Forum Functionality and Features Brainstorm

[Kapetan]

Option #3 would take too much time to do.

I'd suggest fixing what already have. I agree with most of what was said in this topic.

Here are my suggestions:

1.) Most importantly - optimize. Forums are slow lately and I recall it was much faster before. Often I just close bb.com forums due to speed of loading.
2.) I would like to this be implemented - it's easy to do: As moderators have different color name in their names, make OP have different color aswell (ex. bolded dark-blue).
He is often most important figure in topic and I'd like to see him pointed out somehow.
3.) Here is useful and interesting one: Thread has 30 pages and no one posted cliffs?
The method I use to read this kind of threads: I copy and paste OP name and ctrl+f search his name in every page - so I can see his posts / updates.
There should be button which you can press and all posts of user in same thread will be displayed.
This would make people easier to get up-to-date with longer threads.

[Socalchoirboy]

Option #3 would take too much time to do.

I'd suggest fixing what already have. I agree with most of what was said in this topic.

Here are my suggestions:

1.) Most importantly - optimize. Forums are slow lately and I recall it was much faster before. Often I just close bb.com forums due to speed of loading.
2.) I would like to this be implemented - it's easy to do: As moderators have different color name in their names, make OP have different color aswell (ex. bolded dark-blue).
He is often most important figure in topic and I'd like to see him pointed out somehow.
3.) Here is useful and interesting one: Thread has 30 pages and no one posted cliffs?
The method I use to read this kind of threads: I copy and paste OP name and ctrl+f search his name in every page - so I can see his posts / updates.
There should be button which you can press and all posts of user in same thread will be displayed.
This would make people easier to get up-to-date with longer threads.

These are good suggestions.
Forums are so dense and slow atm. The new navigation system really affects loadspeed.

Slightly irrelevant question FS: Is there any chance that college students could get a behind-the-scenes look at managing forum content? Specifically CS students; I'm completely novice to php and backend/frontend dev, and it'd be neat to see what y'all do when managing so much data and users.

[DatPass]

Reps need to stay, IMO it adds to the charm of the forum and actually stops quite a lot of ****tardery. Sure it's pretty bad in here sometimes but imagine if these same asshats didnt have the fear of negs...



I'd like to see:

* a one step method to favorite threads (just click a box without multiple page transitions)
* better user cp access/layout

[theloro]

I hate to sound like a broken record but - look before you leap. If you work for large corporation, don't post anything that will bite you in the ass later on. Don't say anything politically incorrect. Don't post pictures where you look like a drunk jackass at some Frat party. Don't badmouth your boss or superiors.

Interesting. You're saying that so nonchalantly, you really don't have any problem with that? Some CEO gets wasted as a student, gets filmed by his ******* "friends", and it bites him in the ass 20 years later? I know it is what it is, but I find it appalling that you need to censor yourself and change your behavior in that way (though I believe it is becoming less of a problem because people get desensitized and at some point, every leader will have done crap on video).

And that's what you are missing if you insist on free speech only being a government issue (among other things). The government doesn't even need to make an effort to censor anyone/restrict their freedom of speech if people are already doing it themselves because they're afraid of the reaction of their employers.

btw I understand the part about badmouthing your company or boss, that's stupid and you should get in trouble for that.

[GarthVader]

I want to be able to see if a thread was started by a red





a little draft I made, tell me what you think.
*vista crew*

Just noticed the tabs. lmao

[PjzBoozer]

Don't know if its been said but making Vine,Instagram etc videos embeddable would be great.

Hell naw. People with slow connections/sub par computers like myself hate that stuff. Slows down the browsing.


And to the people itt wanting quote notifications for now, check my sig.

[Socalchoirboy]

Just noticed the tabs. lmao

golden

[Motiviert]

whenever i open a page from my android device, it appears and i start scolling down (usually to the bottom) to see whats new in a subscribed thread.

then the phone finishes loading the page, and jumps back to the top. super annoying.

not sure if there is anything bb.com can do about this, or if its just my poverty phone

This
Every single time.

[Brozef]

It's easy to lose track of who is the OP in a thread, especially after several pages.. So many no-avis and names that are just a jumble of letters/numbers.

Maybe have some way of indicating which poster is the OP? Something as simple as a different color border around their avatar would work.

