New FTO format is live!

[Admin]

Woo-hoo!

http://www.FirstTracksOnline.com/

[Tony Crocker]

The Features - Resorts and Destinations section is now sequential in reverse order by date of publication. Is there still a menu where they are organized by region, then state or province etc. (if not, there should be)? It is also incomplete, as there are no Western Canada features on the 3-page sequential list for example. Perhaps you have migrated some but not all feature articles to the new format so far. At the moment the other features are accessible only via "Access the Old Site," right?

[Admin]

The Features - Resorts and Destinations section is now sequential in reverse order by date of publication. Is there still a menu where they are organized by region, then state or province etc. (if not, there should be)? It is also incomplete, as there are no Western Canada features on the 3-page sequential list for example. Perhaps you have migrated some but not all feature articles to the new format so far. At the moment the other features are accessible only via "Access the Old Site," right?

Right. I'm working on migrating the resort features -- they're about 50% done, but Google News advised me today that they're flipping the switch to have their spider search the new site so I've brought it live a bit earlier than anticipated. I've done U.S. states only and am up to "Vermont," so the U.S. is nearly complete. It's a laborious and lengthy task, but not nearly as laborious as our Ski Links database migration will be. Back to Resort Features, Canada is next, followed by the southern hemisphere, and finishing up with Europe and Asia.

There will be no organization of resort features by region unless I get some brainstorm that I don't currently have. There would simply be too many categories if I added regional categories -- it would be way too segmented and cluttered IMO. At the moment you can find them two ways:

1. Via reverse chronological order, as you've indicated. Of course, simply clicking on the Resort Features item in the main menu will display only resort feature articles.

2. Via a search. Note that the search utility gives you the ability to only search resort features if you so desire. In reality, finding an article that way will be much quicker than working your way there geographically.

[Patrick]

Woo-hoo!

Woo-hoo is right!!!

Congrats!!!

Keep up the good work.

[Admin]

Yeah, hold your praise for a moment...I just fubarred it to the point that I can't get into the admin panel. I've just sent up a flare for help.

[Judz]

lookin good

[Patrick]

Yeah, hold your praise for a moment...I just fubarred it to the point that I can't get into the admin panel. I've just sent up a flare for help.

That's why I said keep up the good work...

Good luck.

[Admin]

Well, thanks to two hours of selfless diagnosis by one stellar IT manager of a nameless Vermont ski resort, the databases have been repaired!

[Admin]

The Features - Resorts and Destinations section is now sequential in reverse order by date of publication. Is there still a menu where they are organized by region, then state or province etc. (if not, there should be)? It is also incomplete, as there are no Western Canada features on the 3-page sequential list for example. Perhaps you have migrated some but not all feature articles to the new format so far. At the moment the other features are accessible only via "Access the Old Site," right?

Well, I'm still busy migrating stuff, but you got your wish. In addition to chronological integration with all articles, or even seeing just Resort Features chronologically, they're also segmented by region.

[Tony Crocker]

OK, what happened to the summer 2004 and prior archives that used to be here: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/nobullframeset.htm ?

[Patrick]

OK, what happened to the summer 2004 and prior archives that used to be here: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/nobullframeset.htm ?

Ditto!!!

[Admin]

OK, what happened to the summer 2004 and prior archives that used to be here: http://www.firsttracksonline.com/nobullframeset.htm ?

Good catch, gentlemen. I've updated the link in the header of each Liftlines page to http://www.FirstTracksOnline.com/discus2/ to reflect their correct location.

For a time some of these little oversights will reveal themselves. Keep pointing them out.

[nowell91]

The new layout is great! Just one problem though- I can't log in on the site itself, while I still can in the forums. Is another account required? Also, are there any benefits of having an account outside of the forums?

[Admin]

The new layout is great! Just one problem though- I can't log in on the site itself, while I still can in the forums. Is another account required? Also, are there any benefits of having an account outside of the forums?

And yet another problem is pointed out -- thanks, Nowell! I had made a FAQ entry to address those questions, but a database rewrite eliminated it and I forgot to re-enter it.

The logins are separate as two different pieces of software access two different user databases. To be honest, aside from customizing the website to suit your own needs, customizing your local time, etc., at the moment there aren't many benefits to registration. In the future that could change if security issues force us to limit comments, voting, etc. to registered users.

[AlpineZone]

Nice job, Marc! Looks great. I understand that the forum is separate from the CMS used on the rest of the site, but have you considered at least updating colors on the forums to match the main site? You could probably also add a nav header to the top of the boards. It might just tie it all together better.