Important Board Update

[Surfcrest]

Members,

We are planning another outage for Sawatdee Gay Thailand coming up this week that will bring significant changes to the site itself and a lot of new things we hope youтАЩll soon enjoy. In order to make these changes we will need to take the Board down for Maintenance effective; Wednesday November 20th at 11:00 AM PST, 14:00 PM EST, 19:00 GMT, and 2:00 AM Thursday November 21st Thailand Time.

This round of changes will be completely different than the last. Sawatdee Gay Thailand will soon be part of the Sawatdee Network and in a brand new domain. This should enable our members in Thailand to access the board direct at the new domain without having to use a proxy and being able to take full advantage of the faster speed on our new server. You will still be able to access the new site through Sawatdee-Gay-Thailand.com or, once we get the new site plugged in, can log in direct to the Network.

This next renovation to the existing platform of the Board is focused on the packaging тАжthe stuff you see when you first visit the site. The hope is to bring you a new magazine like front cover around the Board with current local content that will replace our current portal front page format. This will enable us to add on more pages and more functionality to the site now and in time with resources for the gay tourist or ex-pat. The Board itself will not be changing significantly with this upgrade.

Our new Network is not just Sawatdee Gay Thailand, but rather a family of sites that we hope to see grow with us and to integrate with us. We hope to use Sawatdee as a vehicle to promote local content within our family and within the community through exposure on the front cover and through various add-ons to our site. We now have the ability to provide a strong hosting environment for bloggers and columnists without the limitations and constraints of other hosting alternatives. Sites that are part of the family can feature their work on our site through an integrated relationship. We will also be including regular features of some of the great charitable causes out there and let you know what they are currently working on and how we might help.

This outage is anticipated to be extensive and could last several hours. Once we get the new site up and running, weтАЩll explain to you all of the changes we were able to make with this upgrade.

If you have any concerns about the work or with your access to the siteтАжplease respond to this thread.

Thank you,

Surfcrest

[Jellybean]

... This should enable our members in Thailand to access the board direct at the new domain without having to use a proxy and being able to take full advantage of the faster speed on our new server.
Well thatтАЩs great news Surfcrest. Those members who donтАЩt need to use a proxy server perhaps donтАЩt realise what a pain in the arse using a proxy server is, especially when trying to make a post or quote another memberтАЩs comments.

Whats a proxy server is it like a VPN?

[Smiles]

Good luck Surfcrest!!
See you on the Other Side.

Jellybean is absolutely right on regarding the proxy server annoyances. If this change addresses that one issue only then it's worth it, at least for me.
If I never need a proxy server again to use Sawatdee I might even be coaxed to suck your cock. :)) :(( (-|

[newalaan2]

If I never need a proxy server again to use Sawatdee I might even be coaxed to suck your cock
With the greatest of respect to your undoubted 'mouthy' skills, might this offer even as a "maybe" not present a more-than-reasonable excuse for Surfcrest to stop any Board improvement right in it's tracks? in the name of progress on SGT could you perhaps re-think this well intentioned 'incentive' and/or 'reward' for your not requiring to use a proxy server........for one a bit more appealing? don't you have anything else you can offer in place? preferably one which also does not present an image likely to, at very the least, put readers off their morning toast, and at worst, have them rushing to the hong-nam to throw up.......thank you. No offense intended of course.

[Surfcrest]

If I never need a proxy server again to use Sawatdee I might even be coaxed to suck your cock

Unfortunately, our government considers even that to be "reportable income" ;)

Surfcrest

[Nirish guy]

If I never need a proxy server again to use Sawatdee I might even be coaxed to suck your cock

Unfortunately, our government considers even that to be "reportable income" ;)

Surfcrest

Or perhaps that should be classed more as non attributable "in cum" ! :-)

[bao-bao]

Good luck with the changeover. See you on the other side!

[elephantspike]

OK. Here goes.....

[elephantspike]

6 hours. Not bad. About what I estimated. Who's with us? issues? questions? observations? requests?


Hows it going for users in Thailand? WIth or without a proxy?

[Surfcrest]

http://www.sawatdeenetwork.com

[elephantspike]

And if you can see that link you are already here. :-B

[Doofus]

I arrived after it said broken link... Followed the banner and logged in... And here I am.
One thing... Not very mobile friendly....

