Brian Prestwood
Premium Member
This thread only applies to NorCal reefers so lets handle it on the NorCal Forum of the MARS website.
Saturday 2/16 Tank Tour w/ Sanjay
- Thread starter Brian Prestwood
- Start date
bored4long
New member
Can you guys please get the Paypal thing worked out so I can get paid up (or grant temporary access). I've lost access to the forum since dues expired at the end of the year.
bladeruner143
Premium Member
I thought the fees would grant you one year membership starting from when you paid? Maybe that's why I can't see the forums on the MARS website!
bored4long
New member
I'm pretty sure they had just recently changed it from 12 months to calendar year. I think it was changed to simplify record keeping.
Membership information (I also found another conflicting post where someone said membership is from Jan-Dec. I think this is the latest information though.) :
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11324149#post11324149 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by funman1
Sort of..... Actually...
Now your membership renews when you FIRST sign up from here on out...
So if you buy in December your membership will always be due in December.
If you buy in Feb then your membership will always be due in Feb.
So lets say your membership is due in December, but you don't pay till April... It's retroed back to December. so April WILL NOT be your new due date, So you will always have a renewal date in December if you sign up in December.
Your membership must not be past due to be able to attend frags swaps and get discounts.
Get the idea? Kinda weird I know... I didn't vote for it
bored4long
New member
Ah, I hope that is indeed the case. I'll email Steve and Brian to find out what the deal is with my MARS account, then, since I have lost access to the forums since the beginning of the year. This is also the time that the forum page was redone, so maybe its unrelated to my membership.
bladeruner143
Premium Member
That sucks! I just paid in Nov!!! lol
Hey Mike,
Is it possible for the club website to convert over to something like phpPortals? It's the same discussion forum program that is used by Reef Central and many other discussion forums. The program is free(?), but does require some PHP and MySQL knowledge. BAR has their forum running on SMF (another free forum program written in PHP). I am sure Brian knows of some better CMS written in .net and uses a MS SQL Server backend.
Also - maybe the club can look get getting a web hosting company that also has a discussion forum software available. I am more likely to post over in the "MARS Club forum" if it was easier.
http://phpportals.com/forums/index.php?referrerid=947
http://www.simplemachines.org/
Minh
Is it possible for the club website to convert over to something like phpPortals? It's the same discussion forum program that is used by Reef Central and many other discussion forums. The program is free(?), but does require some PHP and MySQL knowledge. BAR has their forum running on SMF (another free forum program written in PHP). I am sure Brian knows of some better CMS written in .net and uses a MS SQL Server backend.
Also - maybe the club can look get getting a web hosting company that also has a discussion forum software available. I am more likely to post over in the "MARS Club forum" if it was easier.
http://phpportals.com/forums/index.php?referrerid=947
http://www.simplemachines.org/
Minh
Last edited:
bored4long
New member
I agree, a new forum program would be nice. phpBB or vBulletin are the big boys. I don't know what phpBB costs but vBulletin (RC uses vBulletin) is less than $150/year.
I think the biggest argument against going with any of the above mentioned programs is that they are all based in php and our web support may not have any php experience.
I think the biggest argument against going with any of the above mentioned programs is that they are all based in php and our web support may not have any php experience.
MrMikeB
New member
Oooo... a volunteer?
Brian and Steve have put a lot of effort into the existing website and are actively working on sprucing it up. Like all donated time, they do this when they can using the tools they have at their disposal. While I am all for improvement, it would be at their discretion as to what platforms and methods to employ. Now if one of you web dev gurus out there that might be bored and would be willing to set something like this up and help convert over, I am sure you would get a receptive audience - at least to discuss the idea.
Brian and Steve have put a lot of effort into the existing website and are actively working on sprucing it up. Like all donated time, they do this when they can using the tools they have at their disposal. While I am all for improvement, it would be at their discretion as to what platforms and methods to employ. Now if one of you web dev gurus out there that might be bored and would be willing to set something like this up and help convert over, I am sure you would get a receptive audience - at least to discuss the idea.
