Official thread for discussion about the new forum, comments, bug reports, etc

[Steve]

Hi folks,

Welcome to the new forums! As you can see we've switched over to a vBulletin forum. I'm sure there are lots of bugs and things that aren't quite finished yet. Please be patient, report the bugs here or send me a PM if it's really bad. :) Or you can also send bugs to info @ loghomebuilders.org.

As previously mentioned, you will need to re-upload your avatar pictures, and recreate your signature, if you want either of those. Take some time now to explore your profile by clicking "My Profile" in the top-right corner.

Don't panic if something is broke. Just let us know and we'll add it to the list of things to fix. Thanks for your patience and support! :)

[ccosborne3]

No biggie, but the clock seems to be a little off. This new forum looks great! Yay!

[Admin]

No biggie, but the clock seems to be a little off. This new forum looks great! Yay!



I believe it's correct; it's just set to Pacific Time as the default. You should be able to change the time you see:

Click 'settings' (top right corner of screen)
Select 'general settings' from the menu on the left
Scroll down to 'date & time options'
Adjust to your local time zone, and then save the change
Some users, in some browsers, might have problems accessing the settings page. That bug is on our list.

[Lolo-Steve]

When I click settings I get the following error message

Fatal error: Unsupported operand types in /home/loghomeb/public_html/includes/functions_user.php on line 252

[54darock]

When I click the private messages tab I get the following error message

Fatal error: Unsupported operand types in /home/loghomeb/public_html/includes/functions_user.php on line 252

[Ellsworth]

When I click the private messages tab I get the following error message

Fatal error: Unsupported operand types in /home/loghomeb/public_html/includes/functions_user.php on line 252

Thanks. It was working after the launch, but something must have went south. It's now on the list ;)

[Timberwolf]

As mentioned in the wrong thread, posts from the old forum are missing the original post, though the thread titles seem to be correct.

[rocklock]

Not only the first post but also any photos...http://community.loghomebuilders.org/images/icons/icon6.png

[rocklock]

I can't get my photo to work.
I can't edit my previous message.
My signature is NULL and I can't seem to be able to change it.
The icons are not working... I will try again...http://community.loghomebuilders.org/images/icons/icon11.png
:)

[Steve]

Editing own posts should work now (at least for LHBA members). Can anyone test it out and confirm it works?

We are definitely having some profile issues (signature, avatar, etc). We are now working on all of those and will have them fixed as soon as possible. It might be a few days but we will definitely get them fixed.

Dave: This icons/smiley issue that you brought up is pretty strange. My post and Ellsworth's post both have smileys. But yours has a URL instead. What did you type there? Colon-parenthasis? It kind of looks like maybe we need to adjust the permissions.... but I don't remember seeing a smiley permission section. I will start investigating. ;)

Thanks everyone for the patience and reports!

-Steve

[Steve]

I can't get my photo to work.
I can't edit my previous message.
My signature is NULL and I can't seem to be able to change it.
The icons are not working... I will try again...http://community.loghomebuilders.org/images/icons/icon11.png


Hi Dave,

Signature and photo are being worked on. Ability to edit your own older posts should be fixed already. That leaves the icon issue.

Can you be more specific about which icons aren't working? On further investigation I don't see a problem with the smileys like I originally thought. Please explain what you are clicking, what you are trying to accomplish, what's the error, etc....

Thanks,

Steve

[edkemper]

I can't seem to provide a signature. It's Marked NULL. I also can't find a way to add my avatar. Other than those two things, it's just a matter of getting used to a nice new system. Nice work.

[edkemper]

Could someone explain what subscribing to a group means?

[rocklock]

I went advanced... The edit feature now works... Thanks
I don't know how to use the icons...
I just clicked on the smiley face and it went near the title.
Now the frowney face..
Can you put more that one icon per message?
I still don't know how to use the icons...
Dave
--> The unaimed arrow never misses....
--> If can, can. If no can, no can... Hawaiian Pidgin
http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s274/flintlock1/

[StressMan79]

like "SUGGESTIONS," and another one or two that I rarely used...

where is this data?

