 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-10-20 17:58
There will be some changes in the BBoard soon - I'll be moving to a newer version with slightly tighter controls but some additional features.
You will be required to login to the system to post, and a temporary password will be mailed out to you. You'll then be directed to a "profile page" where you can add information about yourself, change your password, etc., and turn the visibility of your email address on & off. A bit of a pain, but I'll be able to contact people via a verifiable email that way instead of having to do that in public.
It also allows me to more selectively keep abuse of the BBoard, too.
The good things we'll be able to add since I'll have more control (if necessary) are:
1) editing your own posts
2) uploading attachments (like pictures) if you want to show people something. With this version of the BBoard software your images have to be referenced from somewhere else ...
I'm working on the database conversion right now; more later.
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2002-10-20 19:12
Mark,
Thank you for all of your hard work. I realize that the maitenance of the forum site will be easier and a little more automated for you. I frequent some other sites which have done the same thing. The newer programs used are for the most part more difficult for the participants to use. The password set-up is cumbersome and many folks (myself included) routinely take a pass on password sites. I find them just plan unfriendly as well as cumbersome. The delay on getting a password is the first time only, but still is a deterrent. Also it is just another password to have to remember.
This site has been about the cleanest forum I have seen on the web and it rarely has any problems. In fact I can only remember seeing one which happend a few weeks ago. I feel that switching to one of the newer programs is a big step backwards and will serve to make posting more complicated and more difficult. In the end it's effect is likely to just decrease participation, especially from the younger set who seem to the most active participants.
All this said I do realize I am not suggesting any better alternatives. I do like one site I frequent which uses <a href="http://awsd.com/scripts/webbbs/">WebBBS 2.25</a>. This software does most of what yours does, but has a different style index page... uses PERL so the maintenance is much easier and it offers editing to the participant. It is also easy for you to add or modify features. (I am not affiliated with them in any manner.)
Respectfully submitted, Terry Horlick
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-10-20 19:25
Terry Horlick wrote:
>
> Mark,
> Thank you for all of your hard work. I realize that the
> maitenance of the forum site will be easier and a little more
> automated for you.
There's ways to make passwords pretty easy on yourself, and this one will mail your password to you when you forget.
There's also other legalities involved from areas of the world which are forcing most BBoard users into this type of setup - the access of email addresses for those under 13, for instance. Things are more involved than what they seem ...
> This site has been about the cleanest forum I have seen on the
> web and it rarely has any problems. In fact I can only
> remember seeing one which happend a few weeks ago.
It's things you haven't seen that are the most trouble.
The BBoard will act just about the same as it does now, with the exception of having to have a login to post. A cookie remembers your login so you don't have to re-enter it each time (unless you disallow cookies).
> All this said I do realize I am not suggesting any better
> alternatives. I do like one site I frequent which uses <a
> href="http://awsd.com/scripts/webbbs/">WebBBS 2.25</a>. This
> software does most of what yours does, but has a different
> style index page... uses PERL so the maintenance is much easier
> and it offers editing to the participant.
Much easier than what? ;^)
WebBBS is way too primitive for the number of posts we have online here.
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Author: Terry Horlick
Date: 2002-10-20 19:43
> Much easier than what?
In previous off-line conversations with you you indicated that it is very difficult for you to edit and/or delete postings. My easier comment refers to that.
I agree that if you need to mask IP addresses for the security of minors that is a concern. I also suspect that the present program has (and I know for a fact that the old warhorse simple PERL programs have) a simple setting for turning the IP echo off.
I agree that the older programs have the frequent need of archiving the posts which Phorum does not. My point is however, that if you need to do changes can we find a program which is simple to use, self archives, masks IP addresses as needed and doesn't use those unfriendly password set-ups?
Just IMHO, again thanks for the work you did in establishing this forum and the ongoing work in monitoring adn maintaining it. Having been there before I can assure all readers that the job Mark has taken on for himself is not an easy one and does indeed require many hours every week.
Terry
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-10-20 20:20
Terry Horlick wrote:
>
> > Much easier than what?
> I agree that if you need to mask IP addresses for the security
> of minors that is a concern.
That's not it at all, Terry.
> My point is
> however, that if you need to do changes can we find a program
> which is simple to use, self archives, masks IP addresses as
> needed and doesn't use those unfriendly password set-ups?
Terry, wait u8ntil you see the setup before condemning it. I remember the posts when I first set up Phorum here; all we're doing is moving to a newer version of Phorum and because of a number of reasons a profile (email and password) <b>will</b> be required to post. I've tried to avoid that for some time, but now I have no choice - or the BBoard will have to be shut down. There is no alternative.
