Registration will be through a system called Clerk for now. It will allow very fast sign ups and logging in through third party systems. It will help prevent spam by things like SMS / Email codes that need to be filled out when signing up. We can also have passwordless systems where you click login, get an email and click that to finish signing in. It is a much more robust system that is actually handled by a third party.
Found this out:
Yes. It is an advanced search feature. There is a button you can select to do it or (I believe) you can add “in:title” to the search query.
[quote=mrmichaelt post_id=5008716 time=1774162301 user_id=24972]For posts, can there be a button to embed videos? I saw some people still get tripped up typing in the youtube code.
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Yes. Or simply linking to a YouTube video will auto embed it. No BBCode needed.
[quote=mrmichaelt post_id=5008716 time=1774162301 user_id=24972]And when you quote someone, can there be a multi-quote button for the times when you reply to more than 1 post?
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This is actually one of the cooler features. When you want to quote someone you just select the text you want to quote, a button will appear that says Quote and it will be auto filled in the response box. So if you want to do a bunch, highlight, click quote, continue and then they will all be in the response box for you. Much easier and will prevent people from quoting a whole post and just responding with “Cool!”
Another feature I’ve been toying with is a built-in marketplace. The idea is that sellers could list and sell their own products directly on GBFans, kind of like Etsy but centralized around our community. Sellers would handle their own listings, pricing, and shipping, and buyers would get a seamless checkout experience right on the site without going anywhere else.
I think this could be especially great for the patch, pin, and small parts crowd. If you do a run of patches or custom parts, you’d have the entire GBFans audience right there instead of relying on Facebook posts or sending people to a separate shop. I’d love to eventually see a spot where you can browse hundreds of franchise patches and pins all in one place.
Every seller would go through an approval process and build a track record over time, so we can keep quality up and weed out the scammers. Sellers would get their own dashboard to manage listings, orders, and payouts.
Curious what you all think. Would you use this as a buyer or a seller? What would make or break it for you?
Any chance of getting an archive system for the news feed?
Specifically which one? RSS news or the news posts?
Probably the news posts .
Yep! Whole new news system. It will have all the old posts.
That being said, right now all the news is right here: News and Announcements - GBFans.com
A central repository, or a “one-stop shop” for store items would be potentially useful, though I suppose there would need to be some sort of clear indicator of when items are being offered directly by GBFans, and when items are being offered by forum members… One of the things I find a little frustrating about Amazon is that there isn’t an immediately obvious sign when an item is being sold by Amazon, and when an item is being sold through Amazon by an outside party.
I wonder how the forum topic tagging will be implemented… Would we have to manually type the tag name in, or would we be able to click on a button to apply the appropriate tag/s?
A minor concern I have if it is the former, is accidental tag duplication due to spelling errors.
Another minor concern is ending up with multiple tags on a similar theme due to different users using different naming conventions, like: “Tag:_PKE”, “Tag:_P.K.E.” and “Tag:_Psychokinetic_Energy_Meter”.
I would do my best to indicate that it is a third party shipping the item. Somewhat similar to how Amazon does it however. I could make it a bit more prominent.
Tags will be predefined. Admin / mods / staff can create new tags. There will also be auto tagging if topics contain certain words.
Very close to having the shop fully functional. The overall layout and design will change and improve though.
The layout will become more modern, but this is a start.
Product pages will have more information and better photos. There will also be product bundles available.
The cart page will be much more streamlined.
Checkout will be one single page with no reloads between. You now have the option to select between shipping all items together and splitting them up for faster (but more expensive) shipping. Sales tax (for Colorado only) is now properly calculated for the first time. VAT calculations have improved as well. PayPal Pay Later is now available. (Still looking into Apple Pay and Google Pay).
Discourse is being a total pain in the ass to get up and running. But once we have a stable setup it should be very good and self updating. However according to my research the transferring of data may take a week to accomplish.
Stop me if you heard this before:
Definitely looking into a supporting membership. I recently left instagram due to the rapid decline in the quality of content, and I’ve really missed being more involved in the community. Looking forward to developments here, I’d love to post my builds.
Well, that’s just forum software for you. lol.
As someone who used to run a fan site for many years (Blues Brothers Central, if anyone remembers that :lol:) I don’t envy the amount of work AJ has ahead of him! But it’s definitely a good call.
