Why the Pipetalk Boards are Moving and How it will Affect the Users
Mike Gilsbach, Pipeline Administrator

On June 1, 2002, all three of the Quest Pipeline's Pipetalk discussion boards will be moved to a new location on the web. The purpose of this paper is to explain why this is happening, outline what the move means for the Pipeline's many faithful participants, and provide a brief overview of the user-related enhancements in the new version of WebBoard software to which we are migrating.

Why are the boards moving?

The Pipeline discussion forums rank as one of the longest running and most popular database-related forums on the Web. Started in 1997 by RevealNet Inc., there are currently three separate discussion forums: Oracle DBA Pipetalk, Oracle PL/SQL Pipetalk, and DB2 Pipetalk. Moderated by a group of industry experts (SYSOPs), the user base for these boards has grown into the tens of thousands.

The boards run on a software package called WebBoard. Originally developed by O'Reilly and currently owned by ChatSpace, the software consists of a cookie-based, frames web interface, backed up by a database - either Oracle, SQL Server, or the built-in Microsoft Data Engine (MSDE).

Since 1997, the boards have been co-located with a number of other WebBoard boards and hosted by a single service provider. Over time, however, this rather inflexible co-location arrangement has become inadequate to serve the growing needs of the Pipetalk forums. As the number of users and postings has increased, users have begun to notice a drop in the performance of the WebBoard software. However, users and moderators seem to appreciate the readability and intuitive ease of use offered by WebBoard, so we didn't want to move away from the WebBoard software itself.

In the fall of 2001, the service provider who had been hosting our boards was acquired by another company. Since then there have been service related issues and a concern that the new host may not be able to support WebBoard as well as the old. This change of providers, combined with the performance issue convinced us that while we liked and wanted to keep WebBoard, it was time for a new hosting arrangement.

As of June 1, we will be hosting the new boards with ChatSpace, the current developer of the WebBoard software. This arrangement will have a number of benefits including better support, optimization help from the actual development team, our own dedicated WebBoard application, more extensive administrative control, and software upgrades which will insure that we are always running the latest version. With the start of the new arrangement, the boards will be running on WebBoard Version 5, which is one version later than what they are currently running on. In the last section of this paper, I discuss some notable Version 5 enhancements.

How will this move affect the Pipeline Users?

The most important thing for users to know is that the new boards will open empty. No users or postings will be transferred over from the old board. This was due in part to certain limitations in the WebBoard software that prevented a complete migration of the data. We also felt that it might be best to start with a clean slate, so to speak, and avoid the risk of migrating a lot of dated postings and inactive user accounts.

The old messages will not be lost, however. Messages posted prior to June 1 will remain available on the current boards, which will become read-only archives. The archives will remain available until we feel that the postings have become dated to the point of obsolescence. 

All users will need to sign on to the new boards as new users the first time they access them. Feel free to use your previous user names and passwords as this will not conflict in any way with the archive board. (In fact, once the archive boards become read-only, you will not even use a login to sign on to it. All users will essentially sign on to the archives as guests.) 

Please note that there is one minor caveat regarding the use of your old user name on the new boards. You may no longer include a blank space in your user name. I recommend that you replace it with an underscore or simply remove the space. For example, if your old user name was "bob jones", you may set up your new account with the user name "bob_jones" or "bobjones".

Unfortunately, because the active and archive boards will be separate and distinct boards, it will not be possible to do searches on both boards at once. What I recommend is that users search the archive first, then sign on to and search the active board, and then post to the active board if they haven't found what they need.

For the sake of those many loyal Pipeliners who have the Pipelines book marked, the URLs for the active discussion boards will remain the same. The table below lists the URLs for the active boards as well as the read-only archive boards. These URLs will be in place starting June 1.

We do not anticipate any down time or disruption of access to the boards. Please be aware, however, that if you start a new thread close to the June 1 migration date and it is not completed by June 1, you may have to start your thread again in the new forum.

There are two main benefits which we hope Pipeliners will gain from the transfer: Faster response times for user requests, and the benefits from upgrading to WebBoard Version 5 which are discussed below.

What's New in WebBoard Version 5?

