A new day is upon us! After eight years of using phpBB, MFGG is moving on up to the latest version of the MyBB forum system. We think you'll like our new home! By upgrading to a modern software system, we can provide a better forum experience by offering new features that weren't compatible with older versions of phpBB. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Registration: If you had an account on the phpBB forums, you'll have to re-register. I know it's a small inconvenience, but registering only takes a minute or two, and it's a great opportunity for a fresh start. You'll need to recreate any active topics you had on the old forums, but once again, it's a great time to make sure that all important topics are up-to-date.
Usernames: Usernames can be "reserved" for one week. If another user registers a username that you used on the old forums, you can contact an administrator to reclaim your old name. I doubt this'll be a problem, but I wanted to mention this just in case a conflict arises.
Badges: Don't worry: You might not see them yet, but your badges still exist! We'll transfer over your phpBB badges to the new forums as long as you fill out your phpBB forum ID number in your profile. Once all of our "regulars" have registered, I'll write a script that transfers over all your old badges. Easy-peasy.
Staff: The forum moderation team is basically the same as on the phpBB boards, although Dustinvgmaster is now an admin instead of a global mod. Gato is no longer a forum mod - now he's just a QC staffer on the mainsite. Also, Pedigree now has the power to hand out badges. In the coming months, we may promote new forum staff depending on how active we are.
Rules: We haven't made any significant changes to the forum rules or the interpretation thereof. We made a couple of adjustments to clarify the proper use of new features (basically, don't abuse the ability to change your own username).
Warn system: The glitchy old phpBB warn system is gone, thankfully. The warn system now uses a 10-point scale, and if you get too many warnings, you'll be suspended for a progressively longer period (up to one year if you somehow get to 10 warn points). Warn points expire after a few weeks. People hardly ever get banned on the MFGG forums, and if you're constantly getting warnings or bans on MFGG, it's time to reconsider what you're doing with your life! Be nice.
Bans: Any bans and warnings from the old phpBB forums (or the mainsite, for that matter) do not carry over to the new forums. Everybody gets a clean slate.
Skins: Kritter made an awesome new skin for the MyBB boards. Right now, it's the only skin we have, but if you'd like to help port over some of the old themes, you're more than welcome to do so! Shoot me a PM if you'd like to get started.
Events: We had a brief freeze on new competitions, since we wanted to wrap up all of our old competitions before moving to the MyBB boards. If you recently won a competition, be sure to come up with a cool idea for the theme of the next competition!
As for other forum events, our Secret Santa event will begin on its normal schedule, so stay tuned for a message from jolly old St. Nick! Finally, MFGG Awards voting will begin in early January, and anything released on the phpBB forums, the MyBB forums, or the mainsite during the calendar year 2017 will be eligible for nomination.
Bugs: We've already done quite a bit of testing on the new forums, but bugs are an inevitable part of new software projects, so we're always grateful for bug reports. In particular, be sure to let us know if you have difficulties sending PMs to other users, or if you can't view images or embedded videos.
ppBB archives: Don't worry - the phpBB forums may have gone into retirement, but they're not dead! All your accounts, posts, and PMs are still intact - in fact, you can check them out at the new URL. We're going to keep the forum archive up as long as we can. We've also made sure that some of our admins have a backup of the forums, just in case something breaks. If for some reason you don't want an old post to be visible on the forum archive, please contact an admin.
I hope you enjoy your experience on the new forums! Share cool things, help people, have fun, and invite your friends to do those things! If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns, please speak up.
One more thing I realized: No more duplicate posts! MyBB has a system for preventing the same post from appearing twice in a row. Whether because of accidental double-clicks or network issues, this glitch occasionally happened on the phpBB boards (and the IPB boards and the mainsite, for that matter).
Here are just a few of the many reasons we upgraded to MyBB!
A new skin: Kritter made an awesome new skin for the MyBB forums. When the new mainsite software launches, it'll probably look similar to this. The New MFGG skin is based on the Emerald skin and should offer a better interface for everyone, especially mobile users.
