The New SGCafe

Kenshin · 10-04-2005, 02:27 AM

First of all, my apologies. Forums took a lot a lot longer to migrate to vBulletin from Invision Board. Was expecting a few hours, ended up with 2 days straight, one day for the 700,000 posts, the other day for 20,000 attachments. On the bad hand, quite a lot of members were denied the pleasures of post spamming for the past 2 days. On the good note, it shows that we're big!

Secondly, the fact that you're reading this means you've already seen what has happened to SGAnime. Yes. SGAnime has now been changed into SGCafe. It was a move I've planned for a long time, just never gotten around actually getting it done. Below I will explain why I made the software and name changes.

Why the software change?
The software change was because we were using Invision Board v1.1, which is very outdated and has a lot of bugs, one major one being the problem with changing email addresses resulting in your account being disabled. Invision Board v2.0 costs US$185 and after some testing, didn't look good at all. vBulletin is a proven forum software and costs US$160. Security is kept up to date, features are plentyful and most of all, it has been proven to work well on large forums.

Why the name change?
SGAnime had a long history, but I find there was one limitation, the name. For as long as SGAnime was around, it has been revolving around artwork, anime, manga, cosplay. While I personally do like anime myself, the name itself limits the forum. Thus, I decided to change to SGCafe about a year back. Basically, Cafe = sit down, talk about anything under the sun until you get chased away by shop owner. Since the Internet is 24/7, so basically, talk until you can't continue.

Therefore, SGCafe will be the new name for the forums and will offer much more in terms of categories and forums. One of the newer additions would be the Mobile and Gaming sections. A couple of new forums have also been added, and we have a Chan section for sharing of jokes, flashes and other fun stuff. Time to stretch those lazy fingers of yours. (2 days of rest for most people,

)

What will happen to SGAnime?
SGAnime has not been deleted or removed. After some time, I will remove the message from SGAnime and point it back here directly (without the message). Since all the threads/posts have been moved over, I will not be allowing public access to the old forums. It will be kept for a period of time before I remove it totally. SGAnime will still remain as part of SGCafe.

==================================================

Now that I'm done with the explaination, there a few changes I need everyone to take note of. Some of which you may like, some which you might not. Regardless, please read through then decide for yourself if you still wish to continue staying.

Changes To Rules
If you have been part of SGAnime for the past few years since I took over, you should remember that there was only one important rule, "to use your common sense before doing anything in the forums". "Do not do to others what you do not wish to be done to you". This applied to both the forums as a whole, and also to individuals. I believe in freedom of speech, thus I wanted SGAnime to be an important platform for delivering your speech. You were able to post whatever you want so long as you note the general rule, any specific rules for the forum if any, and finally taking responsiblity for what you have posted.

However, with the new forums, there will be a few slight changes. Before you start thinking otherwise, my belief for freedom of speech has NOT changed. I am still going to let you members post freely, except the rules have changed a little in order to protect the forums interest as a whole. The new system works by having a general policy (think of it as a list of rules), then below that, specific rules (think of it as a sub-rule) to follow. The policy and rules will be posted again in another post, and that post will be constantly updated.

Policy
1) Refer to the rules, then use your common sense before posting at all times.
2) In event that Kenshin does not agree with your post, a new rule may be added.
3) If you cannot accept the rules and/or policy, leave the forums.

Rules
1) When posting negatively regarding another person, fact or fiction, all posts should not have reference to any innocent parties who are not involved, which includes but is not limited to the person's family, friends and relatives.
*Simplified* Do not mention anyone else who isn't involved, in your post.

Sounds like a dictatorship? You bet, since after all it means that if I don't agree with your post, I can keep adding rules. But thankfully, I think I have enough common sense not to start adding rules because I disagree with you saying something "I personally don't like", but more towards a general consensus of what "should not be said". Basically you just have to trust me not to enforce the policy due to very personal reasons. As demonstrated in the first rule, I think my rules are reasonable. If you've seen how I run the forums for the past few years, you'll know I'm "generally" very reasonable.

