New Website and Forum
 

Hello everyone! I've been working on sprucing things up a bit at 337pilot.com - a new 337 SOAPA website.

I plan to also update the main website and associated pages over the next couple of weeks. I already setup a new forum (337pilot.com/forum) and migrated this old forum (337pilot.com/messages) to 337pilot.com.

I could now use your help with testing!

Also, I'll be fixing the registration process for the old forum soon even though the new forum is already up and operating and registration should work just fine.

Again, any help is appreciated!

Safe flying!

N2274X

Thats great Larry, so we need to register on the new site? Does our handle/stats transfer over?

So the old website is imported to your new web address? I tried a search for “fuel valve” at 337pilot.com and “0 results”

Did “+fuel +valve”, got “0 results”

“Fuel valve” in search at 337skymaster.com, many results

Will both forums be running in tandem? What if someone does a Google search for skymaster? Where do they get directed to?

Hi Larry,

I appreciate your efforts to improve things, but there is much better software than phpBB.
Are you trying to document answers to questions? Use Stack Exchange.
Are you trying to promote discussion? Use Discourse.

One of the greatest problems today...
 

Will you be able to port over the entire message history?

It is a wonderful accumulation of knowledge and innuendo.

---

Is, there are so many 'solutions' offered for any given problem, it is hard to select or prioritize any one solution among the many options.

Each requires learning enough about 'it' to distinguish from all the others.

As you get to later generation versions, as mongrel dogs all start looking the same, they eventually all drift together to the same solution set end users are seeking....

...which makes it even harder to tell them apart!

My general approach is pick one, but don't be too invested in it if something else comes along.

My other approach is, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it"

Why the need for change from a known=working solution which is familiar to so many already? Is there some key feture or aspect that makes it non-viable going forward?

I've mentioned a few times in the past how antiquated this forum is, but I usually get shouted down with "just be happy we even HAVE a forum" type replies.

Wanting something better does not in any way denigrate the efforts of those who've worked so hard to make this forum what it is today.

If there was a way to transfer all the posts to a more modern platform, I would be onboard for it.

Maybe some monetization would be in order as well. Have sponsorships and banner ads. No one will get rich, but it would offset costs at the least. Virtually every other forum I belong to does this. I would gladly pay for an ad for my voltage regulator upgrade kit. I'm sure many other businesses would as well. Even if the ad income was meager, it would still be greater than zero.

Just my 2 cents. Best wishes on the project!

Everything should have transferred.

Did you try to login?

Thank you for helping test the new setup! This current forum runs on a very very old version of PHP. I'm running the latest 7.x version in the new setup and have had to modify the code a bit to get things to even run how they're running now. I think you hit upon a bug I need to trace and I'm working on it!

337pilot.com is "new" so it will rank differently on Google search results. If someone is better versed with SEO please speak up and help! :-)

Sure there are many better options! and I fully expect and appreciate these points you've raised.

As I understand it, the audience here is used to a bulletin board. I'm not a huge fan of them but phpBB is at least "free" and actively maintained. It is also not another company's platform we end up "feeding" with our content that can be taken offline.

Do you have anything on your wish list you'd like to see added?

The current bulletin board uses a very old version of PHP and vBulletin (the bullet board software). It's hard to maintain and keep updated not to mention riddled with security issues. I'm attempting to keep the good parts and introduce new parts.

I believe the forum is great for conversation and interaction however I think it'd also be great to distill the forum information into a useful information sheet for new and current 337 (and O2) pilots.

Does anyone want to help with that project?

When and where is the next Skymaster fly-in? :-)

I'm very grateful to have Ernie, Herb and the countless others in the community. They setup SOAPA and got everything going! Thank you!

I'm happy to help the community with my skillset.

I'd love to distill knowledge on the forums into several useful FAQ pages. I'd also love to put together a page dedicated to STCs and companies actively working to support the 337 and O2. How do you suggest we start on that work?

Beechtalk is an established, successful forum that we can look to for examples of what works. For one, it doesn't log you out after five minutes of inactivity like this site.

They have "Sponsor" members who get a square on a banner that's on every page. Sponsors also get the right to post listings in the "For Sale" section. They use an algorithm that lets frequent and trusted posters post For Sale listings for free, but they have a $50 paid listing option for those who don't meet the criteria.

Beechtalk Sponsors pay $200 per month. The traffic on Beechtalk is easily 20x that of 337skymaster.com, so you couldn't charge $200 per month, but maybe $10 per month or so?

I just checked with an internet traffic report company, and Beechtalk averages 5600 unique visitors per month, while 337skymaster only averages 234 unique visitors per month. So we do about 4% of the volume.

I've tried logging in several times, but to no avail. My SOAPA login name and password is not being recognized.

The system also does not recognize my email address as being valid to send me a verification email either.

Rick

Unable to login to new site
 

Username and email not found
If I create a new account, I assume my history will be lost?

Should I wait for old history/account to be merged, or create new anyway?

Thanks?

Hi Rick! Are you using the "Old Message" board or the new one at 337pilot.com?
The old one is located at 337pilot.com/messages.