UOAA Discussion Board

Beginning on Tuesday, November 18, our webmaster will begin two major transitions:

- The first is to move the entire UOAA website from our present host to a new hosting company. This is necessary in order for us to benefit fully from the features of the next generation of phpBB software. (You might remember that we attempted to use the new phpBB software earlier in 2008 but had to revert to the older version because of some technical snags that caused the forums to "crash" several times).

- The second is the long-postponed upgrading of this discussion board to the next generation of phpBB software. Since the launch of this board in September 2005, we've been running it on various 2.0.x versions of phpBB. Now, we'll be upgrading from phpBB2 to phpBB3, which is a major transition. We've been planning this for some time, and testing the new software behind the scenes. Following this transition, the board will have a new "look" but all of the information currently on the board should still be here.

It will be necessary to take down the board for a few days. If you access the board during this period, you'll see only a message saying we're in the process of upgrading our software. New registrations will be suspended for the few days that the board is not available to our administrators. We hope nobody will be too inconvenienced by this interruption and that you will keep trying until you find it operational again. Then, when the board returns, it will have a new look and provide lots of new features. Please see a phpBB2 vs. phpBB3 feature comparison at http://www.phpbb.com/about/features/ .

For those who commented that they preferred the old version, we thank you for expressing your thoughts and hope that you will soon find it easy to navigate the new one. The technical support for phpBB 2.0 x will cease with the new year, making it vulnerable to security breaches as well as unstable operation. You, our discussion board family, deserve a secure board that will be available for you 24-7, and we are working to provide that in as seamless a manner as possible.

Well,I hope things go more smoothly than last time,good luck Bob and all involved,we so appreciate your time and efforts this board is so crucial to so many,and speaking from my own accounts this board helped me when I thought my situation was hopeless.Making this board available for all is so awesome!!! Keep up the GREAT work,it's much appreciated....Ginger

Some things are better left alone. Good luck!

James this,like life, is not so simple. I like this version myself. I will also be a little lost while the forums are down.
The technical support for this version of the software wil cease very soon so we have to upgrade to the new version. It's just like Microsoft not supporting their older versions of Windows.
There are other behind the scene issues we are having so we need to change. There are many other parts of this website that we need to be able to upgrade and we will do better with the new hosting company in the opinion of our web master.
Please be patient while we convert. We know how important these forums are to everyone.

Hello All,
I went to the website (above) and clicked on the 3.0 version Styles...........Correct me if I am wrong, but it looks very similar to the fomat we have already (?)

If this is the case, I will not mind being dragged (kicking and screaming) into the 21st century.........It actually looks do-able. I am feeling adventurous today...........
Good luck ! Hurry back, we will all need our FIX....

Oh my -- I'll be going through withdrawals -- I get on the board at least twice a day to see what is new! I don't always post, but I read a lot. I'll miss this so much -- hope it doesn't take too long. Also hope it goes smoother than last time for everyone!

NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

To all,

I've changed the plan slightly. I'm still planning to do this upgrade, starting tomorrow, Tuesday, November 18th--and I still expect it to take two or three days. However, instead of taking down the board completely for this whole period, I'll leave it up in a static form: Posting and registration will be disabled, but you'll still be able to read everything on the board. Also, the board's Search function will remain operational, so people will be able to search for information.

I'll still need to take down the board completely for a brief period at the beginning of this upgrade process, while I extract the information from our current board that we'll need to preserve for the new board. But once that's done, I'll bring this current board back up in a "static" form, where it will remain for the next few days while I work through the rest of the upgrade process behind the scenes.

And remember: Once we come online with the new software a few days from now, it will include all of the content from this current board (e.g., all posts and user accounts), but in a new format and with many new features.

Thanks for setting this up, Bob.

So, it won't be total withdrawal

Perhaps this can be a time for regular visitors to reread earlier threads and/or do some searching to enhance their understanding of specific topics. New visitors can search to their heart's content (time permitting) to see if there are already answers to their questions. We look forward to seeing you all again on the "flip side".

Linda

It's just like Microsoft not supporting their older versions of Windows.

Gosh.. I hate when that happens!

Everything looks great. It did take me a bit to log on, but that was because I didn't remember my password, and in the board's transition, we all must have been logged out. I had just about given up and was contemplating doing laundry when it (the password) came to me. Thank goodness!

I'm liking the new look.

Thanks to all of you who keep us up and running!

Deb

*Whew*
I was suffering from withdrawal......