[Matthew]

Over the past few days, Martin (of TWC Today) and I have been discussing the possibility of merging our forums. The idea being that activity is down, so it doesn't make sense to have two forums. Also, it would be nice for all of us to be together.

I personally am on the fence about it. I see the benefits, but am a little weary about it. Obviously, I would never do such a thing without your approval. I'm curious to hear your thoughts. So if you having something to say about this, please let me know here. You can also send me a PM if you're not comfortable posting your comments for all to see. Thanks.

[LocalOnThe8s]

I think it's a good idea. The STAR team should visit TWCT as well

[Martin]

In theory we should be able to merge databases and content/users would not be lost. I also want to add that the admin team here will have the same privileges at TWC Today were the merge to take place. Regardless I am looking forward to everyones opinions on the issue! Thank you Matt for your consideration and thought into the matter.

[Lightning]

I don't know yet if I'm in favor of merging the two forums or not. Wouldn't the only difference be, that everything on TWC C along with everything on TWC T would all be on 1 site instead of 2? Also, what would the name of the site be?

[Bryan]

Don't like the idea.

[Tyler]

I'm for it. The fan community has, and continues to be on the decline, obviously for the classic era, but for the current era as well. Bringing everyone together makes perfect sense to me.

[Martin]

Lightning, on 12 March 2010 - 07:00 PM, said:

I don't know yet if I'm in favor of merging the two forums or not. Wouldn't the only difference be, that everything on TWC C along with everything on TWC T would all be on 1 site instead of 2? Also, what would the name of the site be?

This would only be for the forums. The two sites will remain separate and the same. :)From what we have discussed the name/logo would include both names.

[Lightning]

Martin, on 12 March 2010 - 10:46 PM, said:

Lightning, on 12 March 2010 - 07:00 PM, said:

I don't know yet if I'm in favor of merging the two forums or not. Wouldn't the only difference be, that everything on TWC C along with everything on TWC T would all be on 1 site instead of 2? Also, what would the name of the site be?

This would only be for the forums.

How would the forums be different?

[Lightning]

Here is another question I would like to ask. How would this affect people who are members of TWC C but not members of TWC T and vice versa?

[Martin]

Lightning, on 13 March 2010 - 06:14 PM, said:

Martin, on 12 March 2010 - 10:46 PM, said:

Lightning, on 12 March 2010 - 07:00 PM, said:

I don't know yet if I'm in favor of merging the two forums or not. Wouldn't the only difference be, that everything on TWC C along with everything on TWC T would all be on 1 site instead of 2? Also, what would the name of the site be?

This would only be for the forums.

How would the forums be different?

Both forums would combine their data together helping both communities with activity and interest. Matt and his admin group will continue their roles although the burden of forum maintenance and database issues would be considerably less for him to manage and he can continue to focus on TWC Classics (the site) with even more devotion. While both forums "specialize" in one particular TWC field, both have considerable interest in classic and current fields. The current TWC era forums at TWCC currently are popular and TWC Today has a classic section. It seems almost silly to have two forums with duplicate information and more logical to combine the communities to encourage more participation and activity.

Lightning, on 13 March 2010 - 06:29 PM, said:

Here is another question I would like to ask. How would this affect people who are members of TWC C but not members of TWC T and vice versa?

We hope to be able to combine databases and while this may create duplicate accounts (which we are looking into ways to avoid), in theory no member should have to signup again.

[DJK5555]

Bryan, on 12 March 2010 - 07:19 PM, said:

Don't like the idea.

Me neither.

[Alejandro]

I Really think it's a win/win for both forums if the proposal was to go forward.

[Cmann]

There are a few downs, such as the duplicate accounts, but there's also many other benifits

[Matthew]

Since the general consensus is that this is a good idea, I have given Martin permission to attempt to merge data. Hopefully, people won't have to re-register, but I can't guarantee it. The converters that SMF has for IPB only go up to version 2.3 (and I have the latest version). So a merge or conversion might not be possible.

If a merge isn't possible, you will have to register there (if you're not already a member). I will keep this board open (with read-only permissions) for reference. Of course, that's assuming that IPB will let me. If they won't, I'll find a way to post the content of certain posts on the site.

