Well, we finally made it - only, erm, eight weeks after it was meant to happen. The transition to Yuku means a number of new possibilities, so here's
the initial rundown.
1. Forum Capacities
Until now we've had to archive threads because ezBoard could only take 20 pages per forum. Yuku has unlimited numbers of pages per forum, so we have
shifted all of the archived threads back into the respective forums from whence they came. That helps with...
2. Search Engine
It actually works, use it! Those of you who remember the crappy nonfunctional ezBoard search engine will know what a relief this is. It seems that
the simple search is showing posts, whereas advanced search can be targeted to a specific sub-forum, to a specific username, and the search can
be ordered either by 'relevance' or 'date', you can ask the advanced search to order by topics or posts. Thus, for example, as of February 23,
2008, there were 3798 posts in the H&GDD sub-forum mentioning Treblinka, but these were scattered across 165 threads. Refine the search to find
how many times (sorry, Herr Heink) neugierig has mentioned Treblinka, and you find that neugierig made 261 of those posts
The downside of advanced search: you have to enter a verification code, and because of this, the advanced search doesn't always 'take' and
you get errors. So it's a little slow, but the search engine does definitely work.
3. Thread Bumping
Now that the archive forums are merged back into the active forums, you can if you wish revive past threads. To avoid accusations of necromancy make a
substantive post and not a drive-by comment. Valid reasons to revive a thread are: the topic has come up again for discussion; a new member is ignorant of a
past discussion; there is new material to add to a topic, e.g. an update to a news story or a correction to the facts discussed in the old thread.
4. Thread Merge
Moderators and admins now have the ability to merge threads. This will be used as and when appropriate. This has a benign function, e.g. combining older with
newer threads, if short, that are on the same topic. Thread merge also has a punitive function against spam-artists and trolls. Therefore, please try to post
in appropriate threads and don't duplicate existing threads just for the hell of it.
5. Putting Other Posters On Ignore
You now all have the option to put other posters on 'ignore', which means their posts will not be displayed to you. Use this if you are finding another
poster especially annoying, but use this very sparingly. Please alter your sig to list those posters you have on 'ignore'. If you are placed on
'ignore' by someone else, do not continue to bait them or make snide comments, as this will attract warnings.
6. Post Report
This feature allows members to notify the admins of especially obnoxious posts. Be sparing with this, as with 'ignore', but it is now enabled, and
let's see if it helps at all.
7. Warnings for Infractions
Yuku also has the cute feature of counting warnings awarded by admins and then issuing an autoban if you exceed a certain number of warnings in a certain
time-frame, resulting in a temp-ban for a certain period of time. We will discuss among the admins what settings we will use, if at all.
8. Kudos
Yuku has a primitive 'reputation system', something people may be familiar with from other boards, especially vBulletin boards. Please use this so we
can see how it works.
9. Avatars
Yuku layout gives everyone a silhouette if they do not use an avatar. Therefore, you're encouraged to use one. Please refrain from using too-violently
flashing avatars. Hosting of images is now possible via Yuku - Scott will let you know how this interacts with any avatars previously hosted on
rodoh.us. Likewise we will have to see whether changing an avatar image does so for all your past posts, or just henceforth.
10. Tags
Please add appropriate search tags to new threads. This thread is tagged 'forum announcement'. Tags can eventually be used to search for threads on a
particular topic.
11. Smilies
I think I'm right in saying that Yuku has some new smilies. Have at 'em.
12. Private Messages
Your PM inbox is much more neatly displayed at the top of the homepage. All your past PMs - ezBoard had a very limited capacity - have been wiped out, it looks
like.
13. Lost Posts from February 22, 2008
Yes, it looks like some of the newer posts got lost in the transition. Doesn't look like too many. The timeframe seems to have been from about 9.40PM GMT
or 4.40PM EST last night, through to this morning. Sorry 'bout that... BUT, do be aware that the dating has gone funny on some of the very recent threads,
because...
14. Board Time Display
The transition has reset the timestamp on threads. Your new Yuku account will display according to a timestamp set by yourself in your own
'Account' (click at top) under 'Preferences' (click below your avatar on the list) then 'Timezone'. Tick 'convert' to make
everything show up as your own. Because you can now vary the time display to suit yourself, don't refer to 'my/your post of 10.00am' as people may
get confused if they're on GMT whereas you're on EST.
15. Board Display Options
You can alter the number of threads per page and replies per page that are displayed yourself, to suit your own preferences. The defaults are 20 threads per
page and 20 replies per page. Tick 'override domain settings' to do this though.
16. Anonymous Online Status
Yuku now allows you to be anonymous while online, i.e. your name won't necessarily show up at the bottom. Yuku Supporters can even fly-by-night and
won't be listed there at all should they wish
17. Post Edit Window
You now have a choice of 'bbcode' or 'wysiwyg' (what you see is what you get). The latter looks like a blog post window and has spellcheck and
all manner of goodies
18. Links
One bug in the beta version of Yuku was a problem with links taking. Please alert the admins if you have any problems posting links.
19. Photobucket-Yuku link
You can slave a Photobucket account to Yuku, presumably it makes posting pictures that much easier. Let us know how it works out for you.
20. Any other problems...
Let us know!
