New Release of FT?
 

I noticed one of Randy's posts mentioned the re deployment of Flyertalk.com coming on September 2nd ... what is this and what will be changing?

Correct me if I am wrong, I believe we should at least be able to see the following:

1. test forums supporting graphics:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=830164

2. forum re-engineering/streaming:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=822782

3. (Hopefully) improvement in Search function (see Search Problems Thread here):
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=819533
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=822896
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/annou...hp?f=386&a=248

4. Maybe no more slowness or timeout? ;)
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=775117

5. mobile FlyerTalk:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=849721

6. Randy's big decisions:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=791049
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showp...87&postcount=2

Randy, will FlyerTalk will have temporarily down for while. Its will be installion new feature. What kinds of new designed for graphics? Can you please clarifying something to me. If I am not aware one of new feature will be improvable. Do you have anything else more specific information with entire FlyerTalk will be relaunched new site. I'm sure if I will be patience if you can hear from me. Its will be changeable new feature designed. Its will be absolutely wonderful to see brand new future of FlyerTalk. I think this is such very good idea for me. Its will be great opportunity for members will changed new feature for every forums. Hopefully if you will able figure out more new FlyerTalk. Thanks, Randy.

Regards

some of the things that lin821 mentions above. We'll have in place those test forums for graphics, perhaps a few streamlined forums, a new front end for FlyerTalk to de-clutter it, a few new features which i've been trying to get loaded up for as year now such as searchable PM, etc. Really just a point in time to catch up with all that we've wanted to do for some time. And there are some new member features available with the latest technology release, such as pre-set thread prefixes such as Question:, Seating:, Terminal:, Off-Topic:, etc., new picture galleries for members to use to upload their Do pictures, Trip Report pictures, etc., new member profile pages and the ability to create custom social groups, perhaps like the D.C. area and the Dallas area so it creates with technology, a better way to become "LocalTalk."

A few other things but most of all really getting caught up on far too many things that have been awaiting their time.

You'll get a full list of these things when we finally re-launch, but don't expect anything drastic. For you Search hounds, that's still the responsibility of Internet Brands and they continue to work on it with your input, the same as ramping up the Web site's speed and reliability.

Really just something to wait and see.

NOTE: i incorrectly referred to lin821 as lin832 giving the member a temporary promotion, but alas, was busted and have returned the reference here to lin821.

Good to know my guess is not too far off.

However, Randy, you just assigned me some "bonus" points to my FT handle. Would I have to use that new handle with the new FT in September? Even though I like bonus points but I love my original handle, lin821, better. :p:D

Oh, didn't you get the email? A new policy. When you have a numeric value in your user name, the new re-launch includes a tool to add recent non-OMNI post count to that number. Thought it was a compromise but can see that members may want to keep their original user name the way it is. So, let me "redact" that since that's (redact) my word for the day!

Note to self: never confuse lin832 with lin821.

Thanks for the info, Randy; and thanks for delineating what HOM is providing vs IBB's responsibility. Let's hope they can address their issues to coincide with your release (I can hope, can't I?) :)

Someone is a dreamer.... :)

Randy, there is problems someone who boost up their post count from OMNI. They will be resetting the post count to zero. I doubt it for someone who used the posts from OMNI. You were disable the posts count by OMNI, am I correct? You will not able reactivated the post count back. Because it was too many members who useable the OMNI. This is not appropriate for members' behaviors who used the posts by OMNI. I disgreed with the OMNI. Because it was personal attacks against the member. I will continues where I am use with airlines. They need to be respectabilities for keep follows the rules. Hopefully if you will understandably from OMNI post count is disable. I'm sure if you will trustable where the members will given another chance to have reactivated the post count back. Thanks, Randy. :)

The change was instituted not that long ago to no longer count OMNI posts so I believe your request has already been granted.

I am not sure if you can see the smileys (emoticons) in ALS from our posts. You took our humor too seriously. I think you misunderstood the joking between Randy and me. :)

All it started with a simple typo of my FT handle by Randy. The last two digit of my handle are 21 but Randy made a mistake and fat fingered them as 32, hence creating a new non-existing FT handle lin832. Just like if someone might have a typo of your handle and turn it into N849MH, when you are actually N830MH.

In our FT spirit of points and miles, I was teasing Randy for those extra number in my FT username as bonus points. Randy humored me back with the joking promotion and email of non-OMNI counts. BTW, both promotion and email never happened.

When Randy referred to "redact" my number, he was actually admitting his quick finger and had gone back to his original post and gave me back my true FT handle, lin821. Hope this straight things out for you.

I am sure Randy is still too young to have Alzheimer's disease and forget about no count on OMNI post. :D:p

ps. For the record, I am joking about the forgetfulness of Randy in my last sentence.

September 2, 2008: Are We There Yet?
 

I thought Randy mentioned today is the day for relaunch of FT.

My eyesight must been getting very bad since I simply can't figure out how different FT is this morning. ;)

Have FT relaunched yet?

I don't think it's just a coincidence that FT picked the same date to relaunch! Are we going to do it like Google Chrome (having a press conference at 11:00 PDT and make the announcement)?

What time are we going to have this "event"? :)

The relaunch is actually scheduled for Sep. 4, but even that is a tentative date. Needless to say, we're going to make every effort to dot the "i"s and cross the "t"s before the upgraded version is launched.