-Peter

[ccosborne3]

REPLY TO ED KEMPER

It's no different than joining the Elks or a book club. According to the profile page there are two kinds of groups, one where you need permission to join and one where you don't. If the NY guys or the LHBA ladies decided to form their own little sect they would be able to form a group that anyone could join or a group that would force you to get permission to join. I'm not sure if a restricted group would get dedicated forum space to talk over their secret agendas. I've never been a big fan of groups within groups, seems a little elitest.

[ccosborne3]

Cool, at first I wasn't able to post smiley's :confused: in my posts. Only on the title line:(. Now I can throw them in liberally:D anywhere I choose.;)

[rocklock]

ok now :cool: test
Evidently you can only have 4 icons per message... i go a little nuts in testing...
:mad:
Evidently you can use the icon on the fonts line... to choose you icon
it will appear as ":COOL:" in your test...
So i can have two more :eek: :rolleyes:
Seems to work ...

Dave
--> The unaimed arrow never misses....
--> If can, can. If no can, no can... Hawaiian Pidgin
http://s154.photobucket.com/albums/s274/flintlock1/

[StressMan79]

I have to re-sign in far too often. Can this reset time be set longer?

[Admin]

I have to re-sign in far too often. Can this reset time be set longer?

Did you check the "remember me" box when you signed in? That should keep you logged in.... Just remember to uncheck it if you are signing in from a public computer.

[Steve]

Just a quick update. We are aware of, and still working diligently on these items:

Missing first posts (fixed, see below). Most of the first posts are missing, if they were imported from the old forums. They all still exist, but they were accidentally flagged as spam during the import. This is proving to be a difficult challenge because if we simply flip the switch off for all the spam, the forums will be instantly flooded with years worth of spam. We have some ideas and very smart people working on it, stay tuned.

Wrong Started By credit (fixed, see below). Most of the threads say "Started by:" and give credit to the second poster. This is related to the missing first posts. As soon as we un-hide all the first posts, the Started By indicator should automatically point to the correct person.

Settings/My Profile errors (fixed, see below). If you click Settings or My Profile in the top-right corner, you will probably get an error. This is likely due to a mistake in the import process. Again, it is being worked on very hard by very smart people.

Null signatures (fixed, see below). This one is another minor database import error. It's a lower priority, so we'll start working on this one when the others are taken care of.

There are other (small) bugs but those are the big ones. We hope to have them licked in the next couple of days. If you spot other bugs that haven't been raised so far, please continue to add your reports to this thread and we will continue to fix them as we are able.

Thanks again for all your patience and bug reports! ;)

[WornOut]

I am new here but long time looker and reader - where have all the Student Log Home pics gone????? Thats what I use to keep selling this whole concept to my wife and now I have no bullets to use. Please get these out and up .... PLEASE

[Admin]

I am new here but long time looker and reader - where have all the Student Log Home pics gone????? Thats what I use to keep selling this whole concept to my wife and now I have no bullets to use. Please get these out and up .... PLEASE

The student log home pictures are still at http://www.loghomebuilders.org/image/tid/3

This new site is merely the forums (community.loghomebuilders.org) and the main website still exists at www.loghomebuilders.org. We don't have a lot of links back and forth yet, but we will add those soon.

[WornOut]

Thanks - odd but when I logged in there which is, or was , my bookmark it said to come here to this new site and to change my bookmark to it.
So I will keep 2 I guess - kinda curious but why have the 2 sites?

[Admin]

The new forums aren't compatible with our old website software, so they run on a new, separate server. We are in the process of migrating away from the old software now.

[Steve]

It looks like we fixed the Settings/My Profile errors. Everyone should now be able to click those links, change your signature, add a profile picture, configure your settings, etc.... Please try it out now and see how it works. :)

In fixing that problem, we also fixed the "Null" signature bug at the same time.

We're still working on the first two big ones. I will keep you posted when something happens...

[Admin]

We had a few hours of unscheduled downtime overnight/early this morning. We were unable to fix the missing posts issue, but we will try again overnight tonight.

[Bowhunter]

I see that progress is being made, however there is still an issue with editing profiles. I can now click on settings to get to the profile editing feature but when I select any of the links I get the following:

"you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page.
2. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
3. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation."

