We are drawing very close to moving the Lair to its new home and I am very excited to share some of the what/why with you regarding this move.
What are we doing?
We are migrating the Hunter’s Lair to a completely new software platform which will include a new look and a new name for the community?
A new name?!?
Yes! When you migrate to a new software platform, you inevitably lose all your previous links, which makes it a better time than most to make a name change so we felt this would be the appropriate time. Why change the name? We want a community that is IMMEDIATELY known by its name. While WE all know what “The Hunter’s Lair” refers to, outsiders don’t instantly know what we are all about. The obvious answer is to have the word “Predator” in our name and that is exactly where we started. While we wanted Predator in the name, we also felt it was important that we pay homage to the community’s original name as this has always been and always will be “A place for Predator.” Coupling those to desires together, we very naturally came to “Predatorium” (with the help of some input from Facebook). The suffix “torium” is a bit of a cheat (using part of the noun) but meaning “a place for” or “the place of.” So, the literal translation of the new name means “The place of Predator” which we feel is a strong nod to “The Hunter’s Lair.” We are really excited about this name because you immediately know what it is about and it still gives a nod to the community’s origins!
Note: If you go to predatorium.com right now you aren't going to see much. We are doing a number of imports, so you are just likely to see the stock install of the new software and not much else...
So, what about this new software?
Within our family of communities, the Hunter’s Lair has always been the odd man out. Why? Because it uses a different forum software than all of our other communities. In looking at giving the community a fresh start we initially planned to export the Lair to the same software as all of our other communities (makes sense, right?). However, after a lot of research, we came to four conclusions; 1) The software all of our other communities operate under is very dated and is not mobile friendly or modern in any sense of the word. 2) The software company that creates the software all our other communities operate under isn’t doing anything about this. 3) If we exported the Hunter’s Lair to this software, we would lose a LOT of data. 4) The Hunter’s Lair deserves something better.
With that in mind we went searching for another answer and we found it. Instead of trailing behind all of our other communities, Predatorium will be leading the pack as it will be exported to a much newer, much more modern forum system that blows away the software all of our other communities operate under. But what does that mean for you? It means that we will finally have a site that works well on both mobile and desktop devices without having to use a third party program! It means we will be able to implement changes more quickly and more easily. It also means the site will be more stable and will load more quickly. And finally, it means there will be a tighter integration between the components.
Will it look and operate the same?
No and yes.. All forums more or less operate the same way and while there will be a slight learning curve as you figure out the new layout, it won’t take long before the new way will become second nature.
In regard to the look, we are going with something almost entirely new. We brought on our favorite Graphic Design company, Ever & Oak to revisit our logo for Predatorium. Again, we wanted to pay homage to the Lair while also giving you something new and E&O provided that for us in a big way! Their logo greatly influenced the rest of the look of the new site which is very simple, very clean, and most of all, mobile friendly… which may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but with more than 1/3 of visitors coming to the site on mobile devices, it was very important to us that we provide a mobile friendly look!
Just to warn you… one of the biggest changes you are going to see is that we have switched from a theme in which the text is light and the background is dark to one in which the background is light and the text is dark. That is definitely a big change for us, but one that is important for both the mobile friendly aspect and for readability. It will take a little getting used to, but in the long run, it is a better and more modern approach.
Anything else?
While we have been able to successfully import the vast majority of data and content, there are a few exceptions
• Certain avatars will not convert properly and will be lost. This will only impact a small number of members.
• Sales feedback will not import at all. It will be lost and we will have to make a fresh start on this.
• Post counts have been recalculated based on the posts that are actually on the site as it exists today. What does this mean? Your post count is accurate based on the existing content on the site and does not include deleted posts from the past.
When is this happening?
Unless we run into trouble, our plan is to close the site late Thursday night, Jan 29 and reopen it on Monday, February 2. This will allow us time to make this transition!
What are we doing?
We are migrating the Hunter’s Lair to a completely new software platform which will include a new look and a new name for the community?
A new name?!?
Yes! When you migrate to a new software platform, you inevitably lose all your previous links, which makes it a better time than most to make a name change so we felt this would be the appropriate time. Why change the name? We want a community that is IMMEDIATELY known by its name. While WE all know what “The Hunter’s Lair” refers to, outsiders don’t instantly know what we are all about. The obvious answer is to have the word “Predator” in our name and that is exactly where we started. While we wanted Predator in the name, we also felt it was important that we pay homage to the community’s original name as this has always been and always will be “A place for Predator.” Coupling those to desires together, we very naturally came to “Predatorium” (with the help of some input from Facebook). The suffix “torium” is a bit of a cheat (using part of the noun) but meaning “a place for” or “the place of.” So, the literal translation of the new name means “The place of Predator” which we feel is a strong nod to “The Hunter’s Lair.” We are really excited about this name because you immediately know what it is about and it still gives a nod to the community’s origins!
Note: If you go to predatorium.com right now you aren't going to see much. We are doing a number of imports, so you are just likely to see the stock install of the new software and not much else...
So, what about this new software?
Within our family of communities, the Hunter’s Lair has always been the odd man out. Why? Because it uses a different forum software than all of our other communities. In looking at giving the community a fresh start we initially planned to export the Lair to the same software as all of our other communities (makes sense, right?). However, after a lot of research, we came to four conclusions; 1) The software all of our other communities operate under is very dated and is not mobile friendly or modern in any sense of the word. 2) The software company that creates the software all our other communities operate under isn’t doing anything about this. 3) If we exported the Hunter’s Lair to this software, we would lose a LOT of data. 4) The Hunter’s Lair deserves something better.
With that in mind we went searching for another answer and we found it. Instead of trailing behind all of our other communities, Predatorium will be leading the pack as it will be exported to a much newer, much more modern forum system that blows away the software all of our other communities operate under. But what does that mean for you? It means that we will finally have a site that works well on both mobile and desktop devices without having to use a third party program! It means we will be able to implement changes more quickly and more easily. It also means the site will be more stable and will load more quickly. And finally, it means there will be a tighter integration between the components.
Will it look and operate the same?
No and yes.. All forums more or less operate the same way and while there will be a slight learning curve as you figure out the new layout, it won’t take long before the new way will become second nature.
In regard to the look, we are going with something almost entirely new. We brought on our favorite Graphic Design company, Ever & Oak to revisit our logo for Predatorium. Again, we wanted to pay homage to the Lair while also giving you something new and E&O provided that for us in a big way! Their logo greatly influenced the rest of the look of the new site which is very simple, very clean, and most of all, mobile friendly… which may not seem like a big deal at first glance, but with more than 1/3 of visitors coming to the site on mobile devices, it was very important to us that we provide a mobile friendly look!
Just to warn you… one of the biggest changes you are going to see is that we have switched from a theme in which the text is light and the background is dark to one in which the background is light and the text is dark. That is definitely a big change for us, but one that is important for both the mobile friendly aspect and for readability. It will take a little getting used to, but in the long run, it is a better and more modern approach.
Anything else?
While we have been able to successfully import the vast majority of data and content, there are a few exceptions
• Certain avatars will not convert properly and will be lost. This will only impact a small number of members.
• Sales feedback will not import at all. It will be lost and we will have to make a fresh start on this.
• Post counts have been recalculated based on the posts that are actually on the site as it exists today. What does this mean? Your post count is accurate based on the existing content on the site and does not include deleted posts from the past.
When is this happening?
Unless we run into trouble, our plan is to close the site late Thursday night, Jan 29 and reopen it on Monday, February 2. This will allow us time to make this transition!
