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This forum idea is a good one, but the forum software (IMO) leaves much to be desired. I have an unused phpBB forum at:
This forum software is widely used and should be familiar to newcomers.
I can configure it to be useful for an esoteric forum (and of course set up a subdomain for kidsquid.com). If this is interesting to anyone, let me know your ideas for forum groups.
I also would prefer phpBB to this software. Mainly it is the option to have sub-forums that I miss. That is only important if we get a significant amount of traffic, of course.
Btw, phpBB doesn't require users to register (though you may require it if you want to).
I'd go with phpBB; just turn of the registration requirement. The UI to this particular forum is outright hideous. (Don't kill the messenger...)
It would be nice to have a forum that lets you quote previous messages (other than through copying and pasting) and edit your posts. And only shows the contents of one thread at a time. And allows you to link to individual replies...
And doesn't suck
Seriously speaking, though, a "flat file system" never works out for anything more complex. When the number of posts and threads starts growing, this kind of UI will get very, very frustrating to use.
http://kidsquid.com/phpBB2/ seems like the way to go, in my opinion. It's registration-free, and it's based on phpBB which is pretty much a standard for forums nowadays.
Don't mind me, I'm drunk.
You can link to individual posts. You can also view a single thread at a time. Click on its number in the index, or "entire thread" beneath the reply box.
At most 15 threads are shown on the main page. At most 15 replies to a thread are shown on the main page.
Just give it time, you guys. You will see
I've added some categories and forums and set up a subdomain. Please let me know what you think:
I'm particularly interested to know what is thought of the forums and categories, what I need to add, move around, change, describe better, etc. It's hard for me to categorize esolangs in a non-overlapping fashion :)
Every forum should be editable without login. If you find one that's not, please let me know (I have to change them by hand, so I could have missed one). I'm also open to suggestions as to the configuration. I've been on forums where there was some annoying forum feature getting in the way of the discussion.. trying to avoid that.
calamari
I think phpBB is built for silly drama. You should use a simpler forum script, like the one used here. Say, maybe you didn't need to start your own forum at all!
I had the forum already set up, so it was no trouble.. just difficult choosing reasonable groups. Since the forum is still quite young it's not too late to switch to something better.
If we do move the forum, I'd be willing to individually copy and paste each of this forums posts into the new one so that nothing is lost.
calamari
"Suilt for silly drama."
I don't really see how the UI of a forum affects the level of posts in it.
What I do see is how a bad UI (and yes, I consider this UI bad) can affect things. Honestly, nobody's used flat file systems in nigh on 20 years. Ye Olde BBSs had a better UI than this one.
Oh well. Maybe I'm just biased. But that doesn't change my opinion on the matter :)
I don't see why we need to have a row over forum software. Both forums can continue to exist, and people will just use the one they find more usable. I think each of the posters here have made it clear which forum they think that is.
Oh, I'm not trying to pick a fight here. I just see it as unnecessary fragmentation if x people go onto the phpBB-based forum and y people stay here.
Hmm... wonder if it'd be feasible to implement the forum so that you could use whichever UI you prefer, and still get the same posts?
Since difficulty of navigation was a common complaint, I've modified the configuration so that it will now show only one thread on the front page, and the other threads only on their individual pages. Hopefully this should address the confusingness of having multiple threads in one page. I'm open to suggestions on how to improve the forum further.
Addressing some other points:
>>3
You answered your own question. :) There aren't any subforums here because the traffic doesn't call for it. If it ever does, I can make separate forums and add a menu, and it will be just the same as phpBB's subforums, but I think we should cross that bridge when we come to it.
>>5
Now only one thread is shown at a time. Also, you can link to individual replies just as I'm doing, with ">>number". I'll have to disagree with you on editing posts; it's confusing when a thread's not in chronological order.
>>7,12
I can't do anything about a "bad UI" unless you tell me why you think it's bad. Concrete suggestions for improvements are welcome (e.g. >>5's suggestion to display only one thread per page).
I didn't mean that people should edit posts to provide substantial new content, but it is nice to be able reword some sentences that may have been misunderstood, and to fix grammatical errors.
I'd also say that the ability to edit posts is pretty essential, to correct/reword stuff. Re-writing the whole post isn't the main point
I hope I have not come across as hostile. I really like the idea of this forum, it is just very different than most web forums and is lacking in traditional features such as editing, private messaging, profiles, polls, forum summaries, etc. One thing I do like about this forum is the skinning ability. It does look cool.
I'll see about copying the esoteric-related threads over and then we can see where things go. I'm perfectly content to use my forum for contests or wherever it is needed. My offer was meant as an offer, not as an insult :) I hope that I have remained constructive in my criticisms.
Graue: Is the main problem you have with the phpBB forum the fact that I'm running it? If so, I can help you set up a phpBB board here. I don't really care who runs the forum.. I'd just hope that the software used doesn't limit its potential.
I'd prefer this forum to phpBB IF
1.) there would be registered users
2.) there would be different categories like in calamari's forum (although not sure if someone mentioned they're possible in these forums as well)
3.) there would be ability to preview the post.
Visually I prefer these, and as well the simple user interface and stuff is something I like.
>>18
I don't care that you're running that other forum. I do believe that the lack of
> traditional features such as [...] private messaging, polls, profiles
results in a board conducive to high quality discussion. Discussion is far more interesting than polls, and profiles and private messaging make the board about people rather than the ideas expressed.
(I also find phpBB's user interface uniquely awful, but I would still object to any forum of that type.)
Subforums: ...can be done here as soon as there is enough discussion that it needs to be split up. At the moment, there's not.
Editing: I agree with >>19 that there should be a way to preview posts, and that would probably alleviate the demand for editing. I might try to customize the board and add this feature. (No guarantees though -- my Perl is pretty rusty.)
Followup to the above.. not trying to be mean with that comment, afraid it may come across that way. Just trying to illustrate that personalities do play a part in discussion. Discussion is about people AND their ideas, not just their ideas. Profiles allow a person to express more about themselves. Private messaging allows an off-topic discussion to be taken off-line.
>>21
They're optional, as it says at the top of the frontpage. I think it's useful to enter a name for situations where it actually matters. Like here I'm saying, "Hey, I'm Graue, and the reason I configured the forum this way is..." But if I was just saying "I think Pbrain is a cool extension to Brainfuck. It was interesting to realize that you can..." then I would probably post that anonymously, since the observation's what matters, not me.
Of course, some people will only post observations about esoteric programming languages if they can get credit for it. Why? I can't imagine. But here I give people the choice to do that if they prefer.
>>23
If you would like to add that feature, go ahead. You can get the software at http://wakaba.c3.cx/. I agree that it'll be a cool idea if you can get it to work right.
Graue: I disagree that posting anonymously is a good thing. If everyone did that it would be hell to try to refer to other people's posts (like I do in this post). If you don't want people to know who you are, then pick a new nickname, but at least stick to it within the same discussion. Also, it is nice to know who wrote what, if I want to discuss it with them on #esoteric.
jix: the keyword suggestion is a good one. That would be even better than subforums, as a thread could have more than one keyword. Previews would also be nice.
not very anonymous btw.. note:
22 Name: calamari : 2005-11-07 19:10 ID:KWX8xOQq
27 Name: Anonymous : 2005-11-07 22:32 ID:KWX8xOQq
The ID is the same both times, so my identity is revealed.
>>28
Those should now be hidden if you fill out the Link field. Also, the IDs are different depending on the current day, so you could also wait 24 hours.
You can fill out the link field with "sage" to make the thread not rise to the top when you reply to it, by the way. (Yes, I know, very intuitive and discoverable.)
This software is very good