# Current Status of SDMB Upgrade **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 9, 2008, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854 "2008-09-09T21:50:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/61 "2008-09-12T18:54:36Z")
Thank you for the continued updates in the OP. This is great of you to keep us informed. I see that you are “Currently Working On” \*Fix broken drop downs on navigation bars \* Does that include restoring the \*\*Colors List Dropdown \*\*in the Edit Window or is that a seperate issue that will be addressed later? Thank you again for all the improvements and the hard work. Jim ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/62 "2008-09-12T19:17:49Z")
> [@jdavis](#): > > **Flander** , > > Send me an e-mail at [email=jdavis@chicagoreader.com]jdavis@chicagoreader.com if you decide you want to re-subscribe. The Charter Member subscription rate of $7.48 is not in place yet so I’ll manually assist you with the re-subscription. > > Jerry **Jerry** , I would like to subscribe again. I’ll shoot you an email this weekend. When I do, shall I just include my credit card info or is there a more elegant/easier/sercure way you had in mind? ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/63 "2008-09-12T19:52:55Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Thank you for the continued updates in the OP. This is great of you to keep us informed. > > I see that you are “Currently Working On” > \*Fix broken drop downs on navigation bars \* > Does that include restoring the \*\*Colors List Dropdown \*\*in the Edit Window or is that a seperate issue that will be addressed later? > > Thank you again for all the improvements and the hard work. > > Jim There is some type of style problem effecting the vBMenu DHTML popups such as the navigation bar’s Search, Quick Links, etc. dropdowns on forum display and thread pages that contain more than one page. This same problem appears to have been effecting the Edit Window dropdowns as well. I’ve disabled vBMenu DHTML popups for the time being until I have time to debug the style issue. The Color Lists Dropdown should now be there. ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/64 "2008-09-12T19:54:32Z")
> [@Flander](#): > > **Jerry** , > > I would like to subscribe again. I’ll shoot you an email this weekend. When I do, shall I just include my credit card info or is there a more elegant/easier/sercure way you had in mind? You can always send me a number I can reach you at and I’ll call you on Monday morning (or a convenient time for you) so you don’t have to disclose that information in e-mail. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/65 "2008-09-12T20:01:30Z")
> [@jdavis](#): > > There is some type of style problem effecting the vBMenu DHTML popups such as the navigation bar’s Search, Quick Links, etc. dropdowns on forum display and thread pages that contain more than one page. This same problem appears to have been effecting the Edit Window dropdowns as well. I’ve disabled vBMenu DHTML popups for the time being until I have time to debug the style issue. The Color Lists Dropdown should now be there. The menus look much better now in the edit window and the colors work. The fonts are still working. The Sizes are still working. This is all in IE7 on Win XP sp2 Thank you very much, Jim ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/66 "2008-09-12T20:30:49Z")
Not a complaint, but rather an inquiry and possible alert. The other day, I went to look at some of the old, recently restored threads, by changing the range at the bottom of Great Debate to “From the Beginning.” I discovered that no matter what the settiing, only the last 200 threads would list. Today I checked a couple other forums, and found the same to be true. My **hunch** is that you have it set to do that while you’re troubleshooting the upgrades; is that in fact the case? If not, were you aware it was doing it? ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/67 "2008-09-12T21:21:52Z")
> [@jdavis](#): > > You can always send me a number I can reach you at and I’ll call you on Monday morning (or a convenient time for you) so you don’t have to disclose that information in e-mail. I’ll reply to your previous email with my contact info. Thanks again for your personal attention with this. You’re racking up quite the post count keeping us all informed. ---