[tential]

Ignored posters means I shouldn't see any of their posts. Including threads they've started, those shouldn't show up on the main page for me if I ignored the poster.
Also, ignored posts still take up a lot of the screen. If there was a way to condense that all better that'd be great.

[sff4]

current forum layout is GOAT for readability

[Daydreamergirl]

This
Every single time.

I have same problem. Page keeps refreshing and reloading. Have trouble sending pms , won't let me send them , not sure if it's because of the poverty phone. Keeps signing me out when I go back in a thread. Some issues accessing site via cell phone. Wonder if there is a way to make forum easier to use on a phone?

[Csnauk]

This won't happen. Forums are for gathering content, not removing it (where appropriate ofc). It wouldn't make sense to get banned for 1 post but remove everything they made?

What I should of said is:

If the user is permanently banned remove their posts
If a user is banned for a thread/post for like 3 days or whatever remove the post/thread.

[datboidere]

Can we have an option as a user, if threads are made more than 5 years ago, we have the option to delete the thread?

Back when I was younger I made stupid threads which are embarrassing and wish to erase in case of anyone finding my profile. Now that I've matured and my thought process is actually working I would like to see a delete button for super old threads made by members.

I know the ideals of: "you posted it, you live with it", but I mean its the idea of a professional workplace have investigators finding posts we have later in the future and not hiring you because you made a post about "how long your snake is" or something embarrassing like that.

[NicholasMango]

That's a setting that could be changed now, but not really any reason to. Forums are for adding content, not removing it. Just use more forethought before posting.

being able to edit the first page of my log would be nice though.

[zer0time]

Did not read thread but I'd like the following:

- Username Mentions: Similar functionality as reddit regarding username mentions. If someone types your name anywhere on the comment like the following "/u/zer0time". it will parse the text into a link and also send a PM to the user to tell them they've been mentioned with a link directly to the comment.

- Lets also get the Remember Me function to work.

- Find an alternative to GIF's.

[tential]

Ability to ignore moderators.
Admins and Moderators are usually two different groups. Rules are already posted by admins, and moderators post like normal users. It would be nice to be able to ignore their posts. If it adversely effects the user, sucks to be them but would be nice to have the option.

[AlanStone]

That's a setting that could be changed now, but not really any reason to. Forums are for adding content, not removing it. Just use more forethought before posting.

I'd like the feature so I can update my 52 books in 52 weeks list without having to repost it over and over again. The potential for abuse is high but if mods can see what posts looked like before they were edited then trolls and other fools can't get away with editing their posts after saying something offensive.

Why would you want to edit your post after such a long duration? You believe in something today and post your opinion. So after a few months or a year, you change your stance and decide you want to change your opinion (modify your old post). Does that make sense to you? This forum is more like a book and not a blog.

Like FS said, think before you post. Preview your post several times before submitting it. FWIW, I think the edit time should be reduced to 15 minutes. What bb.com gives us now is very, very generous.

Dude, it's not that serious. Seems like most people ITT want it for practical reasons, not to edit years old posts for whatever reason. You're overthinking it.

[anonymous]

So been looking into Vanilla Forums and they have a lot to offer and would solve nearly every complaint listed, I've been impressed. I only want to hear feedback if you actually look at what they are offering though, no quick glances at the site and "it sucks". Serious inputs please: http://vanillaforums.com/features/user-experience (all the other links have good info too if you care/have the time).

[Clinos]

So been looking into Vanilla Forums and they have a lot to offer and would solve nearly every complaint listed, I've been impressed. I only want to hear feedback if you actually look at what they are offering though, no quick glances at the site and "it sucks". Serious inputs please: http://vanillaforums.com/features/user-experience (all the other links have good info too if you care/have the time).

http://vanillaforums.com/showcase <-- Forums running it.

[ScrillaVilla]

So been looking into Vanilla Forums and they have a lot to offer and would solve nearly every complaint listed, I've been impressed. I only want to hear feedback if you actually look at what they are offering though, no quick glances at the site and "it sucks". Serious inputs please: http://vanillaforums.com/features/user-experience (all the other links have good info too if you care/have the time).

I skimmed through the thread. Is there issues with the current forum? vBulletin is the gold standard, phpBB is the next closest. Updating to a recent version of vBulletin would help as they've progressed over the years with built in new features, which bypasses the needs to manually install new extensions/mods.

