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satay
11 July 2013, 04:43 PM
Namaste,
I am wondering if anyone thinks that we should change the name of the forums to something else. Any suggestions?

Viraja
11 July 2013, 05:35 PM
How about a female name... such as 'Sanathani'...?

I think old magazine names from the Indian Independence times would work too..

yajvan
11 July 2013, 09:54 PM
hariḥ oṁ
~~~~~~
namasté


Namaste,
I am wondering if anyone thinks that we should change the name of the forums to something else. Any suggestions?
If we wished to change the name , what would be our intent ? This is, what would we wish to capture in a word? That is, the branding and what it stands for. And what do we think may be missing today ?
Some ideas on framing the site:

a multi-faceted knowledge-based site ?
a site regarding ancient knowledge ?
customs and traditions ?
sanātana dharma (hindu-centric) site ?
just a 'refresh' for something new ?
a repository of ideas and commentary ?It seems before we name it, we may wish to decide what we want it to be , like a personality.

iti śivaṁ

Eastern Mind
11 July 2013, 10:15 PM
Vannakkam:

I like the existing name.

Aum Namasivaya

Ganeshprasad
12 July 2013, 01:41 AM
Pranam

Hdf is unique, i would not wish to change it

Jai Shree Krishna

kallol
12 July 2013, 03:28 AM
Hindu Dharma - The Eternal Truth

realdemigod
12 July 2013, 07:16 AM
I think the word 'Hindu' is causing interest at the same time problems as well..may be we should use something on the lines of 'Sanatana' like 'Sanatana Dharma'

Kalicharan Tuvij
12 July 2013, 09:28 AM
namaste

"DharmaForum" or "DharmaForums" would be better, I guess. If one wants to mean "more", certainly, then one must speak "less".

JaiMaaDurga
12 July 2013, 10:09 AM
Namaste satay,

I must admit I am curious as to what prompted the idea..
in any case, I see changing the name causing more difficulties
than it would be worth.

(The American pop artist Prince certainly didn't find his brief
name-change to be particularly beneficial.) ;)

JAI MATA DI

Amrut
12 July 2013, 11:09 AM
Namaste,


Namaste,
I am wondering if anyone thinks that we should change the name of the forums to something else. Any suggestions?

Nope.

A different suggestion:

If someone needs something fresh it may be a fresh banner or a complete layout overhaul.

Is it time to upgrade vbulletin. If it's too costly, there is an upcoming IP Board. There are free ones. FOSS alternatives are myBB (easier to setup with extensive admin panel) or popular phpBB, which is difficult to setup.

Just upgrading would give a fresh look. New skin, new themes + your own tweeks. Don't know what will happen to points :)

Is there any financial problem that is stopping the upgrade say to a VPN server, or upgrading ever getting costly vbulletien?

btw, please can you tell us what's going in your mind that is making you to think the name?

Aum

Amrut

you can have my name as new forum name --> representing India's Spiritual Amrut ;)

satay
12 July 2013, 12:05 PM
namaste everyone,
I was just curious that's all. I wanted to see if I should be securing more domain names that we could forward to HDF. I was just looking to see what other names people might be interested in, if any.

Regarding upgrades and Virtual Private Server (VPS), I have been looking at acquiring both.

First, you should know that HDF is hosted on a shared hosting server. This means that there are hundreds of other sites and databases on the same server and we share the resources offered by the server. For us, this has been working so far but going forward this will not work as with Shared hosting they do no provide much control (server level) to the admin. This means that I do not have admin level access to the application and database servers.

In case of problems on the shared server I must rely on the hosting companies support staff to look into issues. Most of the time the support staff is useless as they are lowest paid workers and they have pressures to close the ticket quickly. Since I am a tech, this frustrates to me to no end and I rather manage the servers myself.

For people like me, there is an option offered by the hosting company called Virtual Private Server. This is where the hosting company will create a virtual space on a physical server and give me control over that virtual space. I would then have server level control over the site and database. This option raises the cost to five times the current cost. Although cost is not an issue, there is a technical problem with the hosting company. I am not clear on if as admin I will be able to install the latest backend database and web technologies on the VPS provided by them. I am looking into it. I need the rights to install server software that I want because the forum software's latest version requires specific versions of the backend, app and server os.

