can add other members to your conversation and remove yourself from conversations as well.
How do I report a conversation?
Go to the message you want to report and click the report button at the bottom of the conversation.
How do I invite more people into a conversation?
If you are able to invite more participants into a conversation, there will be an Invite More link in the right hand sidebar.
You can invite more people into conversations you have started, or in those where the conversation starter has ticked the box to allow it.
If you are starting a conversation and do not want the recipient(s) to invite others in, do not tick this option.
How do I receive emails for conversation replies?
Click Contact Details in your user menu. Tick the box for 'Receive email when a new conversation message is received.
What does locking a conversation do?
When you start a conversation, there is an option to lock it. This means that no one can respond to your conversation.
Search
You asked and we listened. Search on the RPF forums has gotten better, a whole lot better. First off, we expanded, improved, and consolidated search into one single search box. It is now possible to search profile posts and members from the main search system via the Search Profile Posts and Search Everything tabs. You can also search within a thread, something which wasn’t possible before. The content type is now indicated in the search results, as well as any matching member names which are displayed in a sidebar. To search simply click the search box located underneath your username.
Trophies
The Trophies system rewards members with virtual trophies and points for meeting certain criteria. It is also linked to the user title ladder, replacing the more traditional post count method. Trophies can be rewarded based on likes and message count.
Notices
This is a new system which enables us to target different groups and members, to ensure pertinent information is seen. Some notices will be visible when logged out and some when logged in. In most cases, notices which are visible when logged in can be permanently dismissed by clicking the X in the top right corner. If there is more than one notice being displayed at the same time, the scrolling effect can be halted by hovering over the notice. You can also click on the notice tab to display specific notices.
Likes
Just like Facebook, you can easily "LIKE" a post by clicking the Like button to the bottom right of the post.
Member Tagging
Also like Facebook, you can easily tag another member in a post by typing the @ symbol followed by their name (no space between the symbol and name). This will alert the member that you tagged them.
(First let me say that I am largely ripping this announcement off from another site (AnandTech) who made this same upgrade and documented the process thoroughly.
)In the interest of substantially improving your experience and security, we have migrated our forum software from vBulletin to XenForo (as we have done for The Dented Helmet, Predatorium and the 405th previously). We made this move for a number of reasons:
- Security is improved greatly in the new platform, and as mentioned recently, we also rolled out SSL as an additional security measure
- Development in XenForo is more active and is based on a modern framework
- The learning curve for you is tiny, as XenForo was built by the previous developers of vBulletin
- Extra built-in features like spam prevention that are stricter and more effective
- Easier and more intuitive platform for both new and veteran members of the community
- The add-on ecosystem for new features and functionality is larger
- Significant increase in site speed and load times
- Responsive design that scales with resolution and mobile-friendly interface
We know that jumping platforms can be disruptive to your routine; familiarity and comfort of habits are as important in online communities as they are in real life. We are making this change to safeguard the continued growth of the RPF. While the migration is complete, there are some lingering issues. During the transition, please bear with us patiently as we work diligently to work out any remaining gremlins in the system.
If you encounter a bug with the new platform, please respond in THIS thread and we will address them as quickly as possible.
AA
To learn more about some of the big changes and how they might affect you, continue reading below:
The Account Page
Before you start exploring the forums proper, check out your Account Page first! You can reach your Account Page at any time by clicking on your username at the top right corner of the page. You'll find many new features and options to customize on your Account Page.
Account Page Quick Links
There are many handy quick links located throughout the new forum interface. If you ever need to access your account settings simply mouse over your username at the top right of the screen.
Two-Step Verification
We now have Two-Step Verification built in. Secure yourself and your passwords. Highly, highly, recommend you enable this feature. Here's a direct link to the two-step verification page. Click it. Enable it. Be secure.
Account Page User Menu
The Account Page User Menu is located on the left hand side of your Account Page and contains links to settings, options, as well as forum feeds and alerts.
Status Message
You now have the ability to create a status message for your profile page. Simply type up to 140 characters and press enter. You now have a status message!
Your Alerts
Alerts are notifications that alert you to happenings around the forum. You can find alerts both on your Account Page or by mousing over the flag in the upper right corner of the page. Alerts can range from receiving a like to receiving a trophy or you can even be alerted when another user quotes your message. To customize your Alerts check out your Alert Preferences page.
People You Follow
You can follow any user to keep track of their posts. Think of followers of friends who really like what you have to say. The list of users you follow will populate this list. You can follow a user by clicking on their username and selecting "Follow."
People You Ignore
You can ignore users as well. Ignoring a user will result in all of their posts being hidden. To ignore someone click on their avatar and click on the Ignore link on their member card.
Watched Threads and Watched Forums
Subscriptions have been replaced by Watched Threads and Watched Forums.
You have the option to watch any thread you like and also to receive emails when there are new posts in that thread. To do this go to the thread you want to watch and click on "Watch Thread" in the top right of the thread.
You will receive either an e-mail notification or forum alert whenever someone posts in a "watched thread." You also have the ability to get alerts and updates for new posts in forums by clicking "Watch Forum" located at the top right of each forum.
Conversations
Private messages are now called "Conversations." Most other boards split private messages into an "Inbox" and "Sent." In contrast, "Conversations" are threaded. All private messages to a user or users appear in a single thread, and you will always be able to see when your conversation was last read. You can add other members to your conversation and remove yourself from conversations as well.
How do I report a conversation?
Go to the message you want to report and click the report button at the bottom of the conversation.
How do I invite more people into a conversation?
If you are able to invite more participants into a conversation, there will be an Invite More link in the right hand sidebar.
You can invite more people into conversations you have started, or in those where the conversation starter has ticked the box to allow it.
If you are starting a conversation and do not want the recipient(s) to invite others in, do not tick this option.
How do I receive emails for conversation replies?
Click Contact Details in your user menu. Tick the box for 'Receive email when a new conversation message is received.
What does locking a conversation do?
When you start a conversation, there is an option to lock it. This means that no one can respond to your conversation.
Search
You asked and we listened. Search on the RPF forums has gotten better, a whole lot better. First off, we expanded, improved, and consolidated search into one single search box. It is now possible to search profile posts and members from the main search system via the Search Profile Posts and Search Everything tabs. You can also search within a thread, something which wasn’t possible before. The content type is now indicated in the search results, as well as any matching member names which are displayed in a sidebar. To search simply click the search box located underneath your username.
Trophies
The Trophies system rewards members with virtual trophies and points for meeting certain criteria. It is also linked to the user title ladder, replacing the more traditional post count method. Trophies can be rewarded based on likes and message count.
Notices
This is a new system which enables us to target different groups and members, to ensure pertinent information is seen. Some notices will be visible when logged out and some when logged in. In most cases, notices which are visible when logged in can be permanently dismissed by clicking the X in the top right corner. If there is more than one notice being displayed at the same time, the scrolling effect can be halted by hovering over the notice. You can also click on the notice tab to display specific notices.
Likes
Just like Facebook, you can easily "LIKE" a post by clicking the Like button to the bottom right of the post.
Member Tagging
Also like Facebook, you can easily tag another member in a post by typing the @ symbol followed by their name (no space between the symbol and name). This will alert the member that you tagged them.
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