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North Bank 7:47 Tue Oct 31
Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

If it's wiping knob on screen, save your breath as I've done that repeatedly and it hasn't worked. That said I need some advice on moving the website to a different platform as Site Admin has gone off the grid and if we don't take this measure the future of WHO may be about as bright as Millwall.

Anyway if any of you cunts know your stuff can you WHOmail me

defjam 4:28 Thu Nov 2
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

TMTY - AG!

Too Much Too Young 9:12 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

If the WHO clock is scraped, it could rip a hole in space time. Be careful.

Stubbo 8:41 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

Seems to me 'someone' just has to get on with it and do it, and assume zero back end access, given no one seems to really be on the ball beyond just about keeping the lights on.

I'll try a scraper and see what kind of files I might be able to produce.

Agent Scud 5:23 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

I offered countless times over the years to sort the site out and didn't even get a response.

It's only a matter of time before this site dies considering the age of it all.

Hello Mrs. Jones 5:06 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

Having read all the less than helpful advice, I suggest you unzip and get it out.

Bouncing Ludo 4:16 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

I'm happy to help as I have written/run a few websites, but probably not with the amount of traffic we have here.

Knowing what info we have access to from the back end is key to how/if we migrate, or whether we start afresh with a blank site - it's possible that usernames could easily be scraped, but assigning those usernames to the correct people might be problematic - we might have to rely on people making sure their email addresses are up to date in their profiles, which is not going to be easy for those irregular visitors.

WorldCupWilly 2:35 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

When it scrapes the usernames from the threads it will scrape their profile as well. You might be able to get users to put something at the beginning of their profile to claim their username and extract that from their scraped profile HTML page

Stubbo 2:08 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

Logical steps for me are:

- Scrape the threads.
- Scrape Usernames from the Threads
- Establish a new platform
- Create users from usernames with Generic passwords (not publicised)
- Import threads attributed to users
- Create thread on the current platform for people to claim a username (by Whomail) by a certain date
- Assign usernames to those claiming them (emails/passwords)
- Import thread deltas from intervening period
- Open new registrations/launch new site/close old site

Can't see a way Whomails get saved though, unless there is access to a back end database to retrieve them from (in which case all this could be done by DB export instead of scraping).

Anyway, that's steps as I see it.

WorldCupWilly 12:23 Wed Nov 1
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

As Stubbo says - use a webscraper that will get everything that can be accessed by following all the links.

A good one is HTTrack - https://www.httrack.com/

Download it and point it to the site and it will download everything it can find to your PC. Upload that somewhere else and that could then be the online archive of this site and you set up on a new platform going forward.

I have no idea how you would migrate the users or get their whomails.

Beware if you set something up and everyone has to register. Fighting Cock had to do that many years ago and loads of us registered on there when they opened it up to anyone. Before that you had to be verified somehow.

Stubbo 10:19 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

Northbank

In terms of migrating threads, we could probably use some kind of front end webscraper to get the public content.

Attributing to existing users and moving the users across would I suspect be the biggest challenge, as well as enabling users to migrate their WhoMails or claim usernames.

Side of Ham 10:13 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

It’s all going to go South Bank for you son…..

Stubbo 9:58 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

Do we know what technology/script/platform the current forum is based on? Do we have any level of keys to the kingdom to perform a database extract?

Lee Trundle 9:55 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

yngwies Cat 8:06 Tue Oct 31
"Will it fix the clock?"

I'll die a happy man, if that ever happens.

charleyfarley 9:44 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

Hi North hope you are ok mate, there were a number of people on here who said they would be able to help, so I'm sure they will pop up . Good Luck charley

yngwies Cat 8:06 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

Will it fix the clock?

North Bank 8:05 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

That's the plan LJC the main issue will be moving the database and the threads from that last month or two onto a new platform, if indeed possible.

Above all else though is that WHO must retain it's identity

LJC 8:02 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

A old football forum I know just set up a whole new site, put up a sticky and most migrated. Might be worth getting some added gimmicks to pick up a bit of traffic, articles, breaking new ticker…

Coffee 7:52 Tue Oct 31
Re: Any software nerds on here that can give me some advice?

No idea what the answer is, but excellent to read this. There's life in the old bird yet.

Good luck, Banko.