The policy/rule changes were implemented because I found it too time consuming to deal with people who insist that "common sense" should be specific to a person's judgement. I don't believe that, period. Common sense should be what it means, "common". If most people don't believe that is the right way, it shouldn't be. If "common sense" is always "do whatever I think is right", without considering a general consensus, then it's not common sense in my opinion. I'm looking at "common sense" on a large perspective, not to do things which most people disagree with, whether morally or socially. Do you go out in the middle of Raffles Place and scream "XXX's mother is a YYY?". I don't think so, and if you think it's justified by YOUR common sense, I can show you a lot of others who think otherwise.

Therefore, if I feel the way you're thinking (a.k.a. YOUR common sense) is wrong, I'll make a rule throughout the whole forum to correct it. If the rule affects you, you can choose to accept it as a forum rule (it's no longer about your common sense, since the rules comes before common sense), or leave the forum since you refuse to abide by it. I think this is the only fair way to keep most people happy, including myself.

So before you proceed with the forums, please keep this in mind. If you do not agree with this, please turn around, don't look back and leave. I will not stop you, neither will I attempt to change your mind. If you think you're already on my blackmark list (if you are, you're also probably on a lot of other peoples'), start keeping to the rules and live in harmony with everyone else, or leave before things get messy. I can and will make your life hell if you make mine or anyone else's life hell. Don't do to others what you don't want to be done to you.

==================================================

Now that I have my rules laid down and you're still reading, lets get back to the changes which have taken place since the migration. I will touch on the general changes, then more specific forum changes.

Timezone
This only affects users which are not in Singapore (GMT +0800). All user timezones have been reset to SGT (Singapore Time). If you are not in Singapore's timezone, please change it via your user control panel or else the post times will look weird to you.

User Options
Options for browsing the forums, PM and email options, have all been reset. You can update your options via the User CP link after logging in. I suggest you do that immediately after reading this post. There is also a Black style that you might want to change into if you don't like bright white colours.

Email Address
For your own sakes (and mine), please make sure your email address is correct. Now is a good time to check and change it as necessary.

Avatars / Signatures
All old avatars have been removed. I was not able to successfully move them over unfortunately. You will need to get them set again. Some members will find that their signatures don't work anymore. You will need to edit them and change them such that they work on vBulletin. The editing features for signatures should help you.

Attachments
You can now attach an unlimited number of files per post. Please use this to your advantage since you were previously only able to attach one. Please attach anything as far as possible. After going through the forums, I find that a lot of threads are "useless" because they all reference to a link which is no longer reachable. There is plenty of space in the server, so just go ahead and attach everything.

Editing Posts
Previously, edits will cause you to have a nice "Edited by XXX" line added to the post. For now, as long as you edit within 5 minutes, it won't be added.

Custom Titles
I have yet to figure out the titles system, so everyone will be a Registered member for now. Give me some time and I should be able to get the system running properly. High post count members will also be given custom title privilages.

Gallery
Gallery is temporarily disabled as I need to do quite a bit of work in order to fix it. I will update the status accordingly.

Banner Design
I will organise a banner design competition sometime later. Meanwhile, you can start sourcing for images or even start designing some that feature SGCafe, not SGAnime anymore.

==================================================

That's all I have to update for now. If there is anything else, I will post in this thread. If you want to discuss something regarding whatever I posted, discuss with me via PM. This thread is off-discussion. I will hold a more general discussion on feedback after some time when everything has been settled down. Meanwhile, enjoy the new forums, exercise your fingers and have a great time!

Kenshin · 10-04-2005, 07:58 PM

Update 10th April 2005, 2040hrs

Avatars have been fixed. Update your avatars via User CP.
Signatures NEED to be fixed. <span> tags are no longer supported. Use the relevant vBulletin tags. If you link any image from the gallery, remove it first until the gallery has been fixed. The gallery URL might differ slightly too.
Make sure you check whether your Private Message settings are enabled or disabled.
Quick reply is automated, no longer need to click the bottom right button of a post. Editing functions are also added for Quick Reply. If you like a plain Quick Reply, edit your Options in User CP.
Kilvear has volunteered to sort out the Archive for SGGaming.
Added a Help & Feedback forum. Post your questions or feedback regarding the forums there.

I'm still making a lot of changes here and there to the forums. If you want something changed, post there and I'll try to get it done if it makes sense.

