# Yet Another Upgrade...



## Mike Bobbitt (9 Nov 2009)

Folks,

It's impossible not to notice that things have changed around here. Please note that it's still very much a work in progress, but I'm interested in hearing your feedback, whether it's to report a problem or simply give an opinion about the changes.

Please bear with me, it will come together over time!


Cheers
Mike


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## vonGarvin (9 Nov 2009)

Call me crazy ("You're crazy, Technoviking!), but I like the new look.

FWIW.


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## GAP (9 Nov 2009)

I love these colors....sooooo easy on the eyes....

one thing I did notice...when I was posting into the sandbox thread, I generally highlight the heading with yellow.....the drop down box worked, but did not apply the color to the  highlighted words....I had to do it manually.....that's work!!  ;D


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## Edward Campbell (9 Nov 2009)

This is OK for me. Easy to read.


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## JBoyd (9 Nov 2009)

I like the new look, but I have lost the milnet.ca colours. I have just all white and it is kind of hard on the eyes. Anyway for me to get back to the grey?

Other then that, everything looks great


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## Ex-Dragoon (9 Nov 2009)

I really like the colour contrast. Very easy to read.


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## brandon_ (9 Nov 2009)

i like the new look. Good job boys!  EDIT: is there no milpoints anymore ???


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## the 48th regulator (9 Nov 2009)

I want the old army.ca colours back.

This is way too bright on the eyes.  Noticed the drop downs, maybe they were there before, but I like.

dileas

tess


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## Burrows (9 Nov 2009)

My heart weeps.  This is not the dark and ominous green I have grown to love.


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## Mike Bobbitt (9 Nov 2009)

It's a heck of a change... and it may slowly (d)evolve closer to what it was but the old dark colours of yesterday are gone. MilPoints will be back before you know it.


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## Rifleman62 (9 Nov 2009)

Easier to read in low light conditions i.e. 0500 retired early risers like ERC and me.

For some, if it appears too bright, every screen, either laptop or stand alone, has the capability to make personal adjustment to brightness/contrast, etc.


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## GAP (9 Nov 2009)

Since you are in there tinkering anyway......any way of shortening the drop down list when you hover over forums link(my resolution is 1024 x 768)...I can never see the last two items......the last item I can see is Foreign Militaries....


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## The_Falcon (9 Nov 2009)

I prefer the old style, since it was original, this just looks like many other forums out there.  I also liked the fallen comrades that was on the left side.


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## Mike Bobbitt (9 Nov 2009)

GAP, if you keep your mouse over the newly opened menu, you can use the mouse wheel or the down arrow to scroll further down.

Probably does need a clean-up though...


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## Loachman (9 Nov 2009)

It is most definitely easier to read, but that's not worth giving up the famous and distinctive green screen as far as I am concerned.


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## GAP (9 Nov 2009)

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> GAP, if you keep your mouse over the newly opened menu, you can use the mouse wheel or the down arrow to scroll further down.
> 
> Probably does need a clean-up though...



At work, I don't have a wheeled mouse.....it's too radical....


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## PMedMoe (9 Nov 2009)

I don't mind the colour so much but some of the names listed at "Who's Online" are really hard to see.

The lighter green on the sides might be better than the white.


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## Kat Stevens (9 Nov 2009)

Much easier to read, but a tad generic looking.  I'll give it 45, Dick, good beat but you can't dance to it.


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## navymich (9 Nov 2009)

A bit bright with the white background, but I do like the contrast colouring very much.  

However, I just noticed (I'm on the air-force forums) that when you have a quote in a message (as GAP as done a couple posts above), there is not very much contrast between the background colour of the quote square and the print, it is very difficult to read.


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## George Wallace (9 Nov 2009)

Just looks like someone spilled a jug of bleach over the old lovable familiar site and washed everything out............Will this work on my jeans?





Take your time with the Milpoints.  They aren't that important.


I may be able to go green and not turn on any lights tonight.    ;D


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## medaid (9 Nov 2009)

Ah!!! MY EYES! These goggles! They do NOTHING!


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## Simpleton (9 Nov 2009)

I kind of like it. It is not the same old, but times change, and this is a new look.

Plus I find it easier to read with my old eyes.


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## GAP (9 Nov 2009)

Listen UP PEOPLE!!!     YOU WILL LIKE IT!!!    

