DOTHETON.com - Est. 2007 motorcycle enthusiast community

[torontotim]

www.dotheton.com

Launched the site in Feb 2007 on SMF with a few friends as members, so we could better organize ourselves for local get togethers and rides.

Fast forward and we have 40,000+ members registered and have evolved to having get togethers across the US, here in Toronto, and are often part of motorcycle shows in the US and UK.

I migrated the site to Xenforo in November 2019. Bought things like a Chat add-on and Xenforo Gallery, but all the migration work and theme modification on the site was done by me. I run it as a solo operation, with a bit of assistance from a couple of moderators. Hosted on a Linode VPS.

All of this is a hobby for me - just do it for fun but have attracted some sponsors to the site who allow costs to be covered.

We run a monthly Bike of the Month contest, featuring members' projects. The winner gets featured on the banner each month. I've made about 100 of them or so I guess at this point. I use the Featured Thread add-on to highlight the winning build threads on the main page just below the active chat window.

 

[shimspedy]

looks great but why did you choose to keep it in smf style like and why your URL not friendly?

 

[torontotim]

I'm using a redirect on the old URL to make sure the 10,000's of links posted globally that bring people back to the site still work. We were live with a large community for 12 years before the migration.

Not sure what you mean by SMF style. You're looking at the front landing page which I built with XF nodes etc. Do you mean why I don't have a page covered in large photos or other content that someone glances at before hitting the Forum button?

 

[JoyFreak]

I like it very much

 

[shimspedy]

I'm using a redirect on the old URL to make sure the 10,000's of links posted globally that bring people back to the site still work. We were live with a large community for 12 years before the migration.

Not sure what you mean by SMF style. You're looking at the front landing page which I built with XF nodes etc. Do you mean why I don't have a page covered in large photos or other content that someone glances at before hitting the Forum button?

for urls you can make them friendly then do . htaccess redirect rule with a regex .. for the style i mean the layout and look ... looks like SMF

 

[torontotim]

for urls you can make them friendly then do . htaccess redirect rule with a regex .. for the style i mean the layout and look ... looks like SMF

Well, I guess looking like SMF isn't much worse than looking like every other Xenforo site out there

It's a generic free XF theme which I modified quite a bit in terms of colors. Still not really sure by what 'looking like SMF' means, as all forums look the same. Threads and posts.

I squared off the avatars, but aside from that, it's Xenforo through and through.

I guess if you're using UIX, you have a different idea of what forums look like. I didn't want to tie myself to a 3rd party for my interface, hoping they stay in business.

My site's been up for 13 years, thousands of people depend on it, and I don't need the hassle of an additional layer of dependence for the next 10 years.

 

[JoyFreak]

Well, I guess looking like SMF isn't much worse than looking like every other Xenforo site out there

It's a generic free XF theme which I modified quite a bit in terms of colors. Still not really sure by what 'looking like SMF' means, as all forums look the same. Threads and posts.

I squared off the avatars, but aside from that, it's Xenforo through and through.

I guess if you're using UIX, you have a different idea of what forums look like. I didn't want to tie myself to a 3rd party for my interface, hoping they stay in business.

My site's been up for 13 years, thousands of people depend on it, and I don't need the hassle of an additional layer of dependence for the next 10 years.

Yes.

 

[torontotim]

Yes.

I do like the vertical, expandable menu you have on your gaming site. Is that a theme or some other tool?

 

[JoyFreak]

I do like the vertical, expandable menu you have on your gaming site. Is that a theme or some other tool?

It's not part of the theme, I've added the customisation in myself.

 

[torontotim]

Nice work - not something I'm ready to delve into. I tried your dark/light theme selector a while ago but the alignment wasn't right for me, so I'm just using a widget to display the current theme and get to the theme selector. Looks like you've modified yours a bit more after posting it as a Resource.

 

[JoyFreak]

Nice work - not something I'm ready to delve into. I tried your dark/light theme selector a while ago but the alignment wasn't right for me, so I'm just using a widget to display the current theme and get to the theme selector. Looks like you've modified yours a bit more after posting it as a Resource.

Oh sorry, I read your message wrong. Yes, the vertical menu is part of the PixelExit theme, Core by @Russ . Sorry, I do not understand what you mean, I have modified the theme heavily, is something broken or not right for you? If so, I'd be interested to know what, feel free to PM me a screenshot.

 

[torontotim]

Not at all - I meant comparing your lightbulb/moon theme selector mod to the Resource entry you posted in March 2019.

Unmaintained - Light bulb theme switcher

PAGE_CONTAINER Find: Add below: Note: To find your theme URL. On the style chooser, right click on...

xenforo.com

I think your current site is probably configured differently than the Resource you posted - that's all. Maybe the theme selector on your site is controlled now by the PixelEdit theme.

 

[JoyFreak]

Not at all - I meant comparing your lightbulb/moon theme selector mod to the Resource entry you posted in March 2019. I think your current site is probably configured differently than the Resource you posted - that's all.

Ah, yes that Resource is pretty outdated. I didn't think people even used it much, I can update it when I have time!

 

[JoyFreak]

I do like the vertical, expandable menu you have on your gaming site. Is that a theme or some other tool?

Unmaintained - Side Menu System

This modification replaces the standard horizontal below header menu system with a side column menu system with the user being able to select its display on either the left or right of the screen. It provides for a greater number of main menu...

xenforo.com

You can have a go at it yourself.

 

[napy8gen]

You can try this gradient to the block header and see if it fits.

background: linear-gradient(0deg, #a89dac, #424c66);

 

[beerForo]

We run a monthly Bike of the Month contest, featuring members' projects. The winner gets featured on the banner each month. I've made about 100 of them or so I guess at this point. I use the Featured Thread add-on to highlight the winning build threads on the main page just below the active chat window.

You should check out the MOTM add-on by @XFA

[XFA] Media Of The Month - XF2

Description With MOTM, each month you can start a new Media Of The Month contest ! Two modes are provided : Mode 1: Monthly album generation allowing user to submit medias for vote with submission/voting phases (initial mode) Mode 2: No...

xenforo.com

You can change the language to Bike of the Month.

 

[tonmo]

Try visiting in private mode (not logged in) - my greeting (first thing I see) is as follows... consider a conditional treatment for guests that welcomes them and explains the benefits of joining!