What makes a great forum

[jonzi]

One day forums will allow direct posting for those of us who aren't IT wizards :)

The above quote is from another thread.

It got me thinking...

What would make the ideal forum?

So how about people put down there top 2 ideas on what would make the forum great.

If you have some examples that would be awesome.

And by ideal forum, I mean technology wise. I know that most of the people here are already helpful and cool. (Some are just twats, but they can always be flagged as ignored)

[smiffyraf1]

be hard to better this one in terms of community but tech wise even though i know it has been looked at before maybe a location map so you can easily see who is near to you and arrange ride outs etc. to that end maybe a chat wall at the bottom. although i can see the latter becoming redundant and maybe abused.

[uksurfer]

1 - direct uploading of photos
2 - tapatalk

:ukm:

[Dirty]

Brolly girls :mand:

On a serious note I like this old style of forum software. Of course it could be better but I can't stand the type of forum software that over uses flash.

[jonzi]

Brolly girls :mand:

On a serious note I like this old style of forum software. Of course it could be better but I can't stand the type of forum software that over uses flash.

What forum do you go to that uses flash?

[Dirty]

What forum do you go to that uses flash?

Non regularly because I find them too annoying. It may not be flash I mean, it's when the actual content is controlled by a program, rather than HTML I think. Like ducatiforum.co.uk

[jonzi]

What is it you don't like about that site?

The front page? It looks like each of the items on the front page is a forum post that is being promoted to the front page. Probably/possibly to generate more page views and revenue.

But.. You don't have to go to the front page.

I have www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/search.php?do=getnew booked marked, so I dont often view the front page of this site.

[jonzi]

How do people feel about "liking" posts?

An example can be seen here.

http://www.675.cc/675/threads/the-bike-cave.27112/page-4#post-387058

This forum gives you the option to "like", "dislike", "agree", "disagree" and a bunch more stuff.

This isn't linked to Facebook likes, just kept within the forum.

[jonzi]

If the forum software was more responsive to mobile browsers, would people prefer that to a dedicated app?

How many people browse on their phones at the moment?

[jonzi]

be hard to better this one in terms of community but tech wise even though i know it has been looked at before maybe a location map so you can easily see who is near to you and arrange ride outs etc. to that end maybe a chat wall at the bottom. although i can see the latter becoming redundant and maybe abused.

Do you know a forum that has an unmoderated chat function? If so, how well does it work? Do you get idiots spamming/flaming/trolling?

The map thing might be a bit of a bike security risk?

[jonzi]

1 - direct uploading of photos
2 - tapatalk

:ukm:

On newer software, with good hosting, both should be easy to do.

Is there any thing else you would like to see?

[NewMon]

The PM limit is something left over from days gone by when storage was expensive and limited. Judging by the number of members who have problems with full inboxes, I would say that increasing the limit is a quick fix. This may also apply to the direct uploading of pictures, although that can be more readily abused.

I don't know how the forum and its bandwidth are financed and it may be that it is under some severe constraints. In which case, fair enough.

[Dirty]

What is it you don't like about that site?

The front page? It looks like each of the items on the front page is a forum post that is being promoted to the front page. Probably/possibly to generate more page views and revenue.

But.. You don't have to go to the front page.

I have www.ukmonster.co.uk/monster/search.php?do=getnew booked marked, so I dont often view the front page of this site.

I'm on my iPad at the moment so can't confirm, plus that's not the worst offender, just the first I could remember. On the PC I have a blocker that stops all the flash stuff unless I give permission. Some sites have 100's of the things and it all takes processing power and bandwidth . Sometimes even decent modern computers slow a bit to load the things. Forget it on older machines. I'll find a better example for you later.

[Dirty]

How do people feel about "liking" posts?

An example can be seen here.

http://www.675.cc/675/threads/the-bike-cave.27112/page-4#post-387058

This forum gives you the option to "like", "dislike", "agree", "disagree" and a bunch more stuff.

This isn't linked to Facebook likes, just kept within the forum.

Likes etc are ok. No reason not to have them.

Unmoderated chat usually have functions to alert a mod of any dodgyness. I help mod a forum with huge traffic and over 150k sign ups and I can't remember the last time we had an issue in the chat room.

