Improving Gamingforce

ONLY YOU ARE INTO THAT.

NOT RADEZ. YOU.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Pang

Yes, the upgrade would be kind of costly (honestly we're probably small enough that we could get away with piracy, but why risk it?). Still, a quick whip-crack in the direction of the donation page is probably enough to solve that issue; I know donations probably trickled out pretty quickly after the initial rush but people here can be very generous if you give them some kind of immediate prompt. This is assuming they've let their vb license expire, but they probably have.

I upgraded Concert Hall Interactive to vb 4.0 just to see what it looked like, and damn. This needs to happen.

The license has not expired. The update hasn't happened because of the sheer amount of recoding necessary to make half the features we take for granted work.

Additional Spam:

Originally Posted by Pangalin

I'm not sure that "get people into chat faster" really solves the problems we're discussing, RR. If we could integrate chat INTO the board, though (there must be a plugin for that somewhere), that would be awesome and might help to fade out the sharp line between chat regs and chat negs.

This is a AWFUL idea (that integration thing I mean) but I will turn the greentext on the front to a mibbit link. One click and you're in a web browser window for it. I will add a small link next to it that's in the irc:// format.

EDIT EDIT:

OH WELL THAT'S A SILLY PLACE FOR IT

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Agent Di Gun Him

This is a AWFUL idea

But why?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

have you been in chat since 2002?

FELIPE NO

Honestly, chat moves way too fast to be at all readable or usable as a small window on the main page.

Also, the only premade plugin I know of for modern vB is just a mibbit front end, so if you're going to go to mibbit and have a new tab or window for it in order to actually read it....you might as well go to mibbit proper.

There are other webchat applications, obviously, but having a feed for the fast moving gfchat would be difficult to follow or implement in any way that's not "a new tab" or "new window" or what have you and still be user friendly, and in that case why even bother?

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Originally Posted by a_lurker

have you been in chat since 2002?

I go in there like once a year, and wait around a couple hours hoping something funny will happen. My expectations have not, as such, been challenged.

But okay if you guys think it would compromise the "useability" of #gfchat I'll bow to your wisdom. Just tryin' to bring your creepy separatist camp into the fold~

"Fast moving" compared to the forum, sure.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by Agent Di Gun Him

Also, the only premade plugin I know of for modern vB is just a mibbit front end

It at least provides the illusion of it being a PART OF the forums, so.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

It's not nearly so fast anymore, Pang. Jump in already.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Pangalin

I go in there like once a year, and wait around a couple hours hoping something funny will happen. My expectations have not, as such, been challenged.

But okay if you guys think it would compromise the "useability" of #gfchat I'll bow to your wisdom. Just tryin' to bring your creepy separatist camp into the fold~

"Fast moving" compared to the forum, sure.

Actually my point was that gfchat can get offensive and if the point is to motivate people to participate more, maybe we shouldn't offend them right off the bat, kind of a homage to what you were saying initially and all.

Also (speaking as a user of the internet) I've always hated active chat window widgets on pages where I'm just trying to browse content. They're slow to load, and they move quickly (or quickly enough to attract my attention while I'm trying to read about Mo0's latest antics). I'm not saying it's wholly a bad idea though - maybe a slightly filtered version could exist, like taking select quotes out of context (not QOOC but more like how chat statistic pages are done) and posting it somewhere. "See what chat brigade is talking about!" sort of thing. Dunno.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

One of the better parts of Gamingforce was that it use to be more about posts and less about ... internetisms, if that makes sense. I think I first came her via Jessykins to find something involving Syndicate Wars because this was some place to find stuff out when it came to gaming - and now its a place you come to to throw Christians to lions and jews to panthers and white women to black men.

(Whoops, see what I did there?)

Okay, honestly though, this place has lost its edge by being without a point. I don't come here nearly as much not because of the people but more because theres no reason to talk to most people here, especially when the ones I want to talk to I have on AIM or Facebook already. Theres no good threads, the journals - though they get posted in - are rarely interesting and the rest of it is the usual suspects spinning the same posts as they were in 2002.

So how is it this place went to being called Gamingforce because it was about gaming to being called Gamingforce and being a site that tolerates music leechers, hates new people and internet humor?

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by Agent Di Gun Him

The license has not expired. The update hasn't happened because of the sheer amount of recoding necessary to make half the features we take for granted work.

Just curious. Aside from ChocoJournal, what else might need recoding? Extensions that come to mind for me are (1) dice roller (2) props and disses and (3) VBSEO, and that's it.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Yeah, I wasn't suggesting some kind of toolbar jammed onto the side of every single page or nothin', just a dedicated forum page with chat embedded in it. Clicking "Chat" is significantly less annoying than Download mIRC, try to find where they've buried the goddamn address, wait for some clown to voice me, etc. The mibbit link is a lot less hassle than things used to be but it seemed like a fun idea to, as Mo0 said, provide the illusion that hurf durf GFchat is part of GFF.

As far as props go, VB4 already include ratings for blog entries/threads, post rating probably isn't hard to get going. Journal has already been shown to be superfluous old outdated chaff that we can safely discard. DICE ROLLER! (!) I haven't checked into but honestly I would ENDURE THAT SACRIFICE for a while to get this done

FELIPE NO

I just thought of all sorts of markups that may or may not be part of vbulletin proper. So then, here's a list with links to equivalent vB4 hacks.

