Forum updates and features

[Martijn Meerts]

For quite a while now, the mods have been talking about switching to a different forum system, that makes things easier on us as well as on the users. Several systems have been looked at, some have been tested a bit more seriously, and we believe we're pretty much decided on a new system.

With the known gallery and mass-upload of images to the gallery bug once again being highlighted recently (threads taking ages too load because of the large photo's posted) we're now going to look into actually setting up the new system and moving everything over. This will be a fairly long-term project, we don't want to rush anything and risk loosing any of the content already on the forum. We also want to make it as seamless for the users as possible, so there'll be no re-activting of accounts or anything like that.

What I'm wondering, is what would you all like to see changed/implemented with the move to a new system? I'm not looking for detailes, but just some general idea of what you think the forum needs.

Apart from fixing the gallery issues, we'll definitely be looking at updating the current theme, modernizing it some, and making more themes available to pick from.

[keitaro]

some times the forum will tell me theres new posts in the main index for all categories but when i go into the category example nscale it doesn't say new on the thread even though it is.

you could fix that :)



Also a more easier to browse media area. Perhaps even a media folder to each member. So I can click the profile of said user and choose members gallery, then they can have folders like my models, my layout, my videos.

So I can bowse their collection and the member can tag a category for each upload so in the global gallery it will fit each picture into a category the same but will also show in the members direct gallery.

I.e. If I click gallery now it will have a folder in there for layouts, 1:1 prototypes, nguage models etc.

so instead of uploading directly into the gallery I can upload in my profile and have them sorted into my own personel folders but tag them to fit in the global galleries correct category for members to browse.


I hope that makes sense and could be done it does sound rather complex to do

[ShinCanadaSen]

Not sure how it would be implemented or if anyone else would be interested, but an index of the different trains containing links to all posts about them. i.e. If I clicked on 0-series or Koki I would get a list if all topics to do with them ( including but not limited to models, dcc, prototypes, media, etc...).

Just my $ 0.02.

[miyakoji]

Not sure how it would be implemented or if anyone else would be interested, but an index of the different trains containing links to all posts about them. i.e. If I clicked on 0-series or Koki I would get a list if all topics to do with them ( including but not limited to models, dcc, prototypes, media, etc...).

Just my $ 0.02.

I think some forum software now has tags, that's what this would be.  That would be pretty cool, although tags have to be consistent to be effective.

[keitaro]

tags should be set only by the mods/admin that way no double ups and a request for any missing can be put in for mods/admin to check and add to the list.

so for example theres a series xx gets tagged grouping all series xx and variants together example kiha 130 hidaka and kiha 130 jnr colour (mythical train) can be searched from the one kiha 130 tag.



Edit* perhaps when and if mati gets the model train data base going the tags can also provide links there to encourage database growth

[Martijn Meerts]

some times the forum will tell me theres new posts in the main index for all categories but when i go into the category example nscale it doesn't say new on the thread even though it is.

you could fix that :)

That's most likely a bug in the current system (there's a few bugs here and there, and judging by the code I don't think they'll be fixed anytime soon ;)) The new system we're actively looking at now seems to be organized better, so those sort of bugs should be fixed automatically really.

Also a more easier to browse media area. Perhaps even a media folder to each member. So I can click the profile of said user and choose members gallery, then they can have folders like my models, my layout, my videos.

So I can bowse their collection and the member can tag a category for each upload so in the global gallery it will fit each picture into a category the same but will also show in the members direct gallery.

I.e. If I click gallery now it will have a folder in there for layouts, 1:1 prototypes, nguage models etc.

so instead of uploading directly into the gallery I can upload in my profile and have them sorted into my own personel folders but tag them to fit in the global galleries correct category for members to browse.


I hope that makes sense and could be done it does sound rather complex to do

Since we're switching system completely, there'll also be a new gallery. Right now there's only 1 gallery plugin for the system, which I'll give a go soon-ish. Personal galleries does sound like a good idea, so definitely worth looking into. If necessary we can always create our own plugins, but that'll have to wait until the base system is up and running like it should.

Not sure how it would be implemented or if anyone else would be interested, but an index of the different trains containing links to all posts about them. i.e. If I clicked on 0-series or Koki I would get a list if all topics to do with them ( including but not limited to models, dcc, prototypes, media, etc...).

Just my $ 0.02.

That's a good idea actually. We could create a list of usable tags, and add some sort of option for users to submit new tags. Like Keitaro said, the tags need to be moderated so we don't end up with multiple tags meaning the same thing. There's many ways of tagging a C62 for example, while they should all be using the same main tag for the locomotive (they can have additional tags for service types and/or named trains etc.)


Keep the ideas coming, it's nice to hear what the users think the forum needs or can do without, and knowing that also really helps with coming up with a slightly modernized look and feel ;)

[miyakoji]

Martijn, what software are you looking to move to?

[Martijn Meerts]

Martijn, what software are you looking to move to?

We've looked a few (or, Capt has looked at most of them anyway :)), and we found that MyBB was the most interesting option. It's really light weight and seems well coded. For a variety of reasons we've decided to stay away from the more common big ones like phpBB and vBulletin etc.

[miyakoji]

Martijn, what software are you looking to move to?

