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NorBro

NorBro

Major Contributor
After spending some time and properly evaluating the changes to the forum, I have to ask in an open letter:

What is going on?

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Brent, you’re Jarred Land's business partner and a well-known member in the RED world and you are our administrator and developer and I think you mean well and we appreciate you - but if this is the end of DVXuser then can you just please let us know?

Because if it's not, indirect termination of the forum has begun.

[BMCuser has had less than 30 posts in the past 2 years since their identical update.]

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It’s difficult for me to separate personal feelings from the general business of providing a free service, which I know nothing about its inner workings - but if this is a genuine update that absolutely had to be done then there must be some other compromise for the platform’s users?

Almost 20 years of something that looked beautiful and worked so well is ruined.

It was archaic but that was okay; it was perfect the way it was.

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There are a lot of questions which should be asked, but a pressing one is how is it possible that someone could butcher the navigation of new posts so badly?

I mean…I don’t understand how someone with experience using the old format could look at the new one and mentally process that it is a better form for discovery and engagement.

It’s just not possible unless this difficult configuration was created to deter. [And not every previous feature needs to exist, but using the updated forum is simply a struggle.]

In my opinion, these modifications appear to discourage activity. Or maybe it's an attempt to move the traffic over to REDuser (but that wouldn’t make much sense because that forum has mostly turned into a marketplace). RU is still on the previous software. Is it receiving the same update?

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If this is truly the beginning of the end for this family of forums, I get it. I really do and it was an amazing run. Thank you.

But if it’s not finished and the intentions are good - but we get what we get because there are no financial resources dedicated to this endeavor - then I don’t know if the new DVXuser will weather its own transformation.

I know it’s 2021 and it’s just a forum, but this was a very special place.
 
I think it takes a while to get used to even minor changes (though white-on-gray is not easy to read).
 
That's part of it, but it's also the font and its tracking and line spacing compared to something maybe a bit different or bigger and easier on the eyes. [Although this will vary for people.]
 
Reduser.net is getting the same upgrade next. For the same reasons I posted here for this upgrade.

Old server and software were EOL and not secure. Check my old posts where I stated previously.
 
I only saw any reference in the opening post which didn't mention they were EOL or non-secure but I guess I should have assumed.

A search for EOL or secure in the rest of the thread didn't find any hits besides #53 briefly referencing "secure site".

Brent@DVXU said:
I will be taking down DVXUSER.COM around 10:30AM PDT tomorrow, Friday, June 9. We will be moving to a newer/faster/better server as well as a vBulletin forum software upgrade. We have been testing the server and software in a dev environment for a few weeks and we are ready to go live. Be prepared for pretty significant UI/UX changes. Think of the new site as a 2021 car where our current site is 2010. There will be no CD player anymore....
Click to expand...
 
NorBro said:
I only saw any reference in the opening post which didn't mention they were EOL or non-secure but I guess I should have assumed.

A search for EOL or secure in the rest of the thread didn't find any hits besides #53 briefly referencing "secure site".
Click to expand...

Looking back, this info was shared in a moderator only thread.
 
There's some nice updates, but after giving it some time the bottom line is the design is harder to read and navigate. Line spacing, visual separation via graphical elements, etc. It is less pleasing to use as the minimalist design, in this case, decreases clarity. I'm on plenty of forums, many with modern design, so this isn't based on an attachment to the old way. I think the visual UI could use some work.
 
It definitely is different. What I would like is to understand why some members/users are unable to access the site through their current modem/routers? Some have resorted to using phone hotspots to access. I looked at at at least a dozen posts or more to determine some commonality, but nothing seems to make sense.

Any ideas for those of you who experience this difficult initially, but now do not?
 
My guess is that the vBulliten stuff was old and stable, using old versions of IETF protocols. The new platform is using updated protocols that the users equipment is not configured to handle.
 
David Saraceno said:
It definitely is different. What I would like is to understand why some members/users are unable to access the site through their current modem/routers? Some have resorted to using phone hotspots to access. I looked at at at least a dozen posts or more to determine some commonality, but nothing seems to make sense.

Any ideas for those of you who experience this difficult initially, but now do not?
Click to expand...

I posted my solution in the other sticky thread and on BMCuser, but it might as well go here in this shorter thread on the first page if anyone comes across it:

Try using a hard-wired connection straight from the modem for a few days straight.

I know this is not doable for everyone, but I used an Ethernet cable straight from the modem for 3-4 days straight and then randomly tried the site with WiFi and it immediately worked.

It would not work before that. Nothing helped. Just simply would not load like DVXuser never existed. It vanished into thin air...

If it's not old hardware or something else then I think something is wrong where some ISPs are having trouble rerouting to the new site with WiFi. Most people are using their phones or hot spots because they haven't tried from their modems yet (probably thinking it won't work like their WiFi).

I don't know why using a hard connection for a longer period of time worked, but it did.
 