Just to let you know.

[rocklock]

I guess we have made progress...:D
Just a note... The picture on your profile can be different than your avatar... I did the same to both... so no difference for now..
The time is still wacko...
Note: I have been a member of this forum for 6 years today...

[Bowhunter]

Perhaps the settings are different for LHBA Members and Junior Members? (Taking the class in February so soon to be full fledge LHBA Member)

[Admin]

I can now click on settings to get to the profile editing feature but when I select any of the links I get the following:

"you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:
1. Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page.
2. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
3. If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation."

Hi Bowhunter,

Yes, this is the correct behavior (for now). Non-LHBA members do not have permission to edit their profiles on purpose, in order to reduce spam on the forums. Surprisingly, most spammers these days just want a link back to their website, so they create an account, add a link in their profile, and move on.

We're new to vBulletin, so to be on the conservative side we have the settings a little restrictive at the moment. We might loosen things up a bit as we learn and grow into our new forum. ;)

[Upers]

Testing my seeting changes - should have a new signature and avatar

[Upers]

nothing happens when I hit reply to this thread.... quick reply seems to be working fine

[Admin]

The time is still wacko...

Hi Dave,

The forum server runs on GMT time. You can configure your account to show the correct local time by:


Click "Settings" in the top-right corner.
Then click "General Settings" on the left.
Scroll down near the bottom and pick your time zone from the Time Zone box.


Hope that helps ;)

[Admin]

nothing happens when I hit reply to this thread.... quick reply seems to be working fine

Hi Pat,

When you click the blue "Reply to thread" icon (underneath all the posts) all it does is put your cursor into the "Quick Reply" box. In other words, it doesn't really do much, but that is on purpose. :)

If you want to see the full editor, click the "Go Advanced" button.

[Ellsworth]

I'd like to say thanks to everyone for your patience, and for all the assistance in finding bugs. While it might seem like a turtle race, we are making daily progress. Here's a few things that should be working now:

The PM system should be fully functional. You can send PMs by clicking on anyone's user name next to a post they have made. A little drop down menu will appear, just select 'private message.' You can also send a PM by going to a user's profile page, and you can search for a specific user's profile by using the advanced search feature.

The photo album feature should be working. To create your own photo albums go to "My Profile," then scroll down a bit and look on the left for the "Add Albums" option. It's fairly easy to use, and it allows for batch uploading which is convenient.

Regarding the missing OPs, we're taking another run at that issue tonight. We're pretty sure we figured out a viable solution, but it will mean the forum is going to be offline for a little while later tonight.

[Steve]

Hey everybody,

It looks like we have fixed all the "major" bugs. Yay!

We had the forums down for a few hours overnight and it looks like all the first posts are back, and the "Started by" links are giving the right people the credit. Those were the last two big bugs.

As Mr. E mentioned, the private messaging system is now online. You can add photo albums to your profile (LHBA members only). Signatures work great too! :)

If you notice anything else broken, please continue to post reports here. Thanks everyone for your patience!

-Steve

[54darock]

This is the message I get when I try and edit anything on my own profile.

54darock, you do not have permission to access this page. This could be due to one of several reasons:

Your user account may not have sufficient privileges to access this page. Are you trying to edit someone else's post, access administrative features or some other privileged system?
If you are trying to post, the administrator may have disabled your account, or it may be awaiting activation.

[54darock]

Disregard above thread, I just read thread explaining way I'm having no success with editing profile.

[ccosborne3]

Some links don't seem to be working. I tried to follow a few links in DVB's "Finally Getting Started" thread and got nowhere. Also tried following links from the last page of the member websites thread and got nowhere. Some links work just fine, the links Ellsworth posted at the beginning of the member websites thread work fine.

[Ellsworth]

Some links don't seem to be working. I tried to follow a few links in DVB's "Finally Getting Started" thread and got nowhere. Also tried following links from the last page of the member websites thread and got nowhere. Some links work just fine, the links Ellsworth posted at the beginning of the member websites thread work fine.

