Hi! The following is a short explanation of our soon-to-be-live new platform. This is by no means an exhaustive explanation so please feel free to post questions. The administrative staff will do our best to provide you with the information in a timely manner as best we can. Thanks!
What does it mean that MDC is getting a “new software platform”?
This means we are no longer going to be using vBulletin to host our community’s discussions and that we are switching over to a different provider. We’ve come to a crossroads with our current software capabilities and the community’s needs, so the decision was made to switch to something new. We believe there is great potential for the development of some really exciting features to better serve the wide variety of our community’s interests. We hope that you will find the new software easy to navigate and simple to learn. We have chosen a company called Huddler to provide the technology to power the community.
When is this happening and how long should the transition take?
The goal is to launch this week, but we’ll do our best to give a more accurate timeline as things develop. We are also working on getting a better estimate for downtime. Our database is large, and we’ve been told it’s safe to estimate 24 hours that MDC will be down during the transition.
What sort of features will be available after the switch that we don’t have now?
Immediately after launch, there will be wikis, product reviews and personalized homepages. We will also be adding a product review system where you can give star ratings to the natural living products you enjoy as well as the ones that haven't worked for you. As long as a review is within our guidelines, you are welcome to share a negative review to help others make an informed decision. You will be able to create lists of products to share with others what you and your family use. A new wiki system will allow you to collaborate with other members on guides, tip sheets or to create a how-to article. All members will be able to create image albums right on their profile pages. We will have a new feedback rating system for trades, swaps and co-ops. We will no longer have limitations on PM storage, and you will be able to upload images right to MotheringDotCommunity. Members can even embed videos in their posts. We will also be able to host multiple calendars for the FYT areas which hasn't been possible before. These new features should be available immediately after the transition.
We will continue working on adding more new features to make MDC even more exciting and compelling. The future holds private and public social groups, integration with Facebook, blog integration, a reputation system, chat and lots more. We're very excited and hope you will be, too!
Will we lose threads? Will I lose my post count? PMs? Will smilies transfer over?
All of MDC is going to be transferred over to the new platform, and we should not lose any content. Your post counts will remain the same and your PMs will transfer over. We have been told there may be some instances in which some recently deleted PMs may appear in your inbox, but with no PM limits, that shouldn't be a major problem. Please note that MDC staff do not and will not have the ability to read a member’s PMs unless a PM has been reported as offensive by the recipient or physically forwarded to a moderator or administrator. Private messages are just that: private.
Is my information secure?
Yes, there should be no privacy concerns during the transition. Information such as your email address and birth date is always kept entirely private and confidential. Personal data will never be shared. Basic information such as overall general traffic demographics for the site may be shared with a third party, but we will never share your personal data. MDC is very protective of our members’ privacy, and we take great care to maintain confidentiality at all times. A general online privacy reminder: always be cautious when posting and sharing personal information online.
Will MDC continue to have ads?
Yes, and we are striving to provide a balance between being able to offer our members a wonderfully informative, free site while ensuring that we can maintain and operate MDC. There will be some added commercial aspects after we’ve switched over to the new platform. At the same time, other less relevant ads will be removed. We hope to offer our members more relevant and interesting advertising from companies and products you might want to support and that are of interest to those who enjoy Natural Family Living.
I currently have a Supporting Membership, will I see ads?
You should not see any ads if your subscription includes ad-free viewing. At launch, you may need to change your preferences to ensure that your ads are turned off. This option will be available from your Account Details on your profile once we’ve transitioned over. We sincerely appreciate our Supporting Members and wish to thank you for your ongoing support of MDC!
I currently have a Business Signature package, will this be affected?
You should have all the same capabilities, and we even have a few new exciting benefits in the works to help stretch your advertising dollar and make advertising with MDC an even better value. We welcome your feedback about how we can better serve you, our valued WAHMs!
Can I still change my username?
The short answer is no. Due to database configurations, user name changes will no longer be available for any purpose unless an extremely critical security issue is demonstrated. So, if you want to change your username, you will need to do this prior to the transition which will occur in November. Afterwards, name changes will only be done for serious personal security issues such as criminal stalking.
What types of things will be different than they are now?
Basically, we are gaining a new format. We’ll still have the basic organizational structure with the same forums and subforums, only the site will soon be organized in a new and different way. Instead of one huge list of forums when you arrive at our current homepage, we will soon have a main “landing” page which will enable you to select where you want to go based on a simple tab set-up. From this landing page, you can choose to view the forums, wikis, product reviews, Mothering.com or your personal profile. You can actually view your Private Messages from the main page and check out the most recent content since your last visit. We’re going to be integrating photographs, video, discussion threads, wikis, product reviews and all kinds of interesting content on the main page. We hope you will find the new configuration intuitive and much simpler with a little practice.
Here are a few small screenshots of our new landing page:
What does it mean that MDC is getting a “new software platform”?
