Switching Forum Software

[Meadowmufn]

Just a heads up, folks. I'm seriously considering switching to another forum platform and am currently investigating alternatives. I will, hopefully, be making the change sometime in the next week, so there may be some intermittent forum downtime. I want to provide a better experience, including mobile, for everyone and the current software is not as flexible as I would like. If you have any suggestions or would like to provide some input, feel free to post here or PM me.

[Hobie Hartkins]

Well, I'm down for whatever, but I like it the way it is! Besides, I only have a reg. Cell phone and I'm not mobile anyway!

[Roth Potter]

I don't have a smartphone either.

I've been on some forums and my personal favorite forum software was this one.

http://www.invisionpower.com/apps/board/

Why? It's the only one I've seen where editing posts and quoting people makes the pictures visible and quotes as squares in your post creating/editing screen.

[Meadowmufn]

I don't have a smartphone either.

I've been on some forums and my personal favorite forum software was this one.

http://www.invisionpower.com/apps/board/

Why? It's the only one I've seen where editing posts and quoting people makes the pictures visible and quotes as squares in your post creating/editing screen.

That's one of the few I've been looking at. Another one I'm looking at is xenforo.com.

[Roth Potter]

I remember XenForo, but the other one seems to be more organised and clean from what I remember.

I don't want to say that people here know nothing about tech, but I think XenForo is not in those peoples favor.

[Meadowmufn]

I'm trying out demos of each software I'm considering to see how they are from a usability standpoint and also in terms of customization and administration. Both Xenforo and IP.board have their plusses and minuses.

There are, of course, add-ons for each and I'm wondering what, if anything, you guys would like.

Blogs?

Gallery?

Marketplace?

Wiki-type functionality?

Anything I missed?

Do any of you still use the chat room? There are options to integrate a chat room too, which might be easier than the current third party option.

Also, what do you guys think of the current color scheme? Keep it? Too dark?

Now's the time to give your input. I should be making a decision later this week.

[Meadowmufn]

Also, for comparison, here are the appearances of the demos after customizing them.

This is the IP.Board demo. I will probably be able to customize it further if I purchase it, but this is as much as I could do with the demo.

This is the Xenforo demo. Much easier to customize the look without having to touch CSS and HTML files.

What do you guys think?

[Roth Potter]

I stand by my point, IP.Board looks cleaner.

Blogs?

I think this might be good for Garret, but I don't think much other people will use it.

Gallery?

Don't we have one now? I hope we keep those pictures but I don't think it's needed further. I don't use it.

Marketplace?

I don't see why you would need this, isn't it something like ebay? I think it's better to use that.

Wiki-type functionality?

Mmmh.... Good question, there is a Dukes of Hazzard wiki but most of the really detailed information is not there.

Do any of you still use the chat room?

If anyone makes an appointment for a next episode to watch go ahead, i'll join if it isn't after midnight. I've used it one time together with Hoss to watch a Formula One race.

Also, what do you guys think of the current color scheme? Keep it? Too dark?

I like the blue and orange, but I think outside the boxes we could use some lighter colour, white or something.

[RogerDuke]

I'm a pretty low tech guy so I'm easy to please.

I just want to say how thankful I am for everything you do MM.

You are greatly loved for all the sacrifices you've made and time you've put into the HN!

[Meadowmufn]

I stand by my point, IP.Board looks cleaner.

It does.

I think this might be good for Garret, but I don't think much other people will use it.

Agreed, but I thought I'd throw it out there in case anyone else was interested.

Don't we have one now? I hope we keep those pictures but I don't think it's needed further. I don't use it.

Yes, but it's kind of a mess. Apparently, both IP and XF can import Photopost galleries into the forum, which I think will be better in the long run.

I don't see why you would need this, isn't it something like ebay? I think it's better to use that.

I just mentioned it because they have modules for that and we have occasionally had folks on here trying to sell Dukes stuff, probably not enough to warrant buying the module. Plus, I just realized I'd have to make some configuration changes to the server to accommodate it, so that's out.

