System Announcements

This area is reserved for announcements regarding the use and functionality of The Crispin Colloquy.
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System Announcements

#1 Post by admin »

It's been a good year for the Honourable Cordwainers' Company and the Crispin Colloquy.

This time of the year we tend to look back and remember not just the past year but Christmas' past.

Sitting by the fire, sharing good times, good whisky and hopes for the future is a way of "driving the cold winter away."

On behalf of all of us...both staff and membership...I would like to wish us all a Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

May we have enough...to share.

Emmett
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Re: System Announcements

#2 Post by admin »

Seems like as good a place as any to address an issue that has just recently come to my attention.

I addressed this issue, gently, in another thread and as much as I hate to rehash it, circumstances make me suspect it needs some clarification and reinforcement.

The Guild was formed as a scholarly..."educational"...organization. Everything follows from that simple and abiding fact.

The Forum was founded as an adjunct of the Guild to present and promote the Guild's philosophies and mission. In a very real sense the Guild and the Crispin Colloquy are one.

In that regard let me underscore several understandings:

The Forum was created to address the needs of serious students of the Trade as well as those more proficient members who can, and do, represent a reservoir of knowledge and skills...the which needs to be preserved and respected..
  • The word "Traditionalist" is not a pejorative term on this Forum.
  • To be a "purist" is an accolade.
  • Historical accuracy and technical rigour are respected and encouraged.

Current and prospective members who can accept these principles as given...regardless of skill level, work habits or ultimate goals...and who can respect those who articulate that perspective, are welcome here.

Those members who are made uncomfortable with passion and unflinching dedication to the Trade, past and present, may need to rethink their association here.

Yr. Hmb. Svt.
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Re: System Announcements

#3 Post by admin »

This is a major announcement, but it will not be repeated anywhere else on the board.

The Crispin Colloquy is undergoing a major rebuild and moving to new digs. New software, new usability features, new host.

While these changes may not be apparent yet, within a week or two the forum will probably be off line for several days. Please be advised.

Admin also cautions that posts made within the transition period...ending (hopefully) around May 1st....may not transfer to the new forum.
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Re: System Announcements

#4 Post by admin »

Because of the impending move to a new server and new software, the memberlist as been pared down. Members who have never accessed the board, members who did not activate email notification for System Announcements, as well as members whose email addresses keep returning an error message have been deleted.

Self registration for the Crispin Colloquy has been shut down until the upgrades have been completed and the new forum is online.

If you feel that your registration has been incorrectly deleted, please feel free to re-register when the new improved Crispin Colloquy goes live.
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Re: System Announcements

#5 Post by admin »

If everything goes well and as planned (when does it ever?), we hope to go live with the new iteration of the Crispin Colloquy sometime today...Friday 26 April, 2013.

Everyone will need to confirm their registration, but as far as we can tell, all valid registrations made the conversion successfully, so most if not all your preferences and profile information should already be in place.

Members may need to re-subscribe to favourite topics...more on that as we get up and running.

There will be glitches and even some lost links. It's inevitable...sorry about that--"every form of refuge has a price." We'll work those out as we come to them.

Rest assured we are doing everything in our power to make this as smooth and seamless a transition as possible.

Emmett
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Re: System Announcements

#6 Post by admin »

So...we have lift-off!! Many thanks to protech--an extremely affable and knowledgeable developer at the phpBB website.

If you are getting this (because you are subscribed to System Announcements) you know that the transition to the new forum software and to the new server is complete!

If you are not seeing the new face of the forum, you may need to clear your cache on your browser.

Everyone will need to log-in and confirm their registration. This should be a one time deal, especially if you have your browser set to accept cookies from this website.

Those who have not confirmed their registration within 90 days are subject to having their registration deleted.

As always if there are any questions that are not answered by the FAQ and the Formatting instructions please feel free to contact Admin.

Some things are new, somethings are just the way there were...like a comfortable pair of slippers.

Enjoy!
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Re: System Announcements

#7 Post by admin »

This is to announce that the forum conversion and transfer to the new server is now complete.

Remember, to receive email notification of System Announcements or any other topic that you are interested in following, you must subscribe to that topic (upper left hand in topic).

Anyone who is having problems or doesn't understand something about posting or using this board is welcome to contact admin@thehcc.org.

I will do my best to help or direct to help.

