V10: Release date decided

[Joeno]

Right, here we go. SMF2 RC2 has been released and it's entered testing in our super secret PKMN.NET labs. We're currently making the necessary tweaks and adjustments locally, but as all looks good it seems like we're going ahead.

v10 is the next generation of our site software, with too many new things to count, some part of which will actually apply to more than us admins as well. It's been waiting for SMF2 RC2 because the new version of the forums software introduces lots of things we want, and part of the reason for the update was to make the site compatible with SMF2.

This Wednesday I'll be doing a proper test of the upgrade and throughout the week we'll be doing tests, fixing bugs and generally polish this new version. Which leads us to the next step, the release time. Assuming no major issues coming up or other delays happening:

PKMN.NET will release version 10 on 14 November. Times are uncertain, and will be scheduled on Wednesday, but it is likely we will take the site down on Saturday, early afternoon, and put stuff back online from the late afternoon to the early evening, with bug fixes and feature adjustments and updates taking place in the evening and on the following Sunday.

We realise downtime is never a nice thing, but this is unavoidable and the advantages here are going to allow us to do everything much better and faster, while also allowing more options for you. We're working on making it as fast as possible, but can't promise anything yet.

Plan for the day

(All times are GMT)

The site and forums will go down around noon. During this time we will be making backups, copying a number of files, upgrade the forums, update settings and install mods.

This is planned to take between 1.5 and 2 hours and so we hope to have the forums back online before 2PM.

Site upgrades and tests will take longer. We may put the site back online while we're fixing items, but this will depend on our progress. If not, it will likely be completely done around 4PM.

Some content upgrades and moves are planned that, due to the availability of staff, will happen either in the evening or else in the subsequent week. Bug fixes and minor updates will also be made in the following few days, in part depending on your feedback.

[Zy]

This, I am very much looking forward to.

Hopefully, it'll blow all our minds. And then put our minds back together.

[Afro-Disiak]

Great news, can't wait! When the testing time comes around, what would be the best way to report any bugs or glitches we might find?

[Zy]

I'm assuming there will be a "report errors on page" link in the forums as well, while testing happens.

[Joeno]

Testing is done internally as to not give anything away.

For bugs after release, there's the appropriate link on the site, and you can post in the forums for bugs there (but it seems unlikely we'll get many on the forums)

[Trainer Dave]

Sounds very good. I'll be looking forward to this.

Would there be any major changes to the forums occurring? Such as loss of profile data/older threads? (Might be worth me copying some stuff which took more time to create).

But yeah, this is going to be great. Good work.

[Joeno]

We'll be doing a purge in advance to speed up the process (faster upgrades, and probably even for the tests tomorrow). We'll get a backup before we start this, so if something goes wrong little should break.

[Lorem Ipsum]

This sounds excellent. Unfortunately, I'm away at Twickenham watching the England game, but I very much look forward to seeing the new build on Sunday. Just a question: does SMF2 support thread un-subscription?

[Joeno]

Unsubscription? What do you mean with that?

[Lorem Ipsum]

When you post in a topic, it automatically subscribes you to it, so when you click on 'Show new replies to your posts', it allows you to see who has responded to your posts. This can be annoying if you no longer pay attention/are interested in a thread, so people might wish to remove it from the list so you don't get pestered by it anymore. Thing is, this isn't doable at the moment.

[Webby2]

^ Surely you can decide on stuff like that via the Notifications and Email section of Profile? I don't get new notifications on replies made to topic I've posted on, or direct replies on points I've made. I only find them when looking back on the topic.

[Lorem Ipsum]

^ Surely you can decide on stuff like that via the Notifications and Email section of Profile? I don't get new notifications on replies made to topic I've posted on, or direct replies on points I've made. I only find them when looking back on the topic.

At the moment, it's either 'subscribe to all threads you've ever posted in', or 'don't subscribe to any'. And I don't like doing the latter, it makes me forget threads I've posted in, which is irritating. I just wanted to know if there was any kind of middle ground.

[Joeno]

That list is by design. It's not a subscription list, it's a list of all topics you've replied to that have new replies.

In other words, that's how the list is supposed to work.

[Zy]

So will V10 have Thread (Un)Subscription as opposed to just "Show all replies" ?

[Trainer Dave]

As far as I was aware, the actual subscription/notifications function within your profile has been disabled. If this were to make a better/improved return in SMF2, perhaps it might be enabled? That could resolve the 'Tracking important topics' concern.

...Just a thought.