Mike - I totally appreciate the time and effort put in my Brian and Steve (been there and done that myself). It was not meant as a criticism, but a suggestion. As the club is making a stronger push to use the MARS website, I think we should also focus at making it easier and friendlier.
One of my other suggestion is to look at web hosting companies that already has a forum setup to be used. That way we wouldn't have to run and manage our own PHP forum or MySQL server. We will still need to learn PHP (a pretty easy language to learn), but we don't have to worry about setting up a server. Maybe our web master can check with BAR to see how they did theirs.
Minh
One of my other suggestion is to look at web hosting companies that already has a forum setup to be used. That way we wouldn't have to run and manage our own PHP forum or MySQL server. We will still need to learn PHP (a pretty easy language to learn), but we don't have to worry about setting up a server. Maybe our web master can check with BAR to see how they did theirs.
Minh
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11599953#post11599953 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MrMikeB
Oooo... a volunteer?
Brian and Steve have put a lot of effort into the existing website and are actively working on sprucing it up. Like all donated time, they do this when they can using the tools they have at their disposal. While I am all for improvement, it would be at their discretion as to what platforms and methods to employ. Now if one of you web dev gurus out there that might be bored and would be willing to set something like this up and help convert over, I am sure you would get a receptive audience - at least to discuss the idea.
airinhere
New member
Hey everybody! I think I can fix the issue right from the convenience of your own homes!
Go to the MARS website and log in as normal.
Open the members section (link on the left) and open the forums section.
You just get a yellow bar with some miniature text underneath it right?
here is the fix.....
Look way over at the right end of the yellow bar.
You will see a '+' icon. (It is extremely small).
Click the '+' icon.
Ta-Daa!
When the website was redone, the default for everyone was reset to closed instead of expanded view.
The site will remember if you leave something expanded or closed next time you visit it.
This trick works all over the site. There is actually quite a bit of "hidden" material.
I just figured this out myself about three days ago.
Go to the MARS website and log in as normal.
Open the members section (link on the left) and open the forums section.
You just get a yellow bar with some miniature text underneath it right?
here is the fix.....
Look way over at the right end of the yellow bar.
You will see a '+' icon. (It is extremely small).
Click the '+' icon.
Ta-Daa!
When the website was redone, the default for everyone was reset to closed instead of expanded view.
The site will remember if you leave something expanded or closed next time you visit it.
This trick works all over the site. There is actually quite a bit of "hidden" material.
I just figured this out myself about three days ago.
P.Kelly
New member
Gentlemen... I'm waiting on Paypal depositing money in our account to verify the banking information. John is calling the bank now to see if the deposits have gone through, but I understand it can take a few days, so we may not be up and running until later this week.
Please bear with us!!!
Please bear with us!!!
bored4long
New member
Thanks, Aaron! I didn't even notice that. That was part of my problem and may be the problem for others. However, I am actually denied access to the member-only forum. So even though I can now open the public part, I still don't have access to the private forum.
P.Kelly
New member
Okay, it looks like we can now accept some PayPal payments. Can someone try using the shopping catalog and cart on marineaquarist.org and pay via creditcard on Paypal?
It looks like bank transfers are still being held up, but credit card payments will go through.
This is still a somewhat manual process, as I have to enable the accounts manually once I get an email from PayPal, but better than nothing.
Please note you are responsible for the paypal fee, which will be added automatically.
It looks like bank transfers are still being held up, but credit card payments will go through.
This is still a somewhat manual process, as I have to enable the accounts manually once I get an email from PayPal, but better than nothing.
Please note you are responsible for the paypal fee, which will be added automatically.
bored4long
New member
Pete, I would try the Paypal for the frag swap, but can't find the link anywhere. I think my situation may be different, though, 'cause I think my member account was disabled.
P.Kelly
New member
Member accounts were automatically disabled for all members on December 31, that were not current with 2008 dues. This was done by the system based upon pre-existing settings within the system. Your account should still be active, but you cannot access the member's forum. This was the case for me until about 30 minutes ago. I was still able to access the Shopping system and renew my membership.
Mark, can you login and give it a try?
Mark, can you login and give it a try?
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