Revert forum back to vB4?

[AabiruSabeel]

:salam:

We would like to know your opinions on the current version of the forum, and whether you want us to revert back to the old version. Most of our active members are nowhere to be seen now and there is a slight possibility that they are unable to access or find it very difficult to access this forum.

The main advantages of reverting back would be:

1. Restoration of all previous features and modifications, including permission settings etc
2. Familiar look and feel of the forum, making it easier to use.

But there would also be the following disadvantages:

1. The url links will change once again, affecting the SEO of the forum
2. All the posts made after February 2014 will be lost
3. All the members who have registered after Feb will have to register once again (This can be solved by coping the users from the current db to the restored one but it might take some time and efforts).

Another thing is, if we revert back, we will be downgrading to vB 4.2.2 and not vB 4.1.5 because the vB 4.1.5 is obsolete and not compatible with the PHP version running on the server. The old forum was running vB 4.1.5 and this was the main reason why we had to upgrade.
At that time, we had the choice of upgrading to either vB 4.2.2 or to vB 5.0.5. We chose vB 5 because it was more SEO friendly and we thought having the latest version would better.


But if we want to keep running this version, then it is possible that all the current issues will be solved sooner or later as vBulletin keeps updating the software. They are going to release the vB 5.1.3 version in which 155 issues have been resolved. The vB 5.1.1 had resolved 126 issues and vB 5.1.2 had also solved 152 issues. Most of the them are hidden issues not visible to the general user. We are still running vB 5.1.0 and we can upgrade to vB 5.1.3 in a few days :ia: when it gets released for download.


In short, we can either keep upgrading the forum to the latest releases and solve the current problems, or revert the forum back to vB 4 and restore everything to its previous state. Please vote and let us know your opinion. :jz:


:w:


Edit: For those who are new, this is how the forum looked like before the upgrade: https://web.archive.org/web/20140209...amicboard.com/

[Woodrow]

As much as I hate trying to adapt to new formats. It is best we keep this format. Trying to go back would confuse my poor brain even further.

[Muslim Woman]

:sl:


is it possible to send mails to old participants and ask them why they have not joined the forum ?

[AabiruSabeel]

Yes, we sent an email recently to all the Muslim members wishing them Ramadhan Mubarak and informing them of the latest updates to the forum. Some of the members have disabled the "Receive Admin email" option in their profile settings and they might have not received that email.

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[Ğħαrєєвαħ]

:salam:

I hope all are well in sha'Allaah and are having a wonderful Ramadhaan...

Ramadhaan Mubarak!

[AabiruSabeel]

:wasalam:


Ramadhan Mubarak to you too and welcome back to IslamicBoard.

[Muslim Woman]

:sl:


if we upgrade and it creates problems , then can we go back to old version ?

[Jedi_Mindset]

Assalam alaykum, back now :)

Ramadhan mubarak to all :)


This version works better now, however i can't get the old nostalgic version out of my head. So i vote to revert back to the old version, but i will also be happy if you keep this one.

[Marina-Aisha]

As salam alikom i dunno if just me but whenever i come on it reallylags and takes forever too load.im not sure if u should or not..

[Shaykha]

As salam alikom i dunno if just me but whenever i come on it reallylags and takes forever too load.im not sure if u should or not..

WasSalaam. I agree with you.. I'm undergoing the same problem about it taking forever to load!

[Abz2000]

Assalamu'alaikum wr wb, ----The one month break at a critical time (pivotal time in world events) meant i had to go other forums for Muslim interaction and none of them felt as warm or familiar as LI, but LI forum kept preventing me from logging in and i just got used to the others.......... Another point is the familiarity, the current one feels very cosmetic and .... small....formal......fake, whereas the previous one felt cozy and real. ....... Worst part was that most of the senior members are nowhere to be seen, they probably felt unwelcome after several login attempts over a span of weeks- only to fi d the door slammed shut in their faces..... I personally felt a bit imposing when i signed up again with a new login...... I believe a good way to get everyone back is by restoring the forum and asking all the familiar members to add their names to a personalised "we miss u" request..... The admin "we miss u" feels like a wholesale copy-paste. Peace.

[Abz2000]

Plus, this format doesnt work properly on my android (galaxy s2)...... As can be seen from the above post - no sentences or paragraphs, have to use dashes and dots to separate.

[AabiruSabeel]

It seems like most of you prefer going back to the old version. There are at least 2500 new posts since the upgrade and 280 new user registrations. All these will be lost. Shall we proceed?

[strivingobserver98]

It seems like most of you prefer going back to the old version. There are at least 2500 new posts since the upgrade and 280 new user registrations. All these will be lost. Shall we proceed?

I'll contact some professionals and see if they can transfer all the new posts and users :ia:

[~Zaria~]

:sl:

I do miss the old forum, and would prefer to go back to it, in shaa Allah.

However, I do not think that this would necessarily result in our old members returning.
There are possibly a few reasons for people dispersing - sometimes, when there are prolonged problems with a forum, members may either join other forums.....or, they may realize that there is in fact a real world out there :) Alhamdulillah.

Also, circumstances change - marriage, kids, work and other life events are often also responsible for members becoming less active on a forum.

So, even though we may miss the activity on the forum, there are positives in every situation as well:
Perhaps some of our friends are busy in some charitable organization....or in dawah.....or in acquiring deeni knowledge, etc.

Unfortunately valuable time can and does get spent on forums, often in worldly discussions that may not benefit us in the long run.
The key is finding the balance, and ensuring that time spent on a forum is directed towards gaining beneficial knowledge.

In short, I dont think we should consider the slowed pace of the forum too negatively.

And if we do go back to the old look, and if things still do not change very much - Its all good either way.

Fewer quality posts are better than many fruitless discussions.

:jz:

[Signor]

Assalamu Alaikum

Hopefully everyone here is in the best of health and eeman.

Its been a long time since I posted here.Don't know why but the old forum used to look very clean and tidy compared to new,one of the reasons which took my interest away from posting on IB.Besides this I've been really busy and still is....But will try to visit here more often here Insha Allah.

Wishing everyone a blessed Ramadhan!