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Last year, we announced our plans to migrate the Spiceworks Community to a new platform. Thank you to everyone who has tried out the Community " Playground " so far; your input is helping shape our future!

On February 29, 2024, we’ll start moving to the new platform and aim to complete it by Monday, March 4, 2024. At that time, the old platform will no longer be accessible.

We want to inform you of things occurring between now and the full migration and what you can do to prepare for it.

Dates to be aware of:

Monday, February 26th: We’ll perform a dry-run migration and will pause some action-based emails. This should not affect transactional emails or any emails you subscribe to for New Topic and New Reply notifications.

Note that the Community Playground may be inaccessible during this time.

Thursday, February 29th, at 6 PM CST ( what time is that for me? ), we will put the Spiceworks Community in full maintenance mode. At this point forward, the “vintage” version of the Spiceworks Community platform will no longer be available.

Friday, March 1st, we do not anticipate the re-platformed Spiceworks Community to be accessible. Starting the previous night and through the weekend, we will be performing and evaluating the migration, so you may have periods where the site is publicly accessible but then goes back into maintenance mode.

Monday, March 4th, the Community should be fully re-platformed and accessible. We will have a topic featured on the Community homepage, notifying you that this migration is complete and providing information to help you better get acquainted with the features and functionality of the new platform.

What should I do to prepare?

Most content and information will be transferred to the new platform, but not everything will be, and expect some things to be different. For a deep dive into this, check out the first reply to this topic. But here are a few things you can do to ensure you’re ready to go.

  • Usernames & URL names. Having your “Username” and “URL name” match as much as possible makes you easier to find and tag in the new platform. Details on how to update yours can be found in this topic: Prepare Now for the New Community Site! Do your Username and URL Name Match?

  • Collections. The new platform calls this feature “Bookmarks.” Your previous Collections will not migrate over. You will have to temporarily store any links you want to keep in another location, and then you can add anything you want to bookmark once the new platform is accessible.

  • Snap! email notifications. To continue to receive email notifications when the daily Snap! news brief is published, you’ll want to configure your current Community settings before we migrate to ensure that you are both “Following” and receiving email notifications. To confirm your settings are correct, visit the Snap! forum and select the pull-down menu. You should see “Stop email notifications” and “Unfollow”. If you see “Get email notifications” instead, emails are not enabled until you turn it on. If you only want to see the Snap! in your Feed, you must simply be “Following” the current group. In the new platform, this setting will be called “Watching First Post.”

  • Profile Projects. This is one of the elements of profiles that is not migrating to the new platform. We know some members have invested time and are proud of their projects, so we recommend backing these up.

  • Account Merges. Part of this migration is adjusting our identity and access management service. Due to these changes, we will not be able to merge accounts once we’re fully re-platformed, and we do not know when we may be able to in the future. If you have an older account that you’ve meant to merge the content into your existing account, you will want to have that done before Thursday, February 29th. Contact the team via community@spiceworks.com with the pertinent details to get assistance.

What does the future hold?

We’re committed to investing in our Community, and this re-platforming marks a significant milestone towards that. Our primary aim with this move is to establish a stronger foundation for future improvements; it’s just the first step in a series of enhancements we have planned. This migration has allowed us to look hard at what has been successful while looking toward what we feel is necessary for the future.

We know that change can be difficult. Many of us have been using the Spiceworks Community platform for years, and adapting to a new one can take time. However, the new platform offers improved performance, a significantly enhanced mobile experience, and features that have been long requested, such as dark mode. But we are most excited about what this platform will allow us to do moving forward. We are already exploring more updates, including re-envisioning old features, adding new ones, and tweaking existing ones.

Your input is incredibly valuable in shaping our Community. Do not hesitate to give us your feedback, including what you like, what you feel is missing, and any other constructive suggestions and criticism you have. Ultimately, the Spiceworks Community exists for you, and we want to ensure we’re building something that helps you get answers quicker, share your expertise, and connect with peers and colleagues.

