• PATRONS: Did you know we've a chat function for you now? Look to the bottom of the screen, you can chat, set up rooms, talk to each other individually or in groups! Click 'Chat' at the right side of the chat window to open the chat up.
  • Love Gotmead and want to see it grow? Then consider supporting the site and becoming a Patron! If you're logged in, click on your username to the right of the menu to see how as little as $30/year can get you access to the patron areas and the patron Facebook group and to support Gotmead!
  • We now have a Patron-exclusive Facebook group! Patrons my join at The Gotmead Patron Group. You MUST answer the questions, providing your Patron membership, when you request to join so I can verify your Patron membership. If the questions aren't answered, the request will be turned down.

New Forum Software Coming for Gotmead

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pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
Hi folks,

We are currently in the process of configuring and testing new forum software for the Gotmead forums. It is quite a bit more feature rich and will have many new and more robust tools for us to work with here.

Some of the new features we will have:

- a more robust subscription system
- a full featured patron blogging system that will be embedded in the forum
- member maps to show where GM folk are from
- better integration with the main site

...and that is just a few of the new items.

We are using award-winning software from vBulletin, widely considered one of the best forum packages on the market. The software is installed in our test site now, and we are in the process of tweaking and customizing right now.
 

Angus

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Aug 19, 2005
908
0
0
55
Milwaukee, WI
One of the few items people seem so reluctant to enter when subscribing is their location. What gives? I love the idea of a member map that will allow us to better network our local members. Now we just need to push people to update their profiles to let us know where they are.

Thanks Vicky. Great improvements.

Angus
 

fatesjoke03

NewBee
Registered Member
Jul 5, 2007
39
0
0
44
This sounds awesome! Wayneb is right, this place just keeps getting better and more helpful. Easier means more people may take a chance at making mead and that is good for us all. Thanks Vicky!!
 

wildaho

Got Mead? Patron
GotMead Patron
May 22, 2007
858
1
0
McCall, ID
wildaho.blogspot.com
I love the idea of the member maps too. Am I the only person in Idaho making mead? And how about the neighboring states? Colorado seems to be a hot bed but that's still 700 miles away! I'd love to meet some other locals and tell mead war stories whilst sipping on one (in person, and not on the net).

Looking forward to the changes Vicky! And I think next week I'll actually be flush enough to finally join as a patron too!
 

WRATHWILDE

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Mar 19, 2005
1,970
3
38
54
Dubuque, Iowa
www.zazzle.com
Vicky Vicky Vicky...
I've just had a vision, for you I foresee a future of Unforeseeable problems, long hours, headaches, curses mumbled and barked in frustration, bugs bigger than the giant aquatic centipedes in Naked Lunch. I see you searching obscure forums for answers.

Wrathwilde (Kicking and Screaming ;) )
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
LOL...actually, I'm hoping that having a *paid* forum solution will lessen the problems......in any case, I have to do this, as the bridge software for our forum and joomla is no longer valid, the Joomla folks took it down.
 

Oskaar

Got Mead Partner
Administrator
Dec 26, 2004
7,874
8
0
34
The OC
I'm very excited about this software as well. It's eminently tweakable and very comprehensive, as well as being something that we can actually get reasonable support in a reasonable amount of time as well as a feature rich environment that we can use to roll out more and more benefits to our Patrons and Registered Users.

We are also going to be radically changing the whole look and feel of the main site as part of our renovations and stabilization efforts. GM will really be looking incredible when we're finished, and will also have some site features that ya'll won't be expecting . . . but, I'm getting ahead of myself for now. We'll also be enlisting the aid of our patrons to beta test and QA the changes we'll be making so get ready boys and girls, changes are a comming.

cheers,

Oskaar
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
Hey, LOL, I thought it looked pretty decent now......but yeah, we're making some pretty radical changes. I've established a GM test site on another server that we'll be using to test out the new toys and looks before implementing them here, so like Oskaar says, we'll be recruiting some beta testers and folks to help us find the weaknesses in the new system.....
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
Heh. He's been working at his job so many hours, *I* hardly can get ahold of him. I spent all day Sunday just playing with the features and configuration stuff on the new forum software. He's had some time to play, but I'm going to dump some more on him soon....bwahahahahahaha.

Next task is to import all the settings, boards and users from here, and see how that goes, then finish putting all the site features in the main software, then copy a set of all the data, then put in the bridge between the site and the forum, then set up all the subscriptions, then manually add all the data that won't transfer automatically, then set up the blog software, then work on the template and layout for the new forum, then integrate the site and forum so there are ways back and forth between the two, then do the new layout for the site......

And somewhere in there I have to work on tax paperwork, finish the IMA and IMF upgrades and the re-write of my business site......LOL

::whew:: Gonna be a *long* weekend.....
 

Arjan

NewBee
Registered Member
Jun 22, 2007
170
0
0
48
great to hear you are switching! i am running 2 vbulletin forums, and never want anything else anymore. its well worth the money!

will you be using vbadvanced as portal page too?
 

Rhianni

NewBee
Registered Member
Nov 13, 2006
292
1
0
49
This is awesome news. There is a lot of great info on the main site but its rough to navigate to even when I know where it is.
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
Arjan, no we'll be continuing to use Joomla, but the menus and pages will be reorganized to be easier to find. Rhianni, you'll soon be seeing banners that point to various areas of the site and new info to make it easier to find.

As you can imagine, its a bit of a job to figure out a way to make thousands of pages of mead info easily found, and I'm working on it, guys. Keep the faith, we'll get there.

Vicky - running off to cook dinner for my family
 

Angus

Lifetime Patron
Lifetime GotMead Patron
Aug 19, 2005
908
0
0
55
Milwaukee, WI
And what about the book??????

Come on, here we are all excited about the book and you're too busy making the site better. How inconsiderate is that?????? Honestly, I just don't know. Some people have their priorities all messed up. ;)

Beta tester here (do you expect anything else from me?)

Angus
 

pain

GotMead Owner
Staff member
Administrator
Moderator
Apr 5, 1996
1,698
18
38
North Carolina
gotmead.com
The book is being worked on, but I'm doing the site changes so that all the little glitches that plague me every day will lessen so I can put more time into the book. Right now I have to interrupt my work several times a day to fix little problems and issues that the site creates because its not as stable as it could be....
 
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