Welcome to the all new 2005 Boards!

This has been a long time coming, as it's not just a new coat of paint. The entire system has been upgraded to new software, the first time we've run something other than vBulletin since we started way back in the day. Well, maybe for a tiny bit at the start, but from 2002/3 forward that's what we were on.

And it really hasn't changed much since then. We stuck with vBulletin 3 series for a long time. They released vB 4 in 2009, and vB 5 since then. Neither felt quite right, vB 3 had what we considered the best functionality for a forum and we stuck with it as long as we could, 7 years past it's time.

That version of the software is no longer supported or developed for, was slowly breaking, and was not designed to work on anything but a full screen desktop. When coding for vb3 started, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter and the iPhone did not exist. Seriously. So upgrades were needed.

We've chosen to roll with Xenforo. It's got the spirit of vBulletin 3, even has some of the coders from that era of vBulletin on their team. But with modern layout and functionality. More on that below. Things will be a tad different at first, but we hope you come to find where everything is and enjoy the new features.

Please be aware we will be tweaking layout, colors, functionality over time based on your feedback. We did as much as we could before launching, but I find that getting live and letting people use it in real time is usually best. If you find things that you don't like, don't feel right, or are broken, just let us know via public discussion threads or direclty via PM. This is an ongoing process (16 years now) and will continue to be so.

New Style!

We've referenced one of our older looks while building out the new design. Grays and blues stay with a flatter, more streamlined look. Our logo goes a bit flatter as well. The overall goal was to streamline both the front page areas and the forum for modern browsing, which includes mobile. Sidebars have been completely removed, mostly due to feedback from our users. Elements are generally top-down in nature, stacked on top of each other. Any ads or hype for different parts of the site will be stacked inbetween content rather than shoved in on the side going forward. There should be no horizontal scrolling needed anywhere, views should be appropriate for any device you are on and generally better on mobile.



Forums

• Now on Xenforo.
• Mobile Friendly
• Sidebars removed

New Forum Features:

Alert system. Now, you will see a red icon pop up near your name if you have an "Alert". This is similar to when you got a private message on the old forums, but for many other things. People you follow, conversations (PMs), threads you follow, when someone mentions you, when someone leaves a profile message for you, and more.

Users you ignore do not generate alerts for you. As for what alerts you get, you can choose that here: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/account/alert-preferences


Login - now up top, the very top. Right side. Says Login/Sign Up. Also present on the front page.

Mentions - you can notify another member and trigger an alert for them by typing their name: @Joe Moore @Kickback @optimusfan @Sol Fury

Selecting text will allow you to quote just that selected part.

PM's are now "Conversations" - and display like a thread with posts. People can be brought into and removed from the conversation mid way. Attachments can be uploaded. They are basically private group threads if desired.

You can "Like" posts. Totals are shown under avatar in posts and on profile page.

Everyone has a personal "News Feed" which shows all activity by everyone you follow. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/account/news-feed

There is also a "forum wide" news feed showing all types of activity (new posts, profile comments, status updates, likes, trophy awards, group messages). Recent Activity | TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

Spoiler tag is a button now:

Spoiler

Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text Hidden Text

Attachment uploads use a Flash based uploader allowing multiple images at once. This is not mobile friendly in many cases, but a non-flash version will be implemented down the road. Just drag and drop any group of images into the area you type your messages - and it will start uploading automatically.

Plus, once uploaded, you can choose to "Insert full Image" automatically.

Search has been upped to 250 results, there is a drop down up top which allows titles only and other quick search options. On the full search page, can search all different types of content (posts/threads, profile posts, users, etc).

The quick jump is the little arrow on the breadcrumb strips. IE where it says Home > Forums > Transformers > etc, above the banners. Opens a pop up.

Clicking a user avatar anywhere triggers a "Member Card" pop up with details on the user. Can jump to their profile page, see stats, follow them from there.

Images auto resize based on screen width, AND you can click to enlarge.

You can also connect your facebook, twitter, google accounts, and use them to log in.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/account/external-accounts

If signing up, you can use them to sign up, never even create a password. You can choose to disable it and create a password later tho.

You can enter links to your personal pages on social media. If you do, icons for those sites will show up under your name on every post. The available places are:

Facebook
Twitter
Google+
Instagram
eBay
Flickr
Youtube
Tumblr
Pinterest

To use multiquote, it works different than before. Click a couple multiquote buttons, then scroll to the bottom where the quick reply is.

You will see a new button called "Insert Quotes". Follow from there to insert multiple quotes into your post.


There is a new Trophy System in place. Similar to unlocking trophies in a video game for achieving different tasks. We've done up a basic set of trophies and points you get from obtaining them. We will add in more later on. This is a default feature of the new software, so we figured we'd give it a shot with some transformers themed Achievements.

Trophies | TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

There is now several leaderboards for members.