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Now that we’ve covered the broad strokes let’s get a bit into the details of what is different about the new community platform. This list is not exhaustive, but we want to highlight some significant differences.

What is different?

This will be the longest of the lists as we’ve wanted to capture the core elements of what is most important for getting you answers, sharing expertise, and connecting with your peers and colleagues.

  • Topics. Topics are the core feature used today, and we anticipate it to be one of the core ways members engage in the future. Some features and functionality of topics and posts in the new platform are slightly different, but most are self-explanatory. That said, we will have some documentation to help you with this.

  • Quoting in a Topic. You can still quote, but the method is different. In the new platform, you highlight the part you are responding to and then use the Quote feature that pops up — more on this in the “What’s new” section.

  • HowTos. HowTos will be a modified version of a topic. Don’t worry; they include the features you’re accustomed to while giving you more flexibility.

  • Scripts. Like HowTos, these are also a modified version of a topic. And just like those, they also include the features you are looking for, such as displaying the code and having a downloadable version.

  • Categories & Groups. This is where things start to get a bit more different. Today, we’re familiar with much of the content existing in a discussion group and those groups being part of a larger category, such as the “Windows 11” group being a part of the Windows category. While the new platform has a Windows category, Active Directory is now a “tag.” And, just like we can do today, a topic can exist in multiple areas, just previously, it was multi-grouping, and now it will be multi-tagging.

  • Search. This one is also different, and most, if not everyone, will agree it is a better experience. The new platform even has an advanced search feature that allows you to filter off categories, tags, and more.

  • Mobile-Friendly. Being mobile-friendly was one of the key elements we knew we had to improve. Not only is the new platform more responsive across the board, but using it on a mobile device is a much better experience. Mobile users will no longer lose access to features and functionality because they’re on a smaller screen.

  • Community Homepage. This is one of the new platform’s most drastically visually different aspects. We still will have curated content (more on that next), but the new homepage has a few more filters so you can customize your experience, such as Feed, New, and Popular.

  • Featured Content. While you’ll be able to customize your feed, we’ll also still be spotlighting great content found throughout the community. This version will be a bit more streamlined, will not include images, and has its own feed that is easily accessible.

  • Following & Subscribing. You’ll still be able to follow areas of discussion, content, and members, but the mechanics are different. For example, you can still “Follow” a member, and that will help you keep up with topics they are involved in, but following categories, tags, and individual content pieces (topics, HowTos, etc) gives you more granular control on how you’re kept up-to-date.

  • Leaderboards. We’re bringing back leaderboards! This first iteration is based solely on overall points, but we plan to extend this to multiple leaderboards in the future.

  • SpiceCorps. SpiceCorps is still a category in the new platform, but each individual local group will be “tags.” With the launch, though, this version will not have all the features you may be used to, such as RSVPing, attendance, or notes. We have an events widget that you will see listed below, but this will not be accessible to SpiceCorps at launch.

  • Feature Requests. We are resetting our Community Feature Request list to zero (those for the Cloud Help Desk are migrating over). The main reason is that this isn’t just a skin or minor update; it’s a fundamental change. No need to submit for “dark mode” (one of our highly requested features), as it will be there on day one! Look for the “spiceworks-community-feature-request” tag to support existing ones or add your own.

  • Vendor Pages. The brand experience is better intertwined with the overall community platform. You’ll be able to follow along and engage with your favorite brands, much like you do with other community elements, as these will be taking advantage of the “category” functionality of the new platform.

  • Product Reviews. Reviews are migrating to the new platform, but in a limited fashion, as we’re still evaluating how these will evolve. Much like HowTos and Scripts, Reviews will use the tagging system to connect them to overall technology categories and be better embedded into the overall experience.