(Those who thwart the will of the ONE will be denounced!! (renounced?) whatever....we'll getcha!


........where's all my icons??? errrr....guys, I'm just kidding, honest.....there's no icons to post a smiley......honest!!!


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## George Wallace (9 Nov 2009)

GAP said:
			
		

> Listen UP PEOPLE!!!     YOU WILL LIKE IT!!!
> 
> (Those who thwart the will of the ONE will be denounced!! (renounced?) whatever....we'll getcha!
> 
> ...



 ???









iper:

Tess may have taken them.........   >

 :+1:  ff topic: :google:


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## X-mo-1979 (9 Nov 2009)

Im with Kat.
The page does look "cheaper" to me.However like mom said,looks aint everything.
I miss green.


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## George Wallace (9 Nov 2009)

X-mo-1979 said:
			
		

> Im with Kat.
> The page does look "cheaper" to me.However like mom said,looks aint everything.
> I miss green.




I miss the green too..........but it looks like Mike is adding a bit more green pastels onto the page as the night progresses.


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## Hawk (9 Nov 2009)

This is terribly Anglican of me, but I like the old one better. This is way too hard on the eyes

Hawk


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## tango22a (9 Nov 2009)

The site owner giveth and the site owner taketh away.....Personally I LIKE it!



tango22a


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## leroi (9 Nov 2009)

Whoa ... what a drastic change!

Good job Mike, it's a lot easier to read but I sure miss the distinctive green.

-will take some getting used to but I give it a thumbs up!


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## X-mo-1979 (9 Nov 2009)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> I miss the green too..........but it looks like Mike is adding a bit more green pastels onto the page as the night progresses.



roger that.
This white is killing my eyes.


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## Edward Campbell (9 Nov 2009)

The white background needs to be _dulled_ a bit - made into a 'cream' or something.

Of the four sites Milnet.ca and Navy.ca have the best colours and Army.ca the worst - the pastel green sucks.


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## dangerboy (9 Nov 2009)

I agree the background needs to be darkened just a bit, other looks goods.


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## TangoTwoBravo (9 Nov 2009)

Boooooerns!

Please bring back the green screen.


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## Occam (9 Nov 2009)

Whoaaaa!  24" widescreen LCD + forum upgrade = scorched retinas

On the upside, I can put a grow-op in my office now!   8)

Yes, I'm kidding.


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## SARgirl (10 Nov 2009)

Quote Boxes-  reading the un-bolded, somewhat faded, black text inside the dark grape quote boxes would be something to work on.  Either bold the quoted text and/or lighten the grape colour which appears when a quote is made.  Just a thought.

The rest of the upgrade looks good.  I miss the previous style as well, but I think it is just a matter of having been use to it and now it's just a matter of getting use to the new style.

Mike, thank you for all the hard work, time, effort, expense, patience and dedication you put into the site.  Keep up the great work!


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## George Wallace (10 Nov 2009)

I'm on the Army.ca pages now, and having a hard time finding the breaks between posts.......everyone's posts run into each other without any delineation between them.  The font is easy to read, but the whiteness is overpowering, and makes it difficult to see the breaks between the different member’s postings. 

This is a problem when in the single topics.  When one reads the most Recent Posts, there is a green banner separating the different posts.


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## PMedMoe (10 Nov 2009)

George, mine is like that too, until the page fully loads.

Oh and all my "extras" (smileys, links etc) are missing from the reply page.


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## helpup (10 Nov 2009)

My 2 Cents, I liked the green, my work computer didnt have all the bells and wistles for spell check ect for some reason.  But as I am checking in I know this will evolve and look forward to the end result.  Thanks for the work Mike, however if votes are being tabulated.  Old Green for me!


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## kincanucks (10 Nov 2009)

Go back to the old one.  This one reminds me of a dirty bathroom in Tijuana painted to look clean.


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## dapaterson (10 Nov 2009)

What kind of a person goes to Tijuana only to review the bathroom paint schemes?


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## Edward Campbell (10 Nov 2009)

The Tijuana Jaurez latrine analog strikes a chord, Mike.

Can you cange the colours while keeping most of the new, high contrast, scheme?

