Should we move to EEVFORUM.COM (and expand?) - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 12:02:15 pm
content: Hi EveryoneTwo questions in one really:I've just been trying to set upwww.altiumforum.comand Altium have taken offense to my use of their Trademarked name in the title, so I was going to change the name.But, I'm now thinking I should just add a PCB Category to the EEVblog forum to leverage the existing community?, possibly with different sections for the different packages?And possibly I could expand the forum to include other categories? (any suggestions)2nd thing:That leads me to the eevforum.com domain.Technically the forum currently resides at eevblog.com/forum, but I'm thinking if I expand the forum with extra categories it really should have it's own domain. You could argue it's already too big and has outgrown it's original intended link to the EEVblog?Should I just make the move to EEVforum.com now and be done with it?ThanksDave.

author: Arthur
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 12:09:00 pm
content: There is no harm in registering the domain and pointing it at the forum, regardless of whether you choose to expand the forum or not.https://www.eevblog.com/forumcould still point to the forum as well so people don't get lost. At least for a while.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 12:17:43 pm
content: Quote from: Arthur on May 31, 2011, 12:09:00 pmI already do that. You can operate the forum via eevforum.com. But the URL's don't show up, and the forum has all the settings pointing to eevblog.com/forumQuoteThat's the idea.I'd do a permanent wildcard redirect from eevblog.com/forum/****** to eevforum.com/****** so in theory all google indexed and other links to posts etc should still work. And google would eventually figure it out.The change would presumably reset everyones login cookie, and the attachment images will take a while to transfer, but that's about the change people will see.Dave.

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 12:59:04 pm
content: Looking further into the future, how about eevblog_and_son.comIf the Altium thing is expanding to PCB tools in general, then integrating with the existing forum would seem more sensible than a completely seperate one.A possible issue is ending up with a ridiculous number of categories, but I've seen some forums where there are sub-forums which the user can 'fold' to hide those they aren't interested in - not sure what software this was.My suggestion would be an EDA tools section, with subforums for each one.Maybe also a test equipment section with subs for scopes, dmms, signal generators and 'other'.BTW if anyone's specifically interested in low-end pick & place/SM assembly topics, here's a quick plug for my forum on the subject, which I set up as there was close to zero info on old/cheap P&P machines online. :http://www.electricstuff.co.uk/forum/

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 01:07:23 pm
content: Quote from: mikeselectricstuff on May 31, 2011, 12:59:04 pmYes, this forum can do that, you can see it in action on altiumforum.com now.It seems to stick when you leave and come back too.Dave.

author: firewalker
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 01:08:21 pm
content: Dave could you transfer our credential to the new database or should we register?Alexander.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 01:34:54 pm
content: Depends entirely on what you are trying to achieve. The DJ mantra of I'll do/review what I want to when I want to is probably best matched to things the way they are now. And that's not a complaint, what is being provided currently is holding the interest of a lot of people. That said, there also appears to be a lot of potential for a much wider scope.You could probably achieve the forum Element14 wish they had, and do an infinitely better job for a fraction of what they have spent already. I'd suggest the demand is there for something bigger, the question is will making an income generating expanded site be something you want to do?There is demand for things like your earlier kits, but demand does not necessarily match what you wish to do or the financial goals you wish to achieve.

author: Mechatrommer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 01:43:36 pm
content: i dont understand why you cant let go your heartfeeling from altium. they fired you?well about the move, i hate changes, i hate move! but i'll leave to the master to decide whats best. i voted "dont care"

author: Rufus
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 01:44:39 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2011, 12:02:15 pmWhy? I know Altium live is pretty horrid (and element14 equally horrid for eagle users) but do you really think you will get significant participation in a 3rd party forum for these design packages?www.altiumdesigners.comandwww.proteluser.comtried and never got off the ground, is the protel email list still running?A package agnostic forum which discusses general PCB/circuit design, the kind of off topic questions that crop up on official forums might get enough participation to be worthwhile.