  • Collections. As mentioned earlier, the concept of “collecting” content will exist in the new platform, but it will change to a bookmarking system. Your existing “Collections” will not migrate to the new platform, so we recommend saving those important to you before this migration occurs.

  • Points & Levels. At its foundation, the system to award quality content is still there, including having an overall “level” score and a score for helping members. Don’t worry; your score at the end of Thursday, February 29th, will be the same score you start with on the new community platform.

  • Calendar & Events. The new platform has an actual calendar view of events, including those that have already occurred.

  • Polls: Like much of the above, Polls do exist but have some differences. For example, a poll can be included in a reply to a topic and does not need to always be in the original post that starts the conversation. In addition, polls have a few more options, including displaying the results as a pie chart.

What is missing?

Some features and elements you’re used to may not be there with the re-platforming. This can be for various reasons, including some needing to be re-envisioned or just not being successful.

  • Daily Challenge. We know this feature is near and dear to many members, but it’s time to retire the “beta” version. As such, we will not migrate it over in its current iteration. Any Daily Challenge badges you’ve earned over the years will move to your profile Don’t fret - we plan on bringing a new and improved Daily Challenge back in the future.

  • Verified Professional. Some elements you are familiar with on the current profile system are moving over, but there will be no way to apply for the Verified Professional or add your previous Job Experience on the new platform. Don’t worry; those who have already earned the badge will retain it.

  • Expertise System. The new platform will not calculate nor display who is an expert in content or on their profile. While it is a feature we are evaluating to re-envision, the current version does not translate well with the new platform.

  • Learn Center. While the content that powers it is moving over, such as HowTos and Topics, the “Learn” section will not be migrated.

  • Profile Projects. This is another element of profiles that is not migrating to the new platform. As posted above in the “What can I do to prepare” section, we recommend backing your projects up.

  • Account Merges. With the new platform, we will not be administering account merges.

  • Snap! Emails. The Snap! will still be coming out every weekday, but the dedicated email notification will work like the New Topic notifications. See the third bullet under “What can I do to prepare?” in the original post if you want to make sure you stay subscribed and get this delivered to your email inbox.

  • Private Messages.: Private message history will be reset on the new site, and this may be the one time in your life that you will have a clean inbox.

What is new?

While part of the re-platforming is to give us a better platform to build on in the future, we have some great new features right from the beginning, some of which have been requested by community members for years.

  • Dark mode. One of our most spiced-up feature requests that began over 8 years ago, we finally have dark mode! This also paves the way for more interface themes in the future.

  • Real-time Chat. Long-time veteran members may recall when we had a chat feature in the Water Cooler. With re-platforming, we have a better-integrated version into the overall experience. You can also create private chats, called DMs, with multiple members. We will have a single public “General” chat channel, but we look forward to adding others in the future.

  • Group Private Messages. You can still send a private message to an individual, but you can also add more people to the conversation. These are similar to DMs mentioned above but use the “message” system. Another nice feature is adding members to a conversation even after it has started. You can also add images to private messages, which has been a long-requested feature, as well.

  • Customizable Navigation. The standard global navigation appears across the entire site, but there is also a sidebar navigation on desktop view and a “hamburger” menu on mobile. This element lets you customize your navigation to get to your favorite parts of the Community faster You can add links to other parts of Spiceworks, like News & Insights , or even other sites.

  • SpiceBot. SpiceRex brought a friend to the mascot team! You’ll get introduced early on to SpiceBot as you pursue the new community platform. SpiceBot will run you through a few site tutorials and a few other fun mechanics, such as dice rolls, quotations, and it can even tell your fortune.

  • Advanced search capabilities. We talk about Search in an earlier section, but the advanced search feature deserves its own call-out. There are a variety of filters, including timeframes and even one for topics and posts you’ve spiced up.

  • Pepper Avatar flair. Now your “pepper” level will add some flair to your avatar. ‘Nuff said!

