ANNOUNCEMENT: New Forum Software Coming to Fishing Magic

[vsadmin]

Dear Community Members,

Over the past few years, updates to the forum software introduced challenges in usability and performance. Efforts to improve the technology, user interface, and site performance have revealed weaknesses in the platform and outdated software this site uses, making it increasingly difficult and frustrating to support and upgrade to more modern, reliable standards that users deserve. In addition, our advertising experience and certain ad partners have further degraded the site's functionality. We do not want this experience for you or the community.

Members want a fast site that performs well across all devices, to find relevant and interesting content, and easily share through text, images, video, and messaging on a secure platform. Our goal is to provide this ultimate user experience to all members.

We will implement a new platform to meet this community's needs better and allow us to provide support more efficiently. Our focus is to create a sustainable platform that performs well and loads faster on all devices while offering seamless ways to search and connect. Technology is constantly innovating - by creating an environment that we control, we can maintain the site with more frequent improvements and maintenance updates.

Although change can be difficult, we are here to support you through the process. We make every effort to review existing settings and make necessary changes so the migration goes smoothly. However, if you notice something doesn’t seem correct once the site goes live, don’t panic! We’ll have a dedicated person monitoring as the site goes live to answer questions and provide support through this change.

What’s next?

I bet you’re thinking, “What does this mean for the community and me?” It means change, but it will help solve most of the issues that this site may have been experiencing. We have reviewed reported issues, site statistics, traffic data, and user feedback to help us prioritize the changes and improvements. Uploading an image or video will be easier. Ad formatting will change with a new site layout. The site will be more responsive - there is no need to use a mobile skin or app! Security and user privacy will continue to be a top priority.

When will this be happening? Soon! We recognize the member experience is slow, and there are bugs from the outdated software. The sooner we can change that, the better we can make the experience for you. You’ll see activity related to cleanup to prepare for migration shortly. We will post an announcement to you and the community before starting the data migration. Once the migration begins, the site will go into maintenance mode and read-only while they migrate the data.

We appreciate each member’s contribution to this community and look forward to an improved experience for you.

- Community Support

 

[vsadmin]

I want to update you on the process I use once the site goes live with the new platform.

The night before the site goes live, you will see an announcement from me that the site will go live soon. Once the actual process starts, the site will be read-only while the team migrates from the old platform to the new one.

Once it goes live, you will see an announcement thread created here in this section. Members should post all questions and feedback about the new platform ONLY in that thread.

• You will see my reply to the thread introducing myself.
• I will add a new signature and avatar to the admin account.

What should you be doing now before this happens?

• Make sure your email address is up to date in your account.
• If your password is less than eight characters, you need to change it NOW.
• If you don't remember your password, now would be a good time to reset it. Save the information.

When Will This All Happen?

Fishing Magic is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6, 2022. HOWEVER, the schedule is very fluid and can change depending on any complications or schedule changes.

As your dedicated support, I will be here with you multiple times a day once the site goes live with the new platform, answering questions and listening to feedback.

My only request is that you remain patient with me while we work through the changes.

~Mike D

 

[vsadmin]

Due to unforeseen circumstances and the need for some more customization that needs to be coded in order to migrate, etc., we will be delaying the software update. I will update you as soon as I have more information.

~Mike D