Post-liking: Find a post that's helpful, funny, or enlightening? Now you can recognize its awesomeness by pressing the 1-Up button! If you 1-Up a post by accident, just press the 1-Up button again to undo what you just did.
Notifications: The MyAlerts plugin gives you a notification every time certain events happen - for example, when someone 1-Ups one of your posts. If you find that you're getting too many notifications for your taste, you can disable certain kinds of notifications in the User Control Panel. And if you don't like getting notifications at all, you can turn them off altogether! Don't worry - MyAlerts won't get its feelings hurt if you do that.
Mentions: Speaking of notifications, you'll get a notification whenever someone mentions your username! To do that, just be sure to include the @ symbol behind that person's name - for example, @VinnyVideo.
Name changes: Now you can change your username whenever you want. If you're tired of your old username, you can change it without having to bug an admin! Keep in mind that name changes are logged, though, so don't use this feature to be naughty.
A currency system: Whether you call them Coins or Tusk Bucks, you earn forum currency for being active on the MFGG forums! You're paid every time you do anything on MFGG - registering for the forums, logging in, posting new topics, replying to other people's topics, referring new members, pretty much everything! You can even donate coins to a friend. In the future, you'll be able to spend this currency on cool features for your profile (I've heard that even KFC Badges can be earned if the price is right!). Don't try to exploit this feature by spamming, though - we reserve the right to adjust your balance if you try to abuse the system by flooding. Also, you don't earn anything when you post in the Space Junk Galaxy.
Better anti-spam controls: This is more interesting to forum staff than regular members, but MyBB has a lot of features that should make it more difficult for spambots and other troublemakers to create accounts. I don't think you'll miss the sales pitches for dodgy foreign diet pills and knockoff handbags.
What's next: The sky's the limit - we can add anything you want to the new forums as long as there's a plugin available for it, or you're willing to program a plugin (or find someone else who likes to make MyBB plugins). If there's a feature you'd like to see, please make a Suggestions topic for it!
Registration: If you had an account on the phpBB forums, you'll have to re-register. I know it's a small inconvenience, but registering only takes a minute or two, and it's a great opportunity for a fresh start. You'll need to recreate any active topics you had on the old forums, but once again, it's a great time to make sure that all important topics are up-to-date.
Usernames: Usernames can be "reserved" for one week. If another user registers a username that you used on the old forums, you can contact an administrator to reclaim your old name. I doubt this'll be a problem, but I wanted to mention this just in case a conflict arises.
Badges: Don't worry: You might not see them yet, but your badges still exist! We'll transfer over your phpBB badges to the new forums as long as you fill out your phpBB forum ID number in your profile. Once all of our "regulars" have registered, I'll write a script that transfers over all your old badges. Easy-peasy.
Staff: The forum moderation team is basically the same as on the phpBB boards, although Dustinvgmaster is now an admin instead of a global mod. Gato is no longer a forum mod - now he's just a QC staffer on the mainsite. Also, Pedigree now has the power to hand out badges. In the coming months, we may promote new forum staff depending on how active we are.
Rules: We haven't made any significant changes to the forum rules or the interpretation thereof. We made a couple of adjustments to clarify the proper use of new features (basically, don't abuse the ability to change your own username).
Warn system: The glitchy old phpBB warn system is gone, thankfully. The warn system now uses a 10-point scale, and if you get too many warnings, you'll be suspended for a progressively longer period (up to one year if you somehow get to 10 warn points). Warn points expire after a few weeks. People hardly ever get banned on the MFGG forums, and if you're constantly getting warnings or bans on MFGG, it's time to reconsider what you're doing with your life! Be nice.
Bans: Any bans and warnings from the old phpBB forums (or the mainsite, for that matter) do not carry over to the new forums. Everybody gets a clean slate.
