311.COM BULLETIN BOARD UPDATE:
The new 311.com is built in a system called Flux; a system where fans login, have a personal profile page, and can use the entire website as a bulletin board, posting their own comments and content on various pages throughout the website. It's a cutting edge system for a band website, helping to bring our fanbase even closer together. We love that communal aspect about the new 311.com, because 311 have a Fan Family like none other! Plus we have been able to offer a ton of interactive content (especially continually updating photos and videos) for you all to enjoy.
However, since the launch of the new 311.com, we have been well aware that the Bulletin Board section has not been up to the expectation of our 311 Bulletin Board Community. We have listened to your comments and over a good period of time, we have tried to improve the Bulletin Board under the Flux system. We recognize the improvements have come slow, and some requests are not even possible under this new system.
With that said, we recently made the decision to move our Bulletin Board outside of the Flux system in order to create the most modern Bulletin Board possible; one that offers many features and that would best please our 311 Bulletin Boarders. So over the last several weeks, we have been hard at work behind the scenes building such a Board with your requests in mind. Along with the Flux team, helping to head up this effort has been Mark Donnelson, who built and runs the 311Forums.org Board. Mark has been most helpful in this effort knowing how Bulletin Boards operate, and what 311 fans want most.
With the new Bulletin Board soon to come, Joan will remain the main moderator, while Mark and a few others will head up the technical team.
The new 311.com Bulletin Board will be more user friendly and will feature many of the enhancements fans have requested, such as:
-Faster load times.
-Ability to quote posts.
-Ability to post pictures without using HTML code.
-Ability to search the forums.
-Post counts.
-Smilies/emoticons
-Blocking feature, which will allow users to block posts, users or threads from view.
-Reputation system, which will allow users to rate posts made by users. A number of factors will play into a BBer's reputation, such as rankings from other BBers, as well as post count, tenure, etc.
-User control panel where you can easily see unread posts in topics you have participated in.
Even more features will be added that are not listed here.
IMPORTANT #1:
Because we are now separating the new Bulletin Board from the website, your login procedure will also be separate. Meaning you will have to login separate to access the Bulletin Board, or access the 311.com website. Each require their own login, you will no longer be able to switch from one to the other without logging in.
We WILL be importing all usernames. So your username will be carried over to the new Bulletin Board matched with the email address that we already have on file for you at the existing, official 311.com Bulletin Board. Again, this refers to the official Bulletin Board at 311.com.
When you log into the new Bulletin Board, you will be required to enter your email address. You will then be sent a new, temporary password to log in with. After your initial login, you should change your password to whatever you desire. (It is CRITICAL that you ensure you have a correct and valid email address in your current 311.com Bulletin Board profile. Please do this sooner than later. The volume of users on the forums will make it difficult for us to deal with incorrect email addresses on a user-by-user basis in a timely fashion).
Again, please understand that while you will have the same username at the 311.com website (ie. your profile page) and at the new Bulletin Board, the accounts will be separate. In other words, once the new 311 Bulletin Board is launched, any changes that you make to your Bulletin Board account will not take place on your 311.com Flux profile account, and vice versa. You will have to treat your 311.com profile and your Bulletin Board profile as separate accounts.
While we really wanted to have a single login procedure for 311.com and the Bulletin Board, we were not able too in order to bring you the best Bulletin Board system possible. So a separate login is a necessary change to improve the bulletin board with all the features you want and deserve. We are confident that you will agree that the login trade-off is worth it.
IMPORTANT #2:
With the launch of the new Bulletin Board, we will carry over the Forum headers (Fan Forum, Tour Talk, Album Chat, etc), but we will not be able to carry over the topics, threads and posts under those forums. Meaning, the new Bulletin Board will virtually be blank of fan content. It will be a clean slate. While we would have loved to carry over all the fan threads and posts, unfortunately it is not possible in the transition. So we all have to accept that. Please do so. We appreciate your understanding. Lets move forward with an exciting new Board format and keep it on the positive!
IMPORTANT #3:
While there is now a separate login between 311.com and the Bulletin Board, we request that you still also be an active and important part of the 311.com website. We ask that you share your time between the Bulletin Board and the main website. We built the new 311.com for you to get involved via your profile pages, and by submitting comments on pages, and submitting your own content to certain sections of the site. So please continue to use both aspects of the website (311.com and the Bulletin Board). It's a great way for fans to get to know each other better and for the 311 Family to further unite!
Obviously things will be a bit more quiet now in the world of 311, as the band is the studio for the rest of the year. But once we have the new album and tour campaign in motion, we hope to have you all close by and fully involved in our website. It will be exciting times!!
IMPORTANT #4:
Please post any comments or questions you may have in this thread. Mark and Joan will do their best to respond here with any further information that you may need. We will also do our best to make the transition to the new upcoming 311 Bulletin Board a smooth one for all. Hopefully the new Board launch will happen next week. Stay tuned.
Also, please note that upon the launch of the new Bulletin Board at 311.com, Mark has elected to shut down the 311Forums.org Bulletin Board. We applaud his spirit and decision, acknowledging that it's best to merge the two forums into one unified community!
We look forward to a fantastic new Bulletin Board and an exciting 2009, with a new album and lots of touring to come!! All the best to you. More adventures ahead!....
311 Management