I left Facebook a few years ago and it was a huge help for my mental health, but I do have constant FOMO now that I no longer have access to the GB prop groups in there (specifically the Reference Library and Spengler’s 1984 Workbench, I couldn’t care less about all the slop and arguments posted in some of the other fan groups). And as we’ve seen in recent years, there’s a strong chance that Meta could permanently delete those groups at any time with zero reason (usually because some AI moderation tool falsely assumed it was against the rules). Imagine how many builds, discoveries, and answers to important questions will be lost if/when that happens?
I made the decision that I would exclusively post all my GB builds and any prop research I do here on GBFans. I still have Instagram and I occasionally post prop builds on there, but I always link to a GBFans build thread when I do that. I visit the forum almost daily to see what’s been posted (using the latest post boxes at the bottom of the page).
But as AJ said, it’s not very mobile friendly, so most of the time if I want to reply I have to make time to switch on my laptop so I can post comfortably using a mouse/keyboard (which sometimes means I’ll hold off for days before logging in and replying). I also seem to be logged out regularly even when I use the “Remember Me” checkbox, but with a password manager it’s not a huge hassle to log back in each time I switch devices.
Super excited to see what’s in store!
Edit: Just grabbed a basic Supporting Membership for the first time, it was painless!
The great data migration is underway. ~6 days to go! 
Just thought of something; the “keep me logged in” option doesn’t work at all as I’m always having to re-login after revisiting the page. I guess that’s something that can be fixed/added. 
Will there be a period of down time between the mitigation or will it be a seamless integration?
If I do it correctly it can be seamless. I wrote the custom phpBB to Discourse importer, it actually can run continuously to keep the Discourse site up to date. Technically you could all use the Discourse right now and it would be fine… but that would break a lot of other things not currently set up.
Import is at 4% of posts in about 7 hours. At that rate that’s 1 week just for posts not including private messages.
Edit: I just got an idea to set up multiple importers running at the same time, so we’ll see if it works any faster!
That’s odd, I have the same option checked and it usually does keep me logged in.
Do you regularly clear your computer cache/cookies?
This is an A.I.-generated summary of possible causes, so don’t take these as automatic gospel, but possibly a nudge in the right direction:
Browser and Device Settings
•Cookies are deleted automatically: Websites use cookies to remember login information. If your browser settings are configured to clear cookies and site data when you close the browser or the computer restarts, you will be logged out each time.
•Incognito/Private Browsing Mode: Login information is not saved when using a private or incognito window, forcing you to sign in for each session.
•Browser extensions or third-party software: Certain browser extensions (like ad-blockers or privacy tools), or third-party programs such as antivirus software or system cleaners (e.g., CCleaner, Avast Cleaner), can automatically delete cookies and cached data.
•Corrupt browser profile or settings: A corrupted user profile in your browser can cause various issues, including not retaining login information. Resetting browser settings or creating a new profile often resolves this.
•Outdated browser version: Using an outdated browser can lead to compatibility issues with website security and session management features.
•Incorrect system time: Incorrect date and time settings on your computer can cause authentication issues, as website security certificates and session tokens rely on accurate timekeeping.
Website Security and Design
•Session time limits: For security reasons, websites, especially those dealing with sensitive information like banking or financial apps, are designed to log users out automatically after a short period of inactivity (e.g., 15 minutes) or after a certain time limit (e.g., two weeks for social media).
•“Remember me” option not working: Some websites have poorly implemented “remember me” functionality, meaning the option may do nothing in practice. As I mentioned above, this function appears to work for me, so I don’t think it’s a problem with GBFans.
•Security protocols: Websites may log you out if they detect a change in your “fingerprint” or IP address, or if your browser’s security features don’t align with the site’s requirements.
•Server-side issues: The website’s server might drop old sessions due to memory issues, or the site itself may be experiencing a temporary problem or configuration error.
External and Network Factors
•Public or shared computers: For security reasons, you should always log out of websites on shared or public devices to prevent unauthorized access.
•Changing IP address: If your public IP address changes frequently (which can happen with some internet service providers or when using certain VPNs), websites might not recognize the session and log you out.
•Network or DNS issues: Problems with your local network, DNS server settings, or the website’s own network configuration can interfere with maintaining an active session.
•Malware or viruses: If your computer is compromised by malware or a virus (such as a keylogger or session stealer), the login credentials or session tokens could be targeted, leading to logout issues.