vBulletin 3.5 upgrade installed

Wilders Security Forums has upgraded to version 3.5 of the vBulletin forum software. This new version is a bit different than the previous version we were running, and it has a few additional features.

The first thing you may notice is that the "unread thread" markers are being handled differently now. Upon your first visit following the upgrade you'll notice that quite a large number of threads are marked as unread, even though you may have read them previously. This is because vBulletin finally has a database stored, "sticky" unread thread tracking system.

What this means is that you can come to the site and read for a while, then go away and return later, and any threads that had unread posts in them which you didn't read in your last visit, will still be marked unread. (The old system was based entirely upon session values and logging out of the forum, or timing out your session, would cause you to lose all unread thread markers.) Now, the vBulletin database will remember the threads you've read and those you haven't. So whether you timeout, or logout and come back even a few days later, the unread threads should still be marked properly.

The only downside is that upon your first visit following the upgrade, all threads posted in the last month will initially be marked unread. You can simply use the "Mark Forums Read" link (under Quick Links) to set all threads read now. From that point forward, the new unread thread system will mark new active threads properly.

There are many other new features which you'll notice when you try things out. Another involves editing your posts... There is an in-line post editing feature where you can edit your post while reading them in a thread without switching to a new editing window. (You'll understand what I mean the first time you hit the "edit" button in one of your recent posts.)

Hopefully this new version will make things a little easier, and provide more features to help make using the forum a better experience.

There may be a glitch or two, or even a few of our custom mods that are not yet reinstalled, but those will be worked on over the next few days. If you notice any specific problems, please mention them here in this thread.

 

Excellent mike! And yes i did notice you here until the early hours this morning

 

I had enabled the RSS feed a few months back when people asked about it, but, the feed links native to vBulletin 3.0 were pretty poor, so I didn't bother to announce it. vBulletin 3.5 has improved the feeds some, so hopefully they'll be useful to people.

That was a custom modification I had made in vBulletin 3.0, among many others, which still need to be put back in. I added most of the big ones prior to bringing 3.5 live, but a few smaller ones, like those links and a number of other things like that, still need to be redone.

 

If anyone is having trouble using any of the built-in javascript based functions in the forum software, which includes the posting editor's options for selecting fonts, colors, attaching images or inserting Smileys, be aware that Jelsoft rewrote a lot of the code behind these functions for vBulletin 3.5. Javascript code is part of every page here and gets cached in your browsers. If many of these functions don't work for you now following the upgrade, you should fully restart your browser and ensure you've clear the cache completely.

 

Yup, that's another customized feature I had added in the old version of vBulletin. It is on the list to put back in again. We implemented that back in the YaBB SE days, so I carried it over to vBulletin v3.0 and will again for 3.5.