[HowsMyClutch]

So been looking into Vanilla Forums and they have a lot to offer and would solve nearly every complaint listed, I've been impressed. I only want to hear feedback if you actually look at what they are offering though, no quick glances at the site and "it sucks". Serious inputs please: http://vanillaforums.com/features/user-experience (all the other links have good info too if you care/have the time).

I like the idea of switching to a different platform greatly, the only thing would be transferring over all the threads and reputation system.

Another thing I'd like to add is the forum needs to have MUCH better integration with Bodyspace. The layouts need to somewhat reflect each other while showing information about the poster like rep power, join date, post count, etc.

Just like on the Vanillaforum user profiles, you should be able to comment on each others walls, view badges, etc. instead of linking to a service many forum users don't even use. It's the whole Youtube trying to integrate Google+ thing all over again, which is fine if you don't force it down peoples' throats.

[anonymous]

I skimmed through the thread. Is there issues with the current forum? vBulletin is the gold standard, phpBB is the next closest. Updating to a recent version of vBulletin would help as they've progressed over the years with built in new features, which bypasses the needs to manually install new extensions/mods.

Each vB version is worse than the previous starting with 3 (they are losing developers). Updating would not be a fix. Sure, we could do add-ons and other patches but that doesn't seem like it will be the best option looking several years down the road.

I like the idea of switching to a different platform greatly, the only thing would be transferring over all the threads and reputation system.

Another thing I'd like to add is the forum needs to have MUCH better integration with Bodyspace. The layouts need to somewhat reflect each other while showing information about the poster like rep power, join date, post count, etc.

Just like on the Vanillaforum user profiles, you should be able to comment on each others walls, view badges, etc. instead of linking to a service many forum users don't even use. It's the whole Youtube trying to integrate Google+ thing all over again, which is fine if you don't force it down peoples' throats.

They do vB migrations so data moving over isn't an issue, I don't believe there is a rep system though (insert wailing and gnashing of teeth), it would be replaced with other forms of recognition (of course this would have it's own kinks to work through). There is a lot more customization leeway with the new infrastructure so visually it could really tie in with BodySpace (for as long as that is necessary, BIG things being worked on) and the rest of the site. If we do decide to move forward with the new back end (and there is a lot of planning and discussion before getting to that point), we would be able to demo the layout for a test group of members to check it out and give feedback.

EDIT: There is a rep system but it's handled in a more useful fashion: http://blog.vanillaforums.com/help/v...tation-system/

[zer0time]

I don't believe there is a rep system though

No thank you Jefferey.

[ScrillaVilla]

Each vB version is worse than the previous starting with 3 (they are losing developers). Updating would not be a fix. Sure, we could do add-ons and other patches but that doesn't seem like it will be the best option looking several years down the road.



They do vB migrations so data moving over isn't an issue, I don't believe there is a rep system though (insert wailing and gnashing of teeth), it would be replaced with other forms of recognition (of course this would have it's own kinks to work through). There is a lot more customization leeway with the new infrastructure so visually it could really tie in with BodySpace (for as long as that is necessary, BIG things being worked on) and the rest of the site. If we do decide to move forward with the new back end (and there is a lot of planning and discussion before getting to that point), we would be able to demo the layout for a test group of members to check it out and give feedback.

The hockey forum I started a few days ago in my sig is the latest version of phpBB3.12. It's pretty good, just lacking any real mods/extensions. So no rep system would exist, I think they have a Like/Dislike system as the closest thing to a rep system.

[NateDG72]

Black skin mobile.

I don't know if the mobile version of the site does this for anyone else but when I click on a section or a thread and start scrolling before the page is fully loaded my browser now shoots back to the top when the page is done loading. Annoying as hell. Brb clicking links all the time I did not want to click because the page zooms back to the top.

[.aeterna]

Is there a forum that actually uses the Vanilla layout? Would help to take a quick look and see it in action.

[ForumNature]

No thank you Jefferey.

Why are reps such a big deal? They certainly aren't indicative of being a good poster.

[JayRoddy]

The biggest feature i miss is being abled to actually see a user's profile.

Currenty you redirect all clicks on a user's profile to their bodyspace profiles. I don't know if you need to promote bodyspace but most people never use it.

So please, whatever you do, allow us to view a user's message board profile, grant us quick access to the most simple options like searching for a user's past topics or posts.

Thank you.

[meremortal]

Why are reps such a big deal? They certainly aren't indicative of being a good poster.

speak for yourself



poster here