Yr. Hmb. Svt.
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Re: System Announcements

#8 Post by admin »

Happy St. Crispin's Day to all.

:beers:
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Re: System Announcements

#9 Post by admin »

It has been brought to my attention that some members are confused about how email notification works with the new software.

Let me step back a moment and state that with the old software Admin was constantly fielding complaints from people who had subscribed to a thread or topic, lost interest and then found their email in-boxes filling up with notifications about posts made to discussions that they had long since lost interest in. Admin even had a number of people ask to have their membership deleted because the email notifications were perceived as a nuisance.

Now several things about subscriptions and email notifications: First, there are two types of email notification--forum notifications and topic notifications. If you subscribe to a "Forum" or "sub-forum", you will get a *forum* email notification when a post is made to a thread in that forum or subforum. If a forum has numerous sub-forums under it, a member will also get a *forum* email notification whenever a post is made to any of those subforums...even if you are not subscribed to the sub-forums.

And the link inside the email will take you to the forum generally, not to the specific post that has been made.

If a member only wants to track certain threads, they must subscribe only to that "topic." This will cause the system to send out *topic* email notifications. Best advice is to unsubscribe to any and all forums and re-subscribe to your preferred topics only. Email notifications will then contain a link that will take the member to the post which prompted the email--the last post in that topic, in most cases.

The last and critical point to understand is that if you subscribe to a forum or a topic, you must visit/reset your interest each time you receive an email notification. If you do not do this, subsequent posts may be made but you will not receive notification of them until you visit that topic or forum.

All of this is standard fare--the default behaviour--on modern, up-to-date forum software. The current "meme", as it were, is to not bombard the forum member with notifications of posts to the same topic. When a discussion is proceeding hot and heavy this could indeed result in lots of emails. If the member has lost interest, this could indeed be annoying. The current software does not anticipate your interests or lack of interest. It does not attempt to think for you or guess your motives.

Participating in any forum is proactive. The software starts with that notion and proceeds to give members the greatest freedom to participate, or not, as is possible.

Finally, if you are one of those people who is interested but not wishing or able to follow threads point to point, day to day, here's a tip: Every time you visit the forum...perhaps just on an impulse one bright sunny day...if you are a member and logged in (yes, you do have to log in) all unread forums with unread posts, will have a red finger on the left pointing to it. As you drill down into a forum, subforums and topics will be similarly highlighted in red to the left of the link (although the finger icon is forum/sub-form level only).

So you can follow a thread/topic or not as you choose. Post to post, day to day, month to month, or not at all. Your choice.

If members have questions or are having difficulty using the forum PM or email Admin and we will try to clarify all difficulties.
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Re: System Announcements

#10 Post by admin »

The server is undergoing a kernel upgrade on Saturday, 3 March 2014 between the hours of 8pm to 4am MST.

The Crispin Colloquy may be down for a half hour or so sometime during this time frame...no way to pin it down.

Emmet
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Re: System Announcements

#11 Post by admin »

This evening we had our first spammer in the history of this forum. It was bound to happen and frankly, I am a little surprised it took this long if only because the the old software was far more vulnerable than the current software.

The spammer and post are gone...membership deleted--no notification, no discussion, no appeal. That is, and will be, the policy of the Administration of the Crispin Colloquy.

If any member is in doubt about whether their post falls into the category of spam...please contact admin before posting.

Thank you.

Emmett
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Re: System Announcements

#12 Post by admin »

Added a new feature...from now on when a post is quoted there should be a link at the top of the quote back to the quoted post. Unfortunately, I don't think it will apply retroactively.
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Re: System Announcements

#13 Post by admin »

Admin has upgraded the Codebox for formatting posts to use visual icons. Ordinarily formatting can be easily applied by highlighting text and clicking on the appropriate codebox icon. Most codebox icons have help text associated with them.

additionally, there is a "wizard" that can be accessed by simply clicking on the appropriate icon when nothing is selected in the editing window

There is also a more extensive help file that may be accessed by clicking on the "question mark" icon in the upper left-hand corner of the codebox.
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Re: System Announcements

#14 Post by admin »

The Crispin Colloquy has just been upgraded tot he latest version of the software...adding more functionality, increased ease of use and better accessibility.
For more information read System Announcements>Additions/Upgrades
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