[elephantspike]

The front page Wordpress style is fluid so it works well on mobiles. Maybe not so much on the forum yet. FOr now it's just this one style called "Simplicity" for the forum but I'll add a few more eventually.

WHat do you mean broken links? Where did you see that?

[Doofus]

I had an old page open saying will be back at 10pm est when I refreshed it said broken link. So I did above and here I am.
Yea the rest if the site works ok-ish on mobile..
On the front page after Surfcrest's opening words underneath headlines the picture is moving the text to the far right so all squished but nice otherwise.
I do most of my browsing of the web and now sawatdeenetwork from mobile devices (mainly my iPhone's) so a style for iPhones and possibly iPads would be good.

[bao-bao]

Nicely done! Here's to a fresh start.

[Smiles]

Love it. Congratulations!
No proxy server needed (I hope forever) with the new name and URL address ... fast ... interesting portal page.
8.5 out of 10 (I've never given a 10 to anything or anybody in my life) home run.

Thanks to Surfcrest, Elephantspike and jinks for what was obviously a lot of work.

[elephantspike]

Awesome. Glad to hear it. And that front page is much much more than a portal page. It's a hub for Multisite blog network using WordPress software. Super easy to add all kinds of added functionality like shopping carts, directories, events pages, fundraiser pages, WIki pages etc, etc, etc. and also any of you can start your own website utilizing any of those features and more just by clicking on that "start your own blog" link at the top right sidebar of the front page and clicking through the site creation page. GIve it a shot if you feel adventurous. It can be much more than just a plain blog if you want to use the plugins you'll have available.

It's done with plugins to the Wordpress which is much less messy than trying to add MODS to the phpBB to try to make it into something it isn't and you have to hack up the code to do those phpBB MODs. with Wordpress they are called "plugins" for a reason...you just click a button and it "plugs" in your shopping cart, Wiki, fundraiser site, etc. and if you decide to unplug it you just click another button.

And the phpBB itself has basically been made into a plugin to the Wordpress :-B

[Gaybutton]

I really like the new look and everything appears to work properly. Good work! Congratulations.

[Smiles]

Rob, thanks for the tour.
I only wish I knew what the hell you're taking about ;)
Mostly gobblygook to me, but you've entered a secretive realm of which I know nothing and in which am quite uncomfortable. Glad I don' t know anything (about this stuff) frankly, but certainly nice to have you techies around when you need 'em.

By the way, some feedback: I'm writing this on a Google Nexus 7 tablet and the 'look' is quite good. Didn't expect that as it's not always the case with tablets.

Any possibility of getting 'Control Panel' up in the main lined-up group of black clickable options?

[bkkmfj2648]

from "SGT" to our new home, "SN"
great job - I love it - and I look forward to the inclusion of the other "Network" members.
thanks,
Martin

[mahjongguy]

Congrats from a True Online member. Finally.

[elephantspike]

Any possibility of getting 'Control Panel' up in the main lined-up group of black clickable options?

It's in the green options below that or you can click on your username to go to your control panel. The top header menu with Home, FOrum, Our SItes, Other sites - that one would be tricky to add a control panel link to because that menu is part of the wordpress and it needs to have the phpBB code in it to determine who gets to see what control panel.

Everyone has a wordpress control panel now, too. click on the sawatdee network logo in the header to go to the front site and way up in the top left where you see this guy:

[attachment=0:3knstgnl]network-favicon1.png[/attachment:3knstgnl]

hover over him and you'll see a link drop down to your profile page.

[elephantspike]

I really like the new look and everything appears to work properly. Good work! Congratulations.

Thanks. ANd BTW- if you click on the "other sites" linkup in the header menu and click on the "Gaybutton" link you'll see an "edit" button- you can edit your own listing on that listing page.... At least everyone who I was sure that had a username here that has a listing so far can edit their own listing. I just made them the author of the listing and everyone can edit their own listing. Some of them still show me as the author though because I wasn't sure if the listee had a username here.

[Rush, Yet Again]

Great job Spike!
Nicely done and very professional looking too.
Okay, I just tried the quick reply button. ZOOM! That was quick. As promised. That's a nice change from the forever it used to take to post to a thread.

