A New SBWS?
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Hello everyone -
It seems as though it has been a long time since this was a vibrant community. I check in every now and then, only to find the active user logs to be filled mostly with bots, spiders …and cobwebs.
The old vBulletin software that used to run this place has been left in the dust. No social media integration, no mobile-friendly views, and a user interface that looked like it was rushing head-long into the 90s. These were all symptoms of the bigger problem: vBulletin forums are relics of a bygone era and quickly fading into the bit-bucket.
I’ve decided to try a new spin on SBWS with some new software. I’m also purposefully leaving all the content from the old board intact, but separate. I’d like to see if this forum will stand up on its own once again.
If you wish to access content on the old site, you can still find it at http://archive.sportbikes.ws - but for now, please create a new account, re-join the community, and let’s see if we can turn this forum back into a friendly place where all those who love to ride can gather together once again.
Thanks and please feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions or comments, experience difficulties, or find I’ve missed a beloved topic or something else.
-Murph
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Sounds like a face to face gathering for the new SBWS is in order to properly kick this off again!
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So excited for this!! Thanks Murph!
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I sent out a mass email today to all the old SBWS users … hoping that maybe curiosity will bring some folks back. So far, a few users have registered. I have the issues with the email settings worked out now too, so activation emails should make it through. Excited to see what happens!
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I got the email, and I’m look foward to a new modern renaissance for SBWS.
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Ah, what the hell. Might as well give it a shot.
I love the software. Pretty unique!
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Wouldn’t say vBulleting is a relic. The new version really sucks though. The local forum uses vB 5.1 “connect”. Really should be called vB 5.1 BETA. Facebook did a number on forums.
Will this help get it back? Dunno. Many of the bike forums I’m on pretty much died. Cycleforums, eSportbike, Chicagolandsportbike and Madisonsportbikes pretty much dead other than a few. Wisconsinsportbikes is gone. Some I just got tired of dealing with morons (Insane Speed, Cycleworld, R1-forum). Cycleforums was unfortunately the victim of Vertical Scope panic. Now its just a couple members left and spammers constantly signing up.
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@Rob said:
Wouldn’t say vBulleting is a relic. The new version really sucks though. The local forum uses vB 5.1 “connect”. Really should be called vB 5.1 BETA. Facebook did a number on forums.
Will this help get it back? Dunno. Many of the bike forums I’m on pretty much died. Cycleforums, eSportbike, Chicagolandsportbike and Madisonsportbikes pretty much dead other than a few. Wisconsinsportbikes is gone. Some I just got tired of dealing with morons (Insane Speed, Cycleworld, R1-forum). Cycleforums was unfortunately the victim of Vertical Scope panic. Now its just a couple members left and spammers constantly signing up.
Yeah, that was one of the issues that the vB software was having for this forum - the spam control was pretty lousy. This software seems to be doing a pretty fair job of keeping the bots out of the user base and the reCaptcha it uses at sign-up is super easy for humans to use, which is nice. No more squinting at the screen to try to figure out what the hell the obscure code says.
I know the vB has been trying to stay alive and get tighter integration with things like Facebook. But it’s still a monolithic design that has been around for years…and they just keep slapping more lipstick on that pig. The developers really need to tear it down and rebuild it from the ground up.
This software (nodebb) is all running on a NodeJS server and uses websockets … which is really quite cool as it allows some very real-time interaction with the forum without having to refresh pages, etc. The social network integration isn’t anything super special, but it works well.
Anyway - I’d love to see more people come back to this community. It was a really great place once and could be again.
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Glad to see the .WS back up.
Hopefully with some time the old group will return.
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Sweet! Thanks for puttin’ the band back together
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This format will take some time getting used to. Hope it does revive it though. And having two boxes while you type is disrupting.
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@okaive said:
This format will take some time getting used to. Hope it does revive it though. And having two boxes while you type is disrupting.
Yeah, the dual-window post composer is kind of odd. You can show or hide the preview window by clicking the “hide preview” or "show preview’ link in the top-right. I set it up to hide the preview window by default so as to not be distracting.
I know the new format is a little different, but the old vBulletin format really isn’t cutting it. Something needs to change and I’m hoping this change is for the better. This layout also does a pretty excellent job on mobile - so browsing the forum now on your phone is much easier than it ever was with vBulletin.
At any rate, it’s good to see you on here Okaive. If things pick back up again for this forum, it’d be great to have you back as an admin and mod. Let me know your thoughts and let’s see how things go.
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I don’t see the forum listed on Tapatalk. That’s my usual default way for mobile forum browsing. Is this format not compatible?
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@odell2115 said:
I don’t see the forum listed on Tapatalk. That’s my usual default way for mobile forum browsing. Is this format not compatible?
There’s no need for using the Tapatalk app … the forum is mobile-responsive where Tapatalk is primarily used for bringing non-mobile-friendly forums to a mobile device.
Just browse to the forum on your phone and it is usable and responsive right out of the box. No need for a 3rd party app to “optimize” the mobile experience.
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I’m excited about a new SBWS. I don’t belong to any social media (I find that FB & Twitter are privacy disasters) so I hope this site gets it’s momentum back. I’ve spread the verbal word for people to join up so let’s see how this goes.
Why tip-toe through life only to arrive at death's doorstep safely?
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@Snowblind. said:
I’m excited about a new SBWS. I don’t belong to any social media (I find that FB & Twitter are privacy disasters) so I hope this site gets it’s momentum back. I’ve spread the verbal word for people to join up so let’s see how this goes.
That’s awesome - thanks Snowblind! I’d love to see it take back off as well. This forum had its own appeal that social media constructs like Facebook Groups will never be able to match.
Good to see you back here!
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I am all about getting this site back and running. Still have the old/new stickers on my bike and car. Was very close of taking them off when I was seeing only 1 post every 3 weeks.
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Happy to see someone is still keeping an eye on this place. I think the time will come when things come back together. This group helped keep me out of worse trouble while I got my act together. I have many fond memories and have built some lasting friendships through this website.
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@Nicegy525 Hopefully things will light back up some day! Hoping that the new software package running the place will help make it easier for people to use the forum. It’s very mobile-friendly and a bit more integrated with social platforms like Facebook. It would really be great to see this community come back to life.
I’m here keeping an eye on things. If you see anything amiss or want to see something different - let me know. By trade, I’m a software engineer - so I can twist all the knobs.
Thanks for coming back on board!
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We just need to hack the fuck out of FB and make it drown. That will bring the site back.
