To start: All members, posts, threads, polls and PM's from SHT have been transferred over. This means that all Silent Hill Talk members have to do is login with their normal username/password and they can start discussing once again in addition to having all their original posts/threads/etc remain intact.
If you were a moderator back at SHT your mod rank/position will be carried over very soon. Fungo has spoken very highly of the mods so I look forward to your services and thank you greatly for them!
One thing that had to be changed in this merge, however, is user avatars from SHT. Because the majority of users uploaded their avatars to the database (instead of hotlinking them elsewhere) they could not be carried over. Thankfully enough, though, this is an easy fix as all a user will have to do is re-upload their avatar. Keep in mind the max avatar dimensions are 100x100 pixels. This is because the site's layout was made around that size so anything bigger will mess up the layout. However, when the new layout comes out you may be able to make this larger (explained further below). Signatures and the like are still attached to everyone's accounts so no worries there!
Also note that all the off-topic forums (such as general discussion, media room, etc) are found in the sub-forum labeled "Various Discussions" on the front page. Clicking on that link will take you to a whole new world of non-SH related discussions:
viewforum.php?f=14
You may see a good amount of broken images inside posts. Chances are, those broken images are of smilies that SHT had that SHC didn't. Don't worry as the smilies will be re-uploaded and those missing images will be re-filled!
Members also have the ability to create their very own custom-ranks without waiting for us to make them for you. Simply go to your User Control Panel > Profile > Additional Info and have at it!
Info about changed post counts is a few replies below or you can click here.
So why did this merge happen in the first place?
Well, a few reasons: Silent Hill forums are few and far between. Even worse is that most are not very active. Sadly, both SHT and SHC were suffering from this dilemma. With that in mind, and that Fungo and I have been good online SH friends since late 2000, it made sense to merge our two communities into one. This is great as members from both sides can meet each other and spark all sorts of discussions once more while the community grows into a bigger and better place. The intent of this from Fungo, Whitney and myself is to bring as many people who love SH, in all its shapes and sizes, together to discuss the town we all know and love so a merge was the way to go.
Now, Fungo already brang this up previously, but he, Whitney and I all compliment each other to some degree. Fungo is the man who is very eager and willing to help make the forums a better experience for everyone in any way he can. Putting aside how busy he's been lately, he's been great at listening to people and trying his best to help. Whitney is the lady whose great at engaging the boards, keeping the SH-discussing spirit alive and really helps make this place more open and welcome to all. If you don't already know her, she's a sweet gal. And finally, I'm the guy that likes to make sites and other stuff look and work pretty and keep things going smoothly in the background.
Speaking of which, I have some plans lined up for SHC later down the line:
After upgrading to the latest version expect to see a whole new layout for SHC. This new layout will function near-indentical to SHT's layout (see here) but its design will be over-hauled to look like Silent Hill.
We'll also be keeping an eye out for a stable, gold-release MOD for a ShoutBox and the good 'ole Shop MOD once more. However, these MODs are still in development and until they're finally approved for a live forum it'll have to wait.
After the new layout is complete, a new feature will be in the works called "Silent Hill Community Mobile." Can't wait to talk more about SH? No worries, you can log in to SHCMobile on your cell phone and talk away. SHCMobile will be a stripped-down, fast-loading version of the forums made for cell phone browsers.
And finally.... SHC may have its very own mascot in the far future.
More details on this will come later down the line!Phew... that was a lot to type but hopefully this'll make the transition over a little less scary. As mentioned before, all SHT user's can login with their normal username/password, all their posts/threads/etc are still here and you can begin discussing again right away!
Oh, and please be sure to post any weird behavior that you may notice in this thread as well. If you have any other questions please feel free to ask here. Fungo, Whitney or myself will answer the best we can.
Thanks guys!
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