My suggestions, for Army.ca:

1. The greens should all be much, much darker - starting as a real _rifle green_ which is damned near black - maybe, to keep a _light infantry_ theme, some red trim could be used, too; and

2. Each of the posts on a page and each subject on subject list on the more _senior_ page should have alternating slightly darker backgrounds: maybe a very light, faded khaki (tan) and 'cream.'


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## dapaterson (10 Nov 2009)

E.R. Campbell said:
			
		

> 1. The greens should all be much, much darker - starting as a real _rifle green_ which is damned near black - maybe, to keep a _light infantry_ theme, some red trim could be used, too; and



If we truly want to keep this Place a Proper Canadian Light Infantry theme, no two pages should ever be alike.


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## Rheostatic (10 Nov 2009)

The new design looks messy to me. From top to bottom there's an olive menu bar, then light green fading to white, and suddenly a grey background. Looks like someone was a little gradient-happy. Functionally it's fine, but I'd get rid of the gradients and green pastels.


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## FDO (10 Nov 2009)

Everyone is talking green, green green. Has anyone given ANY consideration to DARK (NAVY)BLUE!! After dark (Navy) blue belongs to the SENIOR Service, even if we do wear black right now. 

Other than that the sites not too bad as far as bulletin boards and the such go. Mind you this is the only site like this I've ever been on.


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## Michael OLeary (10 Nov 2009)

Would that be the "Senior" Service that's only celebrating a centennial next year?   ;D


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## Greymatters (10 Nov 2009)

Looks good!


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## helpup (10 Nov 2009)

Michael O'Leary said:
			
		

> Would that be the "Senior" Service that's only celebrating a centennial next year?   ;D



I always liked getting into that arguement with senior service with my ex Navy Dad.


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## Journeyman (10 Nov 2009)

Coupled with my innate shyness, I've let it sink in for a day before commenting to see if it grew on me at all.

Sorry Mike, but I _really_ prefer the original darker colours.


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## Fusaki (10 Nov 2009)

> Sorry Mike, but I really prefer the original darker colours.



Same.

Up until 5 minutes ago when I started reading this thread, I thought army.ca was broken.

I appreciate the effort Mike, but I'm pretty sure this colour scheme has been banned under the Geneva Convention. Or at least it should be...


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## kratz (10 Nov 2009)

Sorry Mike,

I agree with FDO. The Navy.ca colour scheme was better under the old system. Even with a few green bars snuck in.   

Under this scheme, I like the new symbols. The look sharper. As mentioned by others, I like colour fading....when it matches the Navy.  ;D

As always, thank you to you and the DS for the terrific work you to do provide this site for us.


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## observor 69 (10 Nov 2009)

For quite a while I have found the lack of contrast in the dark colours an issue with eye strain. 
IMHO I could live/like with off-white but think some lighter version of the previous colours could also work as a compromise.
I'm hooked on your site Mike so thanks for the enjoyment in the past and future.


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## GAP (10 Nov 2009)

How come there are no icons? Do I have to activate something somewhere?


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## SARgirl (11 Nov 2009)

I like the new olive green quote boxes; much easier to read the black font.  Looks good.  Mike- You're doing great!  (need one of those 'thumbs up' smilies).


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## Mike Bobbitt (11 Nov 2009)

Thanks for the feedback all. It's most certainly a work in progress, and I promise that I'll eventually reach an equilibrium where everyone is equally disheartened with the changes. 

All kidding aside, I do appreciate the feedback, there are things that I won't recognize on my own, so the feedback is good. I'll try to knock things off the list as time marches on, but don't let my lack of progress slow down the feedback... I'm still collecting it and will get to it.


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## Paul Gagnon (11 Nov 2009)

I think these colours are terrible. The old look was way better.


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## kratz (11 Nov 2009)

Loachman said:
			
		

> It is most definitely easier to read, but that's not worth giving up the famous and distinctive green   blue screen as far as I am concerned.



Fixed that post for you.   
*joke*


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## FastEddy (11 Nov 2009)

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Folks,
> 
> It's impossible not to notice that things have changed around here. Please note that it's still very much a work in progress, but I'm interested in hearing your feedback, whether it's to report a problem or simply give an opinion about the changes.
> 
> ...




Hate to complain Mike, but new White background is far too harsh with LCD Monitors (contrast-brightness), plus black print too light and font too small. What was wrong with the old Pages.