To cloud the issue a bit more, I want to move away from the current hosting provider. The current hosting provider was number one when we started the forum, however, their service has degraded and owners have changed. However, the current hosting provider also is the registrar of the domain name. And to move the domain to another registrar though not impossible, is tricky and will result in longer outages that I would like.

What I want to do is this:
- move hosting account to another provider
- purchase VPS account
- install latest versions of backend and application (all freeware)
- purchase Vbulletin latest software
- upgrade (this is tricky as we have not upgraded since inception)
- move domain to new registrar (very tricky as I have privacy enabled and privacy is handled by a third party)
- point domain servers of new registrar to the upgraded version of hdf in the new VPS environment

This all has to be done while the forum is still active. Therefore, it will require planning and a lot of work is involved to do this. I want to minimize interruptions because more time offline effects google ratings and bots run away from the site.

None of this is your worry and I am capable enough to do all of this myself, however, I wanted to share this with you so that you can see that there is work to be done, I am aware of it, it will get done but it will take some time.

Amrut
12 July 2013, 12:54 PM
namaste everyone,
I was just curious that's all. I wanted to see if I should be securing more domain names that we could forward to HDF. I was just looking to see what other names people might be interested in, if any.

Regarding upgrades and Virtual Private Server (VPS), I have been looking at acquiring both.

First, you should know that HDF is hosted on a shared hosting server. This means that there are hundreds of other sites and databases on the same server and we share the resources offered by the server. For us, this has been working so far but going forward this will not work as with Shared hosting they do no provide much control (server level) to the admin. This means that I do not have admin level access to the application and database servers.

In case of problems on the shared server I must rely on the hosting companies support staff to look into issues. Most of the time the support staff is useless as they are lowest paid workers and they have pressures to close the ticket quickly. Since I am a tech, this frustrates to me to no end and I rather manage the servers myself.

For people like me, there is an option offered by the hosting company called Virtual Private Server. This is where the hosting company will create a virtual space on a physical server and give me control over that virtual space. I would then have server level control over the site and database. This option raises the cost to five times the current cost. Although cost is not an issue, there is a technical problem with the hosting company. I am not clear on if as admin I will be able to install the latest backend database and web technologies on the VPS provided by them. I am looking into it. I need the rights to install server software that I want because the forum software's latest version requires specific versions of the backend, app and server os.

To cloud the issue a bit more, I want to move away from the current hosting provider. The current hosting provider was number one when we started the forum, however, their service has degraded and owners have changed. However, the current hosting provider also is the registrar of the domain name. And to move the domain to another registrar though not impossible, is tricky and will result in longer outages that I would like.

What I want to do is this:
- move hosting account to another provider
- purchase VPS account
- install latest versions of backend and application (all freeware)
- purchase Vbulletin latest software
- upgrade (this is tricky as we have not upgraded since inception)
- move domain to new registrar (very tricky as I have privacy enabled and privacy is handled by a third party)
- point domain servers of new registrar to the upgraded version of hdf in the new VPS environment

This all has to be done while the forum is still active. Therefore, it will require planning and a lot of work is involved to do this. I want to minimize interruptions because more time offline effects google ratings and bots run away from the site.

None of this is your worry and I am capable enough to do all of this myself, however, I wanted to share this with you so that you can see that there is work to be done, I am aware of it, it will get done but it will take some time.

Namaste satay ji,

I know that you must be knowing all the parameters and options that I am going to point out, but not all members are techncial, neighter am I. I just figured out some points when I was creating matter for my company's new site.

This is indeed a lot of work with lots of planning and R & D. Lot of care has to be taken. Generally a team takes care of moving database, upgrading server, transferring all data without data loss.

For the time being, if you feel and can manage changing look-n-feel can be helpful.

Point to be considered are


1. Generally having frequently searched keywords in domain name is considered very important from S.E.O. POV (Search Engine Optimization)

2. Standard practice is to block top level domain names like .org, followed by .net, .in, .co.in and lastly less popular .info

3. Another point is that if the server is Linux, then even capital and small letters are considered different -is this making things more complex :D

4. My webmaster has said that two domain names one with www. and one without www. are different. e.g. is twitter. if you type www.twitter.com, it redirects to https://twitter.com/ (without www. ).

