I have created & admin'd a number of automotive forums, going back as far as 2001. I have always used phpBB and I can see you use SMF.
I think it would be a good idea for you guys to update the forum software one version newer to 2.1.0 at least, MAINLY because it is mobile friendly. Secondly, it's good practice to not use old software versions for security reasons. It is also not a good practice to advertise the version of software you are running (phpBB took that out of the HTML code) because it makes you more of a target. I realize you may not be able to change that with SMF.
The current release is 2.1.2 - https://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=582201.0;all
I submit this idea for your consideration. I'm not sure I could actively help with the upgrade but I at least wanted to bring it to your attention.
With such an old forum, a large update like that has a decent chance of causing problems. If youre worried about security, no version of BB or SMF is ever going to be very secure.
Quote from: TheBirdman on November 30, 2022, 05:02:25 PM
With such an old forum, a large update like that has a decent chance of causing problems. If youre worried about security, no version of BB or SMF is ever going to be very secure.
I have been upgrading forums for 21 years. With phpBB the only real risk of causing issues is when you go to a major revision from like version 2.x to 3.x. I would bet going from 2.0.x to 2.1.x would be a very low likelihood of problems. It is good practice to do the upgrade on a backup or test version of the database / site prior to pushing it out live to the production site.
One might say those risks outweigh the risks that you leave open by not upgrading:
QuoteNotable changes in SMF 2.1.2
- Fixes errors when attempting to view the profile of a non-existent user.
- Fixes minor issues with the editor toolbar when certain BBCodes are disabled.
- Fixes a bug where the admin panel incorrectly showed the image proxy settings as editable when Settings.php was read-only.
- Correctly formats the gender string in profile exports.
- Correctly formats the custom profile field names and values in the Buddies list.
- Fixes a minor bug when displaying size limits in the attachments restrictions information.
- Large image thumbnails now display with the the correct aspect ratio when viewed on small devices.
- Video attachments no longer overflow the window on small devices.
- Fixes
Notable changes in SMF 2.1.1
- errors about undefined variables when switching between different cache accelerator options.
- Fixes an error about invalid dates when a comma was used under certain circumstances while creating a calendar event.
- Correctly handles uppercase non-ASCII characters in the answers to verification questions.
- Fixes a bug that could allow a topic to be moved into a redirection board under certain circumstances.
- Fixes a error that could be generated when sending notifications about guest posts.
- Fixes a bug where certain pages could fail to load if the set_time_limit() function was disabled on PHP 8+.
- Fixes a bug where attachments might not download correctly if the "Enable compressed output" setting was enabled on PHP 8.0.17+ and 8.1.4+.
- Fixes some rare Unicode character handling issues.
- Security improvements.
ALL of that would be fixed with an update. Plus, the site would be mobile friendly, which is the feature I really want to see.
The last update was Dec, 2021 and the version was from 2.0.18-2.0.19
For some strange reason, updating/upgrading to the newest version gives a error? not sure why, it isn't giving any information on it. "undefined error" "board_stats_limit" is that shows.
I believe the problem might be there is not update from 2.0.19-2.1.1 it is not listed anywhere that I have been able to find.
Download page:
https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?action=patches
Yeah I don't see an update pkg 2.0.19 up. It says:
QuoteIf there is no available version, then package manager upgrades are not possible. To upgrade you will need to use the Large Upgrade (also known as Full upgrade).
If you are interested if you gave me admin privileges for a bit I could try to take a look at the admin area and see if I see anything unusual. My experience is with phpBB, however. If not, I would suggest you post at the SMF community and ask for help to see if they have any additional ideas.
Multiple errors when trying to update the SMF updates. Also updating the PHP software yesterday caused the blank page that we have endured for the last 24 hours or so. That was reverted by tech support this morning. Apparently I didn't revert it back far enough for it to be fixed.
All of it is rooted in what seems to be various plugins
A partial screen shoot of the errors that tech support emailed.
My experience is phpBB but typically you have to do the script upgrades first (e.g. SMF and other scripts), and then last test the upgrade of php, MySQL, etc. Do not try to update the server software itself until the SMF is upgraded successfully.
Also, in my experience add-ins or extension that are not part of the forum software tend to not be maintained after years so those also become a problem. I run very few extra "addins".
