2014 Site Upgrade

This site is over 7 years old, and is now very much due for it's third major software overhaul.

I have earmarked the June/July period for this to be done.

The software overhauls are comparable with an upgrade in computer operating systems, for example the hop from Windows 7 to 8. They ensure the ongoing operation of the site, adapting to changing trends, technologies and security issues. In keeping with the analogy of a change from Windows 7 to 8, these upgrades tend to be pretty complex and often introduce changes which take a while to get used to or which need time to be worked through. Furthermore, this site is built on various software components, modules and plugins which are written by different developers, and to get these to play along nicely with each other sometimes does not go smoothly. Have you ever changed to a new version of Windows only to discover a program which you used to use, no longer works on the new system? The same challenges are faced in these kinds of site upgrades.

No new features will be introduced with this upgrade, other than a few minor ones as well as several improvements. The look of the new site will be different, though many of the features will still look and work more or less like they do now. I have tried to simplify the layout of the new site, and we are also a step closer towards making it more tablet and mobile-friendly. I have avoided certain "bling" and fancy features in favour of a more simple, robust site that works reliably and fast, across different platforms. Once the upgrade is complete and the teething-problems are been worked through, I am considering introducing one major new feature, and will let you in on this when it actually gets that far.

I am in the process of finalising the configuration of a test site. Once this is complete, I will start building the new site and the data from this site will be moved over in stages. During the last upgrade, which took place in 2009, VE was offline for an entire week and it took many hours of work during that week to rebuild the site with all the live data. I do this entirely on my own, and in my own spare time. This time I am intending to migrate the live data over to the new site in stages as this will make it easier for me, and also because the data transfer to the new site is of a complex nature since the database schema will be different. It might also mean that the downtime of the final switch-over will be shorter.

What this means is that once the transfer has started, this current site will start shutting down over a 2-3 week period. The first stage will mean that users can no longer update their profiles. I will be able to assist with manual password resets and emergency changes on a case-by-case basis, and might also still allow for new registrations. The next stage will be the shut-down of the Gallery, followed by the Downloads section. The Forum and the Blogs will run to the end, when the entire site will be down for a bit - hopefully this will be well under a week.

I will post relevant updates to this thread to keep you in the loop.

Anticipated transition period for the site upgrade: 29 July - 7 August.
The site will be offline totally around 2-3 August.

In conjunction with the 2014 site upgrade there will be some adjustment and pruning of the category structure of the site.

These changes will be reflective of changes in emphasis and needs. Though most probably see VE as a Drakensberg site, a little-know bit of trivia is that VE was originally designed to be an agency for trips to the Himalayas. A Drakensberg forum was another idea that floated around at the same time and I decided to combine the two for the time being instead of running two separate websites. As things turned out, the emphasis on the Himalayas has been put on hold, and the Drakensberg side has grown to what it is now.

It is a definite current goal of VE to be a site which features not just the Drakensberg, but the entire Maloti-Drakensberg region as a whole. For this reason we continue to nurture a Lesotho category, even though it sees much less interest and activity. Alongside the Drakensberg and Lesotho categories, there will be a category called "Other Regions". The current Nepal and Tibet categories will be moved into this new category as sub-categories. The Magaliesberg will also be included here. And, we are introducing a new sub-category for the Wolkberg. We are doing this in recognition of the interest some have for the Wolkberg and because information is pretty scarce on it. There will also be an "Other" sub-category which caters for any mountains across the globe.

Understandably many see VE as a website on hiking in the Berg because this is the topic with the most volume. I prefer to see VE as a site which is about a passion and interest in mountains - with a special emphasis on the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains and everything that goes on there. In accordance with this, VE should be seen as an extensible site which can be adapted for the growing needs of interest in any mountainous region. If we recognise any particular region as being suitable for having its own category, the necessary adaptations can be made.

Note that only the Drakensberg and Lesotho categories are currently broken down into specific sub-categories (Caves, Peaks etc). This will not be the case for categories such as Magaliesberg, Nepal, Tibet etc due to less interest and volume of posts. In these cases everything just goes into one category for that region. Again, this can be adapted according to growing or even shrinking needs.

The security sub-category of Lesotho will be decommissioned in recognition of the fact that this topic is of very little relevance. Security issues are very relevant in the Drakensberg and along the escarpment (and are dealt with in the Drakensberg category), but not so much further inland in Lesotho.

The current "General Discussion" sub-category will be split up into three sub-categories. One is the "Other Regions >> Other" sub-category already mentioned above. Second is a category called "Mountain Sports" which deals with general topics relating to hiking, climbing, trail-running etc. The third remains a broad general category which caters for any miscellaneous topics which don’t fit into any of the others.

Most of the changes to the category structure will take place over the next 2 weeks or so before the main software upgrade takes places. Note that some of the above-mentioned changes are only applicable to the Forum but the changes will reflect in the Blogs, Gallery and Downloads too, where applicable.

Due to a heavy work-load currently, I am postponing the site upgrade which I had hoped to do this weekend. I am now hoping to start the transition on the weekend of 16-17 August, with the total shut-down taking place on the weekend of 23-24 August.

I might get as far as wrapping up the demo-site this weekend, after which I will allow a week or so for testing by other users. If anyone is interested in testing the demo site and giving feedback, just send me a PM. I am hoping in particular to get people who have iPads and Andriod based tablets to have a look at it.

So, while this typically drags on, we are getting close to the actual implementation.

The test site has been configured and this will form the blue-print for the actual site upgrade. Some testing has been done and most of the issues are being resolved. The new site is friendlier towards tablets and mobiles, though there are still some minor considerations which I may try improve on, and I may still consider setting up a totally mobile-friendly template which eliminates the need to zoom in and out while browsing. While we are essentially ready for the big upgrade, I have several other things which have a higher priority right now, and will thus only be looking at starting the transition probably on the weekend of September 27.

The site upgrade will begin within a few days. Once the transition begins users will not be able to edit their profiles or request an automated password reset until the upgrade is complete. New registrations will also be on hold during this time.

The site upgrade commenced a few days ago and hopefully went mostly unnoticed by most users so far.

The Gallery has now been shut down and the data is being moved across to the new site.

I anticipate that the upgrade will be complete in the latter half of next week, hopefully by 16 October 2014.

Several sections of the site are now offline. The entire site will probably be taken offline tomorrow evening (Sunday). If all goes smoothly it will be back online in upgraded form 24-48 hours after that. If you would like to stay in touch and be notified of updates, follow VE on Facebook and Twitter (see links at bottom of page).