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From Mikey::
'Okay... After a couple of weeks of buggy forums, I think it's only fair to explain myself.

See, along with the site redesign -- which still isn't complete -- I have been working on a complete overhaul of the forums. Since the server transfer last year, the current forums have been buggy and I thought a fresh install of the latest version would be the best choice.

However, I also wanted to import all the current stuff into the new ones. That way, we could just a seemless transition.

It didn't work.

MISTAKE 1: The new forums were up and running when I decided to import the current data into them. Unfortunately, all the new data was killed out and some of the current data wasn't imported. This is because the amount of forum posts was just way too much. The server cannot import a file larger than 1MB at a time -- our posts took up 13 MB.

Luckily, I had a backup of the new database that would get everything back to how it should have been. Then came....

MISTAKE 2: When the old data was imported into the new forums, several unmodified tables were making the new forum reference links located at the current forum's database. I don't know how to simplify this more than by saying... when you clicked on the admin control panel in the new forum, it would go to the current forum's admin control panel.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until it was too late. I overwrote the entire current forum's database with the information from the new one.

Again, I was lucky that I made a backup of the current forums as well. But when I tried to restore it, the same problem that occured in Mistake 1 happened all over again.

Everything was back EXCEPT the posts -- because the file was just too large to import by the server.

MISTAKE 3: Not realizing that it hadn't uploaded, I logged out of the current forums and focused all my time on the new ones. Had I realized then and there that none of the posts had come back, I would have put an UNDER CONSTRUCTION sign or blocked people from registering and posting. But I didn't and so everyone who logged in, couldn't do anything but post new topics.

It wasn't until two days later that Brinatello and Tokka contacted me saying that there was some weird stuff happening at the forums. I thought that they had just caught it at the time I was updating, but when I logged in, I saw that there was nothing there.

I tried round-the-clock to bring back everything I could. But all I ended up restoring was about 2/3 of the forums -- with some sacrifices... During the downtime, some people registered and even posted. But when I started the restoration process, these newbies were deleted.

I assume that any phpBB2 savvy person could do what I aimed to do within minutes.... Unfortunately, I'm not phpBB2 savvy. And everything has been trial and error...... more error than anything.

I know there are things that I should have done or should NOT have done that would have saved me a migraine or two and everyone else from getting pissed at their lost ranks, posts and topics. Of course, it probably would have helped if members experiencing difficulties would have come to me directly instead of the other moderators -- at least I would have had an explanation.

But at this point, I'm through with editing this worn out database and as many good times we had there, I never want to deal with its intricacies again.

As you know, the new forums are ready and waiting until the launch of the redesign. What I have decided to do is allow everyone to sign up at the new forums. Posting will be allowed, BUT I WOULD PREFER that main discussion continue at the current forums until a specific launch is set. At that point, we'll switch over to the new site.

Thanks for all your continued patience, everyone.

-Mikey
Click here for the New Forums..!!

..>v<