[Lewis]

UPDATE: thanks everyone for your feedback on the website so far, apologies that I haven’t been able to get back to everyone on your suggestions. A few things to cover off in this update:

• Log-ins: there are still quite of few of these missing, please contact me (lewis@lewisholden.co.nz) and I can sort ASAP for you.
• Memberships: Long term we will be moving to using thejournal.nz as the main point to process membership payments and look at other options suggested at the AGM (e.g. month-to-month memberships). This would be the decision of the executive, which I don’t want to pre-empt here, but it is possible with the new membership platform once we get it fully operational. This weekend I will make an effort to review the entire membership list and make sure everyone’s membership has been transferred to thejournal.nz
• Content: a few people have sent me content to add, the idea with this community is that we add the content, which a number of people are now doing, especially on groups. As you can see there is an entire section for adding articles etc, which Celyn and I will be co-ordinating, watch this space as we iron out the last few system and design faults. Certain content – such as Trade News – will be published on thejournal.nz and not in the physical magazine (Trade News is almost always out of date anyway!).
• Website performance: I have raised with our developers that the website is a bit slow running, especially when it comes to the login process and accessing the groups, which is the main part most people are now using. I’ll update everyone on potential resolutions as soon as I have one to hand.
• Groups: great to see more groups being created and some discussions starting. There’s a pre-1900 group, NZ48 group, and NZR finescale group. Momentum is building!

[Brian]

Hi Lewis, this is my first foray into using the journal (or anything else really) on line, and am keen to see it develop, so I hope this the correct way of going about things.

Where/how can I access the plans I used to purchase from the old NZMRG site? I’m particularly interested in the Sheep/Cattle Loading dock.

Thanks in advance

Brian Carson

[Lewis]

Hi Brian, thanks for your message. The plans are still available through our old store: Sheep and cattle yard details (nzmrg.org.nz)

I am in the process of migrating the old store over to this website, however due to post-travel illness I’ve been substantially slowed down…

nzmrg.org.nz

Sheep and cattle yard details

The home page of the New Zealand Model Railway Guild and publisher of the NZ Model Railway Journal for those interested in modelling the railways of New Zealand.

[Brian]

Thanks Lewis,

I’ve just completed the purchase.

All the best with your recovery and continued good work.

Best,

Brian

[Lewis]

UPDATE:

I’ve heard from the developers that the website should now be performing much better.

The payment gateway has now been enabled, so members can renew their membership. We are looking into options for future membership.

[Lewis]

UPDATE: I’ve had a couple of queries about whether the new website will support direct credit payments (i.e. bank transfers into the Guild’s account) – the short story is yes, it can, the long story is yes it can although right now it won’t work automatically, I’m looking into how to integrate this feature with the new website. If you’ve paid by direct credit recently please email me at lewis@lewisholden.co.nz and I can sort your access ASAP.

[Lewis]

UPDATE: The shop is now working, although there are a few details to iron out, I will begin the task of populating the store and removing items from the old website. At the same time the manufacturer’s list has been updated, with Greg Terry’s sad passing I will keep NZR Scale Models as is for now pending an update on its future.

I’ve had a few emails about content for the Journal. If you want to post this on the forums/groups you’re free to do so, but as always we still need content for the Journal. Please send this to Celyn at: bennet.celyn@gmail.com

Unfortunately, I still don’t have a solution from the developers for a mass-import of all membership details to users of the new website from the old. Most likely I will now manually add everyone’s memberships to the new website. If your membership details are still missing, and you can’t access the subscriber-only parts of the new website, please email me at: lewis@lewisholden.co.nz

[Lewis]

Update: I’ve enabled “Likes” for comments following a query as to why you couldn’t like posts… enjoy!

[Lewis]

Update: for all our Australian members renewing their annual memberships on thejournal.nz, we’ve created a special category just for you – Premium (Australia) annual membership, which is still $65 p.a. you can pay via direct credit or credit card.

While it’s free to join thejournal.nz, premium membership gives you:

• Full access to the website – including the ability to create your own groups

• Discounts on Guild publications and plans

• Full access to the Journal archives

• The NZMRG Journal delivered to your letterbox twice a year

[John]

As an Australian member, I have just renewed at the rate of NZ $65.00. However, when I tried on Chrome I clicked on Submit and nothing happened. I switched to Edge and was able to pay. That does sound pretty weird, especially considering Chrome has the highest market share by a large margin.

[Lewis]

Thanks @John Dennis – that is very strange. I’m using Chrome and it works fine for me, I’ve tested on Edge and that works ok.

[Lewis]

UPDATE: Membership numbers – another issue, to complete renewals on the new website, you need your membership number. A number of people have asked why this is, as the new website used email addresses to login – it is because of the link to the archives, which uses membership numbers.

The solution is to do a mass-import of membership numbers (and the other membership details), something we are still working on. You may recall I was trying to get from the website developers a means of doing this, we eventually worked out that there is a mass-import tool but it requires a licence. Watch this space!

[John]

but where do you find your membership number to renew?

[Lewis]

Hi John,

Drop me a line at lewis@lewisholden.co.nz and I can email it to you.

Cheers,

Lewis

[Lewis]

UPDATE: Renewals, Membership Numbers and Internet Banking option

Hi all, progress is sporadic but we are making it with the new website.

Renewals have been a challenge for a couple of reasons, mainly that the new website’s system is predicated on renewals of memberships being automatic, which is not the Guild’s preference, at the least we wanted there to be notifications that renewals were forthcoming for members.

Fortunately, this has meant a number of emails have gone out, some of which were confusing as they stated members’ subscriptions were coming to an end. We have re-written the notices. If you’re not sure, please contact us at guildsec@nzmrg.org.nz or lewis@lewisholden.co.nz
A related problem is that renewals have also required membership numbers. This is not actually due to the new website, but due to access to the Journal Archives, which uses your membership number.

Membership numbers will be added, along with other missing membership details, with a mass import we finally have the ability to do. In future you won’t need to add this to your membership details as it will be saved against your profile.

Internet Banking option has been added for memberships, for members who wish to pay this way instead of by card. We can’t accept cheques though as the banks won’t accept them! Please note with internet banking there is a manual process (i.e. verifying payment has been made into the Guild’s bank account) before membership is processed, so please bear with us as it may take a few days for payment to come through and be cross-checked. In the meantime, your membership will appear as “pending”.

If you’re not sure, please contact us at guildsec@nzmrg.org.nz or lewis@lewisholden.co.nz

[Lewis]

I’ve now added the retailer’s page from the old website to the new website:

Retailers – NZ Model Railway Guild (thejournal.nz)

thejournal.nz

Retailers - NZ Model Railway Guild

The New Zealand Model Railway Guild exists as a link between modellers of the New Zealand railway prototype. In line with our objects, we support retailers of

[Lewis]

UPDATE: Weird password reset issue

Another bug that has appeared over the weekend, but I can’t blame on CrowdStrike… has anyone else received a password reset email? If so could you please forward it to me at lewis@lewisholden.co.nz and I’ll have a look. I can’t figure out if it’s a problem with our website itself or our membership system and/or payment system.

[Lewis]

UPDATE: Website access issues continue

We’re still working with a number of members who can’t access the website. Please bear with us, as you can appreciate this is frustrating for us as it is for members who want to access the new website. Once again if you’re struggling to sign-in, please email me at lewis@lewisholden.co.nz

We are looking at making the following changes to make signing-in easier:

– Reducing passwords to 8 characters – we have asked the developers how to do this, as we haven’t been able to figure it out

– Sign-in using Facebook: since most of our members are on Facebook anyway, this makes sense and would make it seamless to post on Facebook and our new website, while member-only content will still require a paid account

– Fixing password reset emails: we have asked the developers to urgently look into this, as it appears that resets simply aren’t working.

Once again, thanks for your patience.

Cheers

Lewis

[Lewis]

UPDATE

UPDATE: Light at the end of the tunnel

We have heard back from the website developers regarding the password reset issue; it turns out that this is due to two different modules (the membership system and the online store system) of the new website having different security requirements. The developers are working on a resolution for us.

Hopefully, this should fix the log-in issues many members have had, especially with reset passwords.

We are not able to reduce the password lengths, unfortunately. I realise this is a pain for many members, I strongly recommend using a password safe such as 1password.com to save your passwords securely in one place.

Facebook log-ins will require authorisation from Facebook, which will take a bit more time for us to sort out. Meanwhile, the store functionality (being part of the login issue) will take us longer to get fully operational on the new website. In the meantime, the old website is still online.

Please bear with us, as you can appreciate this is frustrating for us as it is for members who want to access the new website. Once again if you’re struggling to sign-in, please email me at lewis@lewisholden.co.nz

Once again, thanks for your patience.

Cheers

Lewis

[Lewis]

UPDATE: Following some feedback, I’ve made a couple of changes:
– persistent log-ins: your log-in should now last longer than the default 48 hours before you have to sign in again! In other words, you won’t need to keep logging in over and over again.

– log-in returns to page you signed in from: this is an odd one as the way the settings were configured all log-ins re-directed to your user profile, which doesn’t make much sense. You should now be re-directed on log-in to the most recent page you were viewing on the website.

As always, any feedback or issues please email me at: lewis@lewisholden.co.nz

[Lewis]

Hi all,

There’s been a bit of discussion about where files should be uploaded to on this website. At present, you’re able to add files in a number of places – chat, forums (groups) and to your own profile. I think the best way to organise files is using the forums, and by specific groups.

As you can see below I’ve added a file, which is a JPG image of a ZA class bogie wagon. I’ve added this to the “Documents” section of the “New website discussion” group, with a caption that this image is an example. I created a folder, just as you would on Windows or MacOS, and uploaded the file there.

The image can now be searched using the search function (see the magnifying glass on the top menu bar) so in future visitors will be able to find the content, which is the key thing we want to ensure thejournal.nz is different to Facebook, where finding old posts is often difficult.

Cheers,

Lewis