The links were imported without url tags, so they are no longer hyperlinks. You can't just click on them and go somewhere, instead you need to cut and paste the url into your browser. This can be manually fixed on a per post basis -- just hit edit, then save and the tags should be automatically added. That is what we're doing for the sticky threads.

The only way to keep them as hyperlinks would have been to archive the old content on a separate server/database. The new forum would have launched with zero content, and the you'd end up having to search on two separate sites to really be searching all the threads. We felt that keeping everything together was a priority -- one database, one place to search.

IIRC there's no fix for this issue, but I will certainly look into it again. If it's possible to add url tags to existing urls, creating hyperlinks, then we'll make that happen.

[rreidnauer]

Hey, looks like I got back on the new forums just in time for you all to work out the bugs.

Looks good!

BTW Ellsworth, your new avatar is great.

[ramblinman502]

all this computer mumbo jumbo has this old man running for the hills. remember it took me months to figure out how to post a pic! so the new forum is a bit overwhelming for me. creature of habit..what can i say. : ) im gonna check back when i have time to figure out how to navigate this....and enjoy it : ))

[rreidnauer]

Looks like there is a bunch of spam in the alternative construction forum. Some in the alternative power forum too.

[Ellsworth]

Looks like there is a bunch of spam in the alternative construction forum. Some in the alternative power forum too.

Thanks Rod :)

I just went through and deleted a bunch of spam posts in those two areas, and will keep working on it over the next day. Feel free to PM me links to any spam threads you see and I'll delete them.

We'll also check all our spam settings and make some adjustments. The good news is that vBulletin has much stronger anti-spam tools than the old forum. So spam should be less of an issue once we get the filter settings dialed in.

[Ellsworth]

Looks like there is a bunch of spam in the alternative construction forum. Some in the alternative power forum too.

We just enabled a neat feature that should help deal with spam and problem posts/threads.

Beneath each post, toward the left side of the page, you'll see a small black triangle with an exclamation point inside.

If you hover your cursor over that triangle, then the words "report post" should appear.

So if there is a post that seems problematic, then anyone can just click that triangle and LHBA staff will be notified. The post or thread will be reviewed by a moderator and if something needs to be done we'll take care of it.

When you click the triangle, you'll end up seeing a box where you can enter the reason that you are reporting the post or thread. Please fill that out so we can easily understand what you are reporting.

The thread or post you report will remain visible. Nothing will immediately change when you hit report. It will take at least a few hours for staff to receive the report and take action if needed.

Feel free to use this new feature if you see a post or thread that:

Looks like spam
Contains objectionable material
Needs to be moved to a different area of the forum
Has become an argument, instead of a dialogue
Quotes a full article from a different website
Looks like it violates our ToS for any other reason

[Mosseyme]

Not an issue with the new site but I was wondering if you could make the google map site a sticky link or something so it will stay up front for the newbies to find. Thanks for all you do to keep this up and going. I feel cut off from the world when it is down.

[emersonelk]

Need help,i cant register,or do i need to.When i try to put my user name in, it says "That username is already in use or does not meet the administrators standards.If you are emersonelk and you have forgotten your password,click here.

[shawnis]

Personally, I think you guys should use similar colors (greens and yellows) from the LHBA website for these forums. These blues and grays we have currently make me feel as if I'm on another site entirely. Otherwise, I'm cool with how this place is working out.

[StressMan79]

there is a member named emersonelk...I work with a friend of his, although I haven't seen him online in a while. Anyway...I don't really understand your post...you seem to be the emersonelk I know and love, but your post seems to say the contrary. email Mr. E., he'll help you out.

-Peter

[Admin]

Need help,i cant register,or do i need to.When i try to put my user name in, it says "That username is already in use or does not meet the administrators standards.If you are emersonelk and you have forgotten your password,click here.

emersonelk: You don't need to register again. We imported all the accounts over from our old website/forums. Since you can post here that means you are already successfully logged in (as emersonelk) and there is nothing else you need to do. Welcome to the new forums. ;)

[Admin]

Personally, I think you guys should use similar colors (greens and yellows) from the LHBA website for these forums. These blues and grays we have currently make me feel as if I'm on another site entirely. Otherwise, I'm cool with how this place is working out.

shawnis: More changes are coming. All will be revealed. :)

We are making changes slowly, to give things a chance to stabilize between changes. New forums and store are finished and working good.... stay tuned...

