[Eorzea]

Thanks to the generous donations of our community we have raised enough money to purchase our new forum software! Everyone who made a contribution has our deepest gratitude.
Note that there is still money to be raised for additional features for anyone else who may be interested in making a donation.

For those of you who aren't yet members of our community, we have been contemplating a name change for a number of months now. ff14site is rather bland; it's neither catchy nor memorable and it lacks personality.
There's actually an entire thread of suggestions here for anyone who may be interested. In the end, however, none of the names listed in that thread were chosen.

So what was chosen? Hmm...

The forum software we have decide to purchase is Invision Power Board. It is very stable and efficient and is loaded with all sorts of goodies for everyone.

We are also currently in the process of adding some additional staff members to the site, which in turn will hopefully bring us a lot of extra features and content.
Note that positions are still available to dedicated individuals who have something to offer. Please see our list of available staff positions.

The time frame for these changes is likely within the next couple of weeks. It may be sooner, it may be later, but the changes are definitely on their way.

Please look forward to it!

And by the way, Happy New Year!
Wow, are we really three weeks late in saying that?

Thanks goes out to our very own Momotaru for the wonderful illustration above. Quite talented, is he not? Expect to see more from him in the future!

[Ch1efer]

Yay, looking forward to the changes! And thanks to all those who donated.

I still want to know the new name of the site though. :s

[Kurisu]

Thanks for letting us know that things are moving along! And like Ch1efer says, thanks to those who have made donations to make this all possible. Hmm, not knowing what the name is is really starting to bug me. Hope we get to find out soon.

[Momotaru]

Looking forward!!
:msnapplaud::msnapplaud::msnapplaud:

[crevond]

cant wait, i plan on donating soon if it is not to late just waiting on some extra mula.

[Val]

Great news Eorzea! Cant wait too see the changes!


Crevond, it's not too late! we still have another $150 left to raise for the add ons to the new software =D

[Hydaelyn]

Wow, that illustration looks awesome on the main site! Good job, Momotaru!

Moving on... this is all really exciting news and I can't wait for the new features! But I'm still really curious about the new name. Can't you give us some more hints? :msnconfused:

[Apricoth]

Excellent! Hopefully that will relieve a few headaches for you too. =)

[Rowan]

Awesome, thanks to everyone that contributed.

Can't wait to find out what the new name will be! :msnconfused:

Great job on the illustration Momo! I really like the colors you used.

[Eorzea]

Just a quick update:

I'm just about ready to make the changes, but I'm waiting to see if any last-minute donations come through before going ahead with the purchase of the new forum software. Why? Because purchasing more of the addons intially will result in a discount. I'm waiting for updates from a few people regarding their donations, so I'll wait a bit longer to hear back from them before going ahead with things.

Either way, it shouldn't be long now. Thank you for your patience.

:msnwave:

[Ch1efer]

:onion15: Sounds good Eor. Just out of curiosity, how much more do you need to hit the next add-on or discount margin?

[Eorzea]

We're still at approximately $151.

To purchase the forum software, an addon I need for building content and the blog system, it will cost $225. There's also a chatroom I could purchase which would automatically recognize users if they're already logged into the forum, but it has different user limits/prices. A limit of 20 users in the chatroom simultaneously costs $20 per year and a limit of 50 users in the chatroom simultaneously costs $30 per year. Perhaps that's not necessary for now, though; IRC/etc. is always an option instead.

If I just buy the forum software and the addon I need for building content, that will cost $190 and we would only need another $40 to reach that point. If we go that route the blog system and other addons can always be purchased at a later date, but the discount won't apply.

:msnwave:

[Eorzea]

Something else to keep in mind:

When the new forum software is installed it will likely retain much of the default theme until I can properly complete a customized version. I already have something in the works but it will take some time to learn exactly how the new forum software works/functions and then to actually implement the design/template changes.

Anyway, it shouldn't be much longer now. Still waiting to hear back regarding a couple of donations and then I'll make the purchase. If we can reach $190 before then that would be wonderful.

:msnwave:

[Eorzea]

I will probably start on things today after work, so if the site/forum is down for a few hours or so (however long it takes, actually; it could be longer), that's the reason why. I think the majority of you will probably be asleep, anyway. :msnwink: If there are any problems I will post an update to our Facebook group (though that will soon be changing as well!).

Also note that even after the new forum software is up and running there are bound to be a few glitches here and there. Please be patient while all of the kinks get worked out.

Anyway...

For now I have decided to purchase just the forum and the addon that lets me build content. The total will be $190 and I will be $39 in the hole. Any additional donations will be much appreciated (not only to cover the $39, but for future addons as well (such as the blog feature)).

Thank you for being so great, everyone. You are/were the original ff14site crew. Within the next 24 hours or so you will become something else. Things will only get better from here.

:msnwave:

[Eorzea]

I have purchased the software but there seems to be a delay in the activation process. In other words, I don't know if I will be able to get things set up today/tonight as I had intended.

Anyway, it's not too far off. Feel free to continue posting for now; your posts will be safe.