Glad to see there's some interest though :)

Are We Going to See an Official Announcement?
 

Mikel,

That's a smart move! Not to have it on the same day as the Giant so Google won't steal all the thunder from FT! :p

You have no idea how many small talks about the relaunch have been going on among FTers! :D:D

Seriously though, is it possible to have an official announcement once the relaunch date has been finalized? I guess Randy was too excited and let the cat out of the bag too soon when he leaked the "unconfirmed" date of 9/2/08.

TIA.

Thanks for your clarifications about FlyerTalk will be relauching by tomorrow. What about FlyerTalk will have temporarily down for while, am I correct? What about official announcement for members will have brand newest feature. I'm sure Randy Petersen will requested for big annoucement by FlyerTalk. Are you absolutely sure about FlyerTalk will be changed? I think its sound of logical choice will be absolutely wonderful for me. Are you will able FlyerTalk to have temporarily down for site maintenance?

September 4, 2008: Guess Not!
 

Today is 9/4/08. I assume it's not going to happen today, right? ;)

Can we some updates on this development (another tentative date, availability of FT during relaunch transit...etc)?

TIA.

We just posted an announcement ... we'll be down pretty much all night tonight. The chat will be available for those who cannot find anything worth watching on TV :)

Couldn't wait until after the conventions? The tv is pretty slim pickings for another night or so!! ;) ... Thanks for the update. Look forward to seeing the new FT tomorrow.

First thing I noticed on the new FT is that the thread list in a forum no longer shows when a thread started :( That's a big minus as you can't tell what is new. :td::td::td:

Can we get it back please!

Seconded - I know one of the goals of the upgrade was to "de-clutter" FT, but the thread start date was important in helping one scan what was new that day as opposed to an old thread brought back to life. I already miss it a lot...

The ongoing shambles continues. :td:

I agree.

The top line of links has disappeared. (Where you used to find, "Forums", "Members", etc. with dropdown links to the FT Store & the blogs.) Will those be coming back?

The "Public Profile" pages have also changed. It seems to track visitors to your page & allows visitors to post messages. Any other new "features"?

the bar is there, it just doesn't have the links embedded anymore (it also had a "home" option)

What's with the bookmark links below the posts? if the desire was to de-clutter, I figure you'd remove not add things.

New friends features... we did have a friends list, but it was kind of limited.

I take it mobile.flyertalk is still down? Or is it just me?

Where do you post announcements? Is there an announcement of the new features?

YES please
 

Another emphatic vote of support for this. One of my biggest frustrations is clicking on a year-old thread that someone decided to resurrect for no clear reason.

The announcement was on top of every forum, where the usual place for all announcement. However, it was up less than 3 hours before the actual upgrade/relaunch happened at 8:00 pm CDT yesterday. It only specified how long the site would be down and didn't tell you anything about what features had been upgraded or improved.

Now all morning long, eager FTers have been hunting down what useful features have been imprremoved. :rolleyes:

In the name of improvement, why would we remove useful field/s or features, such as the thread start date? Please put it back!

Thanks everyone for the feedback.

Obviously, we're still working on getting the bugs worked out related to the upgrade. As some of you noticed, the main navigation menu was one of the casualties, which has now been fixed. Thread start dates are another of the items that were not intentionally discarded. The IB tech guys are currently looking into getting it reinstalled, so no need to worry that it's gone forever.

We're still planning on posting an announcement outlining the new features sometime today, but have held off a bit until the bugs are mostly worked out. Probably wouldn't do much good to point to new features that aren't working optimally yet, and our guess is that the announcement of new features prior to the correction of the bugs might not be received all that well :p

Please bear with us and we'll do our best to get everything back to normal, and then some.

May We Have a List of New FT "Improvement"?
 

Other than missing thread start date, I eyeballed a new bookmark column at the bottom.

I know IT folks are busy debugging at this very moment. Thanks for your effort.

However, is it possible for FTers to have a list of what have been changed? Even just some highlights will be fine. So us, the "involuntary debug team", know what to "test" and how to compare (b/w old & new)? Please?

ETA: Just saw Mikel's post. He and I were typing at the same time.

The previous version would only show you a PM on top of "my flyertalk" once or twice, and then it would just be noted in the unread counter in the top right. This version is keeping the PM front and center - will it ever not be displayed? I have a PM with a code so I'm leaving it 'unread' so as not to lose sight of the message in the pile of inbox messages, but I really don't want to see a reminder/the message every time I log in.

Do you know this mean from someone profiles has been changed. I think this is much better than before. I think I am really likes it lot. I am already added from profiles for my new friends. Is that brand new profile and it's looks different than before. I can became my new friends to add it up onto those lists. I will keep it up where I will adds more new friends into my profiles.

I'm not sure I understand the question, however, you might be interested in the new "Search PMs" functionality that will allow you to search your PMs by keywords and authors. When in your MyFlyerTalk section, you'll see a "Search" menu item in the left hand navigation.

Then I have to remember that part :D ... seriously, the PM message shows when it first arrives at the top of the My Flyertalk. That is how it used to work. In the past, the system figured it's shown it to you now its not "new", so it won't display it up there again the counter though still showed X unread but the block above the threads didn't display anymore. Now that block is always there.

Hope that makes more sense.


BTW - thank to HOM and IB for your time last night and whatever new functionality is now available. :)