Kenshin · 10-04-2005, 09:57 PM

Update 10th April 2005, 2145hrs

Skins have changed a little. If you don't like the left column style, try the new vertical style. It will solve the problem for long usernames and large signatures.
65 smilies added
New section, SGPC for computer hardware/software/networking discussion

Kenshin · 10-04-2005, 10:24 PM

Update 10th April 2005, 2145hrs
User Titles
I have updated the user titles as follows:

0 : New Member
1 : One Post Member
2-99 : Member
100-999 : Senior Member
1000-4999 : Post-Crazy Member
5000-9999 : Elite Member
10000 or more : Member Equipped With Machine Gun For Posting And Can Have Custom Title!

For users with 10,000 or more posts, you can change your user title! To do this, go to your User CP, under Edit Profile. That's your reward for post spamming.

I seriously suggest you change your title unless you like the long default one I made.

If you don't see the option (for people who just reached 10,000 posts), try again in another hour. The system runs an hourly check for the "promotion".

Kenshin · 10-04-2005, 10:45 PM

Update 10th April 2005, 2230hrs

Important update!!! User options have been reset since there are a lot of inconsistencies in viewing images, attachments and PMs. I have reset all the options. Please check your options in the User CP again ASAP!

Kenshin · 11-04-2005, 01:34 AM

Update 11th April 2005, 0130hrs

The stick out tongue smilie has been changed from : + p to ; + p. This is so not to screw up the other :pxxx: smilies.
vBulletin doesn't support specific forum settings for sort order, so you will notice that forums such as Artwork Posting will be sorted based on last update. To sort by thread start date, use the "Thread Start" sort option in the header of the thread list.
Try to keep signature images within 450 pixels in width to avoid the width of the frame from being oversize. (This is not a rule)

Kenshin · 11-04-2005, 01:32 PM

Update 11th April 2005, 0130hrs

Smilies added to Quick Reply
Gallery put back online

Kenshin · 11-04-2005, 08:43 PM

Update 11th April 2005, 2030hrs

Added : lol : smilie
You can let me know if you miss any of the old smilies or want any particular new ones. Best if they are available as a pack of smilies.

Kenshin · 15-04-2005, 01:27 PM

Update 15th April 2005, 1320hrs

Old InvisionBoard smilies brought back as default smiles!
Emotikons smilies removed
Added a few new smilies

10-04-2005, 02:27 AM	#1
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	The New SGCafe First of all, my apologies. Forums took a lot a lot longer to migrate to vBulletin from Invision Board. Was expecting a few hours, ended up with 2 days straight, one day for the 700,000 posts, the other day for 20,000 attachments. On the bad hand, quite a lot of members were denied the pleasures of post spamming for the past 2 days. On the good note, it shows that we're big! Secondly, the fact that you're reading this means you've already seen what has happened to SGAnime. Yes. SGAnime has now been changed into SGCafe. It was a move I've planned for a long time, just never gotten around actually getting it done. Below I will explain why I made the software and name changes. Why the software change? The software change was because we were using Invision Board v1.1, which is very outdated and has a lot of bugs, one major one being the problem with changing email addresses resulting in your account being disabled. Invision Board v2.0 costs US$185 and after some testing, didn't look good at all. vBulletin is a proven forum software and costs US$160. Security is kept up to date, features are plentyful and most of all, it has been proven to work well on large forums. Why the name change? SGAnime had a long history, but I find there was one limitation, the name. For as long as SGAnime was around, it has been revolving around artwork, anime, manga, cosplay. While I personally do like anime myself, the name itself limits the forum. Thus, I decided to change to SGCafe about a year back. Basically, Cafe = sit down, talk about anything under the sun until you get chased away by shop owner. Since the Internet is 24/7, so basically, talk until you can't continue. Therefore, SGCafe will be the new name for the forums and will offer much more in terms of categories and forums. One of the newer additions would be the Mobile and Gaming sections. A couple of new forums have also been added, and we have a Chan section for sharing of jokes, flashes and other fun stuff. Time to stretch those lazy fingers of yours. (2 days of rest for most people, ) What will happen to SGAnime? SGAnime has not been deleted or removed. After some time, I will remove the message from SGAnime and point it back here directly (without the message). Since all the threads/posts have been moved over, I will not be allowing public access to the old forums. It will be kept for a period of time before I remove it totally. SGAnime will still remain as part of SGCafe. ================================================== Now that I'm done with the explaination, there a few changes I need everyone to take note of. Some of which you may like, some which you might not. Regardless, please read through then decide for yourself if you still wish to continue staying. Changes To Rules If you have been part of SGAnime for the past few years since I took over, you should remember that there was only one important rule, "to use your common sense before doing anything in the forums". "Do not do to others what you do not wish to be done to you". This applied to both the forums as a whole, and also to individuals. I believe in freedom of speech, thus I wanted SGAnime to be an important platform for delivering your speech. You were able to post whatever you want so long as you note the general rule, any specific rules for the forum if any, and finally taking responsiblity for what you have posted. However, with the new forums, there will be a few slight changes. Before you start thinking otherwise, my belief for freedom of speech has NOT changed. I am still going to let you members post freely, except the rules have changed a little in order to protect the forums interest as a whole. The new system works by having a general policy (think of it as a list of rules), then below that, specific rules (think of it as a sub-rule) to follow. The policy and rules will be posted again in another post, and that post will be constantly updated. Policy 1) Refer to the rules, then use your common sense before posting at all times. 2) In event that Kenshin does not agree with your post, a new rule may be added. 3) If you cannot accept the rules and/or policy, leave the forums. Rules 1) When posting negatively regarding another person, fact or fiction, all posts should not have reference to any innocent parties who are not involved, which includes but is not limited to the person's family, friends and relatives. Simplified Do not mention anyone else who isn't involved, in your post. Sounds like a dictatorship? You bet, since after all it means that if I don't agree with your post, I can keep adding rules. But thankfully, I think I have enough common sense not to start adding rules because I disagree with you saying something "I personally don't like", but more towards a general consensus of what "should not be said". Basically you just have to trust me not to enforce the policy due to very personal reasons. As demonstrated in the first rule, I think my rules are reasonable. If you've seen how I run the forums for the past few years, you'll know I'm "generally" very reasonable. The policy/rule changes were implemented because I found it too time consuming to deal with people who insist that "common sense" should be specific to a person's judgement. I don't believe that, period. Common sense should be what it means, "common". If most people don't believe that is the right way, it shouldn't be. If "common sense" is always "do whatever I think is right", without considering a general consensus, then it's not common sense in my opinion. I'm looking at "common sense" on a large perspective, not to do things which most people disagree with, whether morally or socially. Do you go out in the middle of Raffles Place and scream "XXX's mother is a YYY?". I don't think so, and if you think it's justified by YOUR common sense, I can show you a lot of others who think otherwise. Therefore, if I feel the way you're thinking (a.k.a. YOUR common sense) is wrong, I'll make a rule throughout the whole forum to correct it. If the rule affects you, you can choose to accept it as a forum rule (it's no longer about your common sense, since the rules comes before common sense), or leave the forum since you refuse to abide by it. I think this is the only fair way to keep most people happy, including myself. So before you proceed with the forums, please keep this in mind. If you do not agree with this, please turn around, don't look back and leave. I will not stop you, neither will I attempt to change your mind. If you think you're already on my blackmark list (if you are, you're also probably on a lot of other peoples'), start keeping to the rules and live in harmony with everyone else, or leave before things get messy. I can and will make your life hell if you make mine or anyone else's life hell. Don't do to others what you don't want to be done to you. ================================================== Now that I have my rules laid down and you're still reading, lets get back to the changes which have taken place since the migration. I will touch on the general changes, then more specific forum changes. Timezone This only affects users which are not in Singapore (GMT +0800). All user timezones have been reset to SGT (Singapore Time). If you are not in Singapore's timezone, please change it via your user control panel or else the post times will look weird to you. User Options Options for browsing the forums, PM and email options, have all been reset. You can update your options via the User CP link after logging in. I suggest you do that immediately after reading this post. There is also a Black style that you might want to change into if you don't like bright white colours. Email Address For your own sakes (and mine), please make sure your email address is correct. Now is a good time to check and change it as necessary. Avatars / Signatures All old avatars have been removed. I was not able to successfully move them over unfortunately. You will need to get them set again. Some members will find that their signatures don't work anymore. You will need to edit them and change them such that they work on vBulletin. The editing features for signatures should help you. Attachments You can now attach an unlimited number of files per post. Please use this to your advantage since you were previously only able to attach one. Please attach anything as far as possible. After going through the forums, I find that a lot of threads are "useless" because they all reference to a link which is no longer reachable. There is plenty of space in the server, so just go ahead and attach everything. Editing Posts Previously, edits will cause you to have a nice "Edited by XXX" line added to the post. For now, as long as you edit within 5 minutes, it won't be added. Custom Titles I have yet to figure out the titles system, so everyone will be a Registered member for now. Give me some time and I should be able to get the system running properly. High post count members will also be given custom title privilages. Gallery Gallery is temporarily disabled as I need to do quite a bit of work in order to fix it. I will update the status accordingly. Banner Design I will organise a banner design competition sometime later. Meanwhile, you can start sourcing for images or even start designing some that feature SGCafe, not SGAnime anymore. ================================================== That's all I have to update for now. If there is anything else, I will post in this thread. If you want to discuss something regarding whatever I posted, discuss with me via PM. This thread is off-discussion. I will hold a more general discussion on feedback after some time when everything has been settled down. Meanwhile, enjoy the new forums, exercise your fingers and have a great time! __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

