TCM Message Boards Announcement

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Lzcutter
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TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by Lzcutter »

Hey gang,
I know the majority of posters here don't visit the TCM Message Boards much these days and some who are regular contributors, but for the small handful of posters who only sometimes visit there, I wanted to be sure they saw this announcement from TCM regarding the boards:

http://forums.tcm.com/ann.jspa?annID=61

Hello TCM Message Board Members,

We’re happy to announce that we are moving to a new, improved, more stable and better designed Message Boards platform on April 1st. We’ve been working hard on these and we’re very excited to share them with you. Here’s what you can expect from the new Message Boards when they go live:

More stable and less technical issues. We are moving to a completely new platform and new support group.
Old threads and posts will be kept from the current Message Boards. We’ve worked on a data migration strategy to ensure that 1 year or more of all topics and threads will be on the new boards. We are not throwing away previous threads after a year. If for some reason we need to bring back threads prior to these, these are archived and we can re-publish them. Some threads we know are important to keep in their entirety, so we have made plans to include these on the new message boards.
Simpler and more clear design to post and communicate
More overall features. More tools to communicate with other users and get notifications and much easier to post images and video.
Better Profiles. If you wish, you can share more information and message with other members easier than before. You can create an image avatar now to id your posts and profile. You can update and post a status message and much more.
Better post tracking and more post information at a glance
Better and more efficient posting features. Easier to generate quotes, reply to posts, better formatting options, and easier ways to add media.
Better moderation. We have a great new team now to help you get any issues or answers you need from TCM. They’ll be on the boards checking any issues you post.
Faster updates and improvements. We’ve improved our tech team to better address issues faster and to add features where we can quickly make changes and add new features if needed.
Improved sharing features to other sites and social media
Better Access. We’re using new software that will make updating your profile and tracking threads you’re following much more simple and better.

TIMING AND RE-REGISTERING (PLEASE READ)

We will begin the transition to the new boards on Tuesday, April 1st at 9:00am Eastern Time. Unfortunately, to perform the data migration thoroughly, the Message Boards will be closed for approximately 3 days and they will be back up on the morning of Friday April 4th.

We appreciate everyone’s patience while we make the switch. If you come to the message boards between Tuesday, April 1st and Friday, April 4th, you will see a maintenance sign that we are working on the migration.

Re-Registering: When you come back to the new boards, you can re-register your display name and account with us if you wish to 1). maintain your screen name, and 2). link your post history, years on the boards, post count, to your account.

Re-Registration: To re-register you, we will need to send a verification email to the email account you have on file with the current message boards. If you feel your email needs to be updated, please update this via the tcm.com account screen before April 1rd. You cannot update your email through the message board control panel. To update your email, click on your “account” link from the tcm.com home page, example below:



Once on your account page, simply update your email address by replacing it here and select “submit”:



If your email account on file with us is fine and accessible, you need to do nothing – you can use that account for the new Message Boards.

You can also of course register as a new user with a new display name. However, if you register as a new user, none of your previous participation on the boards will carry over (you’re a newbie).

Passwords: Also as part of the new sign-up, you will be prompted to create a new password. You can use the password you use now if you like or generate a new one; either will work.

Help: At the bottom of the new site will be the ability to directly send a message to our moderators with any questions, concerns. If you are having issues with re-registering, just contact us and we will work with you.

That’s it. Many of you have been faithful and loyal participants to these boards for many years and we wanted to say thank you. We want you to be happy with the new boards moving forward, which is why we really have worked hard to make them so much better. Please reach out to us with issues, suggestions, ideas – we will be listening. Thank you.

Your friends at TCM
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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movieman1957
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by movieman1957 »

It's April Fools Day too.

I hope it works. For a long time my biggest problem has been narrowing down any search function. Sometimes it worked and sometimes it didn't.

Maybe it will also fix the bad link with forums that have more than 1000 posts.

Here's hoping.
Chris

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Lzcutter
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by Lzcutter »

Chris,

The good news is the changes don't debut on April 1st!

According to the announcement, the TCM message boards will go offline and be inaccessible from Tuesday until Friday morning when they are supposed to come back online. So, the debut is actually April 4th.

Also, if anyone who registered over there with an email addy they no longer use, TCM is finally offering a way to change your old email addy to your new one without losing your moniker or your posting history.

But, it sounds like, this is a limited to just the next few days, so if you fall into that category, take advantage of this and update your registration over there!

Should be interesting to see what happens on April 4th.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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JackFavell
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by JackFavell »

Oh that's great news, if it all goes well.

Or perhaps just another thing to complain about. :D
RedRiver
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by RedRiver »

more stable

Dare I dream this refers to the users?
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by JackFavell »

I wish....
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Lzcutter
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by Lzcutter »

I definitely recommend checking out the URL to the announcement if for no other reason to see the screen caps they show.

No one over at Crazy-er TCM City seems to have picked up on it yet, but if the first screen cap they show in the announcement is any indication I think this is more than just the usual upgrade. Combine that with being offline for three days (which the boards have never been on purpose that I am aware of) and I think this might hint at being more than just the typical TCM message board upgrade we have all grown too accustom to.
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by JackFavell »

It certainly sounds promising. I didn't mean to indicate that I would be doing the complaining.... actually I was thinking of the crazies over at crazy town. :D
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Lzcutter
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by Lzcutter »

Jacks,

No problem, I didn't get that from your posts at all. I think the denizens of TCM City will live up to your post, no doubt about it!
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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JackFavell
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by JackFavell »

That IS sad. I always think of Capuchin over there. Perhaps he can come over to the SSO?
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Lzcutter
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by Lzcutter »

Masha,

I just sent you a PM in regards to your post. I am hoping it helps maybe solve this dilemma!
Lynn in Lake Balboa

"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."

"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese

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moira finnie
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by moira finnie »

RedRiver wrote:more stable

Dare I dream this refers to the users?
I am biting my tongue...

Lynn--this sounds and looks good based on your excellent description and the info on the TCM site. They can't say that TCM isn't trying to make things better--though I can just imagine the gnashing of teeth and rending of garments taking place in certain quarters among some of the habitués of dear ol' "Crazytown." Thanks for the heads up.
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by fxreyman »

Well this seems to be an attempt by the administrators at TCM to totally take down the existing system and replace it with a system that is not only with the times but also can be upgraded at some point in the future, something the old system really had a lot of issues with.

And the fact that they are shutting down the message boards for several days which as others here have stated to me really looks like they mean business this time. Obviously the technical people have for years now been working laborously with a system that is hard to fix, hard to deal with and whenever they have had the guts to make changes, the changes often took months to work out all of the bugs.

Obviously they saw a chance here to make substantial improvements to a broken system, and to help eliminate troubling changes that over the years have not really amounted to much progress. I say good for them and if it takes three to four days for the migration to work, I say it will be good for everyone to take a break for a while.
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Re: TCM Message Boards Announcement

Post by Professional Tourist »

I'm registered at the TCM message boards but haven't posted there in years -- I found the mechanics too confusing. The email address in my profile is current, so I guess I'll re-register with the same name when the time comes and give it another try.

Masha, if your fiance cannot update the email address in his profile on the current message boards, then he could re-register under a new name and address. He would lose his 'history' but he'd still be able to participate.

It's sad that they're migrating only one year's worth of posts to the new boards, though I suppose a year's worth is quite a lot of data on such an active forum. But it's a shame if threads like Mongo's Candids lose a lot of what he has shared with the public over the years, plus all his hard work.

Lzcutter, thank you for clueing us in about this upcoming change.
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