Polar33
01-29-2005, 06:30 PM
A few months ago when Cujo and I noticed that StupidGuestTricks.com's second anniversary was coming up, we realized that this site had grown far beyond either of our expectations. We wanted to make some changes to better facilitate that growth, so the SGT staff discussed some ideas for improvement, and came up with what you see now.
The first big change is our software. We realized that while the phpbb software was good and it fit our budget, it limited us considerably as far as things that we could do to expand and improve. After some debate, we decided to bite the bullet and purchase vBulletin.
The second change is our new logo and look. Credit for our new logo goes to Cujo's fiance, who did a great job and deserves recognition simply for having to put up with Cujo and myself during the process. We tried to go for a new look that would also at the same time be familiar enough for those who have been around for the past two years.
The last big change is new custom fields. We've added the Park/Department/Status fields to help sort out where everyone works. Now, when someone posts that they "were working the train last night", we will be able to figure out if they mean the one at WDW, the one at DL...or the main entry eateries at DCA. All you need to do to enter your own work information is to click on "User CP" at the navigation bar at the top of the screen, then click on "Edit Options". The Park and Status fields are in the top section, and the Department field is in the bottom section.
Other New features include:
New Smilies - We now have a growing list of smilies to choose from, courtesy of Zazu.
Post Reporting - click the word "report" in the upper right corner of the post to alert the SGT staff to a post that violates our rules.
Custom User Titles - You now have the option to use the default titles, or you can choose your own.
Profile pictures - If you wish to share a photo of yourself, you can place one in your profile.
Choice of Linear, Threaded, or Hybrid display views
Choice of new WYSIWYG post editor or standard post editor
I suggest that everyone take a moment to look over the settings in their User CP to make sure everything is set to your liking. Individual preference settings were not something that we could transfer over, so you may wish to change a few of the default settings. Also, those that had avatars may find them gone now. For some reason only a fraction of them would transfer over, you may upload a new avatar in your User CP as well.
Due to lack of interest we have removed the dating, and the group forums. Posts that were in those forums are now available in the Break Room. Also gone is the chat feature.
I know that there will be a bit of a transitional period where we will need to work out the kinks, so if you encounter any problems, please go to the Official SGT 2.0 Troubleshooting Thread for assistance.
We hope everyone will enjoy the new and improved StupidGuestTricks.com. The past two years have been great, and we're not done yet. We have plenty of more things in store, and now that we have this step out of the way we can start working on other things. If you have some skills or ideas to contribute to the site, please let us know, as we are always looking for ways to make the site better. If you would like to contribute some funds to help us keep the bills paid, that would be greatly appreciated as well. To donate, all you have to do to get started is click on the Amazon Honor System pay box, located in the links section on the main page.
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful two years, and many more to come!
:cake::cake:
The first big change is our software. We realized that while the phpbb software was good and it fit our budget, it limited us considerably as far as things that we could do to expand and improve. After some debate, we decided to bite the bullet and purchase vBulletin.
The second change is our new logo and look. Credit for our new logo goes to Cujo's fiance, who did a great job and deserves recognition simply for having to put up with Cujo and myself during the process. We tried to go for a new look that would also at the same time be familiar enough for those who have been around for the past two years.
The last big change is new custom fields. We've added the Park/Department/Status fields to help sort out where everyone works. Now, when someone posts that they "were working the train last night", we will be able to figure out if they mean the one at WDW, the one at DL...or the main entry eateries at DCA. All you need to do to enter your own work information is to click on "User CP" at the navigation bar at the top of the screen, then click on "Edit Options". The Park and Status fields are in the top section, and the Department field is in the bottom section.
Other New features include:
New Smilies - We now have a growing list of smilies to choose from, courtesy of Zazu.
Post Reporting - click the word "report" in the upper right corner of the post to alert the SGT staff to a post that violates our rules.
Custom User Titles - You now have the option to use the default titles, or you can choose your own.
Profile pictures - If you wish to share a photo of yourself, you can place one in your profile.
Choice of Linear, Threaded, or Hybrid display views
Choice of new WYSIWYG post editor or standard post editor
I suggest that everyone take a moment to look over the settings in their User CP to make sure everything is set to your liking. Individual preference settings were not something that we could transfer over, so you may wish to change a few of the default settings. Also, those that had avatars may find them gone now. For some reason only a fraction of them would transfer over, you may upload a new avatar in your User CP as well.
Due to lack of interest we have removed the dating, and the group forums. Posts that were in those forums are now available in the Break Room. Also gone is the chat feature.
I know that there will be a bit of a transitional period where we will need to work out the kinks, so if you encounter any problems, please go to the Official SGT 2.0 Troubleshooting Thread for assistance.
We hope everyone will enjoy the new and improved StupidGuestTricks.com. The past two years have been great, and we're not done yet. We have plenty of more things in store, and now that we have this step out of the way we can start working on other things. If you have some skills or ideas to contribute to the site, please let us know, as we are always looking for ways to make the site better. If you would like to contribute some funds to help us keep the bills paid, that would be greatly appreciated as well. To donate, all you have to do to get started is click on the Amazon Honor System pay box, located in the links section on the main page.
Thanks to everyone for a wonderful two years, and many more to come!
:cake::cake: