Admin Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Description: There seems to be a lot of confusion over attachments and how they work so I want to explain a few things. (This document may be edited at anytime as features change). Where did the Attachments Center go? The "Attachments Center" was a custom mod that is not available on this forum software or any other that I know of. In other words, it is gone and there is currently no replacement for it. What did the Attachments Center do? The Attachments Center essentially created a searchable gallery from all of the attachments stored on the server. When you uploaded an attachment to the forum it went into an attachments folder, the Attachments Center mod displayed all the items in that folder in a large searchable gallery. Added 3/21/16: The best analogy that I can can come up with is this: The forum software is like a file cabinet where everything is categorized in it's own folder, it's easily searchable by date, poster, keywords, etc. While the Attachments Center was like laying 20 files in the file cabinet onto the floor and then allowing people to view them all at once, once they were done with the first 20 they were put back in the file cabinet, and then another 20 were taken out and so on. In both scenarios the files still reside in the File Cabinet (I.e. the forum), the only difference is the way in which you view them. Who could post to the Attachments Center? No one. The attachments center was simply a gallery of images and videos that had already been uploaded to the server via posts. There was no way to post directly to the attachments center. Think of it like a window into the attachments folder. Where did the Attachments Go? All of the attachments are still here. They are in the same place that they have always been, which is in the threads and posts that they were initially posted in. Why didn't I see the Attachments Center? The attachments center was only visible to Premium members. If you were not a Premium member the attachments center would have been completely invisible to you. Why do I see this message? If you are seeing this message it means that the system is blocking an attachment that is stored on this sever. Only Premium members and staff can see attachments, so if you see this you are not a Premium Member or staff. Why didn't I see this message or one like it before? The reason you didn't see the above message or one like it before is because the system simply hid attachments from you. If you were a Premium member the attachment showed up, if you were not a Premium member you wouldn't have known that there was an attachment included with the post. Did the rules or policy change with the new software? No. These rules have been in place for more than two years. The only reason why this is seemingly a change is because you are now presented with a message saying that there is an attachment that you can't see, when previously unless you were a Premium member you wouldn't have known that there was one. Here is the initial post from January 2014 explaining Premium Memberships: Why don't you just make the attachments invisible to non-premium members like before? Update: Attachments are once again invisible to non-Premium members. Why can I still see some images? You can still see some (a lot) of images because those images are being hosted by a third-party host, in other words they are not being stored on this server. In the above example I used imgur.com to host the image, which is why non-premium members can see it. What happened to the "Add image to post" button? The "Add image to post" button, otherwise known as the postimage.org mod, was a third party mod that enabled users to upload images directly to Postimage.Org (a third party image host), and then inserted the embed code into the post box automatically. In other words, it automated the task of having to go to a third party image host, upload your image, copy the embed code, and then paste it into the post box. The PostImage.Org mod is not available for this forum software. Update: There is apparently a mod for this software in development but it likely won't be released until April. How can I post images if I can't upload attachments? It's simple, and if you've never been a premium member it's the same as it has been for more than two years now. You just have to use a third party host such as imgur.com or anony.ws. Upload your image, copy the embed code or link, and then paste it into the post box. Are you going to replace the attachments center? Sort of? We've added a new image gallery and a new video gallery that are both huge improvements over anything that we had on the old forum. While the new galleries don't search the attachments folder, if people upload directly to the galleries (as opposed to attachments in posts) they will find that there are a lot more features and options. For instance you can create albums for different topics, If you happen to like black cats you can create an album of black cats, and then any time that someone else has a picture of a black cat they can upload it to the same album thereby creating a large album of black cats that is easy to manage and search. With the attachments center, sure several people might share an interest in black cats, but the only way to find those images was to search through hundreds or thousands of images in hopes that you might run across a few pictures of black cats, this was rather time consuming and not an efficient use of system resources. The new Galleries are professional products that are designed for their respective functions, the attachments center couldn't stream most videos and it didn't handle images very well, not to mention that it only had the ability to sort (as opposed to search which allows you to define the search terms). That being said I am actively talking to developers to see if one can be made for this software. Update: I am talking with a developer about making a custom mod for this. No promises as of yet, updates to come. What about these complaints about premium members not being able to see attachments? There was a short period of time earlier this week where premium members were blocked from seeing attachments. That issue has since been resolved. The vast majority of complaints are from people who don't know about, or don't understand the Premium Member upgrade option. How do I know if I am a Premium Member? The fist question should be "Did I pay the $12 membership fee?" If the answer is yes, then you should see "Premium Member" listed under your name when viewing your profile, you will also have a yellow Premium Member banner below your avatar when you post. I've paid but I am not listed as a Premium member? In the rare case that you've paid but your membership is not active, please PM me the e-mail address that you used to pay with, and I will activate your membership. Test: If you can see an image of a black cat you are able to see attachments. If you don't see an image below you are not able to see attachments. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snaky Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Very good admin, just explain this then. Are you saying I'm not a paid member even though it says Premium member, because the following screenshots is what I'm seeing. If so, then where did my paid membership go, because it was fine before the migration? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberball50 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Admin... add me to Snaky's question. I was a paid member, and now I am a Premium Member, I believe, but I can't see the black cat in your post above and I see a lot of the "you aren't allowed to see this attachment". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 Both of you should be fixed now. You were in both the Premium Member group and Member group which meant that you inherited both sets of permissions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubberball50 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Thank you, Admin... and it's a very pretty kitty, too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurfy08 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 I think I need to get fixed too :) I have just posted a picture (In Kami/Kristy pictures thread) and I'm not able to see it. I don't have the permissions. I don't see the black cat too. And I thought any member would be able to see my picture :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smurfy08 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Already fixed ! Our admins are amazing ! :) And the black cat is cute ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglewolf01 Posted March 14, 2016 Share Posted March 14, 2016 Dear admin I love what has been done for the new site. you and the others are doing a great job. I only have1 question. When I log off the chat it comes up saying that I was kicked out of chat. why is that ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 3 hours ago, eaglewolf01 said: Dear admin I love what has been done for the new site. you and the others are doing a great job. I only have1 question. When I log off the chat it comes up saying that I was kicked out of chat. why is that ? I am not sure. Was there an error message? Had you been in and out? Or idol for awhile? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglewolf01 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 it's every time I sine out of chat it says I just got kicked out of the chat room . when I am in there I am always chatting with every 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foamy T. Squirrel Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 2 minutes ago, eaglewolf01 said: it's every time I sine out of chat it says I just got kicked out of the chat room . when I am in there I am always chatting with every 1 I too, am "kicked" out of chat. It's an undocumented feature of the system. Pay no attention to it. We'll either fix it or I will ban myself for being a miscreant in the Chat Room! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglewolf01 Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 ok foamy ty I just thought I got in so trouble Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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