With luck we'll be converting next week instead. We've decided to also delay the chat party by one week to NEXT weekend on 16-17 May as well as a result.
We can now confirm that AL will be moving board-software away from the long-obselete VBulletin (this particular version is very old), to the more modern and mobile/user friendly phpbb. This is a massive and long-overdue change, and the first time we have changed/upgraded our software in nearly 10 years.
So, to cover this, here's a quick FAQ -
How much downtime will there be?
Provided there's nothing unexpected, the upgrade will begin at 9am GMT ( [mention=19809]RedHat[/mention] will make a new topic on Monday with more confirmation here). Best case it's back up by midday - worst case you'll be looking at in the late evening. We'll be aiming to finish at the absolute worst before bedtime (if things go REALLY south).
Will my account and posts/topics/PMs be carried over?
Yes, we can confirm that all of this will be carried over. You will lose none of this. The only thing that won't be will be any posts/topics over a couple years old. These topics have already been put up on an archive site which is accessible at https://archive.animeleague.net
Will the forums look/feel the same?
Yes, by and large they will. We have spent hours of work recreating the familar styles such as BlueAL, DarkAL and DustyMomentum that you know and love. These have been built upon and improved and will look sleeker and nicer than before.
A new default theme for new users called LightAL has also been created. This theme is designed to fit in with the http://www.animeleague.com website and the http://www.animeleague.app mobile app that we have.
What's the major improvements?
- Fully Mobile Friendly/Compatible Styles (this is the major one and critical to AL's long-term future)
- BlueAL, DarkAL, DustyMomentum (Now DustyAL) have been massively bought up to date, as well as a brand new theme - LightAL that will serve as the new default for newcomers. This style feels clean and should make things a lot more inviting.
- The new boards will be much faster to use/load
- A simplified userprofile system, that is easier to use and feels friendlier with fb style cover images etc
- The AL Profile will also act more like a fb wall, where statuses you post will show on the main forum index page alongside the most recent posts.
- Massively simplified header with a lot less links, making everything friendlier and simplier to understand for newcomers
- More configurable forum experience. Via your user CP you can change the look/feel better such as extend the width to full screen or not on HD displays etc
- Enhanched Privacy data/enhanched log-ins. You can also set your profile to remember devices, so you don't need to remember passwords etc
- The ability to like posts, woo!
- A more powerful/useful notifications system
- AL Twitch will replace the radio shoutcast system. This will be fully integrated with our website and chatroom
- Arrowchat will be upgraded from the old version 2 to version 3. This new chat system will be more mobile friendly.
What is going or being replaced?
As part of this upgrade, we are aiming to trim the fat off of this site and remove what is rarely used. That means the following are going or being replaced as they become obselete -
- Arcade and Triple Triad - We have decided that this is unnecessary extra fluff and rarely used. Also, with AL Live, we will be hosting regular games via jackbox etc that'll involve everyone better.
- AL Radio - Rendered obsolete by a twitch/chatroom intergration that will occur.
- Social Groups - Replaced with usergroups/clans. There is no need for a seperate system to clans.
- Blogs - There is no need for this when we have the AL Journals forum.
- User Statuses - There is no need for this when you can update your status on your own profile, facebook style.
- Music on profile - This is rarely used
- Moods - Again rarely used, and we feel that your profile/activity status does this better
- Calendar - This is rarely used
What is being changed or reset?
Again, with the new system, some things will be changed as we seek to simplify -
- A brand new guidebook
- AL Points we will manually re-add for people. There will be a topic put up about this following the move to let people reclaim them
- However, shop items will go, as will the shop itself. We feel that the AL Shop is often confused for an actual shop. Instead you will be able to spend your AL Points on upgrading your member level. The default will be Standard Member, with Silver Member, Gold Member & Platinum Members being the other three levels charged at 5,000 ALP, 10,000 ALP and 30,000 ALP respectively. Each membership level will give additional priviledges and rank bar options.
- Rank Bars will mostly stay the same but will be updated.
- Awards will be reset, but the number of awards you earned beforehand will be saved on your profile. We will also add a hall of fame for awards in general.
We hope this makes sense, and if anyone has any questions then don't hesitate to ask! Less than a week to go, get ready for what will be our biggest upgrade in ten years! WOO!
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