It looks like Subs-ForumFirewall might be a plugin?
You also need to be very aware of the system requirements for each SMF version release. Typically you need to update the forum scripts first before upgrading PHP because once you upgrade PHP to like 8.x or whatever it's a massive upgrade and not backward compatible. That part doesn't surprise me.
I sent you my email address directly. If the forum is down and you think I could provide some advice feel free to reach out.
Is this the version of ForumFirewall you're using? Last updated in 2017 - https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?mod=2815
SOMETIMES, you can get away with disabling these plugins / add-ins FIRST, to allow you to actually run the upgrade of the core SMF. Then review which ones are compatible with the new version of the forum software SMF. Re-enable or re-download the new version if possible.
Exactly which plugins/mods are you using? How many?
=======
If I was you, I'd look at what all plugins you are running, disable each one ALL OF THEM (on a test board if you have one), and then try the SMF upgrade. See if that works. If it does work, re-enable plugins one by one, update as needed, ALSO disable ones that break the forum or are no longer compatible. If you can get the forum working OK at that point, then and only then consider updating PHP, MySQL, server side scripts.
In a nutshell:
1. Backup your current database and files
2. Disable all forum plugins / mods now, record which ones you were using (and their version numbers)
3. Do a test upgrade to SMF 2.1 (you may have to update multiple times to 2.1.1 then 2.1.2, then 2.1.3 I'm not sure if you can go straight to 2.1.3 from the current 2.0.19 !!!!! ) - you may want to just do one update per day to make sure there are no issues each time rather than doing all at once!
4. If the upgrade works and the forum is working, only turn plugins back on one at a time but update them from the developer. You likely can't put all them back up.
5. If you are good now, only at this point consider PHP / MySQL upgrades, I would strongly recommend you wait a few days after the forum is upgraded to do this to make sure there are no pre-existing software bugs that arise from the other SMF upgrades.
FYI I found this on the SMF website:
If you are currently using any older version of SMF (including SMF 1.x, SMF 2.0.x, or one of the SMF 2.1 Betas or RCs), you can upgrade directly to 2.1.3 from whichever version you are currently using by using the "Large Upgrade" package from the Download page. Be aware that using this upgrade method will require you to reinstall any customizations that you have added to your forum, so if you are running SMF 2.1.0 or higher, it is recommended that you apply the successive patches instead of using the Large Upgrade.
Did you make any progress since my last post?
No I haven't. Still looking into it and other stuff.
Going to have the hosting company and their IT people update the outdated software.
Taylor
Quote from: Taylor on October 21, 2024, 07:46:17 PM
Going to have the hosting company and their IT people update the outdated software.
Taylor
That's exciting! Hopefully it get a little bit more mobile friendly. It's already pretty good though.
Forum software upgrade coming soon. Haven't been told as to when the hosting company will do it. Might take the side down for a 30-120 minute period.
So if it is off line everyone will know why.
Thank you all for your patience.
Thanks for the heads up!
Looks like they updated it overnight. On mobile, it is so much easier to use, particularly showing unread or new posts.
Looks good! Took me a moment to find the "Unread Posts" button but I'm back in business now!
Update is finally complete. :occasion14:
Let me know what you think.
Thanks
Taylor
aaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAA
IT'S SO BRIGHT
AAAAAA IT BURNS!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
Nah it seems to be okay for the most part. Just a few bugs here and there.
Minor requests/bug:
-Some of the smilies are currently broken or not loading correctly. (this may be a browser issue on my end though)
-Bring back the links in the top banner for additional site resources, such as the Eaglepedia.
-There's a very large news bulletin at the top of the page which has been there forever and now points users at mentioned buttons which no longer exist.
QuoteNews:
Putting FUN and FRIENDLINESS, FIRST into owning and learning about AMC small bodied cars, primarily Eagles, Spirits and Concords as well as vehicles built in AMC's Mexican subsidiary, VAM.
The AMC Eaglepedia can now be accessed using the buttons found below This is a comprehensive ever growing archive of information, tips, diagrams, manuals, etc. for the AMC Eagle and other small bodied AMC cars.
Also a button is now available for our Face Book Group page.
