Ultimate Collectors' Forums

If you encounter something missing or not working correctly, please post here and we will try to fix it.

Some items we are already aware of:

- We have not yet imported the pictures from the old Gallery. As such, that section is closed for now until we do this. As a result, any old post that contained a picture linked from the Gallery won't show an image for now. We are working to resolve this as soon as possible.

- If you see an empty field with a " ? " in it where your old avatar picture used to be, it is for one two reasons:

1- Those old .GIF images were stored on the previous server and have not been automatically appended to your user account. I've restored some of them from memory, but if I missed you, please go into your profile and select your old avatar from the images available.
2- You did not select an avatar in the old forums, and the new software is using the " ? " as a placeholder.

- We will eventually install a new software plugin to give us Chatbox functionality once again.

- Similarly, we will be restoring the list of threads with most recent posts in the future.

- The forum supporter custom titles had to be manually restored. I may have missed one or two of you, so please let me know and I will restore your title.

- The collection field in your profile is disabled for now. We are working on setting up a standardized database of collectibles so you can simply check off which ones you own. This will provide us with a more uniform look and 'fun fact' statistics.

- In the old forum, if you edited your post after 60 seconds had passed, a "Last Edited By" tag with a name and time would appear on the bottom of the post. Currently, this does not happen on the new forum, but you do have the option to make that tag appear if you wish. When editing your post, simply look below the text window for the option listed as "Reason for editing this post:" and fill it in. We are investigating whether it is possible to have the tag appear by default. (See example in this very post.)

Lastly, we ask for your patience. This will be a work in progress for some time. Thank you for your understanding and your help.

So, I went to my inbox and it said I was at 200% with 50 PM's. Is that our new max?

I noticed that I can no longer click on a user's name and see their public profile. Do those still exist? Minor details, just curious.

N2darkness wrote:So, I went to my inbox and it said I was at 200% with 50 PM's. Is that our new max?

Try now. The max number for Forum Supporters should be 100, which is 50 more than regular users.

Also, in the other thread you had asked about picture limit per post. It is set to 5 but this will bear testing out.

Fingolfin wrote:I noticed that I can no longer click on a user's name and see their public profile. Do those still exist? Minor details, just curious.

Fixed.

Valkrist wrote:...- The collection field in your profile is disabled for now. We are working on setting up a standardized database of collectibles so you can simply check off which ones you own. This will provide us with a more uniform look and 'fun fact' statistics....

Will that be the only way to list one's collection? Or will one still be able to do a customized listing?

Also....glad OUR smileys are available, well most of them ...I like them a lot better than the stock ones offered.
Sooooo, where's our smiley with the tongue sticking out (not the Crazy one) ?

Deimos wrote:

Valkrist wrote:...- The collection field in your profile is disabled for now. We are working on setting up a standardized database of collectibles so you can simply check off which ones you own. This will provide us with a more uniform look and 'fun fact' statistics....

Will that be the only way to list one's collection? Or will one still be able to do a customized listing?

Also....glad OUR smileys are available, well most of them ...I like them a lot better than the stock ones offered.
Sooooo, where's our smiley with the tongue sticking out (not the Crazy one) ?

The idea for the collection field is still up in the air, but it will be either the new way or the old way, but not both. The idea is to provide something that is a little easier to organize and look at. For example, if you own UC's MC Glamdring, you can simply check that off from the available options and it will appear in your collection field, but written out the same way as everyone else that has it as well. We also aim to (possibly) provide a separate area with stats that says something like: 2% of our members own UC's MC Glamdring. Again, this is not set in stone and is a future project.

As for the smilies, I'm not sure what happened there. Most of our old ones survived the database migration, but a few seem to have gone missing. I personally plan to hunt them down and restore them if I can, fear not.

Re the list of collections....if one has a LE or otherwise numbered collectible, will there be a space to place the number?

Will you have a listing not just for, say, the helm of Eomer, but a heading of the maker/manufacturer so the viewer can see who made the object.
I think that if a collectible is not mass produced the creator/craftsman/artist should certainly be listed, both to receive due credit, but also as an unobtrusive way to advertise his work.
Also, if you just have Arkenstone to be selected, it doesn't differentiate between the [very banal] Badali version and the utterly fantastic Dreamspheres version.

My personal opinion: I think it should remain as it was in the old forum,
(Otherwise I will never be able to list Feanor as the creator of my obsidian Palantir ...and I really want to do that).

Say, maybe we can have a poll on that? .... Standardized... OR ....[legacy] customized listing.

I see what you're saying, and there's tons of merit to it. This will be one of GuardianWolf's pet projects to code however, so I will defer any further thoughts on it to him.