[jonzi]

I'm on my iPad at the moment so can't confirm, plus that's not the worst offender, just the first I could remember. On the PC I have a blocker that stops all the flash stuff unless I give permission. Some sites have 100's of the things and it all takes processing power and bandwidth . Sometimes even decent modern computers slow a bit to load the things. Forget it on older machines. I'll find a better example for you later.

Do you mean the adverts at the side?

I think this site will probably stay (mostly) advert free.

[jonzi]

I don't know how the forum and its bandwidth are financed and it may be that it is under some severe constraints. In which case, fair enough.

How would people feel about making a donation to the forum every now and then?

This could pay for better hosting and upgraded software

[utopia]

I think that the forum is worth subscribing to, BUT I think it would be a bad idea.
It then becomes reliant on donations and if they should dry up for any reason then the forum is threatened.
I'd rather have the guaranteed continuity of the free forum.

[jonzi]

This forum might be free to the end users, but some one has been paying for the hosting and software.

This might come club events, weekenders etc.

I wasn't suggesting a subscription.

A donation, every now and then, to keep things going.

Upgrades to software and hosting aren't free.

Money can be gained from adverting, but then it turns in to something like the forum that Damian linked.

[J.P]

The way of most actions now is that there should be a seamless use of mobile. Not everyone has web-mobiles, but there are by far more that do and the world has moved on in the last 5 years dramatically.
Whoever created the 675 forum did a great job I think from what I've seen of it via Bex. easy to use and quick to navigate.
We are lucky enough not to have had much spamming or trolling on the forum and I don't think there's been much need for the moderators to step in.

[jonzi]

Whoever created the 675 forum did a great job I think from what I've seen of it via Bex.

Craig the admin, asked for donations to build it to what it is today.

He had a web company build it. Cost around £4000

He got most of that through donations.

I suspect that wouldn't be possible with this club. And I am not suggesting to do so.

As far as I can see, most of the stuff they have at 675 is plugins.

I suspect that I could do most of what they have, except for the design work. A monkey with crayons can design better than I can.

However, the software would still need to be paid for, the hosting would still need to be paid for.

As I said before, this club is free to the end user, but some one is coughing up the readies to pay for the hosting right now.

[utopia]

Fair enough then.
In that case, I have no problem with fund raising for the forum by whatever means.
I would still rather keep the forum as unburdened by finance as possible though.
Perhaps what I'm saying is that we shouldn't shackle ourselves to an all singing, all dancing forum which has too high a financial burden, when a simpler set-up would be more easily sustainable.
Maybe there are some changes that are worth paying a little more for but I'm not massively dissatisfied with the way it is at the moment.

A well organised tech library might be nice .....?

[Dookbob]

As a non technophobe I'm thinking if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[slob]

Oh, but it is quite broken, it's becoming more difficult to manage behind the scenes and gradually losing functionality as the rest of the world moves on. Please don't get hung up on the funding question, let's try to deal with user requirements for now.

[Aviatore]

Easier photo uploads would be great, as would more PM capacity. Don't use the latter too much but I find that even I get close to the limit from time to time. A chat wall sounds like it could be a useful feature, I don't see anybody here starting flame wars because of that.

I would rather not see a like, dislike feature, my personal opinion is that it is a major part of what is wrong with FB. Discussions devolve into one sided posts with many responses limited to "likes" rather than any actual discussion. I believe it kills conversations/threads faster as the involvement falls off.

Overall I think the forum is very good, no intrusive adverts and a good community. If new software or licensing required a few more adverts to cover running costs then that's ok by me, if it became annoying though I'd probably end up visiting less often... a Toyota Tundra forum I was part of in the states had that problem, always killing popup windows. Lost interest as it was a hassle.

[Dirty]

Do you mean the adverts at the side?

I think this site will probably stay (mostly) advert free.

No, I mean scripts. Horrible things.

Clearly this site needs updating but I think we should stick with something simple and avoid script based stuff as much as possible.

Personally I use mobile devices a lot but hate 'mobile friendly' sites. 'Friendly' tends to mean less options so I open the standard site and just make it bigger if I need to.

We also need to embrace the rest of social media without fear that it will 'take over'. Trust me, it already has and we should be grabbing it's coat tails to keep up and build.

