I had a long conversation with RaveBeauty last week. Her health is better, but she has  a lot to deal with in that regard.

She assured me that she has had no intentions of 'shutting anyone out', and that RockinBBar's. Daryl's, and my efforts to access the "Administrative" section of THL are not being restricted by her. The last crash, about a year ago, lead to some fairly draconian security measures, and apparently, those security measures are keeping anyone but RavenBeauty out of the deepest levels of Administrative area where new members are vetted. We're working our way through the problems slowly.

In the 'grand scheme of things', it appears that a whole new database will be required. What that means is that the existing 'old and corrupted' database will have to be archived in a fashion that will not allow any changes. In other words, it will be available for reading, copying and pasting, but it will not be a "live" forum allowing new posts. Instead, an entirely new database will be initiated, and posting and new memberships will continue as it has in the past.

I think is a VERY GOOD step forward. Our greatest concern has been preservation of the historical database. This preserves that database, sequesters it from causing administrative problems, and allows THL to move ahead.

This process will require some 'juggling' while everything gets sorted out. I'm pretty sure Biopar will be able to handle that. Once a copy of the current database is archived, THL will undergo a complete upgrade including wiping the existing database and starting anew. The membership will be preserved, and all of the currently existing threads will be preserved in the archive for viewing by anyone at any time. Those threads that we want moved to the new database will have to be copied and pasted to the new one.

Sharon and I discussed making changes at the time the new version gets implemented. While nothing is written in stone, I can assure you that it is my intent to keep it as close to what exists right now as is possible. We MAY consolidate a couple of sub-sites that don't get too much attention. That consolidation would be to get them to places where they would get more viewing, not to make them "go away".

As soon as I have any more info on when what is going to happen, I'll let you know.

Most importantly, you should know that there is a real effort being made to get THL back to the place it once was.

Paul

As they say in the 82nd . . . . . . . . . .


OOOWAH!!!

RJ

Good to hear Paul.

It's good to hear RavenBeauty is doing better too!

Quote from: Jamie.270;112619Good to hear Paul.
 
It's good to hear RavenBeauty is doing better too!

+1.

Good to see that the "old" THL information won't be lost.
 
Thanks for the time and effort you have put into this Paul.

thanks for the update Paul! Glad to hear its going to be "ok". also, thanks for your work and your concern! God Bless.

Paul,
 
First, I'd like to say thanks for your very....determined efforts to salvage THL.  As an administrator here, I really do appreciate it.
 
I'm a bit perplexed in a small way that I've not been informed of these things by Staff, since I'm really not that hard to get ahold of, but at least they're communicating with someone about it.
 
And after all, it really is about saving the forum; whatever that may take.  Hopefully all will move forward in a timely fashion; or, at least move forward.  To be very honest, I'd just about given up on this place there for a while.  It's very frustrating to see something that you care about seem to go down the tubes, with nothing I'm capable of doing that can save it.
 
Daryl

What Daryl said.

Excellent!....A big "thumbs up" to you, Paul...................................BH51..

Thanks, BH, but we're not "out of the woods" yet. If THL is going to remain alive and well, it will require the assistance of all the 'old hands' as well as some of the 'new blood'.

The first thing that needs to be done is preserve the existing database. From that point forward, we can work on revitalizing the forum. Next week, I will be working diligently on preserving the existing database.

Just for "your" information, I have several topics that I have been too busy of late to post about. As soon as I can get my head above water, I'll start those threads. For the rest of "you", THL can only maintain its vitality as long as there are new threads. Be thinking about threads you can start once we get everything back on level ground. While there are LOTS of other topics discussed here, this is a HUNTING and fishing site. It is my opinion that we need to hear more hunting and fishing stories. That's probably where the 'new blood' and 'young blood' can help the most. Too often, us 'old guys' talk of "glory days". You "youngsters" are MAKING the new 'glory days'. That is of course a generality, but is true in general. While my hunting days aren't over, they are certainly curtailed by where I live. I know, Alaska is supposed to be this great place to hunt. IT ISN'T. It's a horrible place to hunt. If you are a Hunter, this is among the LAST places in the country you should consider living. There are isolated pockets where a non-native can Hunt, but they're VERY few.

Gotta go. More as I know more.
Paul