NOTE: Posting classifieds has been disabled as we prepare to transition to the new classifieds software.
We need a stable data set to finalize the data migration.
You can still browse, search and contact the member listing the ad.
The new classifieds have been turned up and the old classifieds hidden.
Many of you have noted issues with our classifieds software. The main issue has been with uploading photos – although there have been other issues. When putting together a site like this it takes a variety of tools and a lot of customization to make the site happen. There are 3-4 major underlying technologies that drive the site and 3-4 major software pieces that live on top of that with another half-dozen little pieces.
When doing the site transition we went with a particular classifieds package – really the only one at the time with real support for vBulletin 4. We did pay some money for this software – not much – around $50. Sadly these small website software packages come and go and mostly live as a labor of love. The piracy rate is horrendous. In our case our current classifies package has been “abandonware” for some time and has vBulletin has moved forward the package has grown a number of compatibility issues.
So we’re transitioning to a new package – one that is produced by the same vendor as our photo gallery software. It has a very similar look and feel to the photo gallery and a number of enhanced features. Given that it comes from our photo gallery software vendor it has a very strong set of features for managing images and has the same features like slideshows and lightbox displays. There is a much stronger set of features for managing ads including user controllable expirations and relistings. The software also has the ability to offer an auction format for sale – although we aren’t sure if we’re going to enable that functionality at this point or not.
To make this change and bring the ads over we’ll need a bit of a time window to convert the data. The current plan is to take the “old” classifieds offline on Tuesday 10/25 and have them back online by Friday evening 10/28.
We should be able to bring over everything including sucessfully uploaded photos. Those of you with recent ads that have had errors uploading photos will be able to add photos to your existing ads without having to relist.
There is more to come – vBulletin 4.1.7, a new review package and Wiki – all in the next few weeks.