Grumble change of ownership/management

Mike Labbe

Administrator
Forum Support Team
Forum Donor
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Posts
19,500
Location
Lincoln, RI
Business
Get The Picture
Bill McKay, the founder of this great resource, has officially retired. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for creating such a wonderful and free community, dedicated to picture framers and the industry for the past 22 years. Did you know that the forum has more than one million posts, 7700 members, and a wealth of easily searchable framing knowledge?

I'll be filling some big shoes, taking on the future operating costs and upkeep/development of the forum. I won't be doing this alone, by any means. A Forum Support Team has been established, and our collective goal is to provide excellent support. The team is here to help with registration questions, assist with helping members recover lost passwords, categorizing content in the correct areas, blocking spammers, responding to reported posts, and to stimulate (not stifle!) a healthy and friendly peer exchange. The current team of volunteers includes Greg Norris (wvframer), Wally Fay (wpfay), Ylva Callewaert (ylva), and myself.

We are in a transitional period right now, where the domains are in the process of changing from one registrar to another. (which should be done within a week) Shortly after, the forum will be moving to a new server. The new server will be faster and give us the opportunity to make further enhancements to the system.

Q&A:
Will there be subscription fees required to participate on the forum, as a result of this change?
Absolutely not. The G will remain a FREE resource, as it always has been. In the future, banner sponsorship opportunities will be available to select industry vendors, which should help to cover the operating expenses.

Will there be any downtime during the domain switchover and the following server migration?
Yes, we expect some brief outages for the registrar move, the server move, new software update, and testing. A notice will be posted on the forum in advance. There may even be a short period where you see generic/unrelated picture framing ads, as the web domain propagates.

Is there anything else I should know?
When the move to the new server happens, we will be supporting HTTPS (encrypted) connections. Because the web address is slightly different, your browser will likely ask you to log in again. It may be a good idea to make note of your password now. If not, there will be a "forgot password" link to easily reset it.

Are there any policy changes?
None at this time. The same "common sense" policy still applies, which asks members to be nice to others and to refrain from personal attacks. The policy will be updated periodically, to address changes in laws, etc.

We're very excited about the future of the forum, and look forward to the NEXT 22 years. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to post them here or click the CONTACT US button on the bottom of any screen.
 
Again, thanks to Bill for all his work in establishing the G as the premier forum for framers, and for maintaining it so many years.

Mike, we owe you and the new volunteer staff a word of gratitude for working to keep the Grumble going. My personal hope is that this forum can enjoy a resurgence in popularity, as framers return for the benefits - not least of which is the tremendous wealth of useful information in the archives.

Let's spread the word to our fellow framers.
 
We're thrilled to have you back, Emibub! :)
 
thank you for keeping this vital source available.
If you have a way to have a "general sponsor support" way to just donate funds (like a sponsor support area) I'd kick in some funds...
 
Nice. Thank you and the others who also offered privately. After the move, we can add a link for that. It is completely optional, however.
 
OMG - as I live and breathe - the Return of Emibub!!! :thumbsup:😺😸 Hip Hip Hooray! (How's the new hip?)
 
Thanks for all the hours you've put in! A great resource for all framers as well as a good community. Enjoy your 6 Saturdays and a Sunday each week.
 
zPlannedOutage.png
We have decided to do the domain name migration, email server migration, and the web server move at the same time. The domain name is being moved from Network Solutions to Godaddy, and that request was submitted on Sunday evening. It takes them up to 7 days to approve and process the request, and there will likely be a period of 6 hours or more where the site will be re-directed to random "picture framing" ad sites. (Network solutions does this, when a site transfers away) If you see such a site that ISNT the forum, feel free to refresh the browser or try in a couple more hours.

They don't tell us when the transfer will happen, but it should be before Saturday night (most likely within the next 3 days) The process in between is called propagation, when the change has been submitted to various internet service providers who then have to change and update their own DNS servers. For most major providers, they will do this within about 6 hours. But in extreme cases, it can take as long as 2 days for the update to get out everywhere.

Once this change happens, we will back up all files and databases from the old server, and upload them to the new server. Once it has been tested one last time, the email system is set up and working properly, and we have updated to the most current version of the software, it will then be opened for use. Banners will be up explaining the process, at the time.

If you can't remember your password at that time, there will be a special "Forgot Password" link right at the LOGIN page, to request a new one.

The new web address will be an encrypted secure connection starting with HTTPS, but the old address with HTTP will also work just fine. Because of this change, you'll probably want to update your bookmarks once we have moved. (more will come on this later) You may also be asked to sign in again, because the cookie you have now is for our old HTTP address.

This is all probably MORE than you wanted to know, but there it is anyways :)

Have a great evening
 
Last edited:
thank you for keeping this vital source available.
If you have a way to have a "general sponsor support" way to just donate funds (like a sponsor support area) I'd kick in some funds...

Several have asked, and we really appreciate the generous offers, so I set up a donation link. It's completely optional and this will always be a free resource for framers. As we start adding select banner sponsors next month, the forum should be on its way to being self supporting.


Thanks
Mike
 
The upgrade was a success, and started at 1am today. We are now on the new server, and on a newer version of the forum software.

You'll probably want to update your bookmarks to include the new HTTPS web address of https://www.thegrumble.com

If you see any problems or something that doesn't work quite as it should, please reach out to any of the forum support team members. You can email us directly at migration@thegrumble.com

If you are seeing this and can't remember your password, please click the FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD link at the login screen, to have a new one emailed.

Have a great weekend!
Mike, Wally, Greg, Ylva
 
My guess would be that the signature pic was hosted off site (such as on your website) and referenced a link that was not secure/not encrypted.
( http: vs https: ) If put back with a secure link, it should be fine.