[homeseeker]

Much better web site, so congrats to all concerned! :D

[elephantspike]

Great job Spike!
Nicely done and very professional looking too.
Okay, I just tried the quick reply button. ZOOM! That was quick. As promised. That's a nice change from the forever it used to take to post to a thread.
Thanks. Check your email.

[lego]

This recent update is excellent news for me! :)

I've been a lurker since many years. Before this update took place, I had never bothered with the registration, because it hadn't been possible to access the forum from my home in Bangkok, due to the well-known issues with certain Thai ISPs. So I could only access the forum from elsewhere and from my phone, not wanting to deal with proxies and such stuff.

Now that's finally a thing of the past, very well done & many thanks to the Sawatdee Team! :ymapplause:

[BonTong]

Looks Good. A definite improvement!

And thanks for listing http://www.gayinchiangmai.com

[Nirish guy]

Looks great guys, well done - and I' m sure after all these years your True wifi customers will be DELIGHTED ! one question - will / is the site optimised to run ( well) on mobiles ? obviously I can see the site etc on my (i) phone but can't either click to fit to screen or zoom i and out as you usually would be able to on other sites which means it's a pain having to scroll all over the place on your screen to read text etc ???

[adman5000]

I came through the old site this am to arrive here at the new. My only input so far is one of personal taste. I did not care to see a few screens of moving BDSM pics prominently displayed the top of my screen.

They went away once I signed in.
The response speed is great.

[Gaybutton]

I did find one flaw. I don't know if it is happening to anyone else, but the board is not holding 'automatic login' for me. Each time I come to the board I have to log in again.

I too am puzzled by the S&M pix. Why those?

[Marsilius]

Each time I come to the board I have to log in again.

No - I, for one, am not finding that. Perhaps the problem is unique to you?

[elephantspike]

I did find one flaw. I don't know if it is happening to anyone else, but the board is not holding 'automatic login' for me. Each time I come to the board I have to log in again.
Try clicking on the "clear cookies" button at the bottom right of the board.


I too am puzzled by the S&M pix. Why those?

It's just a gag. Get it? a gag? Badoom! Boom! 8-}

Those won't be there much longer though seriously. The link to the info page for recruiting bloggers will be just a side block and that slider will have images from featured articles that they will link to.

[elephantspike]

OK Prosilver is available now as an alternate style you can choose in User Control Panel > Board preferences > select from the drop-down box. Still working on subsilver2. It doesn't seem to want to fit inside the Wordpress header. I'll add one or two more styles eventually, too, and also a mobile style.

[NickysGayPattaya]

I am not a happy bunny about the change of Nicky's Posts. To have to make a new post each time just isn't easy. OK it's wordpress - a tool I use every day a hundred times.

What's the security plugin? Wordpress is notorious for hackers. Have you done all the usual? Removed user 1, hidden updates etc ...

[elephantspike]

We're all set on security. NOTHING ever gets updated unless I update it. This is not Wordpress.com and is not a one-click install like Fantastico. It's a multisite custom build on a dedicated SSL certified secure server.

I'd be happy to change whatever I can to your liking. It actually COULD be a sticky thread instead of a subforum now that I think of it. It just seems to me that that would be more complicated and give less exposure, but up-to-you.

[NickysGayPattaya]

Now I'm just bored - got more important things to do here

[Brad the Impala]

Congratulations, definite improvement. Thanks for investing the time and money.

[elephantspike]

Thanks Brad.

Nicky, check your email. I changed the setup for you back to (I think) the way you want it. Sorry for the mix-up.

Nice to see some long time lurkers popping up. \M/

[elephantspike]

Artodia mobile style added to the style choices in the user control panel. It looks OK on my few-years-old Android. Anyone with other devices want to give it a whirl and give some feedback on that?

Thanks.

[Gaybutton]

I did find one flaw. I don't know if it is happening to anyone else, but the board is not holding 'automatic login' for me. Each time I come to the board I have to log in again.
Try clicking on the "clear cookies" button at the bottom right of the board.


I too am puzzled by the S&M pix. Why those?

It's just a gag. Get it? a gag? Badoom! Boom! 8-}
Clearing the cookies worked.

As for the gag, sorry, but no I don't get it. What's the funny part supposed to be?

[elephantspike]

It was a.. a..ga.. Oh never mind... So a Monk a Rabbi and a Priest walk into a gogo bar.... :-?


