I just confirmed the partial regex vs. full matching regex in Ubuntu medit with the same results.
The .* matches the entire remainder of the URL.
+1 for making the forums more friendly to archive.org. Itās important to preserve history. The new URL format should make it easier to allow for that.
Beyond gedit and medit tests, I attempted a quick (and deliberately verbose) test directly in PERL to try to see what was being matched and where:
____________________________________________________
#!/usr/bin/env perl
$forumURL = "https://blenderartists.org/forum/";
$testString = "https://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?449464-Challenge-776-(04-05-18)-Entries-OPEN";
$regexOriginalPartA = $regexOriginalPartB = $regexOriginalPartC = $regexOriginalPartD = $regexModifiedPartA = $regexModifiedPartB = $regexModifiedPartC = $regexModifiedPartD = $testString;
$regexOriginalPartA =~ s/($forumURL)showthread\.php\?(\d+)-([^\"\[\]]+?)[#post(\d+)]*/$1/i;
$regexOriginalPartB =~ s/($forumURL)showthread\.php\?(\d+)-([^\"\[\]]+?)[#post(\d+)]*/$2/i;
$regexOriginalPartC =~ s/($forumURL)showthread\.php\?(\d+)-([^\"\[\]]+?)[#post(\d+)]*/$3/i;
$regexOriginalPartD =~ s/($forumURL)showthread\.php\?(\d+)-([^\"\[\]]+?)[#post(\d+)]*/$4/i;
$regexModifiedPartA =~ s/($forumURL)(showthread\.php)\?(\d+)(\-.*)/$1/i;
$regexModifiedPartB =~ s/($forumURL)(showthread\.php)\?(\d+)(\-.*)/$2/i;
$regexModifiedPartC =~ s/($forumURL)(showthread\.php)\?(\d+)(\-.*)/$3/i;
$regexModifiedPartD =~ s/($forumURL)(showthread\.php)\?(\d+)(\-.*)/$4/i;
print << "endOfTest";
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Regex URL-matching Test for BlenderArtists.org:
Original REGEX (Part A): $regexOriginalPartA
Original REGEX (Part B): $regexOriginalPartB
Original REGEX (Part C): $regexOriginalPartC
Original REGEX (Part D): $regexOriginalPartD
Modified REGEX (Part A): $regexModifiedPartA
Modified REGEX (Part B): $regexModifiedPartB
Modified REGEX (Part C): $regexModifiedPartC
Modified REGEX (Part D): $regexModifiedPartD
endOfTestIām not sure if your function is pulling out parts of the URL and storing those segments in string variables or is simply looking for a full match, but, if it is at all helpful, here was the PERL output from the original regex and a variation on that:
Regex URL-matching Test for BlenderArtists.org:
Original REGEX (Part A): https://blenderartists.org/forum/hallenge-776-(04-05-18)-Entries-OPEN
Original REGEX (Part B): 449464hallenge-776-(04-05-18)-Entries-OPEN
Original REGEX (Part C): Challenge-776-(04-05-18)-Entries-OPEN
Original REGEX (Part D): hallenge-776-(04-05-18)-Entries-OPEN
Modified REGEX (Part A): https://blenderartists.org/forum/
Modified REGEX (Part B): showthread.php
Modified REGEX (Part C): 449464
Modified REGEX (Part D): -Challenge-776-(04-05-18)-Entries-OPENJust looking for the Thread ID. Here it is in Rubular:
And the problem was that the function that was using that ID to match the Thread ID to the Discourse ID was broken.
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Rubular is nice. I see there, too, it reveals a partial substring match.
If the ID is simply the number, then it does seem to grab that, but if the ID is actually the number - (dash) - and remainder of URL string, then the match is only partial with the existing REGEX.
Here a Rubular version of the added dot before the final asterisk, and this seems to grab the remainder of the string:
http://rubular.com/r/vfyUP0s5gx
And this second Rubular example of mine demonstrates the alternate REGEX from my test above:
http://rubular.com/r/TTK2g4aQYr
One thing I noticed: if Rubular comes up blank, at first, a quick F5 / browser refresh/reload should populate the fields and generate the example.
Now, though, if it was simply a faulty Discourse or migration script function that was the problem behind the missing threads, then that should be fixable.
Hoping to hear some good news!
The function must have worked in part earlier if it was part of the earlier thread remapping which did obviously succeed in bringing topics / posts over to Discourse.
Iām still wondering if the partial original REGEX match somehow created corresponding Discourse thread IDs which then precluded things like the Entries threads from coming in because it was only matching up to a certain point (i.e. if the thread ID requires the number, dash, and full remaining string).
If that is the case, perhaps the threads which did not make it in could simply be modified (e.g. with an additional character or substring such as āarchivedā) so they could enter Discourse sans conflict?
I was also thinking, if the function issue is not yet resolved at this point, maybe it could be (if it is open source, or yours and shareable) posted here for further inspection?
Since this issue goes well beyond the WC forum, and that there are so many talented developers in our community in addition to your own expertise, this should be solvable and attract high-priority review from the community given how much information remains at risk of being lost.
Beyond that, thanks again to all those who worked on the migration thus far! Itās well worth the effort!