author: Ferroto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 01:45:02 pm
content: Or you could make a sub domainhttp://forum.eevblog.com/most hosting companies will allow you to create sub domains for free.Most people are used to calling the blog the eevblog and there is a sort of brand recognition there that could be lost by a name change. Also it would be nice to keep everything on one site for ease of access.

author: armandas
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 03:55:25 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2011, 12:02:15 pmThere is no good reason to move. The main URL is eevblog.com/forum and that's what google links to. Why go through all the trouble and move the forum to a domain with pagerank of 0? And if you ask me, having a domain (eevforum.com) mirror another site (this forum) does not do any good either. I'd just have a permanent redirect (HTTP 301) to the main site.

author: Kuolas
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 04:13:00 pm
content: Why not a wide spectrum forum and instead of being specific?(whit a better design and graphics)

author: Zero999
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 05:34:44 pm
content: I thinkc you should just create a PCB section which should be further subdivided into CAD software, homebrew manufacture and professional PCB houses.

author: dfnr2
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 06:35:04 pm
content: I think it's a great idea. Most of the PCB vendor forums are sucky:- Altium has much useful info in their old forum, and in Live, but you have to be a subscriber, and Altium live is awkward.- Eagle has newgroups, which is something of an outdated format, although there is a conduit to a forum format. There's also an Eagle yahoo group. Yahoo groups are better than nothing, but not great.- Pulsonix has a yahoo group, which seems used and maintained by users, but it's yahoo, which is not great.- EDAboard has a PCB section, but it's pretty general, and the signal to noise ratio there is very low.- The free packages (kicad, geda) have, I believe, mailing lists but no great central forums.As a user of Altium, I'd love to see an altium forum here. As an ex-user of Eagle, and a follower of eagle and pulsonix, It would be nice to keep tabs on what capabilities are developing in other software. It would also be nice to peek in on those using the free packages as well.When I'm in a PCB phase, I frequent the Altium forums, but otherwise, my attendance drops off. However, I've been browsing this board more and more. I imagine it's the same for others. I'd certainly check in on an altium forum, once I'm here.Dave

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 06:50:47 pm
content: I would move the forum to its own domain, redirect this one for people with bookmarks.About the altium thing, maybe you could make some reorganization? Like thisEEVblogsection, as it already isGeneral chatBlog specificNewsThe AmpHour Radio ShowContestsElectronicssection, to separate the pure electronics stuff, maybe for new visitors that don't watch eevblogBeginnersProjects, Designs, and Technical StuffProduct Reviews, Photos, and DiscussionMicrocontrollersEDA / softwaresection, similar to what you have now on altiumforum.comGeneral schematics stuffGeneral PCB stuffManufacturingLibrariesAltiumEagleKiCad...Maybe heve entire sections for each software but I think that would be too much fragmentation to have like 5 subsections for every software package. There could be just one of each, where the generic stuff will be discussed and then one subsection per software to deal with application specific issues.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 10:25:24 pm
content: Quote from: Uncle Vernon on May 31, 2011, 01:34:54 pmThis has nothing to do with income or anything else.I just want to create a forum that's useful to the community.All I'm talking about ti adding extra forum categories.Dave

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 10:28:10 pm
content: Quote from: Mechatrommer on May 31, 2011, 01:43:36 pmErr, it has nothing to do with being retrenched from Altium.I'm HELPING them and the Altium community by trying to set up a forum.I've been using Altium for 20+ years, it's close to my heart.Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 10:29:57 pm
content: Quote from: Ferroto on May 31, 2011, 01:45:02 pmYes, but that's really no different to having eevblog.com/forumI already have the domain eevforum.comDave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 10:32:59 pm
content: Quote from: ndictu on May 31, 2011, 06:50:47 pmYup, that's exactly like how I was going to arrange it!Dave.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 10:50:38 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2011, 10:25:24 pmMy references to income were not intended as a criticism or complaint in any way! Donations both one off and regular have been recent topics of discussion.QuoteYou've already done this Dave! The growing visitor base and healthy proportion of regular participants being positive proof.QuoteIf that's all the changes being considered I cannot see how all the dicking about with domain names offers any real benefit. Some linking and badging cannot hurt but why tamper too much with what is already a well known and linked brand (URL)? A well indexed one-stop shop has to be more advantageous than any fragmentation. SEO wont necessarily be achieve through a plethora of URLs.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 11:20:38 pm
content: OK, I've changed added categories on the forum to add a PCB specific section, and have separated out the blog and electronics sections.This is should allow for good future exapansion for more categories as the need arises.If you have any good ideas for categories then please let me know.The categories are collapsible, just hit the minus sign.Feedback?ThanksDave.