10-04-2005, 07:58 PM	#2
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 10th April 2005, 2040hrs Avatars have been fixed. Update your avatars via User CP. Signatures NEED to be fixed. <span> tags are no longer supported. Use the relevant vBulletin tags. If you link any image from the gallery, remove it first until the gallery has been fixed. The gallery URL might differ slightly too. Make sure you check whether your Private Message settings are enabled or disabled. Quick reply is automated, no longer need to click the bottom right button of a post. Editing functions are also added for Quick Reply. If you like a plain Quick Reply, edit your Options in User CP. Kilvear has volunteered to sort out the Archive for SGGaming. Added a Help & Feedback forum. Post your questions or feedback regarding the forums there. I'm still making a lot of changes here and there to the forums. If you want something changed, post there and I'll try to get it done if it makes sense. __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

10-04-2005, 09:57 PM	#3
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 10th April 2005, 2145hrs Skins have changed a little. If you don't like the left column style, try the new vertical style. It will solve the problem for long usernames and large signatures. 65 smilies added New section, SGPC for computer hardware/software/networking discussion __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

10-04-2005, 10:24 PM	#4
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 10th April 2005, 2145hrs User Titles I have updated the user titles as follows: 0 : New Member 1 : One Post Member 2-99 : Member 100-999 : Senior Member 1000-4999 : Post-Crazy Member 5000-9999 : Elite Member 10000 or more : Member Equipped With Machine Gun For Posting And Can Have Custom Title! For users with 10,000 or more posts, you can change your user title! To do this, go to your User CP, under Edit Profile. That's your reward for post spamming. I seriously suggest you change your title unless you like the long default one I made. If you don't see the option (for people who just reached 10,000 posts), try again in another hour. The system runs an hourly check for the "promotion". __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

10-04-2005, 10:45 PM	#5
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 10th April 2005, 2230hrs Important update!!! User options have been reset since there are a lot of inconsistencies in viewing images, attachments and PMs. I have reset all the options. Please check your options in the User CP again ASAP! __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

11-04-2005, 01:34 AM	#6
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 11th April 2005, 0130hrs The stick out tongue smilie has been changed from : + p to ; + p. This is so not to screw up the other :pxxx: smilies. vBulletin doesn't support specific forum settings for sort order, so you will notice that forums such as Artwork Posting will be sorted based on last update. To sort by thread start date, use the "Thread Start" sort option in the header of the thread list. Try to keep signature images within 450 pixels in width to avoid the width of the frame from being oversize. (This is not a rule) __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

11-04-2005, 01:32 PM	#7
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 11th April 2005, 0130hrs Smilies added to Quick Reply Gallery put back online __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

11-04-2005, 08:43 PM	#8
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 11th April 2005, 2030hrs Added : lol : smilie You can let me know if you miss any of the old smilies or want any particular new ones. Best if they are available as a pack of smilies. __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

15-04-2005, 01:27 PM	#9
Kenshin Administrator Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 852	Update 15th April 2005, 1320hrs Old InvisionBoard smilies brought back as default smiles! Emotikons smilies removed Added a few new smilies __________________ Rurouni Kenshin

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