DiscoWeb (no longer) needs your help

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
Hi Everyone,

Bottom Line Up Front: DiscoWeb needs some donations to buy new forums software.

If you are a member over at NAS-ROW, you've probably noticed that the side bar ("Recent Posts", etc.) has disappeared. We're having some trouble with the vBulletin software and some of the third-party add-ons that we use. The bottom line is that the software is ancient and no longer supported or maintained. It's only a matter of time until an upgrade over here at DWeb breaks things, too.

So.... some big news. DiscoWeb and NAS-ROW are going to get a major software upgrade. I'm going to be upgrading to XenForo, which will bring a nice refreshed look (mobile-friendly), better photo/video attachment support (also mobile-friendly), better reliability, actual support, and better search. This is going to be the biggest upgrade that DWeb has seen since the move from Discus. Most of the largest vBulletin forums on the 'net have already made this move.

That said, XenForo is not free. It's about $160 a year, plus another $200 or so for the various add-ons to enable things like members garage, the new look-and-feel, etc. Add to that many hundreds for hosting and backup storage and it's more than I can shoulder alone.

I need your help.

I want to do a small donation drive to help offset the costs of the new setup. If you are able to donate even a small amount to help pay for the new software, I sure would appreciate it.

You can send donations via Venmo or PayPal (chris.snell@gmail.com). Any donations of $30 or more will get some vintage DiscoWeb vinyl stickers for your truck (be sure to send me your mailing address).

If you're a Venmo user, you can scan this directly from the app:

venmo.jpg


All said and done, I this upgrade is going to cost about $375. I'm not interested in pocketing any money from it so I will cut off donations if/when we reach that amount. For transparency's sake, I will post names and amounts here unless you request anonymity.

Thanks everyone.


Thanks to the following for your donations:

Anonymous $200
p_m $100
Anonymous $100
Matthew Greenspan $69
James Kelly $50
Stu Ivie $50
mbrummal $50
Zack G. $40
Scott Gaynor $40
ERover82 $35
Tugela $30
_ExpeditionMan $30
Chuck Yarbrough $30
Kade Hawkins $30
Howski $30
Dan Chapman $30
David Mullis $10
Bill Gill $1
 
Last edited:

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
If you're interested in what's to come, have a look at these demo Xenforo forums. There are many themes/skins available and I'm going to put something together that maintains the general dark look of DWeb today but perhaps includes a sweet Rover pic or two from one of my trips. Be sure to try these on both desktop and mobile to see how the page adapts to the device you're using:

https://xenfocus.com/xf2/index.php?...xfRedirect=https://xenfocus.com/xf2/index.php

https://xenfocus.com/xf2/index.php?...xfRedirect=https://xenfocus.com/xf2/index.php

https://xenforo.com/community/
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
Hi Everbody. Thank you so much for the donations. This should be enough to cover the XenForo costs.

I'm currently installing it on NAS-ROW (the much smaller site) to test it out. Dave and I paid out-of-pocket for that license. I will be purchasing and installing the DWeb license once the N-R stuff is done. DWeb is a much larger and older site, with lots of funky hacks made over the decades so I'm hoping that it won't be too tricky. Thanks again. I'm super excited about the upgrade and can't wait to show y'all. Keep an eye on N-R.

I will see about getting the stickers out tomorrow. If you donated but haven't sent me your address and want stickers, please send it to me. Thanks.

Chris
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
The new software is up and running on NAS-ROW. Have a look!

I'm going to spend a few days working out the kinks over there and then get started on DWeb.
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
If you still want to donate, feel free to. I have the new software upgrades covered but I will put any additional received towards our monthly hosting fees ($50/mo).
 

Howski

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2009
1,483
209
Alabama
Funds sent. Thanks for the work you do to keep Discoweb rolling along. I’ll admit I’m looking forward to getting my hands on those Discoweb stickers too
 

chris snell

Administrator
Staff member
Aug 15, 2005
3,020
152
I'm currently importing DWeb into the new forum software. It's taken over a half an hour and it still has a long way to go. We have over a million posts here now. You fuckers talk a lot.