Skins: Kritter made an awesome new skin for the MyBB boards. Right now, it's the only skin we have, but if you'd like to help port over some of the old themes, you're more than welcome to do so! Shoot me a PM if you'd like to get started.
Events: We had a brief freeze on new competitions, since we wanted to wrap up all of our old competitions before moving to the MyBB boards. If you recently won a competition, be sure to come up with a cool idea for the theme of the next competition!
As for other forum events, our Secret Santa event will begin on its normal schedule, so stay tuned for a message from jolly old St. Nick! Finally, MFGG Awards voting will begin in early January, and anything released on the phpBB forums, the MyBB forums, or the mainsite during the calendar year 2017 will be eligible for nomination.
Bugs: We've already done quite a bit of testing on the new forums, but bugs are an inevitable part of new software projects, so we're always grateful for bug reports. In particular, be sure to let us know if you have difficulties sending PMs to other users, or if you can't view images or embedded videos.
ppBB archives: Don't worry - the phpBB forums may have gone into retirement, but they're not dead! All your accounts, posts, and PMs are still intact - in fact, you can check them out at the new URL. We're going to keep the forum archive up as long as we can. We've also made sure that some of our admins have a backup of the forums, just in case something breaks. If for some reason you don't want an old post to be visible on the forum archive, please contact an admin.
I hope you enjoy your experience on the new forums! Share cool things, help people, have fun, and invite your friends to do those things! If you have any suggestions, comments, or concerns, please speak up.
One more thing I realized: No more duplicate posts! MyBB has a system for preventing the same post from appearing twice in a row. Whether because of accidental double-clicks or network issues, this glitch occasionally happened on the phpBB boards (and the IPB boards and the mainsite, for that matter).
Here are just a few of the many reasons we upgraded to MyBB!
A new skin: Kritter made an awesome new skin for the MyBB forums. When the new mainsite software launches, it'll probably look similar to this. The New MFGG skin is based on the Emerald skin and should offer a better interface for everyone, especially mobile users.
Post-liking: Find a post that's helpful, funny, or enlightening? Now you can recognize its awesomeness by pressing the 1-Up button! If you 1-Up a post by accident, just press the 1-Up button again to undo what you just did.
Notifications: The MyAlerts plugin gives you a notification every time certain events happen - for example, when someone 1-Ups one of your posts. If you find that you're getting too many notifications for your taste, you can disable certain kinds of notifications in the User Control Panel. And if you don't like getting notifications at all, you can turn them off altogether! Don't worry - MyAlerts won't get its feelings hurt if you do that.
Mentions: Speaking of notifications, you'll get a notification whenever someone mentions your username! To do that, just be sure to include the @ symbol behind that person's name - for example, @VinnyVideo.
Name changes: Now you can change your username whenever you want. If you're tired of your old username, you can change it without having to bug an admin! Keep in mind that name changes are logged, though, so don't use this feature to be naughty.
A currency system: Whether you call them Coins or Tusk Bucks, you earn forum currency for being active on the MFGG forums! You're paid every time you do anything on MFGG - registering for the forums, logging in, posting new topics, replying to other people's topics, referring new members, pretty much everything! You can even donate coins to a friend. In the future, you'll be able to spend this currency on cool features for your profile (I've heard that even KFC Badges can be earned if the price is right!). Don't try to exploit this feature by spamming, though - we reserve the right to adjust your balance if you try to abuse the system by flooding. Also, you don't earn anything when you post in the Space Junk Galaxy.
Better anti-spam controls: This is more interesting to forum staff than regular members, but MyBB has a lot of features that should make it more difficult for spambots and other troublemakers to create accounts. I don't think you'll miss the sales pitches for dodgy foreign diet pills and knockoff handbags.
What's next: The sky's the limit - we can add anything you want to the new forums as long as there's a plugin available for it, or you're willing to program a plugin (or find someone else who likes to make MyBB plugins). If there's a feature you'd like to see, please make a Suggestions topic for it!