+- National Dream Center (https://nationaldreamcenter.com/forum18)
+-- Forum: NDC's Core Content (https://nationaldreamcenter.com/forum18/forumdisplay.php?fid=46)
+--- Forum: Blog (https://nationaldreamcenter.com/forum18/forumdisplay.php?fid=47)
+--- Thread: What a bummer...But something feels GREAT! (/showthread.php?tid=17450)
What a bummer...But something feels GREAT! - Eagle1 - 05-24-2015
Well, I guess this makes our first blog post in the new Gemini twin site. I just got finished deleting about 400 old blog posts from a blogging sub-forum that was going to house all the imported posts from our old Wordpress site.
I know that what I'm about to say might sound like heresy to many people, but after spending completely wasting my evening muddling through the ugliest and dirtiest database I've ever seen (yep, that's Wordpress for ya), I just wanted to say that I AM SO GLAD TO HAVE GOTTEN OUT OF WORDPRESS!!
There I said it, and it feels so good!
Not that MyBB or any time forum software is anything to throw roses at, what we have here can at least meet all of our needs as we enter into our second year at the NDC. Honestly, I actually can't believe it's ONLY been one year. I look back at all the articles, project, and dream predictions, and I'm just flabbergasted that we've only been doing this for just over one year. It seems like eons ago that George and Grady were cordially handing me the software files for their nostracodeus program (www.nostracodeus.com). And since then we've learned a lot and have grown the operations tremendously.
Of course, there are literally miles to still go. I know that others are like me, in that we aren't anywhere close to being fully satisfied with how much we've extracted from precognitive dreams, dream linguistics, and the development of our intuition. We have a long way to go, but at the same time we should be very proud of how far we've come together. It's been quite a ride, and I'm looking forward to getting kickstarted again after the upcoming IASD conference in early June.
Well, its getting late for me and I'm exhausted from trying to stare at this old computer screen literally all day long. I think if I had any hair right now, I would have pulled it out today! Not to worry though because something really special is in the air. I really don't know how to explain it but despite all the problems and tension over the past several months trying to get this site up and running (only to have the paid developer walk out just before finishing), there's one big sense of RELIEF! There's a weight that fell off my shoulders for some strange reason. Maybe because I don't have to mess with Wordpress anymore. Maybe it's because I don't have to worry about all the thousands of users trying to get acquainted (or accustomed to) with yet another platform that doesn't quite meet our needs
Yeah, I think that's what it is. It is literally HARD to get away from this forum because of the capabilities it has. Moving back to a completely-Wordpress site I think would have been a complete disaster because we would have lost a ton of administrative capabilities.
So, although this isn't perfect, nothing is except the ineffable NOW. Can't wait to zone out to nothingness as I lay my heavy bald head down on the pillow and veg on pure awareness.
....and my eyes will thank me.
_______________________
Now that I read back on my thoughts here, I never really explained what happened to the old blog posts! I actually had successfully imported at least 400 blog posts and pages, but as I was opening them to verify that they looked okay, THEY WEREN'T! In most posts, there was at best about 2 sentences and the rest of the blog was truncated. The main problem goes back to the Wordpress database, where all the old blog entries were riddled with all sorts of garbage. I mean, the posts look so horrible in excel, that I didn't have a good feeling about it well before I started importing. I didn't know just how bad it was until I started reading the imported threads. So, we'll keep the old site up and running, obviously because those posts are really valuable. Someday they will be transported to a better home, but at least we have a place to see them. The old site isn't going anywhere, despite how much I loathe Wordpress.
Welcome to the next Blog section. I look forward to writing a little and also finding other decent bloggers to really put some meat into this forum. Everyone be well and we'll see ya tomorrow...
Oops, one more thing. Be sure to check out the new Home page and let me know what you think. www.nationaldreamcenter.com
RE: What a bummer...But something feels GREAT! - *AD - 05-25-2015
Awesome Chief. Congrats on ALL of your efforts with this project. I bookmarked the new site but wonder
if this forum will just convert over to the new format. OR
will it stay the same?
