Once Paypal starts working...

[TheHolo.Net]

...I will be becoming a contributing member to http://phpportals.com/ and will have access to their vBulletin forum front page/Portal software kit. I really like the looks of the ones I have seen and want to make our forums have the touch of class that the add on brings, least IMO. I will most likely do some customizing and testing of it that will span a couple of weeks, before I actually make it available. I may even consider getting a few members involved in updating the news section of it, once I have a full handle on how it all functions.

One reason for my motivation to see this add on as part of our board, is the fact that SWFans the web site seems to be lost to us and I would like to have a nifty cool front end for users to see with a little extra content besides just forums and topics. :) In the long run, I think it will help our forums flourish and be more professional than they already are. :)

P.S. Paypal is giving me a "techincal difficulties try later" message, so that is the reason for my subect/first sentence of this thread.

[Champion of the Force]

... is the fact that SWFans the web site seems to be lost to us and I would like to have a nifty cool front end for users to see with a little extra content besides just forums and topics.
If SWFans continues to be unavailable, I would also recommend we adopt the name SWForums.Net for this site (as opposed to SWFans.Net Forums) to at least give ourselves a bit of independence.

It doesn't look good for the forums IMHO if the website which it is supposed to be a part of isn't online. Besides which, the forums and the homepage have very little contact with one another as well.

Not suggesting we cast ourselves free from SWFans entirely, but if the homepage continues to be offline like it is with no word from Jason and co. I think it would be better for us to promote a bit of independence on our part. :)

[TheHolo.Net]

I am in agreement with that, makes good sense. The Link in the bars in the Star Wars styles can be modified by me so that they go to our portal page ands read SWFourms.Net, and the link in the footer can do the same.

Maybe once I have the portal page all set up and ready for unveiling, would be a good time to implement such a change. Its bound to take me at least two and possibly up to four weeks to get it exactly how I may want it. It could take less, but I really want to put a great deal of effort into making the portal page something special and have cool features and information on it. :)

And the PayPal transaction has occurred, now I'm just waiting for it to all go through so that I can get the software. I don't plan to keep access to it all to myself during development either. Other ideas, suggestions, and input are a very valuable thing. :)

[Jedi Master Carr]

It stinks that SWfans.net is gone just like that and I agree with Davwj to change the name, It would be cool if you get page up I will be interested to see how it goes.

[TheHolo.Net]

Okay, I have my hands on two different versions of the vbPortal software now and it looks like the best and most feature filled option of the two would require that we upgrade our vBulletin release to version 2.2.1 from 2.0.3.

The hacks we currently have installed is what has been holding me back from doing so already, so I will look into integrating the hacks into the 2.2.1 version, before I actually go through the upgrade process, so it will be as seamless as at all possible if I am able.

I have learned quite a few tips and tricks for upgrading versions in my perusal of the vBulletin.com and vBulletin.org forums and will be using a file compare utility, as well as my notes from the hacks I have installed, to see if I will be able to integrate them into the new version or not. The one that worries me most is the most complex of all the hacks, “Mark forum Read”. That hack actually uses a database that it created that from what I understand, needs some modifications to function properly with 2.2.1.

So, needless to say, I’ll be very busy working on software stuff for a while, but I will be doing database and forum backups throughout all parts of the process, so that if any problems are encountered, I will be able to revert to how it was quite easily.

Wanted to keep you all updated on the progress and I intend to continue doing so. This looks like a very feature filled piece of software that integrates well with vBulletin and will add some good content to our forums so far. :)

[Nupraptor]

Cool beans. I love the portal they have at vB.org, and already mentioned that I'd love to see something like that implemented here.

Also, I agree with the point about the "SWFans.net" part of our name.

[TheHolo.Net]

I have gone ahead and upgraded our vBulletin version to 2.2.1, and it appears all the hacks made it through the process okay, except the colored online users hack. Considering that one of the new features of this version is that it displays Mods bold and Admins in bold Italics, the colored online user hack really has no purpose anylonger anyway.

Please let me know if you notice any problems with any of the functions, be they hacks or regular ones.

I will most likely start working on the vbPortal software installation tomorrow.