Some will say well adjust your monitor, well why should I go to all that bother every time I log on to Army ca., when my Default settings are just fine with all other Sites.

IMOP, I don't like it.

Cheers Mike.


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## FastEddy (11 Nov 2009)

Technoviking said:
			
		

> Call me crazy ("You're crazy, Technoviking!), but I like the new look.
> 
> FWIW.




Okay your CRAZY, you probably also don't believe in the old saying  
"if it isn't Broken, don't Fix it".


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## Mike Bobbitt (11 Nov 2009)

I've never subscribed to that theory. As many of you probably know...

If it ain't broken... I need to start tinkering. 

I basically have two modes: Trying to make improvements and trying to fix the problems arising from aforementioned improvements. It's a tough way to make a living.

And with that in mind, I can assure you that the tinkering will continue for some time yet, so don't get too enamoured or disheartened with the current style.


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## leroi (11 Nov 2009)

It's growing on me.  Mike, the muted pastel alternating colours of the posts is an improvement to the glaring white which was first apparent.

I'm wondering if you'll want to remove the choice of yellow as a colour altogether? It doesn't show up well on a white/pastel background.

Thanks for the upgrade!


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## Journeyman (11 Nov 2009)

I'm sorry Mike, but I've had to delete 300 MilPoints for what you've done to the site's look. 

I'd hate to see get you get banned for this continued behaviour   ;D


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## Bass ackwards (11 Nov 2009)

Mike, I know absolutely zilch about what running a website entails, so please bear with me. 
What I'm wondering is: how hard would it be to simply have an options menu where users could decide on their own colours ?

I usually log in on *Army*.ca, but there are/were three other options to choose from, each with its own distinctive colours.
I've logged in on all of them at one time or another. 
Frankly I always found the light blue on the Airforce site to be the easiest on my eyes (unfortunately, being an Airforce site, I could never get it to work before noon ...grinning, ducking).

Is a user-customizable-thingamajiggy a viable option ?


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## karl28 (11 Nov 2009)

Mike I actually really like the new layout alot eaiser to read the topics . MY only problems is lately I am  having huge problem  trying to login it takes up 10-15min some times .  All the other sites that I go on  internet I have no problem getting on to them really quickly is it just cause of the upgrades ?     I have IE7  windows xp service pack three and I use norton 360 for anti virus .


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## Mike Bobbitt (11 Nov 2009)

karl, we have speed issues that I'm trying to address via other means. The good news is it's well understood, the bad news is that it's likely going to take some time to raise the funds to upgrade our connection.

Bass, it may seem hard to believe right now, but the colour schemes are actually a fine balance that's pretty hard to strike.  Allowing users to pick their own would result in even less readable colour combos than we're currently seeing. Hard to believe, I know.  Also, most of the site colours are rendered through images, which can't be built dynamically. So while some colours might be changed, others would be static. Building the colour set for all 4 sites is pretty time consuming, but hopefully will allow some illusion of 'choice' in the colour schemes. 

And Journeyman, I was hoping that the "white on white" of the MP logo would prevent that sort of thing.


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## Bass ackwards (11 Nov 2009)

Fair enough, Mike. I even understood part of that. 
At the very least, if we stay with the lighter coloured screens, could you please have the moderators outright *ban* anyone who uses yellow text in their posts ?
(someone did that earlier today and I nearly head-butted my monitor off the desk -standing up trying to read it with my nose pressed up against the screen...)

Whatever you do, I'll still be grateful for the information and perspective that can be gleaned here.


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## karl28 (11 Nov 2009)

Mike thanks for getting back to me appreciated .  I didn't realize that there was a speed  issue  I just thought that it was something on my side thank you for the heads up 

Cheers Karl


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## kratz (11 Nov 2009)

The side column colours are a happy improvement, they assist in sharpening the discussion. I also like the alternating shade between posts. It helps when scanning down to refer to a comment. Hiding/Reducing the importance of MPs is a nice touch as well.

As time goes on and improvements are made, it is again taking on the a look and feel of Navy.ca that I enjoy reading.  ;D


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## Loachman (12 Nov 2009)

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

Soothing, friendly, comforting dark green again. Much better.

The last version  was wishy-washy and wimpy looking.