For those who don't like the idea, I am seriously considering starting a blog. The blog would be much like what Alex has on aaroads.com, where I would post interesting things I find related to TWC or weather and comment on them. And then allow you to comment on them as well.

[Lightning]

If a blog was started, would the forum still be here, or would it be gotten rid of? I hope the forum would not be done away with.

I don't want to have to re-registar, either.

Another thing, you'll keep this board open with read only permission. What does that mean? That we can't post here, anymore?

BTW, what is the SMF and the IPB?

This post has been edited by Lightning: 17 March 2010 - 05:16 PM

[jtmal0723]

Hi. I'm Jesse (as many of you already know). I'm the site maintenance/designer guy over at TWC Today and I just want to clear some stuff up and explain a few things to reduce the shock and surprise factor...

I am looking at the database now and it seems that I can do it, I would be entering all the users in manually one by one in a course of a two day weekend. Few things to bear in mind... 1) Post counts will be lost. You will all be starting with 0 posts at the SMF forum. There is currently no way around this as SMF doesn't have this set post count in the users database to inflate the counts. 2) If I can't get the passwords to import properly, you may all have to reset your passwords when the time comes, and this is for security reasons. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU HAVE UP TO DATE EMAIL ADDRESSES TO DO SO! 3) All the TWC Classics usernames would transition over with a TWCC_ prefix in front to avoid username conflicts. At which, once you've recovered your account, you can rename your account to whatever you would like, or you could request to have a duplicate username (like Billy or myself) removed.

Once me and Martin figure some stuff out, I hope to get this process started by the first week of April. At which point, an announcement would be made at both forums stating when that weekend is. TWC Today Forums will be turned offline for two days. I will import the users one by one, and when I'm ready to open the other forums back up, a new logo will be up on the forums, and TWC Classics Forums will switch over to an archive read-only format (assuming that's still the plan).

I hope this clears some things up.

This post has been edited by jtmal0723: 17 March 2010 - 06:59 PM

[Matthew]

I received a response from IPB about not renewing my license. According to them, canceling my license just prohibits me from getting support and future updates. Which is a relief, since I thought I'd have to take the board down.

So I will keep the board up and open until we're ready to go on TWCT. However long that may take. On a related note, I completely forgot that the 7th was our 5th anniversary.

Brian - IPB is the company that makes this board. SMF is the company that makes the board on TWCT.

[jtmal0723]

Ladies and gentlemen. After Martin played with a "conversion," the conversion worked to a point where the users are able to be imported successfully, all be it manually, one by one. The import is planned to begin the night of April 4th and may take a day or two, as it will have to be manually done. Post counts are looking like it can be transferred over, so all is good. I did a sample user import (my account from here): http://twctoday.com/...6011/#msg126011 As you can see, it was successful. We are on schedule!

[WXChannelfan]

I'm in favor of the merger. Win-win for everyone.

[Lightning]

WXChannelfan, on 21 March 2010 - 11:21 AM, said:

I'm in favor of the merger. Win-win for everyone.

I guess I am, too. Hopefully, this will finally end the lack of activity and people will be on here on a more regular basis.

This post has been edited by Lightning: 21 March 2010 - 05:11 PM

[Martin]

I am very glad to see all of the support. We will be working hard to ensure everyone is as happy as possible with the changes. As always you can contact me anytime at TWCT or email. martinmcornick@gmail.com Let me know of any concerns/questions/ideas!

[Lightning]

I have not seen any changes, yet.

[Matthew]

Lightning, on 27 March 2010 - 05:52 PM, said:

I have not seen any changes, yet.

I posted about the expected launch date earlier today. Guess you missed that?

http://www.twcclassi...he-twct-forums/

[Lightning]

Matthew, on 27 March 2010 - 10:05 PM, said:

Lightning, on 27 March 2010 - 05:52 PM, said:

I have not seen any changes, yet.

I posted about the expected launch date earlier today. Guess you missed that?

http://www.twcclassi...he-twct-forums/

Maybe I did.