Highest post count -http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/members/

Most Positive Ratings - a mix of News Credits and Likes from all over the site - Notable Members | TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

Most Trophy Points - Notable Members | TFW2005 - The 2005 Boards

Couple things that work differently:

Looks like search results are designed in this system to not show new unseen activity via bolding etc. Purposefully. Goal is to get you to a post directly based on search term, not to be used as a "fresh content finder".

Also purposefully by software designers:

If you search by default, it searches and links to an individual post. If you choose "Display results as threads" - it will show you threads, and link you to the first post in that thread. No option to jump to last page.

I'm not saying I 100% agree with this, or that your desire for it to be different is wrong, just stating how it is by default, and that it was done on purpose by the software company.

Currently Active Users, per forum, not available.

Sightings forum - no option to set it to more than 20 per page. So we've returned to the "most recent replies first" method, standard forum style.

We will update this over time with additional tips and info.

 

Here are some explanations of key Xenforo features, directly from them:

XF 1.0 - Multi-page Navigation Enhancement

XF 1.0 - In-Page Navigation

XF 1.0 - Everyone's News Feed

XF 1.0 - Quick Navigation Menu

XF 1.0 - Member Card

XF 1.0 - File Upload and Image Placement Using Quick Reply

XF 1.0 - Alert Preferences

XF 1.0 - Enhanced Attachment Uploader

XF 1.1 - Notices
- XF 1.5 - Improvements to notices

XF 1.1 - BB Code Media Improvements in XenForo 1.1
- MG 1.1 - Updated Media Tagging, Video Uploads and More

XF 1.2 - Watching a Forum

XF 1.2 - Conversation Management Improvements

XF 1.3 - Google+/Twitter Registration, User Upgrade Logs, Censor Improvement

XF 1.4 - Poll Improvements

XF 1.4 - XenForo 1.4 Improvements to Replying

XF 1.5 - Profile post comment improvements

 

Toy Gallery updated with new tech and layout!

All new area just for Transformers toy images - Reflector @ TFW2005 - http://reflector.tfw2005.com

Different layout than the rest of the site. Image focused, less cluttered.

Not designed to be "everything and anything", but a collection of the best work.

Contributing Photographers now credited per gallery, and on their own profile page. Contributing Photographers – Reflector @ TFW2005

Links to contributing photographer's personal sites are present on all pages featuring their work.

Now open to submissions from members, not just staff. How to Contribute to the TFW2005 Toy Gallery – Reflector @ TFW2005

Looking for sets of vintage or modern figures.

Viewing a gallery for any particular toy shows all images from that set on one page.

Clicking a thumbnail opens a full screen lightbox, that works on mobile, and with keyboard shortcuts on desktop.

Can zoom in/out of larger pictures on mobile and on desktop.

Should make viewing toy galleries more user friendly than our old system.

 

WTF @ TFW

The podcast moves out of the forums!

Now at it's own dedicated home - WTF@TFW - WTF @ TFW - The TFW2005 Transformers Podcast –

Each episode has it's own blog entry.

Subscription feed has been updated: http://wtf.tfw2005.com/feed/podcast

Can now play inline right on the page.

Will eventually be updated on iTunes and in Google Play, among others.

Still in progress - stay tuned for more tweaks and updates

 

News / Front Page

Front page layout updated to match forums

No sidebar.

Can log into forums via top link, just like on forums

If logged in, can reply to news stories right from the front page story itself.

It will post to the forum thread automatically without needing to go there.

Comments now show in "latest first" order on news stories.

Can continuously "Load More" replies to see previous comments.

Clicking a username, or the date, on any individual comment of a news story will take you to the appropriate place on the forums.

Total replies to a thread connected to a news story is shown on the new story.

Better mobile formatting for attachments and replies. (Needs some fixing post-launch, sorry bout that)

Drop down menu gone, pure text links stay in place when on mobile.

New area on front page only that highlights 3 different areas of the site, will change over time.

 

Other Stuff:

Comics / Resources

Their looks will be updated to fit the new style in the coming weeks. No major changes to functionality planned for now.

Wallpapers / Screencaps

Wallpapers and Screen caps will be brought over to the new toy gallery style later on.

Tech Specs, Customs, Collections and Other image gallery areas are being retired. Of note: Tech Specs are all in our Resources section. The Customs and Collections area pulled from the forums which are still the best place to show off your stuff.

 

Feel free to discuss this upgrade, ask questions, give feedback, here:

TFW2005 Relaunched

 

Hey everyone -

Added in some alternate style choices for those who have issues with the brightness or the width being wide. You can see examples of each available, and instructions, here:

Alternate Looks Available Now (9/2016)

Basic options:

Default
Default - contained to 1280 wide
Bit Darker - gray tones muted
Bit Darker - contained to 1280 wide

You can choose / update these at the bottom of the screen, left side, or, in your Preference Settings: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/account/preferences

LMK thoughts and issues with them if you find any.

 

You can check out a board specific F.A.Q. here: The New 2005 Boards - Introduction and F.A.Q.