Migrating to Xenforo

Theclamshell · Dec 14, 2014

stridemat said:
My eyes!

hehehehe

arn said:
Custom user page designs elements will be lost in the transfer. Sorry.

arn

Thanks for the info. I can't say I am too sad about that

ravenvii · Dec 15, 2014

grahamperrin said:
At what length of time would you guess that a dormant member should be treated as deadwood?

I'd say a decade is a very safe number

grahamperrin · Dec 15, 2014

Lists and excessive white space before and after migration to XenForo

With vBulletin at this site, I routinely edit out the automatically inserted white space before and after lists to compensate for the padding that occurs when the post is previewed or submitted.

So, for example, https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20491139#post20491139 (with just one line space before and after lists was the result of markup such as this:

Will the same compensation removal of automatically added white space be appropriate following the migration?

If not, then I can change my habits (cease to remove white space) now

arn · Dec 16, 2014

grahamperrin said:
With vBulletin at this site, I routinely edit out the automatically inserted white space before and after lists to compensate for the padding that occurs when the post is previewed or submitted.

So, for example, https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=20491139#post20491139 (with just one line space before and after lists was the result of markup such as this:

[url=https://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=519880&stc=1&d=1418717388]Image[/URL]

Will the same compensation removal of automatically added white space be appropriate following the migration?

If not, then I can change my habits (cease to remove white space) now

If you have an example in an older post, I can see how it renders on Xenforo.

arn

Eric5h5 · Dec 16, 2014

You would still need to edit out the whitespace if using BBCode, but note that the editor in XenForo uses WYSIWYG by default (can be turned off). So you'd see this while typing:

(I'd already forgotten how primitive VBulletin is for some things; on XenForo I can just drag an image into the editor and poof, there it is, no fiddling with attachments or image links.)

--Eric

kintaro81 · Dec 16, 2014

Jessica Lares said:
Hy Arn, I was just thinking... Are PMs being migrated too? I know a lot of people send serial numbers and the lot when doing exchanges in the marketplace. Would be a good idea to get people to do the backups.

arn said:
Yep, PMs are being migrated.
arn

Take a look here:
https://forums.macrumors.com/posts/20473552/

grahamperrin · Dec 16, 2014

Pre-migration testing, including results from XenForo Community

Assuming that general implementation (but not the theme) will be comparable to the implementation at XenForo Community …

Inappropriate loss of white space from code

https://xenforo.com/community/threa...sp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp.3864/#post-868542 exemplifies the potential for breakage of code – loss of leading white space from two of ten lines. The losses are normal spaces, not nonbreaking.

Can the same problem be avoided at MacRumors?

Should I report a bug to the developers of XenForo?

No comparable problem with the current implementation of vBulletin:

Code:

   i) one
  ii) two
 iii) three
  iv) four
   v) five
  vi) six
 vii) seven
viii) eight
  ix) nine
   x) ten

Lists

Eric5h5 said:
You would still need to edit out the whitespace if using BBCode,

I tested switching between the BBCode editor and rich text editor, lists were handled neatly.

An example of an older post with a list

arn said:
If you have an example in an older post, I can see how it renders on Xenforo.

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1807308/ – some lists, some quotes, a little use of colour and some sized text.

Previewing versus context

but note that the editor in XenForo uses WYSIWYG by default (can be turned off). …

In the XenForo Community test area it's only partial WYSIWYG by default. To get a truer preview of, say, a reply to a topic:

with the rich text editor, begin drafting
include a quote
observe the markup (not WYSIWYG)
click 'More options…'
lose sight of the rest of the topic
click 'Preview'

I see no XenForo-provided method of regaining context (of reviewing other parts of the topic alongside the draft).

I know to Command-click (or Option-Command-click) a point within the trail of breadcrumbs, to open the topic in a separate tab (or background window).

Other users of the software may not find it so easy to regain context after previewing.

Nonbreaking spaces

Eric5h5 said:
XenForo converts non-breaking spaces to regular spaces.

Confirmed at https://xenforo.com/community/threa...sp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp.3864/#post-868540

Thanks everyone

Doctor Q · Dec 17, 2014

grahamperrin said:
An example of an older post with a list

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1807308/ some lists, some quotes, a little use of colour and some sized text.

Here are vBulletin and xenForo comparisons of sections of that post.

vBulletin:

xenForo:

vBulletin:

xenForo:

grahamperrin · Dec 17, 2014

Italics and serif

Doctor Q said:
Here are vBulletin and xenForo comparisons of sections of that post.

Thanks. That draws attention to another suggestion:

grahamperrin said:
I should probably suggest, configure things to not default to all italic for quoted text.

And another: is there any reason to not prefer sans-serif by default?

(Serif may be good for print, not so good online.)

arn · Dec 18, 2014

grahamperrin said:
Assuming that general implementation (but not the theme) will be comparable to the implementation at XenForo Community

Inappropriate loss of white space from code

https://xenforo.com/community/threa...sp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp-nbsp.3864/#post-868542 exemplifies the potential for breakage of code loss of leading white space from two of ten lines. The losses are normal spaces, not nonbreaking.

Can the same problem be avoided at MacRumors?

Should I report a bug to the developers of XenForo?

No comparable problem with the current implementation of vBulletin:

Code:

i) one ii) two iii) three iv) four v) five vi) six vii) seven viii) eight ix) nine x) ten

I replied there with the same and it seemed to work.

arn

grahamperrin · Dec 18, 2014

arn said:
I replied there with the same and it seemed to work.

arn

I reproduced the problem details.