If you are using Chrome, open devtools (dot menu far right at top of browser > more tools > Developer Tools). In the dev tools window, choose Application from the top menu. In the Application screen, choose Cookies, from the left hand navigation. Select https://dvxuser.com, right click and select Clear. Go back to browser and try refreshing the site.

This may or may not work (I didn't have any issues connecting, but I'm a web developer, so I'm constantly clearing all my cookies) but it's generally the first port of call for us when we make config/server changes and have issues connecting.

In Edge it's a virtually identical process, as Edge is based on the same engine as Chrome.

In Safari, select the Develop menu from the top and choose Show Web Inspector. In the Web Inspector, choose the Storage tab, select Cookies, select this site, then right over to the left of the top of the cookies panel there's a bin symbol you can click.

On mobiles/tablets you'll have to Google 'how to clear cookies in [Android/iOS]'.

If you're using Internet Explorer - hang your head in shame.

Of course, if you can't connect to the site, you can't see this post. But it may be helpful to pass along to others.
 
What in the **** has happened to this website? Like many, i've been apart of this place since 2003 (original account was deleted, long story), learned a lot back in the early days of this place, I would totally acredit DVXuser as being apart of my early self teachings of film school. I get people want to have things modern, but at what price? I wonder if the same update will go to REDuser? It took me almost a week to finally be able to log in. I thought I was going crazy and forgot my password, nope, stupid update just would not let me in and i've been chomping at the bit to respond.

I agree with NorBro in that I would like to know if all the bugs will get handled, or if this is the end of an era?

I feel like the people in charge of DVXuser need to learn the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. I know Jarred Land started this place...

Either way, like many, if it matters or not,i am pissed about this. DVXuser is sacred ground to me, I joined when I was 12, im going to be 31 in december. Do the math... lots of time spent here.. just a shame if this stupid update craps the site out for good...
 
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David Saraceno said:
It definitely is different. What I would like is to understand why some members/users are unable to access the site through their current modem/routers? Some have resorted to using phone hotspots to access. I looked at at at least a dozen posts or more to determine some commonality, but nothing seems to make sense.

Any ideas for those of you who experience this difficult initially, but now do not?
Click to expand...

This. After resetting my modem/router numerous times I am still not able to load the site at home. Not ever an issue before the reworking of the site. Very frustrating....
 
Why on Earth would anyone conclude that changes to the site software/format indicate a desire on the part of the staff to destroy the site?

That thought process process is absolutely bizarre to me.
 
Came here to post pretty much what DJ posted above. Brent is doing everything he can to address the issues that folks are having. Please, be patient.
 
David Jimerson said:
Why on Earth would anyone conclude that changes to the site software/format indicate a desire on the part of the staff to destroy the site?

That thought process process is absolutely bizarre to me.
Click to expand...

lol. This is thought about on a daily basis by corporations.

The way RED makes their media and says what it says about it might be bizarre to some too.

Whether it's bizarre if DVXuser might is open to interpretation based on one's business sense, life experience.

It's not always best to live your life with skepticism, but it's at least worth consideration.
 
NorBro said:
lol. This is thought about on a daily basis by corporations.

The way RED makes their media and says what it says about it might be bizarre to some too.

Whether it's bizarre if DVXuser might is open to interpretation based on one's business sense, life experience.

It's not always best to live your life with skepticism, but it's at least worth consideration.
Click to expand...

Well, then let's be clear, as clear as it's possible to be:

There is no wish on the part of anyone running this site to destroy it.

That's put to bed.
 
In three weeks, that's three of my favourite forums now running the new and improved versions and post count on all seems to have dropped, with one of them simply stone dead. The owner head over heels in love with the new archive possibilities and trying to knock up hundreds of FAQs which are all clearly aimed at 14-16 year olds with dumbed down facts and coolness. Thrown the baby out with the bathwater is a good phrase - not sure if it's US friendly. One other forum just pulled the plug. Apparently everyone is desperate for Google to include them in it's quest for FAQ sites.

This one is a real pest as when I appear I'm not logged in - two locations, two different providers, safari, Chrome and Firefox all need me to click a few times and change pages to show I'm in. The new posts link works on this one - another refuses to display anything other than topics ten to twenty years old as 'active topics' when they are not, and trending topics produces a few topics that never get added to. I started a new one today and after 8 hours, no views, let alone responses.

Forum owners are somehow keen to move to a modern kid friendly platform and lose all the quality built up. Users are reluctant to criticise - but none have thought it good to canvas their existing user base for opinion. They're told they need to have this and that and then its just not nice anymore. Obviously some things are just different, but this is not as nice as it was - so why on earth spoil something that worked fine? On the other forums the owners say they're excited with the new features and plead for users to give it time. Pretty much they just desert the ship. This was my favourite video forum but now it's not. It's very sad because the owners put time, effort and money in - I just wish they'd asked what WE wanted. It would NOT be this.
 
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