Welcome to the AMC Eagles Nest. A new site under "old" management -- so welcome to your new home for everything related to AMC Eagles, Spirits and Concords along with opportunities to interact with other AMC'ers. This site will soon be evolving to look different than it has and we will be incorporating new features we hope you will find useful, entertaining and expand your AMC horizons.
You can now promote your topics at your favorite social media site by clicking on the appropriate icon (top upper right of the page) while viewing the topic you wish to promote.
It's also formatted as a column and eats a ton of vertical space.
Going to work on changing the color or colors so it is more like before. As for the smilies, not sure the old ones are fully compatible with the newest version of SMF.
Testing some here.
:banghead:
:lurk:
:occasion14:
:amc:
:censored:
:newbie:
8)
:rotfl:
I'm sure if you need new ones I got 20 years of archived vbulletin emojis. ;)
Thanks for the revamp, Taylor.
Any idea if the update will change the photo hosting so that larger-size attached photo files don't have to be viewed by dragging a viewing bar back and forth?
Not sure how photos will show. I do know I was able to up the maximum photo size from 5MB to 16MB, so the picture quality will be much higher.
I was able to easily insert photos in a post rather than having to attach them. Big improvement, thanks!!
Photos are definitely easier to post.
How do you give someone a "Thumbs Up" now?
I've now logged on a couple of times with my computer now too. This change wasn't as big as the change on mobile, but I would call this an improvement as well.
Quote from: Trooper on January 13, 2025, 08:10:13 AMHow do you give someone a "Thumbs Up" now?
Maybe I'm missing it, but it doesn't look like we can do that anymore.
Is there any chance we can get rid of the RT66 button at the top of the page? It doesn't seem to bring us to an AMC related site anymore
I gave it a look and wasted a bunch of time trying. The forum home page I only see one thing to edit. That is not the one thing.
Also the amcevolution link has been dead for years, that would be another thing to remove.
Been looking into that problem, never found it in the code. So I will ask tech support to perform the deletion for us.
I found it odd the RT66 Rambler disappeared.
Tech support was very quick today, the 2 dead links are gone.
Quote from: Taylor on January 21, 2025, 05:05:24 PMTech support was very quick today, the 2 dead links are gone.
Thank you!
You are welcome.
So I've been trying to use the search feature to look up the torque specs for everything in the front suspension and either the search function is broken or it thinks everything I've typed in is offensive language.
Searching the whole site with a few keywords doesn't seem to work, but if you select sections of the forum (i.e transmissions, driveline...) it works fine.
Really appreciate all the work all the mods do to keep this site going. One of the main reasons I'm a Eagle-er. 👍
I'll reopen the support ticket and post this there. Asking them to check it out.
Okay thank you, because typing in ball joint or upper control arm should not have caused me get a clean talk censor message while trying to search for their torque specs.
So I've noticed with the new update we can now directly attach picture files without using a URL...sometimes. Seems like most topics allow it, but a few, like this one, or the "Classifieds: Eagles/Jeeps" section just don't have the option. Is that intentional, a bug, or am I just missing something obvious?
Awesome to be able to do that by the way. I understand it requires more storage on the server, but it makes the forum so much more user friendly.
They all should have the same features, "quick reply" doesn't give you an option to post pictures. Hit "reply" and it should be at the bottle of the text field.
Quote from: Taylor on March 20, 2025, 08:47:42 AMThey all should have the same features, "quick reply" doesn't give you an option to post pictures. Hit "reply" and it should be at the bottle of the text field.
I also have been trying to figure out how to add pictures but whatever I do I can't find the attachment button. If I hit the reply button there are extra options; Notify me of other replies, Return to this topic and, Don't use smileys. But I can't find the a button to add a photo. I am on my phone but even requesting the desktop site I can't find it.
It's not. Everything else look normal, but that little "Click or drag" section just isn't there.
I'd post a screenshot but...
Funny thing is it's also absent if I try to post a new topic. But only in some sections, like this one. I can post a new topic in "The Shop" and the option is there, under the text box. Or if I reply to anything in that section it's there.
Seems like here, "News and Updates", "Fun Activities", "For Sale: Eagles/Jeeps" (which I see you just posted in on this topic), and possibly others seem to have this bug(?) when trying to post a new topic or reply.
Trying to re create what you described, haven't had it happen yet.
If you can't post photos send them to my personal email address and hopefully be able to figure out what is going on.
Where can I find your email?