This means we are no longer going to be using vBulletin to host our community’s discussions and that we are switching over to a different provider. We’ve come to a crossroads with our current software capabilities and the community’s needs, so the decision was made to switch to something new. We believe there is great potential for the development of some really exciting features to better serve the wide variety of our community’s interests. We hope that you will find the new software easy to navigate and simple to learn. We have chosen a company called Huddler to provide the technology to power the community.
When is this happening and how long should the transition take?
The goal is to launch this week, but we’ll do our best to give a more accurate timeline as things develop. We are also working on getting a better estimate for downtime. Our database is large, and we’ve been told it’s safe to estimate 24 hours that MDC will be down during the transition.
What sort of features will be available after the switch that we don’t have now?
Immediately after launch, there will be wikis, product reviews and personalized homepages. We will also be adding a product review system where you can give star ratings to the natural living products you enjoy as well as the ones that haven't worked for you. As long as a review is within our guidelines, you are welcome to share a negative review to help others make an informed decision. You will be able to create lists of products to share with others what you and your family use. A new wiki system will allow you to collaborate with other members on guides, tip sheets or to create a how-to article. All members will be able to create image albums right on their profile pages. We will have a new feedback rating system for trades, swaps and co-ops. We will no longer have limitations on PM storage, and you will be able to upload images right to MotheringDotCommunity. Members can even embed videos in their posts. We will also be able to host multiple calendars for the FYT areas which hasn't been possible before. These new features should be available immediately after the transition.
We will continue working on adding more new features to make MDC even more exciting and compelling. The future holds private and public social groups, integration with Facebook, blog integration, a reputation system, chat and lots more. We're very excited and hope you will be, too!
Will we lose threads? Will I lose my post count? PMs? Will smilies transfer over?
All of MDC is going to be transferred over to the new platform, and we should not lose any content. Your post counts will remain the same and your PMs will transfer over. We have been told there may be some instances in which some recently deleted PMs may appear in your inbox, but with no PM limits, that shouldn't be a major problem. Please note that MDC staff do not and will not have the ability to read a member’s PMs unless a PM has been reported as offensive by the recipient or physically forwarded to a moderator or administrator. Private messages are just that: private.
Is my information secure?
Yes, there should be no privacy concerns during the transition. Information such as your email address and birth date is always kept entirely private and confidential. Personal data will never be shared. Basic information such as overall general traffic demographics for the site may be shared with a third party, but we will never share your personal data. MDC is very protective of our members’ privacy, and we take great care to maintain confidentiality at all times. A general online privacy reminder: always be cautious when posting and sharing personal information online.
Will MDC continue to have ads?
Yes, and we are striving to provide a balance between being able to offer our members a wonderfully informative, free site while ensuring that we can maintain and operate MDC. There will be some added commercial aspects after we’ve switched over to the new platform. At the same time, other less relevant ads will be removed. We hope to offer our members more relevant and interesting advertising from companies and products you might want to support and that are of interest to those who enjoy Natural Family Living.
I currently have a Supporting Membership, will I see ads?
You should not see any ads if your subscription includes ad-free viewing. At launch, you may need to change your preferences to ensure that your ads are turned off. This option will be available from your Account Details on your profile once we’ve transitioned over. We sincerely appreciate our Supporting Members and wish to thank you for your ongoing support of MDC!
I currently have a Business Signature package, will this be affected?
You should have all the same capabilities, and we even have a few new exciting benefits in the works to help stretch your advertising dollar and make advertising with MDC an even better value. We welcome your feedback about how we can better serve you, our valued WAHMs!
Can I still change my username?
The short answer is no. Due to database configurations, user name changes will no longer be available for any purpose unless an extremely critical security issue is demonstrated. So, if you want to change your username, you will need to do this prior to the transition which will occur in November. Afterwards, name changes will only be done for serious personal security issues such as criminal stalking.
What types of things will be different than they are now?
Basically, we are gaining a new format. We’ll still have the basic organizational structure with the same forums and subforums, only the site will soon be organized in a new and different way. Instead of one huge list of forums when you arrive at our current homepage, we will soon have a main “landing” page which will enable you to select where you want to go based on a simple tab set-up. From this landing page, you can choose to view the forums, wikis, product reviews, Mothering.com or your personal profile. You can actually view your Private Messages from the main page and check out the most recent content since your last visit. We’re going to be integrating photographs, video, discussion threads, wikis, product reviews and all kinds of interesting content on the main page. We hope you will find the new configuration intuitive and much simpler with a little practice.
Here are a few small screenshots of our new landing page:
Once we've gotten past the transition, opening up a new co-op forum should be on the front burner for us.
I'm so happy to see this!
. I'd like the option of hiding specific threads as well. Some forums I like going to, but sometimes there's that one thread that angers me, or is very painful to even see.
), so I understand the attachment. It's definitely something we're going to want feedback on once we've moved over so that when differing skins are available, we'll have a good idea of community preferences.
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