My only current negative observation is the apparently white (invisible) text that I am now typing on a white background. It makes proofreading a little challenging.


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## PMedMoe (12 Nov 2009)

I agree Loachman, thank goodness for the preview.


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## 1feral1 (12 Nov 2009)

I have logged on and off, but in this window only the curser is moving, and I am typing blind, the entire screen is empty.

Is anyone else having problems?

Cheers,

Wes


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## Edward Campbell (12 Nov 2009)

Mike hasn't gotten around to this white screen bug yet. He will; be patient.


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## 1feral1 (12 Nov 2009)

So we're all typing blind then, ha!

It was fine a couple of hours ago.

Will do a 'wait out'.

Thanks for the info.

Cheers,

Wes


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## McG (12 Nov 2009)

Typing white on white sucks!   :Constr:


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## Edward Campbell (12 Nov 2009)

Typing blind: that's a good description. Frustrating but ...  :Constr:


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## George Wallace (12 Nov 2009)

Loachman said:
			
		

> Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> Soothing, friendly, comforting dark green again. Much better.
> 
> ...





Ah!  Yes!  A white horse in a snow storm joke.......it would appear we are being typically Canadian here for all our foreign observers who think we live in a snow covered land year round........Can you see where I left my igloo?


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## Mike Bobbitt (12 Nov 2009)

Yikes... fixed the text entry boxes... still quite a bit to do, but at least people can post their complaints now. 

(Yes, I know about the buttons. )


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## KnightShift (12 Nov 2009)

Looks much better today, the shades of green are alot easier on the eyes than the white background was.  :nod:


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## FDO (12 Nov 2009)

So far I think it looks good. The only problem I have is reading the yellow highlighted words on the white background. Can't see them.. Is it possible to change the colour to something darker.

Oh and the dark ble background and the black lettering as I type this reply. I like the blue on Navy.ca by the way.


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## navymich (12 Nov 2009)

I was worried for a few minutes.  I was somehow logged off the site and then thought it was intentional (come on now, who doesn't like me?!?!  lol) because I couldn't find any 'login' area.  Checked the thread here and nothing was said but all kinds of members were online.  Hmmm, what could be going on.  Finally figured it out, and thought I would post it here in case anyone else runs into the same problem.  Just go to where the 'home' button is on the left hand side close to the top and hover your mouse along to the right of that where it is all white and you'll see other buttons including 'login'.  Note: this is on milnet.ca, not sure how the other sites are doing.


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## brandon_ (12 Nov 2009)

I was just getting used to the white too  
But i like this colour so, so, so much more ! :dileas:  Good job guys!


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## PMedMoe (13 Nov 2009)

I'm liking the "new" old background as well.   

Here's an interesting problem I ran across this morning.  Hopefully, I can explain it properly.

When using the drop-down menu to change the font color, after it is used, it doesn't go back to the top.  I usually highlight my words and then use the change color menu.  Subsequent words remain in the default color but when going to change the font color again, because it remained on the last color used, I have to change it to another color and then go back to the one I want.

Boy, I hope someone gets what I mean by that.   :-\


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## ModlrMike (13 Nov 2009)

So far I like the new upgrades, however as I use the Navy.ca version there are still some challenges:

- the yellow on sand/light blue background on the unread topics page is hard to read; and
- the black on navy blue text in the postings box is hard to see (you wind up typing blind).

Other than that... so far so good.


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## GAP (13 Nov 2009)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> I'm liking the "new" old background as well.
> 
> When using the drop-down menu to change the font color, after it is used, it doesn't go back to the top.  I usually highlight my words and then use the change color menu.  Subsequent words remain in the default color but when going to change the font color again, because it remained on the last color used, I have to change it to another color and then go back to the one I want.
> 
> Boy, I hope someone gets what I mean by that.   :-\



I had to do the same yesterday....never thought to post it though....


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## SARgirl (13 Nov 2009)

In the "my messages" section of my profile, the option to view, "sent messages", is gone.

I' have been having problems with getting the entire home page to load; seems to finish loading 1/2 or 3/4 the way through and reloading doesn't work, but logging out and logging back ='s a fully loaded home page, but only for a short bit and then rise, recyclable and repeat.  It only happens w/ this site.    