[MrsC_772]

I support the suggestions to
a) make it easier to upload photos directly - it's a very common newbie question, how to upload a photo (e.g. of someone's newly acquired pride and joy, complete with wheely bin backdrop); and
b) increase the size of pm boxes

I don't feel any need to be able to like/dislike posts: other forums can descend into emoticon flame wars, and the availability of such features increases the noise to signal ratio. I like the fact that on UKMOC we generally carry on civilised conversations!

If an occasional donation is what is needed to keep UKMOC the useful forum it is today, I'd pay.

I don't have a smartphone so the functionality or lack thereof for the current format forum on mobile platforms is irrelevant to me, but it does seem to be a common gripe from other members here.

I'd say keep the forum functionality simple but robust. Websites with endless flashy pop-ups & too-clever-for-their-own-good-all-singing-and-dancing features annoy me. I have script blocker software on my laptop, and having to click through the blocked scripts endlessly to allow one by one to be able to read a page or see a photo slows things down, and I don't want to have to allow everything (no, I don't want to share everything with ****book!) Let's not overcomplicate things with bloatware.

[slob]

... I have script blocker software on my laptop, and having to click through the blocked scripts endlessly to allow one by one to be able to read a page or see a photo slows things down...

How does it handle cookie warning banners?

[jerry]

This is a great site because it has great people contributing to it..and running it ..thanks ..
must admit easier photo uploading would be good,,i belong to another non biking forum where every member chips in a tenner once a year to help fund it ..seems t work

[Dirty]

How does it handle cookie warning banners?

Mine will stop them if it is a separate script. Basicly just html loads. Each script is blocked until you give it permission to run.

[Mr Gazza]

More direct photo loading would be good.

I would rather pay a contribution for the site than see any more Ads up..(Moto Rapido is Okay though)

I'm bothered that someone somewhere is out of pocket to keep the site going.

I don't want likeys or dislikeys. Another site I used to visit did have a "Thank you for helping" button, which seemed to be a nice touch, especially if one got thanked.

I'm in two minds about a chatbox. They can be fun, but do waste a lot of good time.

Just a suggestion regarding hosting (and I don't understand how this all works)
A freind of mine ran his own site for his business, complete with forum and chatbox.
He owned his own server which he kept running all the time in his house...Is that what the hosting is?
Is it better to have our own server?

This is the site.. http://www.greenairdesigns.com/gadejcforum/index.php
It is very much quieter these days and I don't know where the server is.

Thanks to all the folk who keep this site up and running...It's great.

[jonzi]

Is it better to have our own server?

Financially, no probably not.

Once you have bought the server, paid for a decent connection that has high speeds up and down, you might as well have paid for hosting.

With regards to the "likes"

it isn't Facebook likes, and there would be no Facebook integration.

This forum will always be a standalone thing, as far as I am aware. Facebook integration will dilute the experience.

So the likes are more of a way of giving kudos to some one or some post/thread.

[uksurfer]

I like the idea of a more useable forum, chat would be fun.

I also have to log on continually on my apple devices, but it takes a lot of effort (?) as I don't have to do it on other forums. Which in turn, makes me post less nowadays

To sum it up, I think it should be a fun place to be :ukm:

Right, I'm off to the Ducati forum to talk crap and annoy people....

[slob]

I also have to log on continually on my apple devices, but it takes a lot of effort (?) as I don't have to do it on other forums.

You need to allow cookies and tick 'remember me', although I can't guarantee the check-box renders correctly in your Safari browser.
Nonetheless, point taken, we'll add it to the list.


...and I completely agree with Jonzi, actually owning server hardware these days is a backward step

[jonzi]

I completely agree with Jonzi

Good man. You know it makes sense

[Davy]

Im a member of the ukgser club it's open and free to browse and post and contribute to, but if you want to view or post in the very busy for sale section they ask for a £20 subscription payable by PayPal which is handy. I'd be more than happy to give the 20 annually.oh and the one thing I think it needs is picture posting.

[Mr Gazza]

Okay, fair play with the Server. I am sure there were good reasons for matey to go with his own server several years ago, but come to think of it, now that the company circumstances have changed, their site is probably hosted elsewhere.

