Welcome back to the NEW TGS on version 3.7.0!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

TGS has been testing 3.7.0 on a test database for 3 weeks now. We also made the decision some weeks back to migrate to a new host with better service. This has already proven to be of benefit. While we regret the down time, we believe that the migration to the better host, the upgrading of VB to 3.7.0 (and ALL our other installed components which had to be tested during our test phase), the re-skinning of the forums, will all continue to make TGS the BEST forum for our industry. Other forums will play catch up while we continue to lead the way.

Please take a moment to look over the exciting new features you now have at your fingertips! Your profile page has wonderful new features, including member photo galleries that are specific to your account. You can create or become a member of social groups. I'll be posting screen shots of the new features to guide you as you learn about them, so grab a snack and welcome back to the new TGS!

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Thread Tagging

A new way to facilitate searching and grouping of threads, it is now possible for users to add tags to threads they post or read.

Tags can be added when creating a new thread, or to an existing thread by any user (with appropriate permissions).

Any users who then click on these tags will not only find all thread that have the same tag as the one clicked, but will also contribute to the building of a search tag cloud, which gives users a quick guide as to what has been searched for recently and most frequently.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Thread Prefixes

Long requested by users, threads can now have administrator-defined prefixes to their titles.

Thread prefixes are divided into groups by the administrator, allowing different prefixes to be available in different forums.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Reciprocal Friendships Between Users

As part of our new social networking system, users can now request that people on their buddy list confirm their friendship, after which time a person's list of confirmed friends will be viewable to other users.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Public Messaging

While private messages between users have been in vBulletin since version 2.0, vBulletin 3.7 introduces the public messaging system, allowing users to communicate publicly via their profile pages.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

User Picture Galleries

vBulletin users can now create albums and upload pictures to their account.

The ability to view these albums and pictures can be limited by the user to just board staff and people on their buddy list if they want privacy.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

User-Created Social Groups

To further social cohesion between users and to encourage people to make friends, vBulletin now includes a facility to allow users to create their own social/interest groups.

These groups are enhanced by having their own public messaging system, and the ability to add pictures to the group from user albums.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

New Member Profile Page

In order to accomodate all the new features in vBulletin 3.7, the member profile page has been completely redesigned from the ground up.

The new page presents information in a far cleaner and more logical manner, while dividing up information into manageable chunks using a tabbed interface.

Individual profile field categories can be displayed alone in blocks in the right column, in addition to appearing by default in the 'About Me' tab.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Member Customization of Profile Page

The administrator may choose to allow his members to use the profile page customization tool, which allows users to alter fonts, colors, background and borders etc. of their profile page in order to create a more personalized look.

The administrator can lock-down customization permissions, in order to prevent the personalized pages being made too offensively awful by aesthetically challenged members... nobody wants to see some of those really ugly MySpace pages on your vBulletin installation!

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Inline Editing of Profile Field Values

The 'About Me' tab of each member's profile page has edit controls, allowing them to quickly change values without leaving their profile page.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Attachment Viewing Lightbox

Clicking on an attached image will now open a lightbox rather than open a new window, with the image scaled to fit the browser viewport. A click on the image in the lightbox will open it in a new window as before.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Post Edit History

For boards where the history of posts is important, it is now possible to log all edits to posts and then review the changes at a later date.

[PressurePros 248]

We have this version running at the ***** BBS as well. I am still trying to figure it all out. Congrats on the successful migration. This board should hum now.

[Celeste 341]

I LOVE the new features :) This is going to be fun!

[bigchaz 157]

this is sweeet

Who wants to be my friend?

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Thanks guys! We have been testing this for almost 3 weeks in a test database. We had so many add ons to consider, it seemed the smart way to go.

Beth

[scpressure 14]

You guys do a great job here. Thanks for all your hard work

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

This feature: http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showpost.php?p=129857&postcount=2

Is particularly cool....when you start a new thread, think about the words you would use if you were searching for a thread with the content you are posting about. Down in the tag area, you can add keywords, separated by commas, that create a "tag cloud" which is basically a quick link based upon key words to search results that have those words as tags. For those of you who are really into SEO, this feature ought to thrill you.

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

this feature is VERY cool also: http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showpost.php?p=129861&postcount=6

You can create your own photo albums, when can be accessed via your profile. When someone (new customer we hope!) views your profile they can look at samples of your work! Just one more reason to keep your profile professional and up to date. Put your bet foot forward and show off your work!

Beth

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

If you would like to know what a thread is about at a glance then this should help! http://www.thegrimescene.com/forums/showpost.php?p=129858&postcount=3

When you create a new thread, choose a PREFIX before you title the thread. The prefix will show up before the thread title and can help to identify threads for users, making it easier to navigate on the forums.

Beth

[bigchaz 157]

Can you turn the feature on where other users can tag threads? Itd be nice to go through some of the older ones and tag what they were about. Then someone could find the "HD-80" tag and see all the old threads that users had tagged. It would make searching in the future easier

[RPetry 564]

Hmmm... TGS is pulling up faster than my Google homepage. Guess the dedicated server is a real plus. Fine upgrade to the site.

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Can you turn the feature on where other users can tag threads? Itd be nice to go through some of the older ones and tag what they were about. Then someone could find the "HD-80" tag and see all the old threads that users had tagged. It would make searching in the future easier

I tried to do that, and I can't. :( If I find a way I"ll let you know. But for new threads, you should be able to tag them.

Beth

[Russ Johnson 141]

Who wants to be my friend?

Are you buying the beer?...:D

[Beth n Rod 1,279]

Photos (lightbox) is a known issue with this new version - we have checked. Sometimes they will work other times they will not. As soon as there is a fix for this issue we will apply it to the forums.

Thanks, and enjoy the forums.

Beth

[scpressure 14]

I would like to see the posts, print in black. Just seems easier to read. I'm not old but I'm getting there.