We didn't change anything with taglines, other than the global setting to require everything to be secure. That is likely why. (it couldn't find the secure version of same pic, for example, on the site that was hosting it)

If you have problems, pm me and I'll be glad to help
 
I deleted it, but I'm sure it was uploaded, the image is on my OneDrive. I haven't had a "host" since photobucket pulled their price stunt. If uploads are an issue, it would apply to anyone.

Boeing_767-231(ER),_Trans_World_Airlines_(TWA)_JP48949[1].jpg
 
I just noticed that some Grumblers have a little blue bar under their name and photo at left. What does that mean? Are they on the admin. team?
:cool: Rick
 
I just noticed that some Grumblers have a little blue bar under their name and photo at left. What does that mean? Are they on the admin. team?
:cool: Rick
It's something we are still testing. It's ready, but we need to come up with a title to go there :)

It will be set up to thank those who have generously made donations to the new Grumble. Those who sent something will have the banner on all of their future posts. (As long as they give permission for us to recognize them publicly)
 
Is it possible that when you highlight some words in a post and turn them into a clickable link, it will show up in a color more visible than the light gray?
The linking function does work, but it is difficult to see that it is clickable.
Thanks.
:cool: Rick
 
Is it possible that when you highlight some words in a post and turn them into a clickable link, it will show up in a color more visible than the light gray?
The linking function does work, but it is difficult to see that it is clickable.
Thanks.
:cool: Rick
I agree. This WILL change after St Patrick's day color theme is all done. It was green before, but some folks complained that it looked too much like "Grumble Green" text (something we do when kidding about something)
 
I see something new now.
What is ...
Screen Shot 2020-03-11 at 7.45.16 PM.png
?
 
See post #29

We're still struggling with which title to use, but those are to recognize/thank folks who generously donated from this week going forward.
 
See post #29

We're still struggling with which title to use, but those are to recognize/thank folks who generously donated from this week going forward.
Thanks for the info, Mike!
I missed that earlier post.
Lots of new stuff here and it's all good.
 
Is there a donation button/link on the site yet?
 
Bill McKay, the founder of this great resource, has officially retired. We all owe him a debt of gratitude for creating such a wonderful and free community, dedicated to picture framers and the industry for the past 22 years. Did you know that the forum has more than one million posts, 7700 members, and a wealth of easily searchable framing knowledge?

I'll be filling some big shoes, taking on the future operating costs and upkeep/development of the forum. I won't be doing this alone, by any means. A Forum Support Team has been established, and our collective goal is to provide excellent support. The team is here to help with registration questions, assist with helping members recover lost passwords, categorizing content in the correct areas, blocking spammers, responding to reported posts, and to stimulate (not stifle!) a healthy and friendly peer exchange. The current team of volunteers includes Greg Norris (wvframer), Wally Fay (wpfay), Ylva Callewaert (ylva), and myself.

We are in a transitional period right now, where the domains are in the process of changing from one registrar to another. (which should be done within a week) Shortly after, the forum will be moving to a new server. The new server will be faster and give us the opportunity to make further enhancements to the system.

Q&A:
Will there be subscription fees required to participate on the forum, as a result of this change?
Absolutely not. The G will remain a FREE resource, as it always has been. In the future, banner sponsorship opportunities will be available to select industry vendors, which should help to cover the operating expenses.

Will there be any downtime during the domain switchover and the following server migration?
Yes, we expect some brief outages for the registrar move, the server move, new software update, and testing. A notice will be posted on the forum in advance. There may even be a short period where you see generic/unrelated picture framing ads, as the web domain propagates.

Is there anything else I should know?
When the move to the new server happens, we will be supporting HTTPS (encrypted) connections. Because the web address is slightly different, your browser will likely ask you to log in again. It may be a good idea to make note of your password now. If not, there will be a "forgot password" link to easily reset it.

Are there any policy changes?
None at this time. The same "common sense" policy still applies, which asks members to be nice to others and to refrain from personal attacks. The policy will be updated periodically, to address changes in laws, etc.

We're very excited about the future of the forum, and look forward to the NEXT 22 years. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to post them here or click the CONTACT US button on the bottom of any screen.
Thanks isn't a big enough word to you, Mike and Bill McKay. I love the Grumble and look forward to checking in more often.
 
We're glad to have you, John!
 
Back after a long hiatus. Will try to stick around. The Grumble is where I started out in social media, and credit it for most of my "fame" (not sure what to else to call it even though that's not what it is!) in the picture framing world.

Thanks to Bill for his many years of service, and to @Mike Labbe for his PREVIOUS huge role and now full responsibility of herding these cats. He is the obvious successor and I expect many years of success. Facebook has its place, but it's horrid for finding already posted info. Maybe that's the point - they want new/additional content, but it seems so foolish to have to ask the same question 100 times... TG is a much better format for this type of info.

Cheers all,
:beer:
 
Nice to see you, David!
 
David, I feel the same way. It's been a while since I've been here but it still feels like home. This was one of my first framing groups, as well. Kudos to Bill for starting this and Kudos to Mike for keeping it going.
 
Is it THE Mikki?
 
Mikki is here as well, she reregistered as Mikkibaya(?)
You are correct, she is registered here but as Mikbaja.
It took a little digging to find her.
 
Oops. Welcome, Mik.
 
Well, I had heard rumors. I am glad to have folks coming back as well as new registrations. We have been having a good time here. :)
 
Every time I look at the Grumble now and check Members, I see more folks joining.
9 more today so far.
I don't think that I've ever seen so many new folks joining every day.:thumbsup:
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