I've got one more old photo to post, then next Monday (15th September) I'll start upgrading the software that runs Gwulo.com. During the upgrade the current website will still be available to read & search, but it won't be possible to add anything new (comments, photos, Places, etc.).
The steps are:
- Make Gwulo.com read-only. You'll be able to look at anything on the site, but you won't be able to add anything new, eg comments or photos.
- Make a copy of the current website and begin the upgrade.
- Make the existing content available on the upgraded site.
- Allow new content to be added to the upgraded site.
- Switch Gwulo.com to use the upgraded site.
- Lie down to rest in a darkened room.
For steps 3 & 4, I hope you'll help me test out the new site. I'll post up its temporary url once the upgrade has progressed enough that the basic features are usable. I will need your help to let me know what I've missed or broken during the upgrade.
Below I've listed some of the questions you might have, along with answers. If you have any other questions please let me know in the comments below or by email.
Regards, David
How long will it take to finish the upgrade?
Several weeks, but I won't know exactly how long until it's finished. I'll post regular updates to the website, so you can follow the progress.
Gwulo seems to work ok, so why do you need to upgrade it?
The support for the current version of the software we use is soon coming to an end, so we'll need to upgrade it then anyway. Also the newer version of the software has several new features I want to add to Gwulo.com.
So will it be exactly the same after the upgrade?
No, there will be changes, especially in the way we add media (photos & videos) to the website. The overall functionality should be very similar though, and all old links to pages on Gwulo should continue to work.
I'll also keep a read-only copy of the current website available for several months, so if you have any trouble finding anything on the new site you'll still be able to switch back to the current site.
Do I need to change my user name or email subscription?
No, there won't be any changes to those.
You've been talking about upgrading for two years now. Why has it taken so long?
The way the new version handles photos is quite different from the current version. I've had to dust off my rusty programming skills to add code that will let Gwulo keep the features we currently have.