I would like to move my Simple Machine Forum here

[besommer]

I'm currently hosting a Simple Machine Forum v.2.0.1 on my own server. I'm handing it off to somebody else, so I registered for a free account here. Now I need to get the data migrated. Due to various medical reasons, that I won't get into -- while this may have been a task I was capable of doing years ago -- it isn't a task I'm capable of doing now.

That being the case -- and with there being no desire for a PRO account -- is it possible for me to pay for your services to handle the migration from my server to the account I have registered on your site?

[Jacob]

Unfortunately, due to the protections we have to have on free forums, we cannot migrate external forums to our free network. I know you said you don't want to purchase Pro Hosting at this time, but if you purchase it, you can migrate forums to our network as often as you wish.

[besommer]

Unfortunately, due to the protections we have to have on free forums, we cannot migrate external forums to our free network. I know you said you don't want to purchase Pro Hosting at this time, but if you purchase it, you can migrate forums to our network as often as you wish.

If I purchase PRO Hosting, it is stuck at PRO Hosting, correct? I'll always have to pay that monthly fee?

Let me know if that is incorrect, because that is why I did not get an account on siteground.com.

[Jacob]

Well, all of your Pro Hosting forums will remain on Pro Hosting, correct. However, unlike most hosts, we do not delete forums/files if you lapse in payment or decide to cancel. We merely suspend the files from view and if you decide to pay again, the suspension will end, and your site will return as it was.

[besommer]

Well, all of your Pro Hosting forums will remain on Pro Hosting, correct. However, unlike most hosts, we do not delete forums/files if you lapse in payment or decide to cancel. We merely suspend the files from view and if you decide to pay again, the suspension will end, and your site will return as it was.

If I agree to PRO hosting for a pre-specified period of time, determined by your company, would you be able to migrate the forum from your PRO network to a new forum on your free network, as your PRO network is not considered an external forum?

[Dagger]

Well, all of your Pro Hosting forums will remain on Pro Hosting, correct. However, unlike most hosts, we do not delete forums/files if you lapse in payment or decide to cancel. We merely suspend the files from view and if you decide to pay again, the suspension will end, and your site will return as it was.

If I agree to PRO hosting for a pre-specified period of time, determined by your company, would you be able to migrate the forum from your PRO network to a new forum on your free network, as your PRO network is not considered an external forum?

I'm pretty sure you can because thats that they told me :\

[Jacob]

I'm afraid I'm not 100% certain what you're asking. Are you asking that, if you purchase Pro Hosting and migrate your forum to our Pro network, we could switch it to free hosting? We can't migrate any forum to the free network (not even Pro forums), as we'd have to heavily customise the backup to fit properly with the rest of our network.

[Mstcool]

I believe what the OP means is the following:

The Op wants to get the forum migrated to his/her free forum and he/she can is asking if he/she can pay for the migration or something like that. The OP also said that he/she can't pay for PRO hosting.

^ I believe that's what the OP means.

[Jacob]

If that is the case, and that's what you mean, besommer, unfortunately we cannot import forums to the free network, no matter what, because of the extreme amount of customisation that must be included, hands-on. Sorry.

[besommer]

What I was asking is first I pay for PRO hosting, let us say for a year as an example. So now the forum is migrated from my server to your PRO network and is resident on your PRO network. After the year is completed, another forum is created on the free network. Could the data from the forum on your PRO network be migrated to the forum on the free network?

[Jacob]

Hmm, that's a good question, and a unique request. I don't know the absolute answer to that. My guess is, no, we wouldn't be able to do that due to a large amount of hand-worked customisation, but I'll see what I can find out.

[besommer]

Hmm, that's a good question, and a unique request. I don't know the absolute answer to that. My guess is, no, we wouldn't be able to do that due to a large amount of hand-worked customisation, but I'll see what I can find out.

I have yet to see a reply to this, but here is a question you may want to ask them. If the capability exists to migrate a database from an external forum to one of your PRO hosts, then shouldn't it be just as easy -- if not easier -- to migrate a database from one of your PRO hosts to one of your free hosts?

[Jacob]

Not really, because all free forums have a multitude of themes and modifications installed, and we'd have to limit MANY features of your forum (such as mod/theme uploads, backup creation, et cetera) while deleting all other mods/themes you had installed.

[besommer]

Not really, because all free forums have a multitude of themes and modifications installed, and we'd have to limit MANY features of your forum (such as mod/theme uploads, backup creation, et cetera) while deleting all other mods/themes you had installed.

I'm not looking to migrate any modifications or themes. I'm just looking to migrate boards, the posts in those boards, membergroups, which membergroups are permitted to post in each board, the members who made those posts and the profiles and private messages associated with those members.

[Jacob]

I know, the mods/themes aren't really the problem (I was just mentioning them as a side note). The problem is that we'd have to customise your database backup extensively before we could put it on the free network.

[link]

Hope you don't mind me butting in. Perhaps the smfnew staff could discuss/consider doing what besommer is asking about for forums that are over a certain size, and for a fee, much like how the transfer from the free network to the pro network is $30. Just have it go the other way. As mentioned it'd be a lot of work, however perhaps charging a fee would make up for that.

I don't know what your (smfnew) process for introducing new services/fees is, it's just something that could be worth a look at even if it doesn't start up for a while.

[besommer]

Hope you don't mind me butting in. Perhaps the smfnew staff could discuss/consider doing what besommer is asking about for forums that are over a certain size, and for a fee, much like how the transfer from the free network to the pro network is $30. Just have it go the other way. As mentioned it'd be a lot of work, however perhaps charging a fee would make up for that.

I don't know what your (smfnew) process for introducing new services/fees is, it's just something that could be worth a look at even if it doesn't start up for a while.

I would love this. I believe you'll also find that size wouldn't be an issue as we're a small group. In the past, I would have had the ability to handle the migration myself, regrettably that is not the case now, so if I can throw money at the problem to get it solved, I am more than willing to pay the market rate for such a service.

[Jacob]

Even if we did end up considering it, it would take lots of work and would probably often take the back seat in our to-do list at that time. It's really time-consuming to move a forum to Pro Hosting, when it would take less work to transfer a FREE forum to Pro than it would to migrate an external forum onto our free network.. So imagine the 48 hours of transfer time for free to Pro, doubled (or more), to migrate an external forum into our free network.

It simply would not help our efficiency.