Song of the Paddle is on the move. Everything is changing and nothing is changing. This coming Friday (8th November) we will be moving host and to a different forum software.
14 years ago when I started the forum I took advice and constructed it on the VBulletin forum software. This was considered the best at the time and although costly served us well. During the years I have updated it and bought newer versions when they were released. Over time it has not been able to do everything we wanted. We have had real issues with being able to add pictures natively. Last year I paid to upgrade the server to a much faster and better spec of server to allow for adding pictures but unfortunately that didn’t work out.
Long story short we are moving to a hosting solution provided by TapaTalk the forum specialists. This will of course mean the forum works really well with the Tapatalk app but that is not compulsory. The forum will remain in it’s web form accessible from the same web address as always, www.SongofthePaddle.co.uk During the transfer I will provide a link to a temporary address to access the forum while the domain moves over and repopulates.
As I eluded to in the opening transfer this changes everything. The whole back end of the forum is different. The look of the forum will change slightly but still very much be recognisable. The Admins, Moderators and myself will have a learning curve as we get used to all the different controls behind the scenes. However, the front end of the forum, the bit you are interested in should be very similar. While some things will be different they should be easy to work out.
So for you the user nothing at the core of Song of the Paddle will change. The core values and ethos of the forum will remain. The move should only improve the user experience with robust and secure hosting providing stability and the new forum software allowing improved features like image hosting etc. Once the move has taken place we will have threads explaining what the new features are and how to use them.
It is worth highlighting that we are not being bought over by Tapatalk and they are not taking ownership of the forum. I still own the forum and the domains etc. Tapatalk are simply providing a hosting solution. we have full access to forum backups and can leave Tapatalk and go back to a self hosted solution at any time if we wish.
I have always said I am want Song of the Paddle to be advertising free. I am paying for the premium service from Tapatalk which means for members there will be no advertising on the site. However guests looking at the web site, or for members who are not logged in, adverts will be served up by the Tapatalk service. The “revinue” from these adverts will go toward the cost of the premium service and the eliminating of adverts for the actual members. It may be possible for me to fund the whole site advert free from members contributions but until we get a few months of the visitor numbers, server load, etc I don’t know for sure the cost of this would be.
During the transition period there will be plenty of bugs and settings to be sorted out. Please bare with us during the process as it is all to make the member experience better. I already have a few I am chasing up to be resolved from the Beta transfer we did.
I’m going to send out a newsletter email covering the basics of this that will point to this thread fro more details. Also this thread will be of use to those who don’t get the email newsletters I send out every year or two
14 years ago when I started the forum I took advice and constructed it on the VBulletin forum software. This was considered the best at the time and although costly served us well. During the years I have updated it and bought newer versions when they were released. Over time it has not been able to do everything we wanted. We have had real issues with being able to add pictures natively. Last year I paid to upgrade the server to a much faster and better spec of server to allow for adding pictures but unfortunately that didn’t work out.
Long story short we are moving to a hosting solution provided by TapaTalk the forum specialists. This will of course mean the forum works really well with the Tapatalk app but that is not compulsory. The forum will remain in it’s web form accessible from the same web address as always, www.SongofthePaddle.co.uk During the transfer I will provide a link to a temporary address to access the forum while the domain moves over and repopulates.
As I eluded to in the opening transfer this changes everything. The whole back end of the forum is different. The look of the forum will change slightly but still very much be recognisable. The Admins, Moderators and myself will have a learning curve as we get used to all the different controls behind the scenes. However, the front end of the forum, the bit you are interested in should be very similar. While some things will be different they should be easy to work out.
So for you the user nothing at the core of Song of the Paddle will change. The core values and ethos of the forum will remain. The move should only improve the user experience with robust and secure hosting providing stability and the new forum software allowing improved features like image hosting etc. Once the move has taken place we will have threads explaining what the new features are and how to use them.
It is worth highlighting that we are not being bought over by Tapatalk and they are not taking ownership of the forum. I still own the forum and the domains etc. Tapatalk are simply providing a hosting solution. we have full access to forum backups and can leave Tapatalk and go back to a self hosted solution at any time if we wish.
I have always said I am want Song of the Paddle to be advertising free. I am paying for the premium service from Tapatalk which means for members there will be no advertising on the site. However guests looking at the web site, or for members who are not logged in, adverts will be served up by the Tapatalk service. The “revinue” from these adverts will go toward the cost of the premium service and the eliminating of adverts for the actual members. It may be possible for me to fund the whole site advert free from members contributions but until we get a few months of the visitor numbers, server load, etc I don’t know for sure the cost of this would be.
During the transition period there will be plenty of bugs and settings to be sorted out. Please bare with us during the process as it is all to make the member experience better. I already have a few I am chasing up to be resolved from the Beta transfer we did.
I’m going to send out a newsletter email covering the basics of this that will point to this thread fro more details. Also this thread will be of use to those who don’t get the email newsletters I send out every year or two
John
Every time a canoe trip is not blogged on SotP, God makes a new kayaker.
Every time a canoe trip is not blogged on SotP, God makes a new kayaker.