What amount of funds are needed to upgrade the site so it loads quickly?  What about some sort of on-site one time fundraiser specifically for this most important upgrade?


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## PMedMoe (13 Nov 2009)

SARgirl said:
			
		

> In the "my messages" section of my profile, the option to view, "sent messages", is gone.



SARgirl, while in the message section, hover your cursor over where it says Messages on the left.  A "pop-up" drop-down menu should appear with choices of New Message, Inbox and Sent Messages.

As far as the rest of your post, I think that's pretty much happening to everyone.  I don't log out but I certainly refresh the page a lot.   :-\


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## Hawk (13 Nov 2009)

MUCH better!! So much easier on the tired, old eyes.

Hawk


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## SARgirl (13 Nov 2009)

PMedMoe said:
			
		

> SARgirl, while in the message section, hover your cursor over where it says Messages on the left.  A "pop-up" drop-down menu should appear with choices of New Message, Inbox and Sent Messages.


Found it.  Thank you very much. 

Was there not a 'drafts' option in 'my messages' before or no???


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## Mike Bobbitt (13 Nov 2009)

Moe... thanks for the report on the font droplist.

FDO and Mike... I haven't done much with the Navy side of the house except break things so far... but I will get to it. 

SARGirl... I don't recall a drafts folder... though that sure would have been handy a few times!

With regards to the site speed, that issue is being tracked in another thread.

Thanks for your patience... it's a learning process for me but once I get the basics down it should start coming together pretty quickly.


Cheers
Mike


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## Mike Bobbitt (13 Nov 2009)

All... I've made some progress on the Army and Navy side of things... the Air Force may have to wait in a holding pattern until I get back on Sunday. 

Note that it make take a few refreshes for some to see the changes...

As always, feedback is welcome.


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## Antoine (13 Nov 2009)

Thanks Mr Bobbit,

From my previous post bout upgrade on navy.ca in the wrong thread (Tracking problems with the forum upgrade [Post here]), it is way easier to read now.

Cheers,


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## GAP (13 Nov 2009)

Mike

I was rather enjoying the light colors of the original changes, but no, you caved into pressure from the "old" ones and went back over to the dark side....... :

Fine....let the color blind fools play in the dark....make Milnet the side of the future...one where eyestrain is not the order of the day, black green is flushed with the bleach of purity!!!


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## Mike Bobbitt (15 Nov 2009)

Milnet's gone fairly dark too... though it needs some TLC to get the fine points tuned up. I might be able to work something else out for a lighter style... but I'd like to nail down the primary bits first.


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## GAP (15 Nov 2009)

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Milnet's gone fairly dark too... though it needs some TLC to get the fine points tuned up. I might be able to work something else out for a lighter style... but I'd like to nail down the primary bits first.



By all means, take care of the multitudes primary bits first  ;D


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## SARgirl (16 Nov 2009)

Mike, I really like the black w/ dark grey and white text colour combination... my favourite so far, really like it a lot.  Great job.


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## helpup (18 Nov 2009)

I am just enjoying the changes as they settle in to what will be the final newest version...... Errr Mike is there ever going to be a final version ( not that I mind.)  I am noting that my work computer still does not do spell check, ( will conifirm with this post.)  *edit, to note that the checker box comes up but there are error's stillBut the emoticons are back in full GIF's  iper: 

Good job mike 

Oh the reply home button tends to get washed out with the bright green and white font style. ( could just be my eye's or PC


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## Mike Bobbitt (18 Nov 2009)

Heh, the final version will feature my obit.  Until then, I'll keep tweaking.

On the DIN/DWAN, some of the javascript that runs things like the spell checker may be blocked... There's not much I can do about that, but if I know which features are blocked I might be able to make life a little easier. Previously, the blocked javascript would cause the PM form to fail to even load for example, so people couldn't send PMs while behind the DND firewalls. I added a small bit of code to stop sending the javascript to DND addresses and that fixed it. Didn't get the javascript features back but at least the form loaded.

I also fixed up the reply button, hopefully it's a little better now.


Cheers
Mike


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## Mike Bobbitt (5 Jan 2010)

Another upgrade, but this one should be largely invisible. The underlying operating system has been upgraded (to Fedora 12, for those who are interested). As I mentioned, there should be no visible side-effects to this, but if you see any problems please let me know.


