[salem]

For those of you concerned about your bookmarks going AWOL, I will list all future mergings here.

Today I merged the Sable Holiday threads (although there is probably still a few kicking around) the new thread (Sable Holiday MERGED) can be found here;

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,3121.0.html

[salem]

Some MERGING updates

Several Jeanetta Joy threads have been merged, and can now be found at the link below.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,526997.0.html

Isabelle Lanthier has one new addition, the newly merged thread is now

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,68956.0.html

and finally... MERGED about 20 or so Britney Spears thread, the MERGED thread can be found below

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,12905.0.html

[salem]

I folded in several small Jessica Simpson threads into the main thread. Newly updated thread is below.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,61654.0.html

Minor addition to the Christina Aguilera thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,31915.0.html

Minor addition to the Katie Price/Jordan thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,3757.0.html

Minor addition to Tara Reid "Wardrobe Malfunction" (folded in another thread with a different breast slip).

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,285875.0.html

Minor addition to the Anna Nicole Smith thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,11811.0.html

[salem]

Minor addition to the Plenty UpTopp MERGED thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,2422.0.html

4 Jodie Marsh threads merged into one.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,487474.0.html

8 Erica Campbell threads MERGED.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,285287.0.html

Minor addition to the Britney Spears thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,12905.0.html

[salem]

Four Bianca Beauchamp threads merged.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,375885.0.html

Two Monika Kis threads merged. Both called simply 'Monika Kis'

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,702148.0.html

[solvegas]

Just wanted to thank you Salem for your hard work and keeping the place tidy. Keep up the good work. 

[salem]

Many thanks Solvegas. 

[salem]

Minor adjustment to the Jeanetta Joy thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,526997.0.html

Two 'Top Ten Models' lists merged

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,103404.0.html

Two 'Top Ten Hardcore Wishlist' threads merged

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,310964.0.html

Several minor Keisha Evans threads added to her main thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,96574.0.html

Minor addition to the Heres_Buffie aka Busty Buffy thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,185659.0.html

Another minor addition to the expanding Britney Spears thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,12905.0.html

Minor addition to the Bambi Blaze/Blimps thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,173484.0.html

[salem]

Maxi Mounds at clips4sale has been merged into the main Maxi Mounds thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,8252.0.html

[salem]

Mike Hammer Time has been MERGED with Hammerettes thanks go to Pedonbio for the links.

Merged link below

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,367056.0.html

A few smaller Nadine Jansen threads merged into the main thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,6889.0.html

A minor merging in the Faith Nelson 'In Bed With Faith' thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,249034.0.html

Some more smaller Linsey Dawn McKenzie threads have been folded into the main thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,844.0.html

Two Sugar Chanelle threads MERGED

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,381218.0.html

Minor merging to the Denise Davies thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,364439.0.html

Minor merging to the Karla James aka Jamie-Leigh Tiffany thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,663195.0.html

Minor merging to the Merilyn/Anya thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,283407.0.html

Several Scarlett Johansson threads merged into main thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,325410.0.html

[salem]

A couple more...

Merged a small Ewa Sonnet thread into the main thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,154546.0.html

Minor addition to the Eva Amurri thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,364644.0.html

Merged a few more Milena Velba threads into the main thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,153290.0.html

Two more Sofia Vergara threads merged into the main thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,34446.0.html

Minor addition to the already bursting at the seams Jana Defi thread!

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,310263.0.html

More additions to the ever-growing Pamela Anderson thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,1668.0.html

Minor merging to the Yulia Nova thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,974.0.html

Minor addition to the Bea Flora thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,227004.0.html

Minor merging to the Diane Poppos thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,9480.0.html

Merged several small Annina Ucatis threads into one

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,574391.0.html

Minor addition to the Claudia Ciesla aka CClaudia thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,340513.0.html

Minor addition to the Kerry Marie MERGED thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,232344.0.html

Minor addition to the MERGED Yoko Matsugane thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,8122.0.html

[SamV]

Just to let you know:
I think what causes the problem with losing bookmarks only occurs when the thread topic number (that's the number after the 'topic' keyword in the url) has a lower value (signifying I think a thread that was created earlier) than the thread that was bookmarked. When such a thread is merged with a thread that has been bookmarked, it's topic number is replaced by the earlier thread's topic number (or perhaps the merged thread gets a completely new topic number), and ends up dropped from a user's bookmark list.

