Or should that be big fuckupdate.
Important stuff in bold.
Between the late hours of 14/07/21 and middle of 16/07/21, AF-UK was offline. This was the longest downtime since migrating the site in 2018 and that shouldn't happen, sorry. This particular update was a major change that required revisions to the server running the forums (and not just the forum software itself), so it shouldn't happen again any time soon.
Things to look out for
As with any update the search is reindexed and parts of the database rebuilt in the background. The website may not be as quick to respond as you're used to during this 12-hour period starting from when this thread was posted
The Classifieds module will be updated in the next 48 hours or so to bring it into line with the core forum software version. Please allow for issues during this time
Expect general issues with the website until the site template has been updated
This large update to IPS (the forum software) includes various new features.
Achievements
Yet to fiddle with this one or implement it at all - could be fun, could be really annoying. I would appreciate your patience on this one while I figure out a baseline and then see if it's complained about enough to warrant removal. Given the delays yesterday in getting the site online, I thought it more important to have things up and running rather than look into the detail of this update. I am aware of the issues with it not granting certain achievements that you should already have. This has not yet been set up and might well be removed entirely.
Achievements are visible in your profile.
In-browser notifications
These have been expanded so you might get more than you used to (especially on a mobile device). I have tried to disable notifications until I can get a grasp on how annoying they might become, but this is a new update so may carry a few new ones.
AF-UK app
Part of the new update is IPS's testing of their app available in early testing on Android and iOS. We are an early user of it (no idea what criteria they base this on). You may be prompted to download the app, but note that very few things in this app are something that I can control. Who knows if the Classifieds will integrate at all.
Edit 1: As of 16/07/21 - this appears to not be working. You can see us in the app but not load the forums. I've asked IPS if they can find out what's wrong.
Edit 2: As of 17/07/21 - I've been told that the app is currently offline - nothing to do with us and it is in early testing. Should be back some time soon?