I have developed a neural-network for this one= need to get 'used' to the new one.
No problem.
Slick..... love the red button to click on for dreams.... GREAT idea!!!
RE: What a bummer...But something feels GREAT! - Eagle1 - 05-25-2015
Hey, AD! Thanks for the comment, and I have good news for all. The front page was developed for several reasons:
- makes it easier to find stuff for people who have no clue about forum software (seems to be a large sector of web traffic)
- A SUPER fast page that people will see when they first come to the site. According to George, this will make or break a site, and our old blog page was extremely slow despite the optimization that we did. The would-have-been new site was EVEN SLOWER and became just one of the reasons I decided to go it alone.
No, the back end forum will not look like the drudge-type front page. The front page has it's specific utility as a fast, sleek front page, but most of the adept forum users have no need to ever go there. As you can tell, I made the forum look like the front page, and until we upgrade the mybb software, no one has to learn anything new about how this forum works EXCEPT:
Everyone should realize that our entire website is this forum package. ALL the old dreams are now located here as a sub-forum of the Public Dreams (and linked http://nationaldreamcenter.com/forum18/forumdisplay.php?fid=49 ). Therefore, you can do all your searching here (except for all the old blogs, which I was unable to bring over.)
So, THIS IS IT! Take some time to go out into the forum index and see how it's changed. I'm basically trying to morph the old forum into a more traditional website (that was the main reason for the new header menu, by the way). Notice how you can't search anymore without pressing search ON THE NEW GRAY MENU BAR).
Bottom line: There are now ONLY TWO basic sections of the site: A single html front page that shows the summary of what's happening over here (the second part of the website). Only ONE login section now! Yoo hoo!
RE: What a bummer...But something feels GREAT! - Nanny - 05-25-2015
I just deleted a post of mine with truly, one of the most ignorant internet questions I have ever asked! LOL....I see that in my "favorites" list on this machine that I have been accessing NDC directly to the Forum for months. Ahem....
I had ignored the front page and uh....your blogs!
Onward I go....thruuuu the fog.
PS, mega-ditto I luv this place, the front page that I can send folks to, and the forum is so complete now.
Yep, ya did it.
thanks~
RE: What a bummer...But something feels GREAT! - Eagle1 - 05-26-2015
Nanny, no sweat....I just created that new front page this week because the developer on the other would-be site fell through. I actually like the new one better anyway. A lot lighter and faster.
Super important to note that some people might actually elect to just stay here in the forum, and if they do so, they won't miss a thing because the forum is the engine for everything else. Notice how the new Blog is here, all the dreams, bot runs, etc.
There will be more add-ons as we go...one step at a time. If you're one who uses "View Today's Posts," then you'll be just fine. The front page is nothing more than a regurgitation of the latest stuff from the forum. BUT it's a different display that I hope people will like better than having to learn how to navigate our forum. Put simply, the new front page is just a different way to display the most current stuff.
One thing of note: The RSS feeds aren't real-time unfortunately. If you start a new thread in one of the source forums, it may not show up on the front page for another hour. So its not really a great place to be if you're wanting to be updated instantaneously.
The best way to get immediate updates is to subscribe to the specific threads you're interested in. That link is at the bottom of every forum thread. It says, "Subscribe to thread."
RE: What a bummer...But something feels GREAT! - Nanny - 05-26-2015
I think I said this here already....but where?
Pavlovian rule can work wonderfully with the new Front Page looking like www.drudgereport.com! I am happy-feet about this. Drudge makes the news, so say even some that were jealous of him years ago/MSM. I think folks finding it can feel good about reading it, and some of them not even realize why.
Yes, I use "View today's Posts" or the "New Posts" portal, but oh do I now know to pay attention to if the post is in a private section. I do, and still use those.
I do need to remember about thread subscription.
Thank you for the beautiful platform here, and for sharing your Grand Experiment.