Valkrist wrote: As for the smilies, I'm not sure what happened there. Most of our old ones survived the database migration, but a few seem to have gone missing. I personally plan to hunt them down and restore them if I can, fear not.

I'll take a look at our backup tonight to see if I can track down the rest of our smilies.

Deimos wrote:Re the list of collections....if one has a LE or otherwise numbered collectible, will there be a space to place the number?

Will you have a listing not just for, say, the helm of Eomer, but a heading of the maker/manufacturer so the viewer can see who made the object.
I think that if a collectible is not mass produced the creator/craftsman/artist should certainly be listed, both to receive due credit, but also as an unobtrusive way to advertise his work.
Also, if you just have Arkenstone to be selected, it doesn't differentiate between the [very blasé] Badali version and the utterly fantastic Dreamspheres version.

My personal opinion: I think it should remain as it was in the old forum,
(Otherwise I will never be able to list Feanor as the creator of my obsidian Palantir ...and I really want to do that).

Say, maybe we can have a poll on that? .... Standardized... OR ....[legacy] customized listing.

The old system stored folks' collections as a single sentence, basically. There was no restriction on the size of this. Most software dislikes this for various reasons, but in the conversion from old to new, the new software had a lot to say about this!

My scheme is to build a database of all items that will house different data on the item. Dimensions, first release date, availability, designer, etc. This would be a continuously growing database obviously, as new items come out and people make new finds. Then folks could select which ones they have, maybe even tag their pictures using this database. As this is a "from-the-ground-up" project, we can do whatever we want. Adding LE numbers is a PERFECT idea, and it will absolutely be there.

As Val said, this is a pet project of mine and while I'll be working on it ASAP, it might take a little while to shake it all out.

Also, rest assured, no one will have to refill out their collection. I backed those up and will be manually entering them into the new structure for everyone.

And just for clarification: we didn't drop the old collections option the way it was just to be doing it, or because we were thinking about implementing a new system. It was because it would not import correctly, a database issue or something. Guardian Wolf could say more about that, but suffice it to say, it would not import. Thus, we're exploring options for how to set up either a new system, or a facsimile of the old system. And we appreciate your fondness for being able to list your collection items!

Well, it looks like Guardian Wolf posted on this topic same time as I did, so there you have it in more detail. But since I bothered to dictate to Siri, I'll go ahead and let my post go up too.

Is it possible to eventually get that box back that had all the recent replied to threads up at the top of the forum?

Fingolfin wrote:Is it possible to eventually get that box back that had all the recent replied to threads up at the top of the forum?

I made note of this feature and its possible return in my first post in this thread.

For now, if you click on New Posts at the top left hand corner of the main forum page, you will be taken to all the new posts at a glance since your last visit.

Any chance you can put a number on a post as it was in old format?
I used that feature to keep my head straight, I have no idea why that meant so much to me until it was gone.

Also, would you be so kind as to change my name colour to blue, or purple, or even green. anything but red

Thranduil wrote:Also, would you be so kind as to change my name colour to blue, or purple, or even green. anything but red

Andrew, you've been red for years... lol

Valkrist wrote:

Thranduil wrote:Also, would you be so kind as to change my name colour to blue, or purple, or even green. anything but red

Andrew, you've been red for years... lol

I know, and I've hated it for years!
New forum, new look, please change my name color

Thranduil wrote:

Valkrist wrote:

Thranduil wrote:Also, would you be so kind as to change my name colour to blue, or purple, or even green. anything but red

Andrew, you've been red for years... lol

I know, and I've hated it for years!
New forum, new look, please change my name color

Oh, so Thrandy gets his own custom chosen color????
Ooooooo, aren't WE SPECIAL!
Channeling our huffy namesake from the Hobbit, are we?
(Well, then, I want one too!)

The name colours are the way they are for a specific reason.

Please check the legend at the bottom of the forum main page so see what each colour means, and also the forum donations page, to understand why some forums supporters have their name in blue rather than red. I appreciate you personally disliking the colour red, which was chosen by Justin when the forum supporter feature was added, but it wouldn't be fair to other users if one could simply demand that their colour be changed at will. I hope you can understand this.

Regarding other things mentioned thus far, we are working to resolve some of these niggling issues, but please understand that these things take time and sometimes involve more than just simply ticking off a box in the settings somewhere. We donate of our own personal time to be here when we can to maintain our little corner of the internet, but we also have lives, families, and jobs, so we beg your indulgence and patience. I understand the first instinct is to have the forum return to all the functionality it had previoulsy, but in many ways, phpBB is a different beast from Vbulletin and we are doing what we can to sort our way through things. In some cases, you may be disappointed to find out that there is a feature that we cannot bring back, but we are hoping to minimize that.