author: baljemmett
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 11:30:10 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2011, 11:20:38 pmAll looks pretty sensible, although you've got a typo in DesignSpark:Quote(Also, to be picky, there's a stray capital there and in the Eagle board description!)For my two penn'orth on the domain name, I think having it under eevblog.com is perhaps a stronger 'brand' than eevforum.com -- the V in the latter always struck me as a bit weird!

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: May 31, 2011, 11:41:08 pm
content: Ok, I'll leave the server move alone. Things will stay put.I don't have the time to do it anyway!Dave.

author: elCap
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 03:52:32 am
content: Looks good. Please add Cadence/OrCad.Then I was thinking about a simulation category.. but I don't know.. might be good.Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2011, 11:20:38 pmGood! What's good about this blog&forum is the connection between them. A new video blog always injects activity to the forum (and vice versa I guess). If separated by domain name there is a risk that eevforum.com will be just another forum I think. But I would like to see a link on thewww.eevblog.com/forum, going back towww.eevblog.com. Some nice logo or something to click. Or use the same header as on the main page (although I think it's height is a little too high)Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2011, 11:41:08 pmAnd I would like to see some more stuff on the eevblog.com page. For instance your old projects, current project, and other things you have laying around. Because I see your stuff pop up here and there on the web, so why not have them all at the eevblog page? And maybe a place for uploading open source projects (as a pdf or zip file) made by eevblog members. Just a thought.Anyhow, eevblog is a good place to hang around, always something fun and interesting!

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 04:41:59 am
content: Quote from: elCap on June 01, 2011, 03:52:32 amYeah, the problem is just time to do that.I want to convert all my old projects pages and other stuff to Wordpress pages so they fit into the blog well.I did have a Wiki that people could contribute too, but the idea fell flat and the spammers killed it.Dave.

author: Polossatik
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 10:12:41 am
content: you have a nice community starting here, so that's nice.I do think however it might be use full to give the forum it's own/better hosting (does not really changes much from user perspective - besides maybe need to log in again) to have a bit of snappier response .I think the forum is the most heavily used part of your site, no? If the rest of section become popular then the "slowness" will only get worse and will drive people away.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 10:52:01 am
content: If I moved the forum server then I'd likely have to change to eevforum.com because I don't think I'd be able to have eevblog.com on one server and eevblog.com/forum on another server, as the domain name would not resolve properly.I do streaming video and audio as well as serve web pages and countless database acceses per second spread across half a dozen web sites. Hard to know what the forum contributes toward that.Dave.

author: deephaven
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 11:52:14 am
content: Hi Dave,Could I ask for a catagory under CAD for Bartells Auto Engineer (BAE)?It's a PCB schematic/layout package which I've used for many years and always wished there was a forum to compare notes with other users. It comes from Germany, but they have an English version.

author: Ferroto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 12:18:54 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on May 31, 2011, 10:29:57 pmActually if you create a subdomain you can have it direct to a different server so you can distribute the load evenly which would have a performance benefit while keeping the current domain.

author: zaoka
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 05:58:51 pm
content: Dave,one suggestion:Upgrade forum to Burning Board 3, made by Germans... >> WoltLab.com or DEMO:http://www.woltlab.com/forum/Its around $80, im sure we can collect some money for upgrade.It has million features, optimized for Google, interact with Facebook etc...What do you think?