**Author:** ![jdavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f6c823/32.png) [@jdavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdavis)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/68 "2008-09-12T22:00:32Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > Not a complaint, but rather an inquiry and possible alert. > > The other day, I went to look at some of the old, recently restored threads, by changing the range at the bottom of Great Debate to “From the Beginning.” > > I discovered that no matter what the settiing, only the last 200 threads would list. > > Today I checked a couple other forums, and found the same to be true. > > My **hunch** is that you have it set to do that while you’re troubleshooting the upgrades; is that in fact the case? If not, were you aware it was doing it? I had to hack the forum display code so it didn’t bog itself down trying to determine how many threads match your chosen display option range (1 days, 2 days, etc.). So yes, I have it limited to 200 threads. 200 is an arbitrary number I just picked, it could be higher. Yesterday I tried a number of ways to optimize the hack to return some of the functionality you’ve noted is missing but even the optimized code brought the server to a standstill eventually. It’s going to require more work than just the simple things I was doing to get that piece of code performing adequately so unfortunately a long term fix is deferred until I can get the bulk of the other issues addressed. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2008, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/69 "2008-09-12T23:15:34Z")
My memory is vague, but I seem to remember there has always been some limit to the number of posts that can come up from a search. Can’t remember what is was before, though. Still, reading 200 posts is too much. Better tune that search. Speaking of which, Google searches are on the short list of improvements to come, so we could search like crazy until we find what we are looking for. Is the option of making Google search the standard search method being considered? That could take some load off the servers, right? (or maybe I just misunderstand how that works) ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2008, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/70 "2008-09-13T00:06:08Z")
**Jerry** : Thanks for the answer, and also hanks for all your diligent work. Yeah, fix things in the order you see as most needed (not that I’d have any say, anyways). I just wanted to be sure you’d done it or at least were aware of it. **Sapo** : This is not results of a search, but forum display menus (which are, technically, a form of search, I suppose). By default, the menu displays threads in that forum active in the last 24 or 48 hours or the last week, but it can be reset to a wide range of what-to-list. That’s what cut off at 200 threads, no matter what. There was a cap on number of search results before the upgrade, and until Jerry’s happy with the stability of things, I don’t want to try one just to see how it works. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/71 "2008-09-14T01:16:06Z")
[delete]delete[/delete] [strikethrough]strikethrough[/strikethrough] [strike]strike[/strike] [st]st[/st] IIRC, the [delete] tag used to work. Has it been disabled, or am I missing something? ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/72 "2008-09-14T01:36:13Z")
[del]del[/del] Umm… never mind, I found it. ---
**Author:** ![RobuSensei](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/919ad9/32.png) [@RobuSensei](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RobuSensei)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2008, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/73 "2008-09-14T19:19:54Z")
I’ve asked before in another thread, but got no official notice there, so… Please, _please_, _ **please** _ set the “Go to first unread post” timer to a longer duration! It is annoying to click on a thread, read a page of new posts, then go back to the forum page to see that all the other “Go to first unread post” links have gone away. Unless you recommend opening multiple threads in tabs simultaneously, which by definition will eat more server resources, it would be very useful to have those links last longer. On the board that I used to administrate, we had it set for one week. Even a couple hours would be better than whatever it’s at now. (zero? 15 min?) ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/74 "2008-09-15T00:03:23Z")
> [@RobuSensei](#): > > I’ve asked before in another thread, but got no official notice there, so… > > Please, _please_, _ **please** _ set the “Go to first unread post” timer to a longer duration! > > It is annoying to click on a thread, read a page of new posts, then go back to the forum page to see that all the other “Go to first unread post” links have gone away. Unless you recommend opening multiple threads in tabs simultaneously, which by definition will eat more server resources, it would be very useful to have those links last longer. > > On the board that I used to administrate, we had it set for one week. Even a couple hours would be better than whatever it’s at now. (zero? 15 min?) I would think in this instance to have a page of posts, open one in new tab, reply/to it/close it out/move to the next one on the page/open in new tab, that’s really not a huge amount of resources. But I’ll bring this to Jerry’s attention and see what’s to be done here. ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2008, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/75 "2008-09-15T03:25:45Z")
