Welcome!

[gavin]

Excellent to see you here Kev, welcome! I really hope that you will get all the help you need. I know what you mean about running fora - there has been a huge amount to learn so far. We're just about at the point where we can invite lots of people in, so well done for finding us ahead of what I hope will be a crowd. There was one other name today I didn't recognise, but apart from that the members are all a select group invited in to try it out.

One more thing to try to do first, upgrade to the latest release of vBulletin. If that goes well I'll be happy. Is your forum vB4, and if so have you mastered automatic (cron?) backups?

best wishes

Gavin

[Beer Hunter]

Gavin,

Glad to help with the beta testing
I've tried vBulletin and several others over the years, but have now settled on phpBB as it allows more customisation than most.
I still use chron jobs to backup the databases "offsite".

The best thing about vBulletin is the strong support you will receive - you pay for it after all, so don't be afraid to ask them.

ATB,
Kev.

[gavin]

Thanks Kev. Cron jobs are next on my list. At the moment I'm doing manual mysqldumps, and feel quite pleased with myself that I got them working across two servers without having to call on the teenager in his bedroom upstairs!

I'll be closing the forum for those updates in 5 min.

G.

[Beer Hunter]

Well done - the update seems to have gone perfectly
One small tip you may want to consider - you show the forum software version at the bottom - i.e. "Powered by vBulletin™ Version 4.0.2" - you may want to consider changing it to just "Powered by vBulletin™" as hackers often look for specific versions of forums with known vulnerabilities to attack. With the version number at the bottom, it becomes easy to find with Google.

Functionally and cosmetically, it looks really good though

Kev.

[gavin]

Hi Kev

Well, it worked in the end although it took me a while to realise how to make it run. I wonder if it might be better to show that the forum actually is running on the latest updates as they ought to have vulnerabilities minimised? I don't know how to make that change anyway - replacing the vBulletin logo on top with the SBA one was a major breakthrough for me.

And where did you find those smilies?! It seems rather erratic in what it offers you each time.

I should also stop displaying my own inexperience! Hackers: I very much know what I'm doing!! (I wish ... )

G.

[gavin]

Hi Kev

Are you beginning your beekeeping just from books? I did it that way in the main, but had a friend to call on too. My books were this one for the basic introduction:



And then for all the detailed stuff:

f_9781904846246..jpg

I've heard people talk highly of Dummies, but my time as a beginner was before they were invented.

G.

Ooops! That's what happens when you pinch images off the internet. Second one is Ted Hooper's Guide to Bees and Honey.

[Beer Hunter]

Gavin,

If you click the reply directly below the post or "reply to thread" at the bottom of the post then the forum gives you just the the simple quick reply box - one without most of the features.
From there you can click "go advanced" and you get all the features including the smilies. You soon learn the shorthand for them all anyway

Forum vulnerabilities seem to be as common or more common in new releases of the software. Personally I don't like to hand hackers any more information than I need to.

Thanks for the recommendation on the books - I'll order them from Amazon later tonight

I've been watching a few videos from YouTube which have been great - its amazing how much more you can pick up from seeing something done rather than just reading about it.
Lets try the forums ability to play external video:

It works

Cheers,
Kev.

[Lindsay]

Hi Gavin
Managed 1st post. Site is looking good - well done!
Not done any blogging before so it will be interesting to see what happens.

L

[GRIZZLY]

Hi Gavin,really nice to have our own forum.I'll encourage our membership to join. JOHN ADAMS. Chairman Western Galloway Beekeepers.

[gavin]

Hi John

Great to see you here and to know that our reach extends to the far SW. I had asked the SBA Area Reps to circulate the associations in their areas, but I think that Fiona may not have email. I can put you in touch with Peter Stromberg (the W Area Rep) if you like (or you can just send him a PM here), if you don't already know him. Through the year there are quite a few emails circulated via the Area Reps, so perhaps you could offer to be the email contact for the Western Galloway BKA?

Welcome aboard, and I hope that you and your colleagues enjoy your time on the forum.

best wishes

Gavin