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 07:32:15 pm
content: Quote from: zaoka on June 01, 2011, 05:58:51 pmLooks like you pay for everything (plugins, styles, ...) and it's not open source so you have no way to change/fix something.I don't see what is wrong with this one, or if you want something more feature packed there is phpBB - open source, huge community, lots of plugins, themes etc.Locking in to a closed product is always a bad idea...(Just my 2cents, but I have managed few forums and never had problem with standard phpBB with some inhouse modifications for extra functionality.)

author: zaoka
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 10:15:26 pm
content: There is hundreds of free styles and plugins for that board, a whole community that supporting it for years, once you install it you can do anything you want except sale it to someone...

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 01, 2011, 10:40:12 pm
content: Quote from: zaoka on June 01, 2011, 10:15:26 pmOK, didn't see that on their page, they just list the paid styles/plugins in the shopping cart. But the updates are still paid right?I mean, all this BB software is pretty much the same, there is not much you can do with it. There is the minimalist stuff like this SMF (which I really like), then some middle ground like phpBB and then what looks like feature packed burning board. To each his own taste I guess...

author: johnwa
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 02, 2011, 10:27:29 am
content: Quote from: Ferroto on June 01, 2011, 12:18:54 pmYes, if you have to move servers, that is probably the best option. It is a bit silly to go creating loads of entries in the flat .com namespace when you have got a nice hierarchical one of your own. That's the sort of thing a marketer would doBut it is fine where it is for now. I have only just got out of the habit of going to alternatezone.com/eevblog/ , I don't know if I can handle another change!<offtopic>The new spell checker is nice, except it doesn't recognise 'eevblog'...</offtopic>

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 02, 2011, 01:00:20 pm
content: Quote from: zaoka on June 01, 2011, 05:58:51 pmNever heard of it.vBulletin, phpBB, and SMF that we use here are the "big three".vBulletin costs a few hundred bucks (+ongoing), and phpBB has some security holes and gets more confusing with each upgrade, so I went with SMF which I think is quite nice.No shortage of add-on's:http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/There is the new 2.0 version, but it's still only in beta and they recommend you don't use it on a live site.Dave.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 06:58:17 am
content: I'd not worry about another domain name, although owning it and redirecting won't hurt. Many huge websites with very big forums function off one domain and maybe some sub-domains. I just can't see what breaking it up will do.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 12:08:29 pm
content: Quote from: Simon on June 03, 2011, 06:58:17 amIt won't actually do anything in terms of performance (unless you move servers). It was more for an aesthetics and separation kind of thing (eevforum.com is cleaner than eevblog.com/forum), and maybe help encourage people to visit the forum who don't really care about the blog.BTW, how exactly do you redirect a subdomain (like forum.eevblog.com) onto another server?I checked with my domain name host and there is no option to do it there.And my web host can redirect a subdomain, but only to another http:// address.So I can't see how you can keep the subdomain associated with the eevblog domain, yet have the forum files and database actually on another server.Dave.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 12:24:32 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 03, 2011, 12:08:29 pmFor subdomains, just make sure the forum.eevblog.com A/CNAME record refers to the second server, and add the domain as VHOST to the second server. For directories (eevblog.com/forum), the best solution would probably be to configure httpd as reverse proxy for that directory (will double the traffic, though). Not sure how to accomplish this with those pointy-clicky interfaces.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 12:59:10 pm
content: Quote from: alm on June 03, 2011, 12:24:32 pmNo need for reverse proxy, you can just make the forum.eevblog.com a virtual host that will have .../forum as root directory.Dave: I have no experience with the hosting you are using, try searching for something like virtual hosts in the control panel, or if they allow you to edit config files directly (probably not) just add something like this:Code:<VirtualHost *:80>DocumentRoot /www/example1ServerName [url=http://www.example1.com]www.example1.com</VirtualHost>The domain just needs a new record as alm said, try looking in the cpanel. I once had a hosting provider that didn't have this there, you had to send them mail and they would change it manually so maybe try that if all else fails.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 01:14:51 pm
content: Quote from: ndictu on June 03, 2011, 12:59:10 pmI was referring to having eevblog.com/forum on a different server than eevblog.com, you either need a reverse proxy or a redirect (bad for Pagerank?) in that case.