Cheers
Mike


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## Nfld Sapper (5 Jan 2010)

Was wondering what happened as I could not logon for awhile......


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## George Wallace (5 Jan 2010)

Was that second outage, and now the inability to post (due to Error 408) planned


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## Nfld Sapper (5 Jan 2010)

Yeah noticed that speed bump too.....


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## Mike Bobbitt (5 Jan 2010)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Was that second outage, and now the inability to post (due to Error 408) planned



Nope.  But both should be fixed now.


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## Mike Bobbitt (6 Jan 2010)

Looks like there are a few kinks still left in the system... the server load got so high last night that everything stopped functioning. Nightly backups are still running now because they couldn't finish before this. I'm checking into the problem, but unfortunately it will have to occur at least once more for me to understand what's going on.

Thanks for your patience.


Cheers
Mike


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## George Wallace (7 Jan 2010)

Pages are painfully slow to load, and often don't load all the way......requiring a "refresh" or two.


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## Edward Campbell (7 Jan 2010)

George Wallace said:
			
		

> Pages are painfully slow to load, and often don't load all the way......requiring a "refresh" or two.




Same for me in Texas. But it is sporadic; now and again things are quite quick. The rest of the Internet is normal.


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## Rifleman62 (7 Jan 2010)

Very, very slow in San Antonio.


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## Edward Campbell (7 Jan 2010)

Rifleman62 said:
			
		

> Very, very slow in San Antonio.




Maybe that's because it's so bloody *cold* - at least it is in Dallas. Hasn't been above 0oC all day and tonight's low will be -10oC. Things will return to normal (+5 to +15oC) on Monday ... I hope. Maybe Army.ca's speed will warm up too.


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## Mike Bobbitt (7 Jan 2010)

Unfortunately I think that's just the same old problem we have with our Internet connection. All looks well on the server side...


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## Edward Campbell (7 Jan 2010)

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Unfortunately I think that's just the same old problem we have with our Internet connection. All looks well on the server side...




You mean all your little Nova Scotian electrons are suffering from Stage 3 hypothermia,* too - like ours, in Dallas?

You would think the little beggars would understand that if they would rub together faster and faster they would get warm and Army.ca pages would load more quickly. Maybe your sluggish little electrons are in charge of Class B funding cuts ...

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* Symptoms include sluggishness and, eventually, pulse and breathing slow to fatal levels.


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## armyvern (10 Jan 2010)

I don't know if my issues this evening are caused by forums upgrades (probably just me  ), but I installed IE8 this evening and have been experiencing wierd effects, only on this site, ever since. While everyone else's posts show up fine to me ... my own are looking really wierd. Pic below. Anyone out there know what's going on so that I can fix it (before I toss my damn laptop out the window)??







Bueller?? Anyone?? It's driving me absolutely nuts!! :'(


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## dangerboy (10 Jan 2010)

Vern, have you tried turning on "compatibility view" it is under tools with IE8.  That sometimes helps, or switch to Firefox.


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## armyvern (10 Jan 2010)

dangerboy said:
			
		

> Vern, have you tried turning on "compatibility view" it is under tools with IE8.  That sometimes helps, or switch to Firefox.



Damn. I love you (+300)!!  :-*  "Compatibility view" worked.

But, just wait until Mike finds out that I've screwed up the photo gallery "Members" and "Old members" yet again in the meantime ...  8)  I always do that.  :-X


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## Journeyman (10 Jan 2010)

Outstanding. I've been having the same problem, but assumed that a fix was beyond my non-techno abilities. 

So while that flux capacitor thingee fix worked for me too, I only gave you 100 points because I merely "like you significantly"    ;D


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## Rifleman62 (11 Jan 2010)

Thanks. I have been having the same problem for months when I am logged in. When not logged, the problem is not evident.


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## George Wallace (12 Jan 2010)

Been getting this msg for a few minutes lately:




*The page is currently unavailable 
Due to current high demand, the page you are looking for cannot be delivered right now.  

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Please click the  Refresh button, or try again later.




HTTP Error 408 / 409 - Not acceptable / Resource conflict 
Internet Explorer  *


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## Kat Stevens (12 Jan 2010)

Sporadic slow loading, half loading, and server connection interruptions today.


