# BackYard Chickens Conversion Progress, Updates, & Discussion Thread



## Nifty

This thread is for updates regarding the BYC conversion. Please subscribe (watch thread) to this thread if you want to be kept updated with official information:

 

BYC is moving to a new server and software. The site will initially be down for a bit and then in "read only" mode for potentially a few days.

FYI: The new "Chickens" section will be for peeps to ask chicken questions while BYC is in transition.


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## Nifty

We're targeting the conversion to start on Tuesday morning around 9 AM PST.


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## Nifty

We're expecting BYC to be down for an hour (or maybe more) while we pack up all the data. Unfortunately this can't happen while the site is live... it would be like trying to sharpen your lawnmower's blade while it's running 

After that, the old site will be put back up in a "read-only" state while we work on importing all the tons of data into the new platform. This is a LONG process and could take a few days.

*Here's an example of all the data we need to move:*

Almost half a million members, all their subscriptions, info, etc.
Over a million threads / topics
Almost 18 million posts
About 20,000 articles
Millions of private messages / conversations
Millions of uploaded images and files
... and a ton more stuff!


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## Nifty

Ok, BYC is now "down" while we take all the tons of data, compress it, and send it to our new servers! It's very hard to know exactly how long this will take, but I'll keep you posted!

Once that process is done, we'll bring the old site up in "read only" mode. We're doing this because anything posted to the old site after this point would NOT be transferred over.


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## Nifty

WOOT! We've backedup all the data and are sending it over to the new server!

The "old" version of BYC is back up, but in "read-only" mode. We did this because anything posted to the old system wouldn't be carried over to the new system from that point on.


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## Nifty

A quick update: Things are progressing slowly but surely. We have pretty beefy servers that are working hard to import everything... but there's a LOT of stuff to import! They say "Rome wasn't built in a day"... well, Rome would be even harder (and take longer) to disassemble and move across the world 

Please do keep in mind this will be a very lengthy process. We're expecting at least a couple of days until the new site is ready.


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## Nifty

The conversion scripts are chugging right along!

Right now we're importing hundreds of thousands of your avatars!


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## Nifty

Well, no news is good news, right?

The process is still going... very slowly, but still going.

Fortunately no errors or problems that we've seen so far!


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## Nifty

Ok, it's 2 am my time and I'm turning over the controls for the conversion to one of my developers in Europe!

Things are progressing slowly but surely.


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## Nifty

Nothing exciting to report. Things are still progressing. Thanks for your patience!


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## Nifty

Ok, here's a fun teaser for y'all of just some of the fun stuff we're adding 

(because you guys "like" so much)


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## Nifty

All Private Messages (conversations) have been converted over!!! 

BTW, on a separate note: BYC will be on totally separate servers from BYH and the other "sister sites". BYC is a beast, so it will be running completely independent of the other sites and will be spread between multiple servers.


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## Nifty

Wow, the data is loading SUPER slowly, but it's coming along!

For fun, here's a sneak peak. This is the very first public thread ever posted on BYC back on January 11, 2007!

This is what it looks like on the new BYC!


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## Nifty

The import of the 20 million posts is taking WAY longer than we expected. We're doing all we can to speed up the process.

Believe me, I'm definitely more frustrated about this than anyone.


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## Nifty

Ok, I've just added a 3rd server to hopefully speed up the process. Wish us luck!


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## Nifty

Ok, it took a few guys and a handful of hours, but we've got the new server setup and the conversion of the data is going much faster!!! 

It's still too early to say when we'll be back up, especially because we still have a lot of data to process, but I'm feeling much more optimistic about the timeframe now than I was last night at 3 am!


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## Nifty

3:30 AM... am I up late or am I up early? 

Some great news: We've just now finishes processing all  20(ish) million of your posts!!!!

Now onto articles and more images!


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## Nifty

*Here's all the stuff we've imported so far:*

user groups
custom user fields
users
user titles
user avatars (this was a LONG one)
private messages
profile comments
forums
forum subscriptions
threads and posts (this was a LONG one)
polls
likes
articles
tags
seller feedback / ratings
user follower / following
PHEW!   

*Still lots to do, but the big ones are:*

User albums / galleries
Product & breed reviews
Tons of other misc. import items

Configure all usergroup settings
Configure and test about 200 other items
... and a bunch of other housekeeping, testing, tweaking


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## Nifty

OOhhhh... look at all the pretty pictures coming in!!!


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## Nifty

Ok, some good news and "other" news:

We've made amazing progress. How's the homepage looking???





So, the "good news" is that we've got almost all the data imported! Still a bunch of tweaking to do, but I'm really happy with how it's turning out!

The "other news": You people have posted a LOT of pictures over the last 10 years. So many that it's going to take many many days to import them all!

Well, I know that wouldn't do, so I've been working with our team and have come up with a compromise:

We're going to try to open the forum ASAP but the "Galleries / Albums" wont' be available until the import is complete. You'll still be able to upload pictures to posts, PM's (conversations), etc., but just not to "Galleries" until the import is all done.

Thanks for your patience as we do the best job we can!


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## Nifty

... and here's a view of the mobile slide-in menu:


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## Nifty

We hit some big snags, but we're pushing ahead.

Articles should be cleaned up and fixed by tomorrow.
Product reviews / ratings should also be fixed by tomorrow
Galleries / Albums are a nightmare. We have all the data, but importing it is taking forever, so that might need to wait a bit before we can make those live.
So, if all goes well, y'all can get access to the new site sometime tomorrow!


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## Nifty

Sorry it's taking so long. We hit even more bugs and issues.

We're really doing all we can to get things converted over and setup just right. My todo list is hundreds of rows in an excel file... and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

Hopefully tomorrow!


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## Nifty

Ok, who wants to come take a peek before we bust this thing wide open!?!?!



There's still a lot to cleanup, so be patient with us. In fact, don't try the new site unless you promise to be nice! 

You can login to the new site at the link below. If you are unable to get it, do the following:

Try clearing your browser's cache
If you get a error about your password, try resetting it
If you still get stuck, send me a PM here with: Your username, your email address you used to signup on BYC, and the exact message you get when you try to login.
Ok... you ready!?!!?

http://209.222.104.187/


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## Nifty

We're hoping to make the switch tomorrow around 11 am PST!

Before we do so, we suggest you login to the new site and read this post: http://209.222.104.187/threads/welcome-to-the-new-byc.1173244/page-57#post-18464985


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## Nifty

About to say goodbye to the old place. Check all the closets, drawers, etc. to make sure we got everything!!!

BTW, anybody having a hard time logging in can try here: www.backyardchickens.com


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## Nifty

Ok, we're LIVE!

If you have any problems logging in, please try resetting your password here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/lost-password/

If that doesn't work, PM me here on BYH, or fill out the contact us form here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/misc/contact


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