While there are a large number of "behind the scenes" and administrative enhancements, what I have compiled below is a list of those enhancements that I think Pipeliners will use and take note of.

• Improved speed. Several changes to the database and built-in server result in faster response to user requests.
   
• WebBoard's frames interface now meets the United States Government Web Accessibility Guidelines (Section 508). Not exactly a thrilling, take-your-breath-away sort of enhancement, but an enhancement nonetheless.
   
• Watch Lists: This new function allows users to receive email alerts when messages are posted to topics or conferences that they are watching. You can choose to watch a specific topic by clicking "Watch This Topic" at the bottom of the topic. You can watch a conference by clicking More... and My Watch Lists, then checking the conferences that you want to watch. You also use this screen to edit your watch list.
   
• Inline image support allows you to place images into your message body. You may do this in one of two ways. You may simply add the image file as an attachment with the "Inline Image" type selected, in which case it will actually display in your message immediately below the text. Or, if you have the image online somewhere, you may use an HTML image tag to place your image.

  For example:  <img src="http://www.yoursite.com/images/image.gif">

  You will need to use this second method if you are posting an image whose file size exceeds 100KB.
   

• Email participants can now obtain file attachments via a link to the attachment included in the email.
   
• Conference Home Pages: When you click on a conference name, its "home page" now displays in the right pane. This new page displays some useful data about the conference including a description of its purpose, a list of attachments, and the name of the mailing list for the conference. There will also be a link to post a new message. To expand the conference in the left pane, click on the plus (+) icon to the left of the conference title as before. Note that you may also view the descriptions for all conferences at once by clicking More..., then Conference Profiles.
   
• All new messages, not just the topic message, are now marked with the New icon. This makes it much easier to spot the new postings in a topic.
   
• Message Editing now allows users to delete or replace attachments. Only the user who posted the message and the SYSOPs can do this. This is useful if you need to update an attachment but don't want to post a separate message. To replace an attachment, delete it, then add the new one.
   
• WebBoard now includes a special HTML tag, <ESC> and </ESC>, which allows you to include HTML code in your message and have it appear in the message as HTML. Without this tag, the HTML would actually be rendered in the message. The table below demonstrates the use of the new <ESC> tag.

  Without <ESC>...	With <ESC>...
  Message posted as: Here is some HTML: <FONT Color="#FF0000">Text, Text, Text</FONT> Rest of message...	Message posted as: Here is some HTML: <ESC> <FONT Color="#FF0000">Text, Text, Text</FONT> </ESC> Rest of message...
  Message appears as: Here is some HTML: Text, Text, Text Rest of message...	Message appears as: Here is some HTML: <FONT Color="#FF0000">Text, Text, Text</FONT> Rest of message...

  There are several oddities that I noticed about using <ESC>. First, the HTML will look strange in Preview because < and > get converted to &lt; and &gt;, respectively. This is normal, the HTML will still appear correctly in the final message. Second, if you post a message using this tag, then go back later and edit the message, you must re-enter the <ESC> tag or it will not be included in the revised posting and your HTML will be rendered. Finally, when you edit a previously posted message with HTML, you need to check the option for "Convert line breaks to HTML breaks" and manually remove the <BR> line breaks that WebBoard placed in your HTML. Otherwise, you will have a bunch of <BR> tags show up in the revised HTML code in your message.
   

• The Message Preview page now includes a Cancel button which allows you to cancel a message before posting it without having to rely on the browser's Back button.
   
• There is now a Post button at the bottom of the message, not just the top. This is helpful in the case of long messages in that you do not have to scroll back to the top to post.
   
• Messages posted via email no longer contain the email address of the sender if they have chosen to hide the address. This option is set in your user profile.
   
• You can now have WebBoard stop remembering your password by logging in again and deselecting the "Remember My Password" check box. This allows for a more secure log off.

We are confident that this new hosting arrangement will provide Pipeliners with an improved forum in which they may continue to exchange their ideas. As ChatSpace continues to develop WebBoard, we will be able to further improve the functionality and usability of the Pipeline boards.

As this transition progresses, I will be happy to receive any question or suggestions that you may have at webmaster@quest-pipelines.com.

For questions or comments on this site: webmaster@quest-pipelines.com
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