NOTE: Date has been postponed to the 11th because of technical difficulties.
Hail, fair Holy Worlder! As a member of the Holy Worlds community, you need to read this post. No, really, you do. If you don’t your account might disappear.
No, I’m not joking. It’s a very possible side effect of some upcoming changes that certain accounts will no longer be accessible.
Panicking yet? Good. So keep reading.
It is with great excitement that I announce that Holy Worlds will soon be unified under a single login!
What does that mean? Well, currently all of Holy Worlds’ branches (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Historical) exist as separate sites. You have to create a unique account on each one, and you have to log into each one separately.
Thanks to Andrew’s (aka Eruheran) technical brilliance, however, this will soon be changed. On Saturday, May 4th, Holy Worlds will be transformed into one unified site with a single login. You will have only one account from which you can access all of the forums simultaneously.
An easy way to explain it is to compare it to Google. When you create a gmail (Google’s email service, for people that don’t have it) account, you’re creating a login that works on a multitude of Google products. If you sign into gmail, your inbox looks like this:
See all those options on the top navigation bar, like YouTube and Drive? Those are just some of the services that you can access with your Google account. Once you’re signed into your email, you can access any of those services simultaneously with a click of the mouse, and all your user information is connected to one account. You don’t need to create a separate username and password to sign into G+, Drive, etc. Simple, fast, and convenient.
This change will revolutionize how we all access Holy Worlds. It will enable easy access to all of the forums as well as simplify collaboration and announcements; no longer will you have to join the Fantasy forum to participate in special events and projects, and no longer will announcements have to be posted in three places. Group leaders and members will find collaboration amongst the ringed folk will be much simpler. Andrew and I are very confident that this change will enable the forum to grow by leaps and bounds.
But how will this work? The unified login works by rearranging the backend of the site so that all of the forums draw their account information from one database. The database is like a glorified spreadsheet that contains all the user information. Currently each forum has its own database; by having them all access the same database, the site will be unified, and your user account will be valid on all the forums.
Unfortunately, this comes with a drawback. Because we can only draw from one database--the database that the Fantasy forum accesses--any information that is exclusively on the Sci-Fi or Historical databases will be lost. This means that if you do not have an account on the Fantasy forum, your account will be lost and you will need to create a new one before you can access Holy Worlds. Additionally, no one will be able to access any PMs in their Sci-Fi or Historical inboxes. (Andrew is exploring the possibility of exporting PMs, but be prepared for the possibility.)
If you do not have an account on Fantasy, you will need to create one so you can access Holy Worlds after the change. You also need to copy over any PMs from Sci-Fi or Historical that you wish to save. Drafts of posts and PMs will also be lost, but any posts or threads that have been posted will not be deleted.
Yes, this is going to be a hassle. That is why we are giving you all advance warning. Andrew and I are both sorry it has to be done this way, but we believe it is a worthy sacrifice. The long-term good that will result from a unified login is immense. Bear with us through the initial chaos, and Holy Worlds will be better equipped for years to come.
Naturally, things are going to get messy while we implement the changes, Andrew works through any bugs that arise, and everyone becomes adjusted to the changes. Below are some points to help prepare you for the impending changes as well as preemptively answer some of your questions. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to speak up!
--When will the changes be happening? Andrew will be rolling out the unified login on Saturday, May 4th; because of time zones, this will happen in the middle of the night Friday for us in the US.
--Will the forum be down during the changes? Yes; the site will be offline for about a day while Andrew does the bulk of the tech work. As soon as the site is functional, he will put it back online while he works out the bugs.
--Will we get a top navigation bar? Yes! Andrew will be installing a top navigation bar (like the one in the gmail screenshot) that will allow quick access to all of the branches of Holy Worlds. The bar may not go up the same day as the unified login, but it will be coming soon after.
--Will I have to have the same username on all the forums? Yes; unfortunately at this time there is no way to allow users to set unique nicknames on the separate forums. You will, however, be able to have a unique avatar and signature on each of the branches (Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Historical) to customize your “genre look.”
--Where will I access my PMs? Your PMs and user control panel (settings) will be accessible through a new fourth “forum” that will be added. This fourth forum will contain access to your control panel and PM inbox. A tab to this forum will be added to the top navigation bar.
--What if I only post on Fantasy and don’t want to join Sci-Fi, or vice versa? A unified login only means you will have access to all of Holy Worlds’ forums. It does not mean you need to visit them. The only change you’ll need to make in your browsing habits is that you will need to access the fourth “forum” to read forum-wide announcements and the like (more on that later).
--What about ranks and user groups? All of the ranks and user groups (Moderators, Honor Roll Members, etc.) will now be universal. That means that if you’re a member of the Moderator group, you will have moderator permissions across all of the forums. This does not mean you need to be on “active duty” on all three forums; in fact, you will be able to customize your "default rank" (what color your name appears as) on the individual forums to reflect your active position. For example, if you're a member of the moderator group, you will have moderator permissions (the ability to move threads, etc.) across all of the forums, but you will only wear your green ring on the forums you actively moderate.
--So what about rooms like the Moderators’ Lair, Holy Worlds Projects, Announcements, etc.? All of these rooms--almost everything that’s in the Fantasy Citadel--will be on the new fourth forum. Announcements, events, and site projects will be hosted on this forum where everyone can collaborate together; this will also mean that all members of ranks will be able to congregate in one place. The individual genre forums will no longer have a “Citadel” of their own, although they will have smaller Announcements, Planning, and “party” rooms for genre-specific events. All other rooms on the genre forums will remain intact and separate.
Any questions? Ask away! Don’t forget to mark your calendars, create a Fantasy login if you do not have one, and copy over any Sci-Fi/Historical PMs you want to save. Change is coming--and it’s going to be great!
But this makes a lot of sense. Looking forward to this; thanks Andrew! (And any other people who are working on this!)
This is great! Thanks to everyone working on this. 
) that I routinely edit to add updates to my book. Since I finished the first draft I think I'm done editing it, but I'd like to know for sure. If I won't be able to edit it after the switch, I'll probably just take my book offline until things are back in order.
Thanks, all those who are working hard on this!
I'll clarify that with him. 
Wow, thanks for letting us know. XD I had forgotten about this...
*hides from all the changes*
)--is a massive project with multiple phases. Because of the huge amount of time, effort, and funds required to complete, Andrew and I have decided to split Anduin into multiple phases and tackle each phase individually. The first phase is the unified login. Other phases include redesigning the visual template of the forums and much more!
B-but I don't want Holy Worlds to look any different ever.... It wouldn't feel like Holy Worlds anymore... *Cries*
