Topics moved/nested in different forums after deleting some forums

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ShannaKinomoto
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Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:19 pm

Topics moved/nested in different forums after deleting some forums

Post by ShannaKinomoto »

Support Request Template
What version of phpBB are you using? phpBB 3.3.9
What is your board's URL? http://coloholicsanonymous.com/index
Who do you host your board with? bluehost
How did you install your board? I used the download package from phpBB.com
What is the most recent action performed on your board? Update from a previous version of phpBB3
Is registration required to reproduce this issue? No
Do you have any MODs installed? No
Do you have any extensions installed? Yes
What version of phpBB3 did you update from? phpBB 3.3.7
What extensions do you have installed? Add User 1.0.3
Advanced BBCode Box 3.2.3
Board Annoucements 1.1.0
Lightbox 2.0.2

others that are disabled:
Dice Extension
PM Welcome
User Ranks List
VigLink
What styles do you currently have installed? Prosilver, Black, Elegance
What language(s) is your board currently using? English
Which database type/version are you using? MySQL 5
What is your level of experience? New to PHP and phpBB
What actions did you take (updating your board; installing a MOD, style or extension; etc.) prior to this problem becoming noticeable? One of my Admins was deleting forums.
Please describe your problem. After he deleted the forums, Other forums and some of the ones he tried to delete nested into other forums (from the ACP view). Some we can see from the site front end as moved, most we can't see at all. On the back end, the ACP sees that these forms are nested inside other forums and I cannot move them or anything. Resyncing doesn't work. This is happening to Categories and forums both. Example below:

From site front End
Category: Fantasy
Forum: Dark Essence
Sub Forums: Latern, The Ring, Duskfall Groves, Orants's Peaks, Bloodbloom Meadows, The Sea of Rime, The Ashen Coast, The Flame-Scarred Badlands

From site back end Board Index > fantasy > Dark essence - Same as front end view
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From Site Back End Board - Forum Administration > Select a forum drop down >
Category? Fantasy
Forum - Dark Essence
Sub Forum - Latern, The Ring, Earth (various others)
Sub Sub Forum of Earth - The Frontier
Sub Sub Sub Forum of The Frontier - Duskfall Groves

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Image
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And this goes on to lots of nested forums. Only viewable from the select a forum Drop down.

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If I select one of these forums - The Frontier for example and navigate to it, I get the following
Board Index > Fantasy > Dark Essence > Earth > The Frontier > Duskfall Groves
I am not even getting the forum that I am selecting.

Image

I attempted to do a left and right ID fix with the SDK tool, but that did not work. I upgraded from 3.3.7 to 3.3.9. That did not fix anything. Resynchronised forums - did nothing.
Generated by SRT Generator

EDIT: I also want to state that I would have just rolled back my SQL database however I was not aware that bluehost deprecated the way I was doing my backups, so I do not have any (which is an anger point all in itself).
Last edited by ShannaKinomoto on Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
ShannaKinomoto
Registered User
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:19 pm

Re: Topics moved/nested in different forums after deleting some forums

Post by ShannaKinomoto »

Not sure if this helps or not but I just attempted to move a forum into my Sci-Fi topic and got this error.

Image
ShannaKinomoto
Registered User
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:19 pm

Re: Topics moved/nested in different forums after deleting some forums

Post by ShannaKinomoto »

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warmweer
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Re: Topics moved/nested in different forums after deleting some forums

Post by warmweer »

ShannaKinomoto wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:26 pm EDIT: I also want to state that I would have just rolled back my SQL database however I was not aware that bluehost deprecated the way I was doing my backups, so I do not have any (which is an anger point all in itself).
Lesson 1 : never rely on the host for backups
Lesson 2 : do not give admin permissions to someone who doesn't know what he's doing

Looking at your forum "ladder", the most simple way (I think) to fix the tree is to create a whole new forums structure, limiting it to Category, Forum, subForum and subsubForum. You could perhaps go 1 level deeper but going deeper than that will make it too complicated for many users. Give each forum a clear name (and use a pre- or suffix NEW_ or something so that there can be no confusion (you can rename them later)

Write or draw the structure you want before doing anything and write down the forum_ids of each current "forum", then start by creating new categories, then the forums, and so on. (also write down the created forum_ids.) Think carefully about the tree you want to create, keep it logical but as simple as possible - going 7,8,9 levels deep is creating problems. Why write down the old and the new forum_ids: it's a way of checking that you effectively moving post from the intended old section to an intended new section. In fact you might want to give the newly created forums a temporary name with a prefix indicating the forum depth: e.g. add 1_, 1.1_, 1.1.1_ (just a thought which may make it a bit more overseeable)


Then work out the sequence of moving an old section to another (new) section (write it down, using the forum_ids and the forum names so that you can't make a mistake.

Then move the posts from a "forum" from the old structure to one of those new forums in the correct new structure. Start with the top level and work your way down.

Do not yet delete parts of the old structure until everything is sorted out.

And: before starting on the whole exercise, take a database backup, and when a section is complete, take a new database backup.

Once your new structure is filled, (and at that time your old structure should contain nothing more than empty forums), only then delete the old structure and remove the prefixes you used.

Before starting on all that, go and buy about a kilo of coffee and some aspirine and don't rush it.

hmmm, almost forgot the first thing I wanted to mention: if this is the first time you tackle something like this: do it on a copy of your board on personal webserver. Once that 's done all you need to do is to take a database backup and restore that in your live database.
Spelling is freeware, which means you can use it for free.
On the other hand, it is not open source, which means you cannot change it or publish it in a modified form.


Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.
ShannaKinomoto
Registered User
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Feb 05, 2023 3:19 pm

Re: Topics moved/nested in different forums after deleting some forums

Post by ShannaKinomoto »

Thank you for the reply.

1- lesson learned. Do my stuff myself. It would be nicer if I was paid to admin this site, but alas, I am not. Darn you hobbies.
2- My admin has been doing this for 6 years with me and we have never had this issue before.

That all being said - our forums are only 3 deep at most at all times. The fact this has sub sub sub sub (and deeper) forums was not on purpose. It happened when deleting the forums we no longer had a use for. Things got all kinds of weird when that happened. Typically it is Category > forum > sub forums. This is a role playing site so it's basically category of roleplay > roleplay > roleplay locations.

I had the thought to do what you suggested, but didn't want to go though the hassle of there was an easier way as this headache is going to take me a few days. Oh well. Can I get that kilo of coffee? :)

I will try this method out.

Though another thing to mention is that it is nearly impossible for me to get into the forum (bird tailing is impossible and going though the drop down may or may not put me in the right place) so that is another pain point.

I am also unable to see several of these forums from the main page so going on with the mod admin panel to move things is impossible. I will try to move them via deleting the og forum and do ”move topic” function.
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warmweer
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Re: Topics moved/nested in different forums after deleting some forums

Post by warmweer »

ShannaKinomoto wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 12:12 pm ... via deleting the og forum and do ”move topic” function.
First of all, I mentioned moving posts, I actually meant moving topics so "move topic" is a good call.
Just in case : I specifically mentioned moving posts topics BEFORE you delete the "old" forum. This in order to avoid a possible mishap. And again: I emphasise : take a database backup before you start reorganising, better safe than sorry.
Spelling is freeware, which means you can use it for free.
On the other hand, it is not open source, which means you cannot change it or publish it in a modified form.


Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana.
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