Arn, please: did you edit the code manually at any time in the rich text window? Or did you simply paste what was required then submit?

MRU · Dec 20, 2014

Sounds great. Looking forward to a new look - I've been here a long time - I think the forum is due a make-over .... however can I have one too at the same time ? I'm starting to look 10 years older too

MRU

grahamperrin · Jan 1, 2015

Nonbreaking spaces: an afterthought

arn said:
… As for non-breaking spaces, I'm not sure that's possible. … What would the use case be?

arn

I just realised, the vast majority of unintended nonbreaking spaces in my drafts are a result of me hitting the space bar too soon after keying Option-; for the horizontal ellipsis character –

…

That's not an intended use case, just the way it happens. And it's a minor annoyance, not a major problem (but if you do decide to allow nonbreaking spaces, it'll be smart).

Of course, the real solution is for me to be less sloppy with the keyboard …

GreXXL · Jan 16, 2015

Hey. A bit off-topic though I think moving away from vB is a good thing. I personally prefer WoltLab Burning Board over Xeno Forum because it's even more state-of-the-art and offers a much better experience to the users. Just my 2 cents. Maybe worth considering.

macoslion · Jan 19, 2015

You mean that WoltLab Burning Board that came like three years after XenForo and looks and feels the same? Why not use the original then? Gives you a time advantage of about...well, three years.
I think XenForo is a good decision.

grahamperrin · Jan 25, 2015

Progress towards a sandbox?

arn said:
I do plan on opening up a test migration sandbox

How's that going?

Thanks

arn · Jan 25, 2015

grahamperrin said:
How's that going?

Thanks

The hold up is the design. That's still in the works.

arn

redheeler · Feb 17, 2015

XenForo Signatures?

Can anyone show me what signatures will look like on XenForo?

Doctor Q · Feb 17, 2015

redheeler said:
Can anyone show me what signatures will look like on XenForo?

Pretty much as you'd expect. Here's your post and signature in XenForo style. Click to zoom.

redheeler · Feb 28, 2015

Doctor Q said:
Pretty much as you'd expect. Here's your post and signature in XenForo style. Click to zoom.

View attachment 530345

Thanks. Just one more question, what will the avatar size be after the switch? 75x75 is really looking cramped compared to other forums I've seen.

Doctor Q · Feb 28, 2015

redheeler said:
Just one more question, what will the avatar size be after the switch? 75x75 is really looking cramped compared to other forums I've seen.

The standard avatar size may (this not a guarantee) be increased to 100x100, circular instead of square. That produces a more up-to-date look, although you get fewer visible pixels for the same width and height.

75x75 square = 5625 visible pixels
100x100 round = 7854 visible pixels
100x100 square = 10000 visible pixels

redheeler · Feb 28, 2015

A change to 100x100 is a good idea. But...

Doctor Q said:
The standard avatar size may (this not a guarantee) be increased to 100x100, circular instead of square. That produces a more up-to-date look, although you get fewer visible pixels for the same width and height.

Circular avatars? I don't really like the idea of discarding pixel information in the corners. Also, what will happen with an image that is not perfectly square, like mine? I certainly wouldn't want it to end up looking like this:

Doctor Q · Feb 28, 2015

redheeler said:
Circular avatars? I don't really like the idea of discarding pixel information in the corners. Also, what will happen with an image that is not perfectly square, like mine? I certainly wouldn't want it to end up looking like this:

If you embed a 70x70 square avatar inside a 100x100 circle it will just fit.

If you embed a 75x75 square avatar inside a 100x100 circle it will lose about 15 pixels in each corner, out of a total of 5625 pixels, so 99% of the avatar will still be visible. To fit 100% of the pixels, the circle would have to be 106x106 pixels.

I think the best plan is to design or choose an avatar that fits the new size and shape, once we know what they turn out to be.

redheeler · Mar 1, 2015

Doctor Q said:
If you embed a 70x70 square avatar inside a 100x100 circle it will just fit.

If you embed a 75x75 square avatar inside a 100x100 circle it will lose about 15 pixels in each corner, out of a total of 5625 pixels, so 99% of the avatar will still be visible. To fit 100% of the pixels, the circle would have to be 106x106 pixels.

I think the best plan is to design or choose an avatar that fits the new size and shape, once we know what they turn out to be.

I've done some experimenting. On the left is my current avatar, scaled to 100x75 with transparency on the top and bottom to equal 100x100. In the middle is the same image as it would look in a circular avatar, pretty ugly. On the right it is scaled to 80x60 with transparency surrounding it to equal 100x100 and it looks ok. However, this not only defeats the purpose of moving to a circular avatar, but also increasing the resolution to 100x100.

IMO, moving to circular avatars would be a sad case of form over function, and not even a very effective one if people are decreasing the size of their avatars to avoid information being lost. Square avatars are still the most practical and used my many websites, especially on larger sizes like 100x100.

If you want to increase the aesthetic appeal of plain square avatars without removing too many pixels, try rounded corners.

poiihy · Mar 5, 2015

So MacRumors avatars are going Yosemite style? xD

When we switch to XenForo I hope we will have more OS X smileys. Currently the selection is very small :[

I had an idea for a custom smiley gallery, where people upload/make their own smileys into their own list, so when they make a post, they can access that list and add their smiley.

What's the progress of the migration? Is all the core stuff done, and you're just designing the new design?

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