  • Floating Text Editor. While the text editor will take up the full screen on smartphones, you’ll see a “floating” version on desktops and tablets. This allows you to resize the editor to what size works best for you, including a fullscreen version.

  • Topic Drafts. We’ve all had moments where we start writing a reply, but something comes up, and we don’t have time to finish it. Now you’ll see some new options when you “Close” a post you’re in the midst of creating. You’ll be prompted to “Discard,” “Save draft for later,” or “Keep editing.” You’ll find these drafts on your profile under the Activity tab.

  • Upgraded Text Editor. There are a few other new features in the text editor. For example, you can add tables to a post, “Hidden” and “Spoiler” tags, and insert a date/time that will give our global members some localization options.

  • Emojis. You no longer need a quick copy-paste to add smileys and emoticons to your posts; you’ll find them right within the posting interface. You’ll find many of your favorites and a few special ones for Spiceworks. We hope to expand the latter; keep an eye out for a poll or to see what Spiceworks emojis you’d like added.

  • Quotation and Replying anchors. As noted in the “What is different?” section, how you quote response differs from the vintage community platform, but it also includes a new “anchor” feature when quoting and replying. When you quote someone or reply to another response (not the original post on a topic), you’ll see a feature that shows you how many replies there are to that specific post. In addition, you can expand that area to see the replies to that post, similar to nested replies.

If something is missing from the above that you feel should be called out, just let us know!

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Having played around in the playground quite a bit, I cannot wait for it to be migrated completely! I still think it will take some getting used to once I’m using it full-time, but I’m pretty sure the only thing I will miss from the old community is the Daily Challenge and the slightly less noisy layout. In the words of Sam Buttrey, bring it!!

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I’m ready…thanks to the entire “Playground” team for their hard work and dedication to this. I am looking forward to using the new community.

And hope to see everyone at SpiceWorld 2024.

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Tell you honestly - I’m a little nervous and excited at the same time. Just like our IT world - roll with the changes!

Thanks for the hard work and effort going into this project!

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The winds of change are upon us. We will adapt and thrive.

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i forgot to cause havoc on the test area.

oh well i will wait and do it after live migration :smiley:

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So on Friday, March 1st, companies around the world will see an uptick in IT productivity. :slight_smile:

Thanks for the heads up Sean.

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Thanks for the clear listing of changes and what to prepare for ahead of time.

RIP Daily Challenge. We look forward to your resurrection!

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I don’t like change! Why are you doing this to me?

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Well, as long as I can still wish Sean a Happy Birthday! from time-to-time, this change will be OK…

… And I’ll get a clean inbox. Bonus!

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So I guess that means the old Spiceworks Android app will cease to be a thing that works :frowning:

RIP

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One final salute to the community platform :disappointed_relieved: We thank you for your service and you will live on in our memories :heart:

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It’s almost time!

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Friday, March 1st, we do not anticipate the re-platformed Spiceworks Community to be accessible. Starting the previous night and through the weekend, we will be performing and evaluating the migration, so you may have periods where the site is publicly accessible but then goes back into maintenance mode.

Well, I was going to ask if this was going to cause an interruption in our daily challenge streaks, but apparently it will. A Permanent one for the existing streak.

Daily Challenge. We know this feature is near and dear to many members, but it’s time to retire the “beta” version. As such, we will not migrate it over in its current iteration. Any Daily Challenge badges you’ve earned over the years will move to your profile Don’t fret - we plan on bringing a new and improved Daily Challenge back in the future.

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Is there a way to preserve the current messages in my DM inbox/archive?

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Hi Robb, unsure if someone has a better suggestion, but there were a few I printed to PDF so I could keep the history of them.

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Guess I’ll spend more time on Reddit Thu - Sun… :grin:

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I am sad the Daily Challenge is going away, I took a screenshot of the standings today, so I could remember it. I’m glad we keep all the badges associated with it, but maybe an extra badge for the people who made top 10 all time? :wink:

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