[hemlock77]

Any plans on bringing over the homesteading, self sufficiency thread?
Stu

[emersonelk]

Hey guys, I'm having a bit of a problem.I log onto the site,then go to new posts,everything is ok until i get a few posts down,then i have to log on again.Today i got down to wenzel's "finally looking for land" post and when i clicked on that,the next page was the log on page like when when you first log on and typed in your password wrong.Am i the only one? Noticed yesterday was the first time it did that to me.Thanks.

[StressMan79]

On my home PC, I get logged out all the time (like every hour) but here at work, I can stay logged in for a couple days at a time. I don't know if that is your problem, but if it is, I'd like a solution too.

[Admin]

Emerson & Stressman:

Are you both checking the box that says "Remember me?" when you log in? You should check that to stay logged in.

What browser are you using? It sounds like you both might have a cookie issue. Are you blocking cookies or ads or something? We have no ads on our site, so it's safe to whitelist us from your blocking software(s). Or at least turn it off for a test, to see if it helps.

Maybe try installing an obscure/esoteric browser you've never tried before (like Opera or Chrome) to see if it works in a clean environment.

Stressman: I think you answered your own question. The site is working fine. Something is different between your home and work setups, what is it?

[ssshipley77]

Ok, so I finally figured out how to put my avatar in and got really excited and thought I would start and album. One picture uploaded, but the others it tells me the file is too large. Not being computer literate, was wondering what I could do.....and how to do it, in simple terms please, thanks for any help.

[loghousenut]

I just love seeing a Father and his Daughter involved in this forum HHHAahahhahaahaaaa.

[RPM]

Now, Loghousenut, that was funny!!!!!!

[loghousenut]

All meant in fun of course. Just remember... The happier SHE is... The happier HE is.

[ssshipley77]

You just made my wifes day, but I may be in trouble because I could not stop laughing. After 23 years I must admit she's the best I could of picked out. And she did attend class with me, something I recommend to everyone. Thanks LHN, I neede that laugh...

[ssshipley77]

Wait.....now can someone tell me how to resize my pics so I can post them

[jrdavis]

well I'm going ot give it a try...... for INSERTING pics
click the picture in the "quick reply " area that says "insert image" (it looks like a tree growing in a window frame) when you hover your mouse arrow over it.....
it will pop up a window that wants you to select files from your computer or a URL (webpage storing pictures)
choose 'select files' and navigate to where your pictures are on your computer and select one.
You should then be back at the "Add an Image from your computer window" and then click
Upload File(s). WAIT FOR IT.........
94
and then it should be in the window you were typing. :+)
thats a LOVELY picture of my family from when I was on Leave in JUNE 2010 to see my family in Pensacola, Florida.
We even visited a LHBA building site while there... (Even in Iraq the hunger burns to build a LOGHOME....)
---
For changing the size, choose an editor (any will do) I choose PAINT for ease and instructions here.
on a WINDOWS OPERATING Machine (no MAC)
START --> Programs --> Accessories --> PAINT
in the TOP LEFT there is a menu called 'File'
click FILE --> Open --> and navigate to your pictures, choose one and select OPEN.
Then go to the TOP LEFT menu option 'Image'
click Image --> Stretch/Skew --> and change
Horizontal from 100 to 50
Vertical from 100 to 50
and then OK
Then TOP LEFT menu option 'File'
click File --> SAVE AS --> names the file something else -- SO YOU DON'T OVERWRITE YOUR ORIGINAL PICTURE ***VERY IMPORTANT ****.
Then do the procedure at the top. -- Have fun.

Blessings, and Welcome to the 'family'.
JD

[Cruiser]

Steve,

Many times when I finish writing and click to post, I get a message saying I am not authorized and I need to refresh and log in again. Sometimes when I do this, the post is attached to the thread, but a LOT of the time after I do this, my post is gone. This is very frustrating after writing a long post. Is there anything you (or I) can do can do to prevent this from happening?

