Will you be creating an importer for phpBB?

[Paul B]

I know phpBB isn't widely regarded but my site started out on a free host and we still use phpBB for the forum.

I've been waiting for the right thing to come along before upgrading and I think I've found it.

A migration script would be absolutely essential though and is a show stopper.

I understand that your priority is to get the core functionality working and presumably you'll be targeting vB forum owners first but after that?

 

[craigiri]

I rarely am concerned with the easy and obvious path.....it's the things we DON'T think of that often bite us in the arse. That is, for the normal or educated internet user with a mail address that is current and whose mail does not get lost, misplaced or dumped into spam boxes...yes, the process works fine. But I am constantly amazed at how many people don't know the very basics or who slip through the cracks.....a lot of people even forget their logins and usernames in addition to which email address they use, instead relying for years on the cookie for auto-login.
I assume most of these cases can be somehow dealt with by a message on the new forum page which sends them to a form that allows for searching of who their "old" self would have been and other such factors.......
Somehow, though, I get the nagging feeling that there are things I have not thought of!

 

[Jerry]

Somehow, though, I get the nagging feeling that there are things I have not thought of!

1. Inform people on the board via an announcement or such like what is going to happen and that they should update their email.
2. Send out a batch email from the old board giving notice of the update - put in a tracker pixel or tracking link.

After many years and (literally) thousands of imports, I've yet to see the imagined fear of "everyone is going to leave" manifest, ever.

 

[craigiri]

After many years and (literally) thousands of imports, I've yet to see the imagined fear of "everyone is going to leave" manifest, ever.

That's good to hear. Nothing like real experience!
It's not really my main fear - my main concern is always doing the best possible thing for the majority of my users and readers.
I'd worry a bit more if I had a number of competitors nipping at my heels, but I don't.
When push comes to shove, even a fairly large community like ours is mainly the work of a couple hundred (or even couple dozen) regulars...coupled with the already written and searchable information from the past.
My "test" phase has officially started (behind the scenes).

 

[Mr.Bishop]

Soooo.... phpbb converter? Lol... maybe its a bit too soon.

 

[Gladius]

I need a phpBB2 converter... yesterday. So, when?

 

[Jerry]

I need a phpBB2 converter... yesterday. So, when?

There is one route if you have a vB license........

 

[Dean]

..I am constantly amazed at how many people don't know the very basics or who slip through the cracks.....a lot of people even forget their logins and usernames in addition to which email address they use, instead relying for years on the cookie for auto-login.

Yes they do forget. Our forum is not that old and almost 4% did not even know their own user name, let alone their password or email.

 

[Floris]

I need a phpBB2 converter... yesterday. So, when?

or http://xenfans.com/quote if you want xenfans to help using impex to convert it to xenforo.

 

[Gladius]

There is one route if you have a vB license........

Converting a million+ post board is bad enough when it's direct, doing it twice is my idea of masochism...

 

[Gladius]

or http://xenfans.com/quote if you want xenfans to help using impex to convert it to xenforo.

Thanks, I know how to do it... but a double import is just double the pain and necessary downtime. I hope importers will be a higher priority at this point...

 

[Paul B]

See this comment from Kier: http://xenforo.com/community/profile-posts/5062/

 

[Gladius]

Good to know - I'm sure Jerry will be busy.

 

[Floris]

Thanks, I know how to do it... but a double import is just double the pain and necessary downtime. I hope importers will be a higher priority at this point...

Very true point

 

[Jerry]

Good to know - I'm sure Jerry will be busy.

I am most of the time now - though at the moment I don't write / perform imports for xF directly.

 

[steven s]

I am most of the time now - though at the moment I don't write / perform imports for xF directly.

I read someone is looking for a XF->vB converter.

 

[Jerry]

I read someone is looking for a XF->vB converter.

Yea I saw that ......... though I'm long past developing ImpEx ......... I'm now thinking about the generic open source data migration tool ExImp ......

 

[Paul B]

Yea I saw that ......... though I'm long past developing ImpEx ......... I'm now thinking about the generic open source data migration tool ExImp ......

I heard that given enough time, 100 monkeys can achieve the same result - or ChImp as it's called

 

[Jerry]

I heard that given enough time, 100 monkeys can achieve the same result - or ChImp as it's called

As the usual saying goes (which I disagree with btw) : Good, fast, cheap pick two. The irony being is that if you focus on quality in the medium to long term the rest all fall into place ...... though that takes vision

 

[Wildcat Media]

Converting a million+ post board is bad enough when it's direct, doing it twice is my idea of masochism...

I just did it for SMF2 --> vB --> XF. It's not all that difficult. Some minor cleanup but for the most part, you're clicking buttons to start modules.

I am actually getting funds in to buy an additional XF license while it is on sale. The goal on this one is to convert one ancient forum from WebBBS to phpBB2, as I never had luck with the WebBBS to vB ImpEx module. (It didn't seem to import anything.) That will be imported to vB. Then, we have a live forum still on phpBB2 that will be imported after that. It should be straightforward since phpBB2 does not have attachments, and the BBCode is all standard. Once we have it all looking good in vB, it will get rolled over to XF.

Even a single-step import will never go without issues. FWIW, anyway.

 

[rubyone1]

Are there any updates about migration scripts to port a phpBB3 Forum to XenForo? Any references to developers with experience doing this would be welcome.