CF downtime and big changes, in case you were not aware...

The CF upgrade is scheduled for 05 May 2008


On Sunday 04 May 2008 evening (US eastern standard time), CF will be shut down, where upon the technical group will migrate CF to all new software, which includes new features, and new skins. It is likely CF will be offline until Monday evening, or Tuesday morning.

As part of the upgrade, many features are changing, some will be removed, and others will be greatly expanded. In other cases, new features will be rolled out over a period of time. For the most part, member content should not be lost, with the exception of CF profiles. Unfortunately, the new system is not compatible, thus, members with widgets, videos, audio, or other customizations in their profiles should save a copy offline, such that when/if such features get added back, they can reload them. I only use the word if, as the amount of customization is still a bit up in the air... and profiles are vastly different. For example, before one could have 1 photo, and the rest would need to be coded in the html customizer. In CF2, members get their own gallery, which they can share publically, or just with a few friends etc.

I've linked to a q-a thread in the announcements forum, should you have further questions.
http://christianforums.com/t7215585-...l#post46664345

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- Mini FAQ -

Question: When will the upgrade take place? How long will it be down for?
Answer: Estimated downtime is from Sunday evening to Monday evening, this is all estimated, things can go wrong!

Question: Will my blessings or reputations be lost?
Answer: No

Question: Will reps still be private?
Answer: Yes

Question: Will I lose all my PMs?
Answer: Very well possible. I'd suggest downloading all the ones that are important to you.

Question: What will profiles look like?
Answer: See post #10

Question: Will we lose our pets?
Answer: The pet system is not nailed down yet, when we have information we will release it. Please put your pet in daycare if you are worried about them not being fed.

Question: Will we lose our blogs?
Answer: No

Question: Will we lose our guestbook?
Answer: No

Question: Will my post count be effected?
Answer: No

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The CF Upgrade - ARMORY REDESIGN!!!!

We're scheduled to upgrade CF to the new version of vbulletin on Monday, May 5. This upgrade is going to include a redesign of the CF Characters as well. Here's a list of some things we'll gain:

1. NO LIMIT on equipped items. Equip as many as you like from any category you like.

2. Splitting some of the larger categories into smaller groupings. No more scrolling through 600 dresses to find the one you want.

3. You decide how to layer things. That's right - you can have a background AND wings behind your character now.

4. Equipping items will be a drag-and-drop process

5. MOAR STUFF - as well as all of our beloved CF Characters, we will gain access to some additional bodies and stuff to go with them.

Some things we're not sure about:

- To start with, there won't be limitations on guy stuff/girl stuff based on our gender icons. That may be added later, but since this is a new system written by someone else, we're not sure what will be possible yet.

- We are probably going to have to start over from scratch with our characters and their wardrobes. We will be getting full refunds for all items we currently own as part of the conversion. I will be tracking the one-of-a-kind type items so that we know who should be able to re-purchase stuff like the Holy Grail and the Ten Commandments and other big-ticket armory items. I'll contact these people with more details when things are finalized.

Questions?

I'm very busy working on the category splits right now, but I'll keep an eye on this thread and try to find out the answers to your questions if I don't know the answers already.

ETA: Just to clarify, we are going to MOVE the CF character and armory items to Live Avatars. The CF characters are cool, awesome, and better than just about any other dolly type stuff in my humble opinion. They will be around after the upgrade in all their radiant beauty, just like today.

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