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Over the last few days we've pruned (ie: deleted) some very old forum posts/threads, optimized our databases a bit, and rebuilt some of the caches and indexes our site uses.
These changes help us reduce the amount of disk space our server needs, which will hopefully help us keep our operating costs low in future.
You may also notice that the site seems faster / more responsive as a result of these changes.
These changes also help me get regular maintenance tasks (like backups) and major server work (like moving to a new server) done faster, more easily, and with less downtime.
After this pruning, some members who joined in 2014 or earlier may find that some of their oldest posts/threads no longer exist.
Normally this won't matter, but if essentially all their posts were made back then, and they haven't posted anything in recent years, they may find that their post count is now below the 20 required for Established Contributor status, which will result in them losing EC status, and their name changing from green to blue.
They might even potentially be downgraded to lurker if they've posted literally nothing on the forums since around 2014.
If you find that your account has been downgraded, this is easy to fix: just post enough that your post aka "Messages" count gets back to 20 or more.
You might also find that it is a good time to make a new introduction thread for yourself. You've probably grown and changed a lot over the years!
Once you have 20+ posts again, you should regain EC status within an hour or so.
In future, ECs will likely be required to make some posts on the forum each yeah to retain EC status.
EC status really shouldn't be something you earn once, and then keep forever even if you haven't made a single post in many years.
These changes help us reduce the amount of disk space our server needs, which will hopefully help us keep our operating costs low in future.
You may also notice that the site seems faster / more responsive as a result of these changes.
These changes also help me get regular maintenance tasks (like backups) and major server work (like moving to a new server) done faster, more easily, and with less downtime.
After this pruning, some members who joined in 2014 or earlier may find that some of their oldest posts/threads no longer exist.
Normally this won't matter, but if essentially all their posts were made back then, and they haven't posted anything in recent years, they may find that their post count is now below the 20 required for Established Contributor status, which will result in them losing EC status, and their name changing from green to blue.
They might even potentially be downgraded to lurker if they've posted literally nothing on the forums since around 2014.
If you find that your account has been downgraded, this is easy to fix: just post enough that your post aka "Messages" count gets back to 20 or more.
You might also find that it is a good time to make a new introduction thread for yourself. You've probably grown and changed a lot over the years!
Once you have 20+ posts again, you should regain EC status within an hour or so.
In future, ECs will likely be required to make some posts on the forum each yeah to retain EC status.
EC status really shouldn't be something you earn once, and then keep forever even if you haven't made a single post in many years.