New Forum Software Available

Since 1998, we've been running the same forum software - "The Ultimate Bulletin Board" (later renamed UBB.Classic). For the longest time this software has served us pretty well. However, with the pending release of Max Payne 2, a project that had been on the back burner for some time now has been implemented. We've changed forum software. The UBB.Classic has been retired on our servers, and we've switched to UBB.Threads.

Threads is a MySQL/PHP based forum software package from the same folks who put out Classic - Infopop. The primary reason this software change was made was due to the increased traffic load expected when Max 2 hits the streets. We didn't want any problems with the server dying, crashing, or things of that nature, so the forum software needed to be upgraded. Why? Because classic is a forum software that uses flat files on the server - everything is a text file somewhere that has to be opened/closed/written to. All that traffic generates a large load on the server, and "classic" would not be able to handle the stress. So we switched to "UBB.Threads".

Threads has a ton of new features that we didn't have available to us with the old format. Here's just a sample of some of the cooler new features:

* Avatar uploads - no more worrying about your server going down and your avatar not being displayed.
* Favorite Threads / Post Reminders - In your "My Home" area on the forums, you can track your favorite threads on all of our forums in one place.
* Ignore User - Someone on the forums bothering you? Ignore 'em - you won't see their posts anymore.
* Better thread control - You can display how many, and in what order you want a forum's threads displayed as.

There's a ton more, check out the "UBB.Threads Info & Assistance Forum" for all the details, and to discuss the software change.

A big thanks goes out to J.C. over at ubbdesign.com for his help in getting the new look of the forum down. Check out ubbdesign.com for your custom forum design needs. Also, a shout out goes to Dave & Rick over at Infopop for helping out with my problems in getting things going.

Posted by Joe Siegler on September 22, 2003 at 1:00 PM | Permalink
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