I spent some time going through the WC forum this morning, and it seems most images/attachments/thumbnails (with the exception of those stored elsewhere online, such as mine) are not appearing.
None of the image attachment links seem to work either.
I thought, at first, it was simply a matter of logging in ā that the images would appear after logging in, as is true of other forums ā but it does not seem to be that.
I hope part of the plan for saving the Weekend Challenge forum includes preserving those images.
Many people, including myself, created their very first images for (and gained experience and confidence in using Blender through) these challenges, so I consider it to be a rather important part of BlenderArtistsā history - as a community and for all these individuals.
The Weekend Challenge is very much a microcosm of the Blender experience: new artists discovering the software, using it, making progress, sharing ideas and successes, cheering each other on along the way, and generally enjoying all the creative positivities emerging from those activities.
Also, many fine digital works appeared here and only here, in this part of the forum, and a good number of those images were likely not posted anywhere else, so thatās a potentially staggering loss of community content and personal creations.
Honestly, I never imagined the forum migration could result in such a potential loss. At the same time, I imagine accepting a permanent loss of such a magnitude would never be an option, as difficult the problem might be.
The data is still out there, and itās simply a matter of bringing it here. I say this not as a casual user but as a programmer, OS / DB / network / website admin, and an artist concerned for others who entrusted this forum with their works, which took so many hours to create.
I am very grateful for what has made it over here, so far, and , while I remain deeply concerned about this situation, foremost on behalf of all my fellow Blenderheads, I do look forward to seeing them addressed and resolved in the near future.
Once again, we are rooting for all those involved in the migration. What you have in your hands is more than data: itās some very precious creations which combine to form a substantial part of Blenderās varied and beautiful tapestry.
Hey @RobertT,
we know, a lot of additional work was in fact put into making sure these topics were transferred over so it was very disappointing to see they were gone. But @pfaffman is looking into it and Iām confident weāll get them back - could you give us an update, Jay?
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Hey, Bart. I thought I sent an email about this, sorry if I failed to click send or something.
Iāve re-run the script on my server and it seems to have pulled in those messages. Since youāve gone live, what weād do is re-run the script for messages since 2017-01-01 to pull in the most recent and most-missed messages and then re-run it again to pull in any messages from days of yore.
Itās mildly terrifying to do it on your live site, but thatās the least-bad way to go.
Iāll do one more test to make sure weāre all good.
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Bless you, Bart! 
Your efforts, pfaffmanās, and whoever else is involved are so greatly appreciated.
Iām elated to hear pfaffmanās latest tests are looking good.
And I love the new forum!
All the new emoticons are great!
Thanks again for your kindness and attention to all these matters!
RobertT
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maybe this was already noticed, but it seems like all entries for challenges after challenge 636 were not included.
My first guess would be memory leak or something else causing the migration script to crash.
Maybe I just missed it, but are there any news regarding this issue?
I had a look at http://oldsite.blenderartists.org and everything still seems to be present there. The oldsite entry posts seem to be just fine (including images). And the voting threads are visible too, only the image links refer to blenderartists.org instead of oldsite.blenderartists.org, which is why no attached images show up there. So, I guess, nothing has been lost and everything is restorable/migratable. 
Still working on it, but getting there!
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Good to know. Remember the voices saying, a simple migration of the database content would be a piece of cake? Hang in there!
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I hope you havenāt stopped working on the old WEC links, they are still dead.
Any updates? Thank you.
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Hello, I have been asked to annoy the mods by repeatedly bumping this thread until they get tired of it and just fix the problem.
Iām joking!!!
Please oā gods of blenderartists.org spare me and my brethren, and grant unto us a request: please save the old weekend challengesā¦
(please do not smite me)
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I just noticed that the āoldsiteā seems to be gone. So far I used it to look into threads which were still missing based on the tip @bartv posted here:
Any news on the missing threads? With the oldsite-option gone, this is starting to feel a little uncomfortableā¦
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Itās pretty bad when you donāt even get a response (on a so called high priority thread.)
So what of it @bartv, are you guys going to keep your word and figure out a way to get the art from the old site, as you promised so many people, or are you reneging?
I think I might have found @bartv 's most recent response to this situation in another thread:
Iām really hoping this is not the last word on the matter, because that is a lot of WEC content to have lost, especially as many of us financially supported the transition to help ensure all previous forum content was preserved.
As a programmer, I know there must be a solution which could bring those topics in, even if itās to remap / relocate those missing posts under a āWeekend Challenge - Archived Contentā subsection, which then should leave the current forum intact.
Iām also wondering if all the missing image attachments was possibly due to a miscalculation of actual data to be transferred to the new forum. Iām sure there are many gigabytes in question, and perhaps some kind of underestimation of that data is now considered too formidable to transfer?
Still, there has got to be a way to achieve full transfer and fulfill the promise our community supported.
So much of that art and imagery is what helped make BlenderArtists what it was, before this forum, and the newer forum would only be richer for preserving that vital content, I feel.
Thank you in advance to @bartv for any further consideration and efforts in resolving this issue.
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I was thinking maybe @bartv was away from BA for a while and not reading posts, but I just noticed he has been rather active elsewhere in the forum.
Hopefully this means weāll be closer to some kind of official response 
I realize he is busy, and Iām grateful for all he does to keep this place going.
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