Some things are a changin'
#1
Some of you might have noticed that when you go to Big Blue trains forum, the web address now show it's a secure site (indicated either by a green lock or the word "Secure" on the address bar). The web site now has a secure SSL socket which means we can keep all your secret passwords and other personal identifiable information safer from hackers by encrypting the information being sent to and from the site. It won't change any functionality and you won't notice it being there. It's all done in the background like some computer voodoo.

We've also fixed the redirect issue (which has been an issue for years now) where the web address had to have the "/forum" on the end or you'd get a 404 error message. You should now be able to just type bigbluetrains.com and get to the site without that pesky 404 error message. Some of you might still see the "/forum", and I'm not sure why that is. It might depends on your browser or the fact that all the search engine still see that forum. I'm hoping this will clear itself out over time. For now It shouldn't cause any issues and if you want to try fixing it on your end you might try updating your bookmarks and see if that fixes the problem.

We purchased a new web hosting plan a few weeks ago which comes with new server storage space. At some point, we are going to have to migrate all our stuff over to the new server space. Ideally, this will be done over a weekend to reduce down time and we'll do this with plenty of notice before hand.

And finally, there is a motion to update our forum software. The software we are currently, phpBB, is older technology and there some other things out there that are more current and easily manageable on the administrator's end. We've also talked about the addressing the waning membership numbers and think that possibly incorporating and integrating other social media outlets such as Facebook and Twitter might bring in some new members. The newer software can do this integration much smoother.

We'll keep you updated as thing progress.
------------------------------------
Creator of the comic Flatt Bear.
A comic about... well... a bear


Flatt Bear
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#2
Packey I have a warning on my browser bar where the web addy is saying this is not a safe or secure site?
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#3
Tyson Rayles Wrote:Packey I have a warning on my browser bar where the web addy is saying this is not a safe or secure site?

That's strange, anything with a green lock should show as safe. I've gotten that warning, but usually it's not a secure site that it shows up on. I can assure you that we are a safe site, nothing has changed from our "http" site other than we've added SSL. We are secure, we are safe, I'll be seeing Packey in the morning and I'm let him know what's going on. One of us will get back to you.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#4
I just got that with the re-direct:

E-mail:

If you want to view the topic, click the following link:
"https://bigbluetrains.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=9565"

Shows https: but not the green or secure


My bookmark shows the below link as a secure (green) site:
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="https://bigbluetrains.com/forum/">https://bigbluetrains.com/forum/</a><!-- m -->
~~ Mikey KB3VBR (Admin)
~~ NARA Member # 75    
~~ Baldwin Eddystone Unofficial Website

~~ I wonder what that would look like in 1:20.3???
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#5
I'm still getting the yellow warning symbol and it says parts of this site (such is images) are not secure. However when I go to reply all is well and I have the green lock but when I finish typing my reply and return to the forum it goes back to the warning again.
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#6
Tyson Rayles Wrote:I'm still getting the yellow warning symbol and it says parts of this site (such is images) are not secure. However when I go to reply all is well and I have the green lock but when I finish typing my reply and return to the forum it goes back to the warning again.

Thanks for the input Mike. I talked to Packey yesterday and he was thinking that it could have something to do with certificates that are needed for secure sites. He's on the problem so we'll see how that goes. I would think once you say "ignore warning", that it should apply forever after that....
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#7
Just one more thing Mike. What browser are you using, and have you tired any of your old bookmarks to get here (if you have any)?
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#8
Firefox and yes.
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#9
Tyson Rayles Wrote:Firefox and yes.

Thanks again. I'm using Firefox and I don't see any certificates, but I'm not having any problems either using my old bookmarks. Still up in the air and in Packey's lap. Have patience my friends...
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#10
I'm not sure what the deal is. I mentioned that it might have something to do with the certificates. They tell a browser that a site is safe by comparing to information on the website itself. Certificates are generally stored locally on your machine. One thing you could do is re establish a new bookmark. Type in bigbluetrains.com and see what happens when you enter the site. If it come up as secured and no errors, you could save that bookmark and delete the old one you were using. I suspect there will be some glitches until all the search engines sort things out. Then, of course, we'll be moving servers in a few months which will add to a new list of horrors.
------------------------------------
Creator of the comic Flatt Bear.
A comic about... well... a bear


Flatt Bear
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#11
Packey Wrote:......we'll be moving servers in a few months which will add to a new list of horrors.

In light of that, do you think it will have any effect on photos? On the chance that I may opt out of photobucket, I had planned on replacing photos in some how-to threads, currently linked from photobucket, with attachments, but recall when we lost of bunch of attached photos due to a previous "upgrade". I understand that things on-line can be rather temporal...here today, gone tomorrow, but if there's a possibility of that, I'll hold off.

Wayne
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#12
doctorwayne Wrote:
Packey Wrote:......we'll be moving servers in a few months which will add to a new list of horrors.

In light of that, do you think it will have any effect on photos? On the chance that I may opt out of photobucket, I had planned on replacing photos in some how-to threads, currently linked from photobucket, with attachments, but recall when we lost of bunch of attached photos due to a previous "upgrade". I understand that things on-line can be rather temporal...here today, gone tomorrow, but if there's a possibility of that, I'll hold off.

Wayne

We want to be able to save our current database, that includes all posts and all uploaded photos. Any links should also be preserved along with their posts. We will thoroughly test the forum on the new server (still GoDaddy, but not in the same space, or IP address, as we occupy now), before we go live. We will assure ourselves that we have not lost any data before we switch.
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#13
Yeah, there were a myriad of issues that last update. I plan on migrating the entire database over, but like EZ says, they'll be plenty of testing before anything is moved over. Our dataase has gotten so big that migration has to be handled delicately.
------------------------------------
Creator of the comic Flatt Bear.
A comic about... well... a bear


Flatt Bear
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#14
O.K., now i get the green lock on everything except this thread?
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#15
Tyson Rayles Wrote:O.K., now i get the green lock on everything except this thread?

By golly, you're right, neither do I.... I get it when I type this reply though. Icon_lol
Don (ezdays) Day
Board administrator and
founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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