5. As you are in this field you must be aware that some even redirect misspelled domain names, though this is not a regular practice.

On the other hand, simply typing hdf and pressing ctrl+enter or 'hdf' and shift+enter is convenient. so may hdf.com, hdf.org would do. Though this looks convenient, it is not good from S.E.O. POV


If we list alternatives along with priorities,

1. block related top level domain names - .org, .net (.com is already ours :) )
2. with www. and without www. domain names.
3. Upgrade to VPS or upgrade to latest version of vbulletin has to be selected.

Above combinations would mean atleast 6 different domain names, enough to loosen your pocket. If you have more funds, then go for blocking HDF.com, but HDF just does not convey any meaning to bots and robots. It is for convenience of end users.

I think that (1) or even (2) would be helpful to shift database and domain name.

Later ones include sanatana-dharma-blog, etc, as Yajvan ji mentioned, but they would add unnecessary financial burden, especially when you wish to purchase a VPS and upgrade costly software.

Have a look at Forum Software Review (http://www.forum-software.org/) and it's comparision page (http://www.forum-software.org/forum-comparator)

Well, if cost increase 5 times, can I say do you need help? You do not even use google ad-sense.

Aum

Amrut

Amrut
13 July 2013, 04:53 AM
Namaste,

I typed some keywords like hindu dharma, forum for hindus, hindu discussion groups and HDF shows up in search results.

While when I type sanatan dharma, HDF does not show up, atleast on first page.

@HDF

Whats your opinion about the popularity of term 'Sanatan dharma' being used for Hindu dharma. i think it is used more to define or explain Hindu dharma by most people.

Aum

realdemigod
13 July 2013, 06:44 AM
I'm all totally for new look and on the second thought we could retain the name...like building brand

कृष्णभक्त
17 July 2013, 03:02 AM
Namaste, the admin.

hindusharmaforums is the best. We should not change it. We all like it.

If you still want to change, it will be better for us not to neglect the " hindu " word.[as nowadays followers of vedic dharma call themselves hindu or sanatani and also hindu is a global defination of followers of vedas around the world]

hinduvedicforums.com or hindusantanaforums.com are my some suggestions.

i Hope you will agree and understand my pof.

hare krishna ram.

ShivaFan
19 July 2013, 12:36 AM
Namaste

We have Hindus participating from all over the WORLD.

I have no problem with the term HINDU as it has become known through the world as a "catch all" for the very diverse family of adherents.

This seems to be a place where many different Hindus are in the company or ASSOCIATION viz SANGHA of each other.

Thus the WORLD HINDU SANGHA ... The world wide web ... The World Hindu Sangha. WorldHinduSangha.com

But the current name is nice, too. Actually, I just may use the World Hindu Sangha, who knows?

Om Namah Sivaya

hinduism♥krishna
25 July 2013, 12:25 PM
Yeah, hinduvedicforums.com or Hindusanatanadharma.com are very appropriate..

satay
25 July 2013, 04:20 PM
Namaste,
We now own
www.vedicdharmaforums.com (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.com)
www.vedicdharmaforums.org (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.com (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com)
www.hindudharmaforums.org (http://www.hindudharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.net (http://www.hindudharmaforums.net)

I have setup a test site on a VPS. Next steps, buy the upgraded version of software and upgrade the forum on the test site.

I will keep everyone posted.

Amrut
26 July 2013, 12:42 AM
Namaste,
We now own
www.vedicdharmaforums.com (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.com)
www.vedicdharmaforums.org (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.com (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com)
www.hindudharmaforums.org (http://www.hindudharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.net (http://www.hindudharmaforums.net)

I have setup a test site on a VPS. Next steps, buy the upgraded version of software and upgrade the forum on the test site.

I will keep everyone posted.

Note to Admin :D ;) (red is patented, hence cool blue colour)

Thank you Satay ji for giving HDF. Your efforts to promote our dharma and culture are commendable and definitely worth appreciation.

Good luck with VPS and forum upgradation. Looking forward to it.

