Forum Software Platform Version Upgrade

[beltguy]

10/30/2024 Update: all software platforms have been updated to the latest version.
11/1/2024 Update: Having lots of administration issues see post later in this thread
11/2/2024 Update: I will have to do a complete new install of the phpbb platform.
11/18/2024 Update:  Site seems to be stable -- got some minor tweaks done.

Up until recently, our current forum software version was considered "current" and it functioned well.  Now we are considered two major versions behind and I will be making the update over the next week or so.  This is a tedious task that I have been trying to avoid, but that is no longer possible.

For the period starting 10/24/2024 until the update is active, both the website and forum may be down for short (hopefully) periods of time

Jim

[beltguy]

This post is going to be a bit "techy". 

Our website and forum use three software platforms.  All of these platforms are updated periodically to improve functionality and security.

The website uses WordPress as the main platform.  The latest version (6.6.2) has been installed on our site.

The forum software (PHPBB) latest version is 3.3.13.  Our current version is 3.0.13 so we are two major versions behind.  Unfortunate, updating the version has to be done manually with a ton of file transfers.  In addition, the theme we use to give the look and feel of the forum is said to not be compatible with this version.  They have said that in past updates and we were able to maintain our look and feel.  Hopefully that will happen this time.

Both Wordpress and PHPBB are based on a scripting language platform (PHP).  The latest version of PHP is 8.3.  GoDaddy says that we are using this version, but I am a bit skeptical since our current version of PHPBB is said not to operate on any version over 7.3.

I hope to do the PHPBB update today if possible. 

Have your eyes glazed over yet {big grin}

Jim

[rusty]

Hang in there Jim We know you can get it figured out.
Thank you from all of us.

[beltguy]

Wayne, thanks for the kind words.

Updating Wordpress and PHP versions is almost as simple as clicking a button. That is definitely not the case with PHPBB forum software (sad tale of wow later in this post.

All of the software is now up to date

Now for the sad/frustrating story about PHPBB. It is "open source" software which means it is free to use. It is written by several contributors. ** Can you say designed by committee? ** {big frown}. On their website, they have a document that documents the rather tedious process of upgrading. The actual process is two pages long. The only problem is that they have many errors that someone like me has to spend time trying to resolve.

I spent about 5-6 hours yesterday getting the forum functional with the latest version (3-3-13). I think I have it functioning properly for the general public, but there are several administrative issues I am dealing with. The major one is that the "Annoucement Block" can't be updated. I will continue to work on these issues as time permits.

If you have any issues with the forum, please contact me via this thread or via the contact information in the Announcement Block

Jim

[goldeneagle]

Thanks Jim. Everything looks good.
Marty

[beltguy]

11/1/2024.

I have spent over 20 hours trying to resolve several administrative issues. In the process I have lost our Announcement Block and have several other issues.

The forum is functional, but I have had to detail my problems on the phpbb forum as I have run out of options. Hopefully they will help me work out the issues.

Jim

[beltguy]

Well, the folks on the phpbb forum reached the same conclusion I was forced to reach: the 3.3.13 install had something go wrong.

Sometime next week I will do another install. The forum will be down a few times during that process.

In the meantime, I need to emphasize that the forum is fully functional. Thank goodness all of the threads and posts are contained in a database that is completely separate from the software files and is not at risk during this frustrating process.

Jim

[beltguy]

Well, this whole process has kept me out of the bars

I will not bore you with all the issues that have had to be addressed since my last post.  That said, I will mention the worst one: at one point the forum would not accept ANY password (including mine).  That had me panicked since I was not able to reach the administrator menus.  Fortunately we have purchased a rolling 7 day backup service and that saved my bacon (actually many times).

Unfortunately with each restore, I loose some of my work.  Not a huge problem, but frustrating.

I am relatively sure that a prior GoDaddy requested process messed up our site via a forced PHP update that was not compatible with our software platform.
 
At the present time our site seems to be stable and I have access to the administrative tools that I need on a daily basis.

I really want to apologize for the terrible journey we have been on for the past couple of weeks.

Jim

[rusty]

As the youngans would say no worries
We much appreciate your time and effort .
Thank you for all you do
Wayne 

[beltguy]

11/18/2024:

After many hours and several failed attempts, we are on the current version of our forum software platform.

I have been working on some administrative issues within the software, but have resolved most of those.

I have finally been able to change the code in a couple of files so that a version of our "logo" now appears in the header of the page.  Unfortunately you may not see it for a while.  Your computer cache will probably show the old header until it cycles through the system.

Jim