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## Edward Campbell (12 Jan 2010)

Kat Stevens said:
			
		

> Sporadic slow loading, half loading, and server connection interruptions today.




Same here (Dallas): using Windows 7 and _Chrome_. The rest of the Internet is normal.


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## Nfld Sapper (12 Jan 2010)

Numerous speed bumps for me on the site today........


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## Mike Bobbitt (12 Jan 2010)

Yep, there have definitely been problems. Sorry. 

Every once in a while, the web server runs wild and hogs all available resources. I'm sure it's a configuration issue, but I haven't figured out exactly what's going on yet.

In the interim, I have created a script to detect when things are headed south and it will automatically suspend the web server until the spike clears. Unfortunately that means from time to time, the web server shuts down for a few minutes. This is better than the "locked" state it used to get into, but not as good as having the problem resolved all together.

My apologies again for the disturbances.


Cheers
Mike


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## GAP (12 Jan 2010)

Mike Bobbitt said:
			
		

> Yep, there have definitely been problems. Sorry.
> 
> Every once in a while, the web server runs wild and hogs all available resources. I'm sure it's a configuration issue, but I haven't figured out exactly what's going on yet.
> 
> ...



Does it make a log of when & what is running/going south...don't know if possible to pinpoint, but even time of day would help somewhat....


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## Nfld Sapper (12 Jan 2010)

No worries Mike..... would it have to do with the software/OS upgrade you did a little while ago?


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## Mike Bobbitt (12 Jan 2010)

Sapper... it seems to. The web server (and just about every other piece of software) was upgraded at that point, and i made a lot of config changes to adapt. Seems like something may be slightly out of whack. GAP, i have *another* script which I can run to monitor the web server' status... but unfortunately by the time I get to it, things are pretty much unresponsive. I should now be paged when the problem starts to occur, which will help. Assuming it doesn't ramp up too quickly. 


Cheers
Mike


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## Journeyman (12 Jan 2010)

I hope you sort it out soon Mike; it's drivin' me to drink!    :cheers:


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## Old Sweat (12 Jan 2010)

Journeyman said:
			
		

> I hope you sort it out soon Mike; it's drivin' me to drink!    :cheers:



In [y]our case, it's just a short walk.


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## armyvern (12 Jan 2010)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> In [y]our case, it's just a short walk.



Yeah _ri-iiight_. Just turn around on your chair & reach for that bottle on the shelf behind you; there really is no need to expend the calories required that walking would entail.


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## mariomike (12 Jan 2010)

ArmyVern said:
			
		

> Yeah _ri-iiight_. Just turn around on your chair & reach for that bottle on the shelf behind you; there really is no need to expend the calories required that walking would entail.


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## Mike Bobbitt (12 Jan 2010)

Now there's an upgrade that should solve some problems...


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## George Wallace (13 Jan 2010)

Solve or create problems?

I think a few posters here have already made that upgrade.      >


Do we have a similar upgrade for laptops?


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## Kat Stevens (13 Jan 2010)

Completely locked out for about 25 mins.


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## Mike Bobbitt (13 Jan 2010)

Yep... unrelated to the upgrade, that was more security changes on my part.


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## Franko (13 Jan 2010)

Extremely slow Mike.


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## Mike Bobbitt (15 Jan 2010)

Sorry folks... we were down for a bit overnight. Same old (unidentified) problem. Looks like a database locking issue though, so we're getting closer...


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## George Wallace (15 Jan 2010)

The site is gone wonkie again.  Some pages load.  Some don't.  Some only load partially.  One window will open, but a second gets the "site busy" error......


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## Fishbone Jones (15 Jan 2010)

Went to load the site and got this instead:

Temporarily Unavailable
Due to high stress on the server the forum is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later.  

I have never seen this before, for any site.


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## Mike Bobbitt (15 Jan 2010)

It's part of the known problem I'm still tracking down. The database gets locked, the web server hangs waiting for response and things to downhill from there. Obviously, I haven't solved it yet, but I'm still on the case.

Sorry for the frustration all.


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## Mike Bobbitt (18 Jan 2010)

I'm now tweaking some low level performance settings on the web server, which I think will ultimately solve the 'slow to hang' problem we've been seeing.

It's quite likely that as I test the settings, I'll make things worse before I have the problem properly bracketed, so please continue to be patient.


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