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Author: diz
Date: 2002-10-20 23:47
Mark - looking forward to it. Keep up the good work.
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Author: Synonymous Botch
Date: 2002-10-21 01:32
I hope there's no height requirement:
"You must be THIS TALL to enter this site---->"
Perhaps the best way to screen out the teeners will be some key questions about pop music circa 1981; "He took on the moniker from two of his favorite Idols, one from Rock and Roll, one from the movies..."
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Author: Kat
Date: 2002-10-21 01:43
Hey wait, I'm waayyyy over 13, and I don't know the answer to that, S.B. Around 1981, I was a stuck-up, "classical snob" kid who NEVER listened to pop music...lol!
Katrina
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-10-21 02:47
There I was today, listening to classical music ...
The Low Sparks of the High-Heeled Boys
Dear Mr. Fantasy
John Barleycorn Must Die ...
Depends on your definition of classical
BTW - I've decided after much internal debate and listening to you all to make the posts list in order of last response, so even really old posts can be continued from the front page. I've decided this based upon the fact that the new software allows me to close a post (no more replies) so I can control "the threads that will not die" ...
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Author: Marge
Date: 2002-10-21 05:32
Mark,
I hope that somewhere in the vicinity of the "Reply to This Message" space you will include info on how to do a URL in one's posting so that it will be clickable/a link when it appears in the posting. Some posters obviously know how to do this, but I don't and haven't seen a direction for it anywhere either.
Let's NOT discourage younger players from participating. In fact, just a few days ago I e-mailed the rest of my community band's clarinet section to check out the woodwind.org site (and a couple others). I hope that at least some of them will do so. We run the gamut in age--from middle-schoolers on up (though not as far up as our band's F. horn section, whose 1st-chair player will turn 91 shortly).
Marge
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Author: Brian
Date: 2002-10-21 09:47
Hi Mark!
First of all let me say thanks for a job well done. I love this site and really do appreciate all of the hard work, i.e. blood, sweat and tears, that you put into it.
I just have one question. If someone does not post very frequently such as myself will their password "expire"? Will we have to post regularly to keep our password active? I know this sounds dumb but you know what I mean!
Thanks!
Peace!
Brian
P.S.-I said I had one question...looks like it ended up being two! lol!
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-10-21 11:23
Brian wrote:
> I just have one question. If someone does not post very
> frequently such as myself will their password "expire"? Will we
> have to post regularly to keep our password active? I know this
> sounds dumb but you know what I mean!
no and no.
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Author: Jim Mougey
Date: 2002-10-21 11:38
Mark:
Will this change put an end to the trashing of persons not in someones favor? I am refering to the stupid Corpron and "Nazi" and the gentleman with the PhD in English trash that went on far too long. Let's get away from the gossip column effect! Please!
Jim(M)
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2002-10-21 11:56
Jim Mougey wrote:
>
> Will this change put an end to the trashing of persons not in
> someones favor? I am refering to the stupid Corpron and "Nazi"
> and the gentleman with the PhD in English trash that went on
> far too long. Let's get away from the gossip column effect!
> Please!
Well, it won't stop people from signing up and posting what they will. However, it <b>will</b> mean that they'll need a valid email address before they post, so I can control things if they get out of hand.
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Author: Sylvain
Date: 2002-10-21 15:24
For the geeks out there, can you tell us what software you'll be using?
Will you stick with phorum.org?
Thanks from the geek...
-Sylvain
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Author: Mark Charette, Webmaster
Date: 2002-10-21 16:21
Yes, still Phorum (the version in CVS, looks strong). The other types, such as phpBB or a few others that have the features we need, are too complex for the average user to use easily, and I don't really want to have to debug "skins" et al.
Phorum works well with an industrial-strength MySQL server behind it, and I'll be adding a full-text indexing system via MySQL as time permits so searches would be considerably faster (an order of magnitude or so). The DB server is a dedicated machine so the Web load doesn't affect performance of the backend.
Right now there are 3 machines:
1) Mail & www.woodwind.org & indexing
2) Every supported website _except_ www.woodwind.org
3) DB server.
www.woodwind.org will be migrating to machine 2, but there's more involved since the raw archives, etc., are generated on the mail server and need to be moved over, the version of PHP (3) is old and the pages need to be upgraded to use (4), etc. The new BBoard will be on machine 2 - I'll just redirect you there. The plans are to have machine 1 handle mail & backups & become a file server, machine 2 handle Web sites, and machine 3 be the DB and text indexing machine.
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Author: Micaela
Date: 2002-10-22 02:49
I don't know about pop music circa 1981 (or circa 2002) but I like opera so I must be old enough.
Thanks so much for all your hard work, Mark.
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The Clarinet Pages
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