Status of Upgrades

Thank you to all that have contributed to our campaign to get needed updates and upgrades for SF. We have as of this morning raised $571 of the $650 goal. WE have wasted no time putting that to use and are already installing and Beta Testing the new non- java chat program that will allow all to have simple access to chat support without downloading plugins and configuring browsers. While it looks different, the actual usefulness for the majority of members will be greatly enhanced, and there are some very nice new features as well.

Just this Morning our Webmaster Raven has begun with the installation of a new platform. WE are moving away from the Vbulletin that is 11 years old to a much more modern and more functional platform for the forum. Once again, some things will be different but in the end there will be more features available. Some of the features we believe will be very beneficial- like the ability of members to have their own blogs right here on SF. Some features will change slightly, but overall the site will be more stable, fewer errors and less downtime, and more features.

The intention is to thoroughly test the new software before the final move so we are still a few weeks away from the full switch over but we will have some screen shots, sneak previews, and more details as we get closer, and possibly a chance for a more widespread beta test from interested members that would like to check it out a few days early and help us debug it.

In anticipation of the other upgrades we have launched and information and extra support initiative on Social Media. There is an official SF Page and SF Twitter account that we can use to get out information to any that want to follow the page or twitter account. Please keep in mind that use of the social media will compromise your anonymity some- and you do not have to include or use your member name if you choose to follow either.


SF Facebook Page

SF Twitter


We are only $79 from the end Goal of our fundraising campaign- please consider donating $5 or $10 if you are able to help complete paying for the cost of the upgrades. Thanks to all that have already – and I am sure with all the great members here the last bit will finish soon.

To donate click either of the following links - Rule violation PayPal

May I ask what are the some of the new exciting features there?

Thanks so much for all your hard work. We will hit the target I believe, only 79 dollars away. Thanks everyone for the donations, you're all amazing :thankyou:

While unsure what the final project will look like when done some things we are going to try out and look at are-

For Chat

Non Java chat - possibly with ability to PM anybody online that are on your friends list without having to log into chat - so if you see a friend is online you can just open a message to say hello like on Facebook

Possibly voice chat

Ability to pop chat off and use chat while browsing other sites

For the forum -

Trophies/ awards for different achievements to recognize members that go out of way to help others

A new "My Story" place in forum where a member can write the basics about themselves and their situation that can be accessed from a link in their signature line so when they post a thread people can find out there situation easily and get to know people better without having to memorize everybody and new people will not feel new as they can get the back story on some members if they want to share

A place where members can have their own free online blog hosted by SF if they choose to

Possibly the ability to host artistic creations on SF as opposed to having to link it or share graphics/media more easily

Arcade / Games

Desktop notification of messages, thread replies

faster load times, fewer errors and down time, more modern look and feel

General SF

Maintain an Official SF Facebook Page and Twitter to keep in touch by social media to those who wish to and make easier for new members to find us. We will be looking for contributions from members to tweet as quote of the day or to share as FB posts / shares.


These are all examples being looked at and considered. Some may or may not happen or may not happen immediately - we are going to thoroughly test all options and figure out which ones are most meaningful to our members and makes sense to dedicate resources and ongoing support and bandwidth/funds for. Obviously, each "extra" entails more resources and we really want to avoid using advertising as a a way to pay monthly hosting so it the site remains free of pop up s and banners and junk spam. Hosting is not cheap even though we now own our own server completely and have an entire server dedicated to SF as opposed to a shared server like we used to have. It is hard to pay for this when only a small handful of members contribute on a regular basis. On the other hand if all active members contributed just $5 a year the we could do all of these things and much more. Right now , we are trying to collect the last few dollars to complete the needed software frame work for switch and to pay for customization needed. That can be donated at the Rule violation or Paypal locations and even small donations really help a lot.

We will also need some volunteers to help beta test some of these things in the next few weeks. If you are interested in helping test, have questions, or have comments or suggestions please feel free to reply, send a Letter to management, or PM me directly.

Wow. I cannot wait. I am going to have to invest in a mic. All the other features sound fantastic too. Delighted with the Rule violation as it is going to great use. Thanks to all you tech people making this happen and all the time you are putting into the new chat and forum. It is going to be such a help to have a non java chat. Fair play to all of you who volunteer your time into making this happen.

We have just reached our target of 650 and we now have received 700 dollars in donations. Thank you sincerely for donating to this great cause. I am overwhelmed by the generosity the members/ and non members have shown. Thank you, we now have enough money for the upgrades and new chat all thanks to you You are all incredible!!

Thank you so, so much to all who have donated, both through Rule violation and PayPal. We appreciate this so much; it means we now have the ability to do things with SF that we weren't able to do in the past.

Thanks to all for your help and support. SF is what it is because of you! :hug2:

Just giving an update since it seems like not a lot is happening. We do have most everything rolled up and on a test site that at some point I am hoping to be able to roll out to everyone so that we can get some feedback before we decide to go live. We are still working on some of the features of the new chat program but we hope to have that all resolved soon.

Just know things are happening and know that my vacation is over I a m hoping things can go a bit faster aka I can cattle prod everyone doing the real work ^.^

Thanks Raven, you rock!

Any updates Raven?

Thanks Raven for all you do here hugs

One of the main issues we are having is trying to get the new chat system rolled out, our current provider has just released their not java version so we are also seeing if it is possible to continue down that road but that is our major road block at this point.

Thanks for the update, keep us posted my friend and thanks for all your hard work behind the scenes

Will the new chat work for android? I just cant stay logged into this one

We are hoping that the new chat will work for everything sorry you keep getting booted from this one - java plays havoc with lots of people's computers. Have you tried accessing it using explorer? I know its a faff but it seems to work for most people.

I haven't actually given it a go on the desktop computer, I was using chrome on an android tablet. I wouldn't be shocked to discover that it didn't work properly on my desktop though, I'm stuck running windows XP and the new Java updates aren't fully compatible.

Yes whatever we do with the new chat software it should be a giant leap in operablelity over the old one. Jave is dying and fast, so support is very limited so keep with us it is the #1 issue we want to solve.

Oh, I'm not going anywhere, I was just curious If I have to keep logging in every 5 minutes for now I will lol

any updates I just download window 10 and it doesn't run java at all. and now I got to try undownload it so I can in the chat room..

I have windows 10 and no problem at all using chat with chrome same as always. It is not the OS that is the issue- it is what browser you are using I suspect.