If anyone makes an appointment for a next episode to watch go ahead, i'll join if it isn't after midnight. I've used it one time together with Hoss to watch a Formula One race.

IP comes with a built in chat room for 5 users. Do we need more? The next level is 20 users.

I like the blue and orange, but I think outside the boxes we could use some lighter colour, white or something.

So do I. I'll do what I can when things get set up and then people can make suggestions for changes.

[Meadowmufn]

I'm a pretty low tech guy so I'm easy to please.

I just want to say how thankful I am for everything you do MM.

You are greatly loved for all the sacrifices you've made and time you've put into the HN!

Thanks, Rog. That means a lot to me to know that folks appreciate what I've done. Two years ago, I had been unemployed for two years, no unemployment benefits left, no income, hardly any money in savings, very ill, and living off credit cards. I came very close to turning the lights off on this place, but it was folks like you that made me determined to keep HazzardNet up and running. It's hard times like those that teach you who your friends really are and who they aren't.

[Roth Potter]

I'm a pretty low tech guy so I'm easy to please.

I just want to say how thankful I am for everything you do MM.

You are greatly loved for all the sacrifices you've made and time you've put into the HN!

Where is the +1 or like button when you need it? I use the thumb then.

IP comes with a built in chat room for 5 users. Do we need more?

I think 5 is enough for the moment.

[HossC]

Sorry I didn't reply earlier - I've had a busy couple of days. Here's my two cents:

Blogs?

I doubt I'd use them, but I may read them.

Gallery?

It could be a good resource, although the current one has looked very untidy since the last major software update.

Marketplace?

We've had a few people selling stuff on HNet over the years (from memorabilia to celebrity-owned General Lee replicas), but I'm not sure we need a martketplace. I'd rather have the security of buying through a site like eBay, although a thread with links to items for sale might work.

Wiki-type functionality?

I like the idea of our own Dukes Wiki site. As Roth says, between us we could add some really detailed information.

Chat room?

I (we?) haven't used the chat room in ages - we didn't even have Christmas party chat this year! I don't think many of the chats I've been involved in have exceeded five users.

Current color scheme?

I like the current color scheme - it marks HNet out from other sites. The CSS got screwed up at the last upgrade, so some items, e.g. a user's homepage, have been hard to read, but generally I find it clear and easy to use.

Whatever you decide, I'm glad you're keeping HNet going. Keep up the good work, MeadowMufn .

[Meadowmufn]

Keep the input coming. Good stuff.

Hoss, part of the reason I'm switching is because VBulletin makes is so hard to customize the look and heaven forbid I apply security patches, it obliterates half my changes. They've really gone downhill since they were bought and I finally reached my limit of frustration.

The gallery has always felt kind of kludged together. It's supposed to use the forum template, but it just doesn't work well. So, it'll be nice to have everything in the forums with consistent look and feel.

Oh, I remember, the another reason I mentioned the marketplace is because I loved the download feature it had that would be great for the artwork/crosswords/etc Hoss has made available on occasion. It kept track of downloads, versioning, etc. Really slick. I may be able to find a plugin/mod for that though. Or we can just stick with having the downloads in Wordpress for now. Which.... I had better go check still works. I made some changes to the site this weekend and may have broken some links. LOL.

[Meadowmufn]

Oh yeah, I completely broke the downloads section. LOL! I guess I know what I'm working on tonight.

[Meadowmufn]

I think I've settled on IP.Board. There will be downtime this weekend as I install and migrate the old board. I'll post a notice and lock the board when the migration is going on (probably late Friday night).

[Roth Potter]

Nice, exactly in the weekend I didn't have much PC time.

[Meadowmufn]

I am now the proud owner of new forum software. There will likely be downtime tonight. I'll post a notice at least an hour before I start the migration (probably around 8pm PST) and will be locking the board once it starts.