author: Simon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 02:37:21 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 03, 2011, 12:08:29 pmWell people will find the forum via google anyway and will happily come back. many websites don't have a direct domain for their forum if they are large. some forum installations software would infact install in a /forum folder by default. It is also helpful for people to remember about you main website. I visit the main site not very often because I'm always re-entering the forum straight from an email link

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 02:38:49 pm
content: Quote from: alm on June 03, 2011, 01:14:51 pmSorry, didn't get that. You can't have folders on one (sub)domain directly so in that case yes. But, AFAIK, if you just give 301 (moved permanently) it shouldn't affect pagerank much, google understands that. Also in that case people with old bookmarks / old links around the web would hit the old location only once and then continue on the new machine so the old one wouldn't take much load.Reverse proxy would keep the old links, without any visible change for the user but what is the point of moving to new server when the old one still gets hammered.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 04:53:30 pm
content: Quote from: ndictu on June 03, 2011, 02:38:49 pmYes, if you're actually planning to move to a subdomain, redirecting is the obvious solution. I was just pointing out a way to keep the current URL while moving the forum to a separate server.Quote from: ndictu on June 03, 2011, 02:38:49 pmThe load of the reverse proxy is much less than a dynamic forum page, but to some degree you're raising a valid issue, especially as far as traffic is concerned.

author: ndictu
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2011, 05:42:22 pm
content: Quote from: alm on June 03, 2011, 04:53:30 pmOf course, but still something. And while a dedicated machine will reduce the server-side load time, going through the old machine to user will add a bit to it, hard to tell the ratio without any stats.But this is pretty much a pointless discussion, if Dave ever moves to a dedicated machine I don't see a reason to go through all this trouble instead of just a redirect and a new (sub)domain.

author: copiertalk
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: June 05, 2011, 05:20:55 pm
content: Other than more stuff to keep up with I am not sure it is going to make any difference what address it is at?I will continue to go to the homepage and hit the link at the top to come to the forum as I always have. The person that only follows links from his rss feed will continue to go that route if it is hosted where it is or on the moon.The more tweeks you apply, the more you have to keep up with. If you forward a domain or some DNS trickery and forget about it and move someting, you take the chance of crashing your google links or technorati links. This may nt apply to the next six months but in a years time, you will forget some small part or tweek that was added.As your forum grow you will develope links in google but also you must think about other resources. You will also gain technorati, baidu and a hundred other usful links and linkbacks to your articles , blogs and forum. While google will play by the rules in your robots.txt file or .htaccess file, many others may not. Be weary.If you like SMF, stay with it. It is a small compact/ lightweight forum solution. It works really well for what it does. There is VB, IPB, and many , many others. Pick the one you like and stay with it for the long haul. SMF is not my favorite but I visit the site more for the people and content rather than what script you run a forum from.

author: Ferroto
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2011, 11:28:05 am
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 03, 2011, 12:08:29 pmStrange they don't allow you to do it as having subdomains redirecting to another server is common practice.As an experiment when setting up the sub-domain try typing in the IP address of a remote server in this format.Code:http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx/It is possible that they want their customers to type in the address in http:// format to stop novice webadmins from mucking up their DNS entry. But I can't imagine they would nerf the ability to redirect a sub-domain to a specific IP address.If the above suggestion does not work I would recommend getting in touch with tech support and seeing if there are any options available.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 06, 2011, 02:18:48 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on June 03, 2011, 12:08:29 pmIt depends what you mean by redirect. The normal way you'd do it (which isn't really a redirection):Set up forum.eevblog.com as a Web site on server 2.In the DNS zone for eevblog.com, add/change forum.eevblog.com to server 2's IPQuoteYeah, if you do the redirection at the HTTP level, it only makes sense to be able to redirect it to another HTTP server.QuoteIf I'm understanding you correctly, the DNS option the only way to do this effectively.