With regards to the Chatbox, which some of you want to see back fast, myself included... again, it is not simply flicking a switch that will bring it back. We have to jointly decide on the plugin that will best suit our needs, release the funds from our treasury to purchase it, download and install it, hope that the process is seamless, then run it through the paces before enabling it for public use. All of this takes time, and there are four of us to consult and make decisions together, which sometimes requires a lining up of diverse schedules. So once again, please be patient with us. Things won't happen overnight,

Valkrist wrote:...With regards to the Chatbox, which some of you want to see back fast, myself included... again, it is not simply flicking a switch that will bring it back. We have to jointly decide on the plugin that will best suit our needs, release the funds from our treasury to purchase it, download and install it, hope that the process is seamless, then run it through the paces before enabling it for public use. All of this takes time, and there are four of us to consult and make decisions together, which sometimes requires a lining up of diverse schedules. So once again, please be patient with us. Things won't happen overnight,

That's it? That's all there is to getting the Chat Box up and running?
Jeez...piece o' cake....

Deimos wrote:That's it? That's all there is to getting the Chat Box up and running?
Jeez...piece o' cake....

Someone woke up in a facetious mood today...

LOL!

Retirement is on the horizon....and I feel pretty good about that!

I wish...

I am aware of the reasons for name colours.
I am aware things do not happen over night.
I have bit my tongue on this issue for many years (as has been noted)

Deimos, this is not about special treatment, if you want to go down that road, read way back and point to Fingolfin, because if memory serves correctly, it was he who requested a colour change years ago.

I simply do not like red, and never have.

If anyone points out my custom car, know that was not my idea, I was convinced by majority vote what colour to paint it, and hated it all the more.

Please do not take my request in the wrong light, I never looked for recognition supporting this forum.

Thranduil wrote:.....Deimos, this is not about special treatment, if you want to go down that road, read way back and point to Fingolfin, because if memory serves correctly, it was he who requested a colour change years ago.

Thraaaannnndyyyy, I was jokiiiiiiiing

Andrew, when a request for an alternate name colour to red was made, I devised a way to make it happen. Fin himself did not change from white to blue up until a couple of months ago, anyway.

I didn't take your comment to mean you were flippantly demanding a colour change, but was simply making the clarification that those that have blue names donated for that privilege. It doesn't make sense to implement a system and then casually disregard it when someone asks.

I'm genuinely sorry you don't like red. I had no idea you hated your name colour all these years. I'm not going to be so crass as to demand the $5 donation that it takes to get a blue name. I do so out of consideration for those that donated for it. If you wish, I can change your name back to standard white.

I don't feel as if people donate here in order to be recognized, but we use the colours and titles to show some appreciation and thanks. We never wanted this to become a bone of contention, and for that, again, I apologize.

Valkrist wrote:Andrew, when a request for an alternate name colour to red was made, I devised a way to make it happen. Fin himself did not change from white to blue up until a couple of months ago, anyway.

I didn't take your comment to mean you were flippantly demanding a colour change, but was simply making the clarification that those that have blue names donated for that privilege. It doesn't make sense to implement a system and then casually disregard it when someone asks.

I'm genuinely sorry you don't like red. I had no idea you hated your name colour all these years. I'm not going to be so crass as to demand the $5 donation that it takes to get a blue name. I do so out of consideration for those that donated for it. If you wish, I can change your name back to standard white.

I don't feel as if people donate here in order to be recognized, but we use the colours and titles to show some appreciation and thanks. We never wanted this to become a bone of contention, and for that, again, I apologize.

I was under the impression that those in red were forum supporters, as that was also part of my "tag" or what ever info is called.

A long time ago I made a donation in a time of immediate need to keep the forum up and running.

I'd be more than happy to make another if need be, but white will work if that is the simplest solution for you.
Thanks

Well, unlike the old forum , at least the spam bots identify themselves

Deimos wrote:Well, unlike the old forum , at least the spam bots identify themselves

Actually, what you are seeing are data bots produced by search engines. The most common ones popping up from time to time that you will see are ones like Google and Bing. Basically, any time you put a term into a search engine, these things called spiders go out and search the web for instances of that term, and some are led here. phpBB shows you when they get positive hits from this site, and also allows us to see with what frequency we are coming up on search results.

The actual spambots are something else altogether and it is still my mission in life to hammer those into dust any time one comes near.

Oh, wow... Internet has always been magic to me. That is definitely useful.

I got my first PM today since the migration and noticed the email address is from [a private email address] and not the UC forums. Is it going to stay that way?

