The GT Rider Forum gets and upgrade

[TurboCharger]

Here is the full email for those that are interested.
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Hi there, GT Riders!

Well, repeated requests for new features and improvements to the Forums
have painted us into a corner.

There are many important elements missing from the current Forums - not
least of which is;
- image resizing that handles over-sized photos automatically
- full integration with FaceBook, including your Post details into your
FaceBook news items
- integration with other social media sites
- a built-in Event Calendar within which all Registered Users can list
upcoming events
- user Blogs
- user Albums, Friends, special interest Group Messaging
- online Chat
- Etc

At the same time, the problems of keeping the current phpBB3 forum system
going, let alone make it

smarter, have combined to push the GT-Rider.com webmaster over the edge...
Just doing a simple version

update is a nightmare because we've got so many custom code modifications,
plus 3 different design

templates in operation...

So, here's whats happening!


We're finally moving to a fully-fledged commercial Forum, CMS & Blog system
called vBulletin 4 Publishing Suite. This has readily available Tech
Support. It comes complete with all the features on, or proposed for, our
Wish List.

This change represents a significant investment in my time and and David's
money. Thus far, I've

personaly devoted over a week of my time to;
- installing and configuring the software
- setting up all the new features
- doing trial data conversions
- testing that it is all working as expected

New User registrations are now disabled on the old GT-Rider forum.
We are now at the point where you can all take a preview of the new system.


IMPORTANT:
1.) All Registered User Accounts have been imported into the new system
2.) You can set up your Profile in the new system prior to the changeover
3.) New system uses different password encryption, so you will need to
reset your password!
4.) To get started, go to: Lost Password Recovery Form - S.E. Asia Motorcycle Touring Forums - Thailand, Laos, Vietnam Trip Reports
5.) Enter your email address
6.) Click "Request New Password" and your new password will be sent to your
email address
7.) Open the email and click the "To reset Your Password" link
8.) This generates a new password which is emailed to you
9.) Open the email, and your new password and User Id is listed
10.) Enter those details in the Login boxes at top left

To only preview the new Forums: S.E. Asia Touring Forums: Thailand, Laos & Vietnam - Home

FORUM CHANGE-OVER DATE: Monday 13th Dec 2010
- Posting will be closed on the old forum on evening of Sunday 12th
- all posts will then be imported to new system

Design Themes: for those who liked the dark design on the old Forum - yes,
we will add one of those once the transition is completed.

KNOWN ISSUES:

1.)Video
Links in old posts will need updating. The database import does not convert
the [youtube] links to the vBulletin [video] format, so either you do it
for each of your posts, or I will find and edit them as time permits.

Problems? you can email the webmaster who will cheerfullyassist you with
any transition issues you might encounter.

Kind Regards

Ben
aka KiwiCruiser
Webmaster@GT-Rider.com


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Kind Regards

David Unkovich
The GT Rider