We've looked a few (or, Capt has looked at most of them anyway :)), and we found that MyBB was the most interesting option. It's really light weight and seems well coded. For a variety of reasons we've decided to stay away from the more common big ones like phpBB and vBulletin etc.

Will you be able to convert this forum's db to MyBB's schema?

[CaptOblivious]

Martijn, what software are you looking to move to?

We've looked a few (or, Capt has looked at most of them anyway :)), and we found that MyBB was the most interesting option. It's really light weight and seems well coded. For a variety of reasons we've decided to stay away from the more common big ones like phpBB and vBulletin etc.

Will you be able to convert this forum's db to MyBB's schema?

Yes :D And I have already done it several times over :D Well, most of it :D

[Martijn Meerts]

Martijn, what software are you looking to move to?

We've looked a few (or, Capt has looked at most of them anyway :)), and we found that MyBB was the most interesting option. It's really light weight and seems well coded. For a variety of reasons we've decided to stay away from the more common big ones like phpBB and vBulletin etc.

Will you be able to convert this forum's db to MyBB's schema?

Yes :D And I have already done it several times over :D Well, most of it :D

Yeah, most things copy over right out of the box, but several things need some custom scripting. Obviously, we're not going to make the switch until we're certain we can move over all the current content without messing up anything.

[The_Ghan]

Hey Martijn,

From a basic look and feel point of view, as well as ease of use, I like phpBB based forums: http://www.lunarforums.com/index.php#1. 

I dislike forums similar to this: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187768-i20-Italy.html.  The worst one I use is microsoft: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/addbuz/threads?filter=answered,mf:6edab96e-a4cc-4ccb-ae44-7bcdb5ffa589

But that's just me.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[Martijn Meerts]

Hey Martijn,

From a basic look and feel point of view, as well as ease of use, I like phpBB based forums: http://www.lunarforums.com/index.php#1.  

I dislike forums similar to this: http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g187768-i20-Italy.html.  The worst one I use is microsoft: http://social.answers.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/addbuz/threads?filter=answered,mf:6edab96e-a4cc-4ccb-ae44-7bcdb5ffa589

But that's just me.

Cheers

The_Ghan

The general look and feel will stay the same as it is now, we're just going to change some things around to make it look a bit more modern. We're also going to make the current template easier to adjust, so we can offer a couple of color variations based on various trains. The current one is obviously based on the Hikari Rail Star, but there could be a Dr. Yellow, a more traditional 0-series, a JR-Freight, or even an E5 color variation (I doubt a forum in E5 colors would look bit, but still :))

[The_Ghan]

Hi Martijn,

Sorry, I must have misunderstood the start of the thread.  I thought you were looking at changing from SMF to something else.  Of the other forums I use I seem to prefer those based on phpBB.  As to colours, I'm just using the default.  I might have a play around with the UserCP and see what's on offer.

Cheers

The_Ghan

[miyakoji]

Ghan, yeah I think he does mean they'll be changing to something other than SMF.  I like phpBB too, I also like vbulletin (the appearance, at least) but it's a little expensive.  FluxBB is cool, too.  There are a lot, actually. I haven't been following the SQL db drama lately, but I'd probably pick one that can be backed by Postgres as well as MySQL, I still don't think MySQL's future is clear.

[Martijn Meerts]

Hi Martijn,

Sorry, I must have misunderstood the start of the thread.  I thought you were looking at changing from SMF to something else.  Of the other forums I use I seem to prefer those based on phpBB.  As to colours, I'm just using the default.  I might have a play around with the UserCP and see what's on offer.

Cheers

The_Ghan

We're changing the underlying system yes, but we're making it look as much like the current system as possible, so the switch will be easy. The user control panel might change a bit though, but to be honest, the current one isn't the most friendly one ;)

We've looked at phpBB and vBulletin etc. as well, but they have more disadvantages than advantages for our use. The conclusion after several months of testing and discussing was that MyBB is probably the best option.

Ghan, yeah I think he does mean they'll be changing to something other than SMF.  I like phpBB too, I also like vbulletin (the appearance, at least) but it's a little expensive.  FluxBB is cool, too.  There are a lot, actually. I haven't been following the SQL db drama lately, but I'd probably pick one that can be backed by Postgres as well as MySQL, I still don't think MySQL's future is clear.

I haven't heard anything about MySQL problems really. I don't think it'll disappear anytime soon, it's just far too widespread to all of a sudden just drop all support. Even if it does though, many forum systems are database agnostic, so it doesn't matter much what's being used.

[Kumo]

One small thing: smaller pages. And what I mean is not due to scree size but less posts per page.

When there is posts with lots of pictures, having long long pages can be a pain, especially on mobiles devices while surfing on 3G. Even sometimes at home, I have to wait for the page to load because there is lots of posts with lots of pics.
Less posts per page would make us switch page more often, but I think it would be simpler.

[ShinCanadaSen]

Shorter pages would be good for me too. I usually surf the forums on my iPhone. However I use the normal site not the iPhone format as I do not like it. So if we could get something that works well with mobile devices that woul be great.

[Shashinka]

Martjin, I hit a MySQL yesterday. Though that may have had something to do with what Don was doing at the time.

[CaptOblivious]

Martjin, I hit a MySQL yesterday. Though that may have had something to do with what Don was doing at the time.

That was me. I was trying to enable InnoDB tables, and somehow caused MySQL to crash in doing so. Issue resolved.