I suppose I have no objection to "likes" but dislikes would be negative.

[MarkF]

I am pretty new here, but I like the forum layout and look, Vbulletin is very capable software and can do much more, I had an opportunity a few years back to play around with it, great fan of KISS though.

Firestorm template is more practical for me than the custom UKMOC someone went to the trouble of creating I am afraid, mainly because I can link to new posts etc. at the top of the page and the pink doesn't really do it for me.

Image upload would be a bonus for the less technically inclined, but it depends on storage space and also time available for mods to prune it, you can of course limit image size in both dimension and file size. It is most annoying when you open a thread and someone has posted a rather large photo four times the size of your screen. But Photo bucket meets my needs for linking to images.

Still getting a feel for the place and the occupants though, thank you to whomever runs it.

[Darren69]

Keep it pretty much like it is already. but with better email/messaging and photo hosting, no pop up ads. Same people who are on here now, no Americans or habitual flamers/trolls like there are on so many the other forums. I wouldn't object to paying a small support fee or subscription or even a token joining fee if it kept all the riff raff out!

[Aviatore]

Same people who are on here now, no Americans or habitual flamers/trolls like there are on so many the other forums.

How do you know? They could be hiding anywhere. Infiltrating the forum, posting threads referencing tires and color changes... somebody has to keep the sanity otherwise its all "Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!"

[slob]

Come on Greg! Surely it's laughably easy to spot the signature that includes every modification to every bike someone's ever owned on it ;-)
Getting back to the technical, rather than social or financial factors:
We do need a zombie apocalypse plan though!

[Aviatore]

Aww, you missed the quote... Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

Yes technically speaking a Zombie apocalypse plan should be the first thing to address. I propose riding fast, very very fast... oh and use a katana with your free clutch hand at shoulder height!

[jonzi]

Aww, you missed the quote... Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters!

I got you bro, don't worry. Good old Venkman

[Bradders]

I think this forum has it about right. Rarely any of the stuff you get on other forums. Would be nice to 'thank' someone for a particular post, but as soon as you add like, dislike etc the keyboard ninjas seem to take over

[Dirty]

I don't know why people get so concerned about likes, and number of likes and like whoring etc. For them to matter you have to give a sht about them.

I had a discussion on FB with someone the other day. It was in a group (cycling) and I was arguing against the tide. He pointed out that his last post had received many likes so he was right and I was wrong!!!! I pointed out that if I went into a racist group and posted something disgusting and got a load of likes, would that make me right?

Likes are a great way of saying thanks, or I agree, quickly but nothing more. No reason not have them.

[Darkness]

How do you know? They could be hiding anywhere. Infiltrating the forum, posting threads referencing tires and color changes... somebody has to keep the sanity otherwise its all "Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!"

You say that like forty years of Darkness would be a bad thing?

:chuckle::chuckle:

[Aviatore]

Pet peeves, I'm sure each person has their own reasoning on the like/dislike feature. For me its a blunt tool that I find annoying. Technically it doesn't give you much. Actually seems to give you more choice on expressing yourself because the option to ignore or reply to a post continues to exist. But I believe that having the "extra choice" in liking or disliking a post makes a click response easier to make than discussion. I feel that they become a disincentive to interaction. Furthermore they are a black and white choice in a nuanced and colorful world. If I'm going to devolve into lazy click responses I lose fidelity in that response. I could have agreed or disagreed with parts of a post but have to choose between totally agree or not. Or worse... I'd have to fight the lazy and actually comment again. :cry:

I'm not saying it would ruin the forum if we had it, just that I see no benefit. Since somebody will have to work to put it in and it really hasn't been missed I see a waste of effort. It would be good to recognize the major contributors to the forum, but those people already stand out. Might take a little time for new members to get their bearings on who they are, but they get to meet them and judge for themselves rather than just believing in the "I got the most likes" score.

For them to matter you have to give a sht about them.
I think most of us care for the forum rather than the feature, we can try it out and if it detracts from the forum we'll get rid of it.

[Aviatore]

You say that like forty years of Darkness would be a bad thing?

:chuckle::chuckle:

Well if you're over 40 it isn't, if you're under it then it is :chuckle:

[jonzi]

Since somebody will have to work to put it in.