I'll defer that question to one of the admins who knows more about that end of it than I do. In the meantime, I took the liberty of making a slight edit to your post to conceal the private email address you cited.

Not to alarm anyone because it will obviously be a temporary measure, but we may have to take the PM system down until we can either mask that email or establish one that belongs solely to the forums, like the old forum did.

It is unacceptable to allow it to remain as is.

Well, I'm glad I said something then.

That's why this thread is here.

Thanks for the Visine Val, my eyes feel better already now that the red is out.

I also got emails from that address for topic reply notifications.

Not a complaint or bug....

How do I set the number of posts per page?
Old forum that function was in the CP, and I'm sure that's where it is for this one, but I can't find it.

Deimos wrote:Not a complaint or bug....

How do I set the number of posts per page?
Old forum that function was in the CP, and I'm sure that's where it is for this one, but I can't find it.

As of now, I believe posts per page is a forum wide setting, not an individual user setting. Personally, back in the old vBulletin site, I liked to have mine set on 40 posts per page.

Once we familiarize ourselves with the forum functions and add-ons, that might be a feature we can add. GW is more of the phpBB expert, so he might be able to chime in on whether or not that is remotely a possibility or not.

Posts per page is a forum-wide setting and while it might be possible to make it a user-based preference down the line, I can't guarantee it. The logic behind it is the bandwidth it consumes. Every time you load up a page, you're downloading new data from the server. While some of that is cached (stored on your own PC) not all of it is. So when you have each page contain 40 posts, and you're checking it for a single new post, you're still loading up 40-posts worth of data. In the past, we didn't worry so much about bandwidth/storage space, but now we do. But we also have much better ways of monitoring these things. So after the first month of being live, we'll definitely know where we stand on what we can do and what we can't. Things like this that, while cool, are not 100% required, will be researched then.

To give everyone a general update here are the features we're looking to bring back, in order by priority:
-Chatbox
-Recent Posts Block
-Gallery
-Collections

This doesn't include the random odd bug that crops up and I encourage everyone to speak up about things they find bothersome on the site. While we can't guarantee every concern will be addressed, every concern is discussed amongst the four admins. We have a LOT more freedom now with the software and server, so the sky is the limit. Even if a feature doesn't exist out there in the world, there's potential that we can custom code it ourselves.

The Collections (which I've geekily referred to as Project Dragon Horde to myself and the other admins) is a pet project I've had in mind for a while. I really hope that it becomes a feature that you guys really like. Completely adaptable and customizable, with a monstrous listing of every collectible from every company you could hope to collect from, including custom and modified pieces. I don't expect it to take too long, and work for it has started already.

So thank you for being patient with us while we work through the new software!

Thank you both BC and GW

40 posts/page is a bit long for me, tho' not unmanageable.
I think my old one was at 30.
And if it's forum wide and stays that way, I'm still good with that.

Yay on the most recent posts block. I actually use that more than the chat! Very exciting. I actually really like the new site a lot. It is clean and easy to navigate. I appreciate all your guy's hard work.

Valkrist wrote:Not to alarm anyone because it will obviously be a temporary measure, but we may have to take the PM system down until we can either mask that email or establish one that belongs solely to the forums, like the old forum did.

It is unacceptable to allow it to remain as is.

The email system is [still?] showing emails sent on your behalf, Val (your real email address).
Mine and the intended recipient's also show up, per normal.

Grrrr... I thought I had fixed this crap. Sigh.

Ok, thanks, will try to look at it again tomorrow.

Valkrist wrote:Grrrr... I thought I had fixed this crap. Sigh.

Ok, thanks, will try to look at it again tomorrow.

N2 first reported the problem with the PM system (private mail).
I guess that works because some folks have been using it.

This was with the email system (and I have no idea how the two are related...or not) and so maybe the fixes have to be discrete.

They are connected, and I applied a fix to both issues. Problem is, some people report to me that it is now ok, and others tell me the opposite, making me believe the settings are not taking globally to all users.

Hmm, I don't see your email, Val. I receive notifications from pm@ucforums.com.

That's what everyone should see, both for private messages and emails sent through the board, but clearly, as Deimos exemplified, it's not working for every user.

Now it's coming in as from "UCF Admins".

Here is what I received when I sent and email to John Lowe.
The "To" recipient is me [Deimos] because I checked the box that asked if I wanted a copy sent to my email address.
I have no idea what the heading looks like on the original sent to John.
Note: I have partially redacted Val's private email address

-----Original Message-----
From: rxxxxa@xxxxx.com [mailto: rxxxxa@xxxxx.com ] On Behalf Of pm@ucforums.com
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 2:48 PM
To: Deimos
Subject: Feanor Lamps