Export board data | ProBoards Support

Llelan D.
New Member

Posts: 2

Export board data Feb 20, 2010 12:46:14 GMT -8

Post by Llelan D. on Feb 20, 2010 12:46:14 GMT -8

Board URL: ukiahspeedway.proboards.com

Problem:

Is there a way to export all of the data in a Proboards board? I mean all users and user data, boards, thread, and messages.

Proboards, while a wonderful hosting idea, just does not provide the basic operations needed for a modern message board (like moving a message to another thread), has UI issues (confusing layout and UI for normal people, the outline font is almost unreadable, and the help is not searchable and takes way too much time to go through), and there are way too many bugs. My users are mostly normal people (racers), and I have far too many complaints on how difficult and tedious it is to use Proboards.

I need to export the data from the proboards hosted site, convert what I can, and import it into a proper forum application.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Craig
Support Helper

Posts: 208,868

Export board data Feb 20, 2010 12:49:54 GMT -8

Post by Craig on Feb 20, 2010 12:49:54 GMT -8

Hi

Unfortunately, that isn't possible.

However, you may be interested to know that the next version of ProBoards which is currently in development will include those features along with many more. You can read more via the pb blog found in your admin area

Craig

Llelan D.
New Member

Posts: 2

Export board data Feb 20, 2010 13:31:19 GMT -8

Post by Llelan D. on Feb 20, 2010 13:31:19 GMT -8

Thank you for your reply.

I appreciate that there is a new version in development which may address some of these issues (I only listed a couple of examples), but the functional issues are critical (they are part of the basic operation of most other forum applications) and can not wait for an unspecified new development release date.

Since Proboards hosts the software, I can not even apply or create modifications to function in the interim.

The only information on the blog you mentioned I can find about the next version only talks about BBC code updates; possibly the lowest of development priorities when so many basic functions are lacking.

I inherited this board as part of taking on a new website, so I did not choose the host. The lack of at least a function to export our valuable user and message data would have definitely eliminated Proboards from consideration. It makes us a prisoner of the host rather than a client.

The user database and history of messages is vitally important to us. I must find some way to obtain this data. Please have your people export it from the board database and send it to me in whatever format is convenient.

I apologize to be a bother and sound so negative, the forum hosting concept is laudable and I applaud your history and achievements, but the trade-off of the ease of use for this hosted site does not compare to the lack of basic forum functionality and data protection provided by modern open-source forum applications I can install and host myself. Were it not for that, I'd stay with you folks for sure.

mikeumus
New Member

Posts: 1

Export board data Sept 17, 2010 14:07:13 GMT -8

Post by mikeumus on Sept 17, 2010 14:07:13 GMT -8

I look forward to this export feature as well as we want to showcase our forums history in our new website. Proboards was our first web presence and was very important to our groups organization. I promise to give a good tweet for Proboards once this feature is here for us.