Thanks,

Ron

[Ellsworth]

Hey Steve,

My ISP won't let me access the forum because they have a major routing problem. I can access the forum using my Iphone, but typing a lot on that small screen isn't fun.

Can you fix this for me? Really, I'm not kidding, it's like I can only access half the web. ;)

Ok, I am kidding about you fixing it... I know you can't make my ISP behave properly.



Steve,

Many times when I finish writing and click to post, I get a message saying I am not authorized and I need to refresh and log in again. Sometimes when I do this, the post is attached to the thread, but a LOT of the time after I do this, my post is gone. This is very frustrating after writing a long post. Is there anything you (or I) can do can do to prevent this from happening?

Thanks,

Ron

This sounds exactly like what Peter described. I can only guess that it's an issue with your particular computer/browser settings. Maybe a firewall issue, maybe a cookie or permissions issue, maybe an blocked active scripts settings issue, etc. It could be a lot of little things on your end.

The only suggestions I can make are:
Make sure you're accepting our cookie.
Try posting using a different browser (i.e. Firefox or Chrome).
If you have a firewall add us to your white list and see if it helps.
If adding us to your safe list does nothing then maybe completely disable your firewall and see if that fixes it.
Try uninstalling and reinstalling your browser.
Try posting from a different computer in the same house to see if the problem occurs.
Try posting from a friends house or local library and see if the problem still occurs (just remember to log off when you're done).

LHBA staff really does check the site regularly with every common browser (IE, FF, Chrome, Opera), and we've never experienced the issue you're describing. We did some preliminary investigation and everything looks fine on our end, but without being able to recreate the problem there really isn't anything we can fix.

So far we've heard from 2 people who have experienced this issue. If anyone else is experiencing it please post on this thread or email info@loghomebuilders.org. Please let us know what browsers you've tried, what OS you're running, if you have a firewall, or a program like No Scripts, etc. Any relevant info would be helpful.

[RPM]

Hi Steve! I experience the same thing. After taking the time to writing a long post, I get the "not authorized" message when I go to send it and I have to log in again. What I've been doing is copying my post before logging in again, then paste it to the new screen, re-send it and that seems to work. I'm launch from MSN.Com and XP is my OS.

[edkemper]

How do I get into the store again? Are the hats in yet?

[Ellsworth]

How do I get into the store again? Are the hats in yet?

The store has been moved to http://mechanicaltransfer.com/

Unfortunately we had a problem with the hat provider which caused a delay. We should have hats in stock sometime this month.

[edkemper]

The Carhart Jackets are missing.

[Cruiser]

Thanks for the suggestions Ellsworth. I'll try them and see what happens.

[Ellsworth]

The Carhart Jackets are missing.

We're no longer carrying them.

It's possible we'll do a run of them in the future if there's enough interest.

[Timberwolf]

We're no longer carrying them.

It's possible we'll do a run of them in the future if there's enough interest.

Interest!!! Interest!!!

I can add more. Interest!!!!!

[drmnoflogs]

How about some t-shirts? I don't "work" enough to need a Carhart jacket (plus that one I picked up from Goodwill still looks new) :rolleyes:, but I could go for a few t-shirts and L/S t-shirts.

No, actually, I'd be interested in a couple Carhart jackets too. :o

[Cruiser]

Count me in too!

[rocklock]

I need to start a discussion on water wells, where would be a good place to start that?

[loghousenut]

I need to start a discussion on water wells, where would be a good place to start that?

Come out to my place. We haven't had water since New Years Day. Long story.

[rocklock]

I thought there were going to be more topics and a change in color? Is this the end of the changes?
Thanks

[Ellsworth]

I thought there were going to be more topics and a change in color? Is this the end of the changes?
Thanks

This isn't the end of changes. Once the forum was stable we started work on switching the website over to new software and a new gallery format.

When we're done with those things, then we'll work on the forum again, and unifying themes.

[edkemper]

Great work so far, thanks. I'm sure it's been a monumental change so far. Just so that is discussed at the appropriate time, try to used contrasting for colors. What we have now is much harder to read than the old colors. Thanks again E.

Amazing smile on your partner.