Glad you can login OK now. (Also you should be able to edit your listing in "other sites" if you want-)

[Nirish guy]

Artodia mobile style added to the style choices in the user control panel. It looks OK on my few-years-old Android. Anyone with other devices want to give it a whirl and give some feedback on that?
Thanks.

That all seems to be working fine on my iPhone Spike.

[elephantspike]

One last style added for now- ProFormell. It goes kinda like this:

[attachment=0:qfr2tvg4]proformell.png[/attachment:qfr2tvg4]

[Doofus]

I also found myself logged out when using iPhone. Was logged in and when checked back 10 hours later was logged out. Doesn't worry me thou.
Also the mobile preference is a lot easier to read on iPhone.
Thanks.

[Gaybutton]

Glad you can login OK now.
Unfortunately I spoke too soon. The first couple of times, after I cleared the cookies, I was still automatically logged in. Now, I've been back to the board two or three times, but am also back to not automatically logged in.

[Khor tose]

I have the same problem even after I cleared the cookies.

[billy2bs]

Oh I cleared out cookies a long time ago. I do not have them in my house any more. The birds had a nice time in my yard for a few weeks though eating them all up...but now they starve.

[elephantspike]

I just adjusted a setting that SHOULD allow people to stay logged-in longer. Is everyone who is experiencing this being logged-out issue using mobile devices? Also, are you logging in using the login on the board here:

[attachment=2:r6v4vqte]forumlogin.png[/attachment:r6v4vqte]

or the one on the top right column on the front page:

[attachment=1:r6v4vqte]wpulogin.png[/attachment:r6v4vqte]

Has anyone tried both of these login boxes and noticed any difference?

ALso- if anyone wants to try this: Use this wordpress login at the bottom right column on the main page:

[attachment=0:r6v4vqte]meta.png[/attachment:r6v4vqte]

It's supposed to log you into the WP and the phpBB automatically no matter which login you use but I'd just like to trouble shoot the login.

[Gaybutton]

I just adjusted a setting that SHOULD allow people to stay logged-in longer. Is everyone who is experiencing this being logged-out issue using mobile devices?
I log in only via PC. I think your adjustment may be working. I was still automatically logged in this time. I'll let you know if it drops me again.

[Doofus]

Using first picture login, and have stayed logged in today. Primarily from iPhones.

[Surfcrest]

Members,

Now that we have completed the move to our new server in Vancouver and that we have converted over to the new board format, jinks, elephantspike and I will continue to tinker and adjust the settings until we achieve the best balance using any of the board styles available to you in your User Control Panel with any of the different devices you may be using. You may notice us making these adjustments from time to time until we get the settings just right.

If you are using a mobile device, a phone or a tablet and you are experiencing a problem that lasts more than an hour please let us know!

Thanks,

Surfcrest

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y69/Surfcrest/repair_man.jpg

[TrongpaiExpat]

Amassing, this is the first time in many years from Thailand that I have been able to access Sawatdee WITHOUT a proxy. I had to dig out my old password. I have TRUE (the only choice in my building) and they have been blocking or preventing Sawatdee to load with out cumbersome usage of a proxy.

I don't know if it's now working for everyone in Thailand using TRUE not but it's working for me.

[Surfcrest]

TrongpaiExpat...you know that you have been missed here and so speaking for myself, I am thrilled to see you back with us.

Welcome back!

Surfcrest

[bucknaway]

Using google chrome this forum is not functional.

The board looks like a text file and at first glance it looks like the board crashed.

I'm using Google Chrome on both my Laptop and my Desktop.

[bucknaway]

Pic of the board

[elephantspike]

I'm on Chrome too but didn't see that because It was only like that on the Prosilver style-(In every browser probably- and for an hour or so) but I just fixed it by changing the cache to be stored in the file system rather than the database. Try refreshing your browser cache. Should be OK now.

[Smiles]

I got that also for a few hours. Seems fine now (on Chrome) @ 4PM on Friday, Dec 6 (Thailand time)

[bucknaway]

Yeah, it's okay now.
Thanks!

[loke]

I dont like the new design , its difficult for my eyes to read the text

[Surfcrest]

We'll be changing back to the non seasonal look again very shortly...sorry about that.

Christian just enlightened me on an interesting tool to increase font size by pressing the Ctrl button and then + to increase or - to decrease...if that also helps.

Surfcrest