Other forums who use other software

[zoebisch01]

Man, this is more of a rant than it is a topic...

I was a member of a strong internet community for quite some time. They decided to switch the software interface they were using. The forums went down for about a month or so and when they came up it was horrible and killed the community there. Anyone else ever experience something of that nature?

My point out to the other members was that it was like taking a step backwards in forum evolution. It is slow and terrible. You have to log in every single time you leave the site for some set amount of time and come back. There is no quote feature...etc..etc. Does anyone know the names of the forum software out there?

On the plus side, it makes me appreciate the advances this forum has made!

 

[Ryan_PA]

It is not always (actually most times it is not) the software's fault users get annoyed. Most applications, including forum s/w, have highly configurable admin toolsets and backends. I know PHPBB and vBulletin have very robust settings admins can configure, especially in the latest versions. My point...I imagine whoever set up the forum you are referring to was not versed in implimenting it and most liekly is the root cause of the issue. The only item you mentioned that could be traced to the coding of the software, or the internal programs used by the software, would be the performance peice. I imagine, there are additional settings that can be enabled or configured to improve the slowness, but again, you would have to have a working knowledge of the application to make these changes.

But yes, I have been on plenty of sites that do major software/platform "upgrades" that kill the community. I have also been a member of one forum that has had multiple upgrades that enhance the community, so it really is dependent on the person making the change.

 

[david_42]

There are a couple forums that I joined and quit because the software was badly setup, often intentionally to maximize the control the moderators had. Some forums just die. One science fiction forum I'm on is so close to death, that I'll log in after a week and there are only a few new posts. After seeing a locked thread that terminated with a mod's comment of "read the faq", I'm not surprised. Sad thing is, I remember when it was THE bulletin board for science fiction fans.

One forum I'm on has had a couple rough periods following upgrades. They use vBulletin, but the owner isn't a techie and doesn't seem to record the customizations he makes, so it's start over from scratch each time. He gets it working again, but it can be painful.

 

[kornkob]

Having run a couple forums myself I know that the software, the resources you have to customize it and the server you are running it on are key elements in getting the software to 'work' for people.

Often times, especially when changing sw packages, your 'regulars' want everything to be the same and will throw a fit when it isn't 'just so'. This can create an atmosphere that drives off your more casual users.

Speaking of driving off users: there's a real balance to be struck between letting people have a free form conversation and facilitating meaningful discussion. Sometimes, especially during your popularity power curve, it can be very hard to strike that balance. On the one hand, if your 'regulars' are hard on the 'newbs' about FAQs, stupid questions or people who aren't with the 'in crowd' you want to curtail their behavior.

On the other hand your regulars form a core that the community can really come to depend on, moderating off the more 'annoying' newb questions can be the only way to try and eliminate the hostility that a group of opinionated regulars can sometimes create.

In my opinion the hardest thing for a forum to weather is a change of software, especially if the interface changes significantly. When to do it is as hard a question as what to change. Hit it when you're in a recruiting lull and you could destroy your core group of regulars. Change when you're at the top of your game and people could be driven off to 'competing' sites just as you're gaining momentum. Add to that ANY technical glitches and the train can run off the tracks rapidly.

The single most important thing a forum can do to smooth the transfer to a new package: ensure that everyone's user name and profile transfers. Despite how fleeting the internet is in reality, people these days put a fair amount of stock in the persona they develop. Destroying that because of the software change can easily derail a community.

 

[zoebisch01]

The really sad part is, that the people who weren't noobs were so messed up by the change that pretty much none of them come around anymore. It is actually so painful to post there that it feels like you have to make a huge effort just to get an idea of what is going on.

For the most part, the forums I have been a part of have a similar 'feel' to them. The changes these guys made are so drastic...for example...you can't quote other users easily so your reply has to be a cut-and-paste, it doesn't bring the most recent thread to the top automatically, nor does it show the last poster...things like that. It is so bad users who I would converse with in the past regularly just realized I am still posting!

*sigh*. The sad part is, kind of point-in-case was a guy posted a topic recently and I had one brief response, where in the past there would have most likely have been a plethora of responses, and the guy was like "wow lively bunch here" lol.

I guess I should add that the forum was picking up speed at the time of the change.

 

[kornkob]

Yeah-- based on your description of the new behaviors, without having seen the forum, I'd say that their forum admin borked up the install and settings or picked a software package not meant to be a forum. The functions you describe are part of the featureset of every forum package I've ever evaluated.

However, it does sound a lot like how many blogging software packages handle comments. I'd hazard a guess that the package they chose was orginally a blogging software package.

Got a link?

 

[TxBrew]

I was really debating on converting this forum back into a newsgroup style setting. No?

 

[kornkob]

Not a fan of newsgroup style at all, no.

 

[Pumbaa]

I was really debating on converting this forum back into a newsgroup style setting. No?

This style is perfectly fine. Dont mess with something that works

 

[c.n.budz]

I was really debating on converting this forum back into a newsgroup style setting. No?

I really like the format here the way it is, please don't change it

 

[rdwj]

I'm pretty sure Tx was just kidding