Custom Markups:

1. [columnsplit] - table bbcodes supported in VB4
2. [popup]
3. [marquee], [marqueer], and [marqueepong]
4. [blink] - Blink BBCode- The Ultimate BB Code! - vBulletin.org Forum
5. [spoiler], [spoilers], and [spoilersa] - Custom Title Spoiler Button (Smooth Version) - vBulletin.org Forum and Borgs' [BB Code] Pack For vB 4.0.2+ - vBulletin.org Forum
6. [hide] - vS-Hide Hack Resurrection - vBulletin.org Forum
7. [youtube] - JW Player: Flash Video Player | LongTail Video | Home of the JW Player
8. [mp3] - Inline Concepta Mp3 Player - XEON Series 4 - vBulletin.org Forum

Custom Thread Features:

1. Thread prefixes
2. Release listings
3. Props and Disses - [AJAX] Helpful Answers - Allow users to rate individual posts - vBulletin.org Forum
4. Dice roller - Dice Roller [BBCode] - vBulletin.org Forum
5. Automerge Double Post - Doublepost Prevention - vBulletin.org Forum
6. PM on Moderation Actions - Moderation Auto-PM v4.0.5 - vBulletin.org Forum
7. Separate Sticky from Non-sticky - Separate Sticky and Normal Threads - vBulletin.org Forum

Custom Board Features:

1. ChocoJournal - innately supported as "Blogs"
   
2. ChocoRate and Batch User Rating - innately supported as "Reputation"
   
3. ChocoSig Hosting
4. Hide Member signatures

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Without knowing where to look, I can't say anything for sure, but isn't there a "marketplace" of sorts with vB extensions that could take care of some of those?

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Yeah basically everything is completely replaceable and the only reason this isn't getting done is because we haven't made Acer admin yet

There's nowhere I can't reach.

::implication regular admins can even do these upgrades::

::laughter.gif::

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Zergrinch

• [spoiler], [spoilers], and [spoilersa]
• [youtube]
• [mp3]
• Props and Disses
• Dice roller - Dice Roller [BBCode] - vBulletin.org Forum
• Automerge Double Post - Doublepost Prevention - vBulletin.org Forum

In all honesty, this is the only stuff we even really need, and even then I could argue we could do without a youtube embed.

ChocoJournal would be gone (oh no) but replaced by a journal system built into vB itself. CJ has for a long time been a major reason behind not upgrading GFF. It'd be hard to rip the bandaid off, but really, if we're talking about getting a fresh coat of paint, it can't hurt to upgrade the foundation while we're at it.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Agent Di Gun Him

::implication regular admins can even do these upgrades::

::laughter.gif::

It's kind of a mystery to me what the point of even having admins without code access is. I mean either you trust a dude or you don't IMO =/

Edit: I mean I know that's not your decision or nothin' just sayin'

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by KING MANCHU WOK

It'd be hard to rip the bandaid off, but really, if we're talking about getting a fresh coat of paint, it can't hurt to upgrade the foundation while we're at it.

Does the journal system support a back-up function? Certain blogging systems like Livejournal have things that allow desktop saving.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

But how else will they be able to promote people to positions of dubious distinction in the world's most hilarious game of "Let's Pretend We're In High School" this side of LiveJournal

FELIPE NO

I have made this argument too but get no love, Pang.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Wait I just realized that I argued for Styphon to be allowed to edit templates

And I don't want to browse GFF with red fonts on a black background

How ya doing, buddy?

You guys have to keep in mind that all these modules are user-generated, which means we could be getting CHz-quality code, or we could be getting bobo-quality code. I know that some of the stuff we have originated as modules, but there may have been work done to make sure it's compatible with the rest of our stuff and also works to our taste. This takes time; since we had this version of vB since 2006 it doesn't seem like it takes that much time but it does. In fact, off the top of my head I can recall the "last 5 posts" thing being a module Blah downloaded, which he then had to modify when he realized there was an exploit in it. And I know half the forum couldn't live without the prop system.

If what we want is to move to a vB 4, that's what we want, but just recognize that this is a large time investment you're asking of the developers on staff just to get the new forum up to speed with the old forum, nevermind the new tchotchkes and gewgaws we want.

I'm not saying that new features wouldn't be valuable or worthwhile investing time in, either. Just don't ask so much of Skills and CHz's time.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by Pangalin

Yeah basically everything is completely replaceable and the only reason this isn't getting done is because we haven't made Acer admin yet

Look as much as I'd love admin powers I've never really toyed around with databases or vBulletin. No way I could do this by myself even given the opportunity and even then holy crap.

Originally Posted by Agent Di Gun Him

::implication regular admins can even do these upgrades::

::laughter.gif::

Yeah, pretty much you require access to the server completely to do all this. Regular admins can basically do jack all.

We'd really need CHz to do this.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Pangalin

It's kind of a mystery to me what the point of even having admins without code access is. I mean either you trust a dude or you don't IMO =/

Edit: I mean I know that's not your decision or nothin' just sayin'

It's not really a level of trust issue, rather than a level of competency issue. Styphon is brilliant at bringing down the banhammer and I trust his judgement in picking out people who can monitor a forum full of miscreants, but I don't know how good he is at editing a system in which there are no constant backups made. Do you remember how Paikuhan deleted every one of his posts? And he didn't have code access.

I'm just saying I'm totally okay with admins being admins for wildly different reasons.

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