That bit should be quite trivial.

[MarkF]

Pet peeves, I'm sure each person has their own reasoning on the like/dislike feature. For me its a blunt tool that I find annoying. Technically it doesn't give you much. Actually seems to give you more choice on expressing yourself because the option to ignore or reply to a post continues to exist. But I believe that having the "extra choice" in liking or disliking a post makes a click response easier to make than discussion. I feel that they become a disincentive to interaction. Furthermore they are a black and white choice in a nuanced and colorful world. If I'm going to devolve into lazy click responses I lose fidelity in that response. I could have agreed or disagreed with parts of a post but have to choose between totally agree or not. Or worse... I'd have to fight the lazy and actually comment again. :cry:

I'm not saying it would ruin the forum if we had it, just that I see no benefit. Since somebody will have to work to put it in and it really hasn't been missed I see a waste of effort. It would be good to recognize the major contributors to the forum, but those people already stand out. Might take a little time for new members to get their bearings on who they are, but they get to meet them and judge for themselves rather than just believing in the "I got the most likes" score.


I think most of us care for the forum rather than the feature, we can try it out and if it detracts from the forum we'll get rid of it.

I thought the same, but couldn't be arsed to type it :biggrin: so a thumbs up in the post icon for you :thumbsup: :)

[jonzi]

I thought the same, but couldn't be arsed to type it :biggrin: so a thumbs up in the post icon for you :thumbsup: :)

Is this ironic?

How is this different to "liking" a post?

[Mr Gazza]

How is this different to "liking" a post?

It's articulating it and not just clicking.

....And I agree with Aviatore and MarkF too...:thumbsup::thumbsup:..(one each...:biggrin:)

[jonzi]

It's articulating it and not just clicking.

....And I agree with Aviatore and MarkF too...:thumbsup::thumbsup:..(one each...:biggrin:)

But emoji/emoticons aren't articulating.

Yet they are used all over the shop.

Personally, I would prefer the internet didn't have them.

[Dirty]

There are many times when you just want to like/agre/thank whatever where if the option to do so in one click is not there you simply don't

[MarkF]

Is this ironic?

How is this different to "liking" a post?

Maybe it was irony overload, but yes it was very Ironic :flamed:

[Mr Gazza]

I get the irony now. But I am still struggling to form an opinion about which side of the fence I am regarding one click comments such as "likes"...Maybe I just think they are harmless but shallow?

I still think a "Thank You" button would be okay, if a poster could not be arsed to articulate it.

And emoticons....Harmless fun, but shallow..:)

[uksurfer]

I'm not sure I need the ability to dislike a post, I'd rather spend our club funds on being able to upload a picture easier, but then I'm not IT savvy.

I think that someone does a good job of keeping the trolls out, to which I am grateful.

if there is an option to donate, I am happy to pay a small sub to keep things running.

:ukm:

[Dirty]

It's a forum about motorbikes, we can hardly claim to be profound! :)

[slob]

Asking peoples' opinion on t'internet is fraught with danger
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35864702

[Darkness]

Asking peoples' opinion on t'internet is fraught with danger
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35864702

Only if you don't like the answer you get......:chuckle::grump:

[Ursa]

I prefer Pingu to Boaty McBoatface

I think I also just illustrated your point about asking people's opinon on yon tinternet. :chuckle:

[Dirty]

There have been better than that. Taylor swift offered to play at any school that got the most votes, a deaf school won, she didn't attend.

Justin Bieber asked 'fans' where he should tour next, sadly although N Korea won by a landslide he hasn't been yet.

Hank the 'ugly drunk dwarf' from the Howard Stern show won 'People Magazine Most Beautiful person 1998'
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/81/af/88/81af880854f29c538437fd246a5f3579.jpg
and Roland from NI would have won NEXT's Make Me A Model 2011 contest thanks to a prank Facebook page if he hadn't pulled out.
https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--KFMY4rOs--/c_fill,fl_progressive,g_north,h_358,q_80,w_636/18l0esvrm3tjqjpg.jpg

My alltime favourite was Greenpeace's 'name a whale' vote. As far as I know 'Mr Splashy pants' is still swimming our oceans today :)