> [@TubaDiva](#): > > I would think in this instance to have a page of posts, open one in new tab, reply/to it/close it out/move to the next one on the page/open in new tab, that’s really not a huge amount of resources. > > But I’ll bring this to Jerry’s attention and see what’s to be done here. ISTR that Jerry is aware of this issue, but it’s one of those things that are happening while other things are tweaked which also allow the boards to run relatively quickly these days. But what I really wanted to say is that I never even THOUGHT about your suggestion, Tuba, and that IS a decent workaround in the meantime. Thanks 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/76 "2008-09-16T22:02:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Update user titles restoring Charter Member for those who lost it Apologies if I missed a response to this in skimming this thread, but will this also involve restoring normal Member status if it’s been lost? This Guest status is a little irritating (if that’s what’s responsible for the lost post count and missing Quick Reply box). ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/77 "2008-09-16T22:33:18Z")
> [@Crusoe](#): > > Apologies if I missed a response to this in skimming this thread, but will this also involve restoring normal Member status if it’s been lost? This Guest status is a little irritating (if that’s what’s responsible for the lost post count and missing Quick Reply box). Quick Reply is missing across the board for all posters. Your guest status is going to be changed to eventually as follows. > [@SDMB Server Migration/Upgrade Plan](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sdmb-server-migration-upgrade-plan/461434/1): > > A) Current Guest users will have their membership level renamed to Member and we will remove the restriction of only being able to post for 30 days. Search capability will be enabled. Users at this level will be shown banner ads, Google Adwords, etc. Users at this level are asked not to thwart our attempts to display advertising to you. In return for viewing that advertising capabilities that were restricted to paid subscribers in the past will now be available. > > B) Current Member users will have their membership level renamed to Subscriber. Yearly subscriptions will continue for those that don’t want to see advertising or want to support the message board financially. We’ll also be turning off the Google Adwords ads that currently are being displayed to all users. > > C) Current Charter Member users will not have their membership level renamed. Yearly subscriptions will also continue at half the current subscription price. We’ll also be turning off the Google Adwords ads for Charter Members. [From the SDMB Server Migration/Upgrade Plan](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481092) ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2008, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/78 "2008-09-16T22:44:18Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Quick Reply is missing across the board for all posters. > > Your guest status is going to be changed to eventually as follows. > [From the SDMB Server Migration/Upgrade Plan](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=481092) Thanks for the clarification, **What Exit?** The only thing that leaves me a little uncertain is your last quote - I was a Member before the upgrade, and I don’t _think_ my membership was about to expire, so I’m hoping I actually end up as a Subscriber. (Of course, my memory could be playing tricks on me here, and I could be wrong.) ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/79 "2008-09-17T00:15:08Z")
> [@Crusoe](#): > > Thanks for the clarification, **What Exit?** > > The only thing that leaves me a little uncertain is your last quote - I was a Member before the upgrade, and I don’t _think_ my membership was about to expire, so I’m hoping I actually end up as a Subscriber. (Of course, my memory could be playing tricks on me here, and I could be wrong.) Crusoe, I show your membership as having expired September 1, which was when we were initially going through the upgrade process. You can resubscribe at any time. Check the “Paid Subscription” link in the User Control Panel from the list on the left hand side. The user titles are not all correct for all people – this is something Jerry needs to address at some point. But since all relevant titles can read and write to the board – Charter Member, Member, and Guest – it’s not an urgent matter. ---
**Author:** ![John\_W.Kennedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_w.kennedy/32/1031_2.png) [@John\_W.Kennedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_W.Kennedy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2008, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854/80 "2008-09-17T16:22:41Z")
> [@RobuSensei](#): > > Unless you recommend opening multiple threads in tabs simultaneously, which by definition will eat more server resources, it would be very useful to have those links last longer. If you open one tab per thread singly, it will use _fewer_ server resources in the long run. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/current-status-of-sdmb-upgrade/462854.md?page=5)