Merging a thread with a topic number higher in value (i.e. a newer posting to the bookmarked thread) does not seem to present this problem. At least that seems to be my experience as to when I lose a bookmark from merging threads. (I lost my bookmark for Scarlett Johansson, when you did a merge with threads from 2005, but not the bookmark for the Sofia Vergara thread. ) 

If this is the case, then it seems to me this is a possible glitch in the forum software that should be addressed.

[Palomine]

If this is the case, then it seems to me this is a possible glitch in the forum software that should be addressed.

Salem did a series of tests when we first noticed that mergings were sometimes breaking internal links (and bookmarks). Unfortunately, when doing a merge it's not possible to specify that the resulting thread gets to keep a particular topic number... if that were the case, we could at least give priority to the bigger/longer thread, working on the assumption that there'd be more links to it than to the smaller/shorter thread. There's also no way to "backtrace" links and bookmarks to a thread that's about to get its topic number changed due to a merge, let alone proactively update those links to keep them functional following a merge.

Believe me Sam, I empathize: mergings broke over two dozen internal links in my laboriously-constructed ID Request Reference threads, peppering them with missing images... it took hours and hours for me to locate and re-link all of them after-the-fact... in a few cases I was unable to find the originals and had to re-upload them (not as easy as it sounds... sometimes it took an hour to figure out what it was that was missing).

As to "addressing" the problem... the BEA doesn't really have programmers who can fix bugs or add features to the forum software... it's a product from another company. For the past several months, the BEA doesn't even have sufficient spare sysadmin hours to prep and install a long-overdue forum software upgrade (in some respects, we're still running the equivalent of Windows Vista), let alone go to the forum manufacturer's website and investigate/request bug fixes or make feature requests there on our behalf. Unlike moderators, sysadmins are paid employees of the company that has the BEA (and forum) among it's activities/assets... how their time is allocated isn't up to us (mods).

Given that the two largest losses of forum data were both due to human backup/restore errors (the total loss of the entire forum in '01 when we all even had to re-register, and the more recent loss of all image attachments from Jan '08 to June '09) we asked that this time, the whole forum be properly/conclusively backed up before they do any big upgrades so we don't have a third fiasco if something goes wrong. We were told that an outside contractor was being used to re-start that upgrade process, but that was some time ago and we're still waiting. The upgrade to the latest/current version of the forum software and the installation of a completely new Chat room were supposed to be completed several months ago.

I stopped wishing for/asking for features/bug requests several years ago, since it's just folly. Not to sound cynical, but frankly, every morning that I sip my coffee, take a deep breath and log on to find the place still here it's a bit of a surprise.

[salem]

Unfortunately that is indeed the case. Whenever two threads are merged the older thread takes precedence (the one with the LOWER topic number) and so if someone has bookmarked the NEWER thread then the bookmark will be lost. Also it will disrupt internal links, which Palomine did indeed find out to his dismay.  

Still, the forum is much easier when searching for a specific model.

If anyone DOES have trouble locating a thread pertaining to a specific model, please get in touch via the message system and I will see what I can do, I have a database on my laptop with an extensive list of models (for merging purposes)

Meanwhile, I have merged 3 Jeri Ryan threads, MERGED thread below.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,7324.0.html

Two Nigella Lawson threads MERGED

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,375508.0.html

[salem]

Minor merging in the Julia Sonnet thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,465401.0.html

Minor merging in the Jenny McCarthy thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,33142.0.html

Minor merging in the Michelle Marsh thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,169838.35.html

Three more small threads added to the Miriam Gonzalez thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,10276.0.html

(another) Minor merging to Lindsey Dawn McKenzie thread

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,844.0.html

Minor merging to the Ashley Bond thread.

http://forum.bearchive.com/index.php/topic,35463.0.html