---

You are much more knowledgeable then me. With due respect to all members, the word 'dharma' had to be there.

From S.E.O. (Search Engine Optimization) POV (Point Of View), 'original' content is the king, which is of course present here and mentioned in the rules as no copy-pasting without commentary or prior understanding. Next important factor is 'sensible' name of Site and domain name. Rest all factors like adding attributes (bold, italics, etc), intra site links, frequency of updates, etc are left to members. Technical ones include, the hidden data which browsers see, e.g. sensible name of image you are using, as robots and search engine crawlers do not read or see image, they read name of image, it's tags like title, alt text, etc. Some more are meta data and if admin wishes, integration with Google Analytics. Blogs and forums running on top rated softwares like vbulletin board / IP Board / Wordpress are S.E.O. optimized by companies. It is said that vbulletin consumes less memory than some other softwares like myBB or phpBB. Alexa rank is also given importance.

Aum

Amrut

hinduism♥krishna
26 July 2013, 10:54 AM
Namaste,
We now own
www.vedicdharmaforums.com (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.com)
www.vedicdharmaforums.org (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.com (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com)
www.hindudharmaforums.org (http://www.hindudharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.net (http://www.hindudharmaforums.net)

I have setup a test site on a VPS. Next steps, buy the upgraded version of software and upgrade the forum on the test site.

I will keep everyone posted.
Namaste, why we exclude "Hindu" word?
There should be a Hindu name as Hindu is well known than vedic dharma outside India. Hindu dharma is the universal name for vedic dharma.

Please admin, we want Hindu word,
Thanks

satay
26 July 2013, 01:49 PM
Namaste,


Namaste, why we exclude "Hindu" word?
Thanks

I have done no such thing.

Amrut
05 August 2013, 12:31 AM
Namaste,
We now own
www.vedicdharmaforums.com (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.com)
www.vedicdharmaforums.org (http://www.vedicdharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.com (http://www.hindudharmaforums.com)
www.hindudharmaforums.org (http://www.hindudharmaforums.org)
www.hindudharmaforums.net (http://www.hindudharmaforums.net)

I have setup a test site on a VPS. Next steps, buy the upgraded version of software and upgrade the forum on the test site.

I will keep everyone posted.

Namaste,

I checked all the links. they are not redirecting to www.hindudharmaforums.com.


This webpage is not available

Aum

satay
08 October 2013, 11:14 PM
namaste,
All the new domains are now pointing to HDF.

http://www.vedicdharmaforums.org
http://www.hindudharmaforums.net (http://hindudharmaforums.net)
http://www.hindudharmaforums.org
except
http://www.vedicdharmaforums.com
working on it...

hinduism♥krishna
09 October 2013, 02:20 AM
namaste,
All the new domains are now pointing to HDF.

http://www.vedicdharmaforums.org
http://www.hindudharmaforums.net (http://hindudharmaforums.net)
http://www.hindudharmaforums.org
except
http://www.vedicdharmaforums.com
working on it...

Namaste, admin.

But what is the use of different domains?

Thank you ..

satay
09 October 2013, 10:37 AM
Namaste,

So that people can access the forum from various different links.


Namaste, admin.

But what is the use of different domains?

Thank you ..

satay
25 November 2013, 01:31 PM
नमसà¥à¤¤à¥‡
यह à¤à¤• टेसà¥à¤Ÿ हे

satay
25 November 2013, 01:34 PM
ॠततः सतः

satay
25 November 2013, 01:34 PM
ऌॡà¤à¤“औà¤à¥‡à¥ˆà¥‹à¥¢à¤Œà¥¥à¤½à¥°à¥à¤¿à¥€à¥à¥‚ा

satay
25 November 2013, 01:35 PM
namaste,

Hindi and sanskrit characters are now showing up nicely.

Jaskaran Singh
25 November 2013, 07:13 PM
ऌॡऐओऔएेैोॢऌ॥ऽ॰ॐिीुूा

What?

govind_das
25 November 2013, 07:18 PM
namaste,

Hindi and sanskrit characters are now showing up nicely.

Some of the letters look like circles with vowel signs attached to them.