Switching to a more modern forum

hgy29 · May 2017

Hi folks,

It looks like Vanilla forum we use currently is quite old-fashioned, and it has been suggested that we move our forum to something more modern. We had a try with discourse last month, which looks promising but transfering forum data from vanilla to discourse lose a few features and attachments.

Anyhow I'd like to know your opinion about moving to discourse, if it is worth the work migrating data / fixing transfer scripts so as to include as much data as we can. Here is the link to that discourse attempt: http://discourse.giderosmobile.com

Note: don't post anything important there it is just for testing.

stetso · May 2017

Awesome idea! If it is not possible to migrate everything easily maybe it is worth keeping the old forum in "archive"-mode if anything like that exists...

keszegh · May 2017

that discourse design looks quite modern indeed but in fact the vanilla forum looks way more informative and easy to overview for me.

perhaps it would be enough to refresh the color-scheme (and that 3d buttons are not mixed with flat colors) of the current forum? feature-wise i do not see any issues with it.

what would be the gains of discourse feature-wise, given that you say that it looses some features?

hgy29 · May 2017

To me the main benefit is that we can expect it to be more actively maintained, otherwise I quite agree with you @keszegh in that vanilla forum performs quite well. People reported issues to log in via facebook/google acounts but otherwise it isn't that bad.

keszegh · May 2017

i have to admit that probably i must be too much used to this forum, i could not say any concrete thing that is worse in discourse.

how can that would be more actively maintained?

SinisterSoft · May 2017

>how can that would be more actively maintained?

The source code behind how the forum works is more actively maintained - not the posts/feedback itself.

stetso · May 2017

Hmm, giving it some consideration (and some research), I think @keszegh has a point in that it would be much less work to swap the theme (I did not know that was possible :o3 ). From my point of view the main advantage of moving to would be a new look and maybe some gimmicks like Slack integration etc (maybe having a live-chat outlet for Gideros at some point would also be nice...). Another factor could be that Vanilla works with PHP and Discourse with Ruby (?), but I guess the standard functionality is enough anyway. On the other hand, getting a new theme for Vanilla seems relatively easy, so not much hassle with the migration 8-> There are some free around (e.g. this) and paid ones as well (e.g. here) that look nice and modern to me.

Also, both seem to be actively maintained...

talis · May 2017

More than 4 years i am looking to these colors and my comments can not be objective i guess after getting used to this forum so much

My comments:
-Theme of new forum is a little bit weird i agree with @keszegh but can be changed.
-I have 1920x1080 resolution, in this resolution i can easilly see 4 to 7 posts according to their length, but in disclosure the buttons and other fancy stuff taking so much space.
(I guess again theme and css)
-For security reasons switching to disclosure will be good i guess, preventing spam, maintaining and administrating.
-Someone registered my username there i can not continue registration with this nick

Conclusion, i guess i will adapt to it after a week max if we will switch to it and stop grumbling

keszegh · May 2017

@stetso, those vanilla themes indeed look on par with that discourse theme.

@SinisterSoft, i see, thanks for clarifying.

hgy29 · May 2017

@talis, I don't think someone registered with your nick, but all passwords were lost during the transfer

Thanks everyone for your answers, currently it seems that moving to discourse isn't that much needed after all, just a little bit of relooking may be enough ?

antix · May 2017

The search in Vanilla doesn't even appear in Firefox for me so something that can be searched would be pretty fantastic!

totebo · May 2017

To me it makes sense to move to a modern forum for a number of reasons:

- No roadblocks for new users to sign up
- New users may be put off by an outdated forum
- A fully functional search
- More future proof than a less maintained forum (Vanilla)
- Better mobile phone compatibility

The main issue with the current forum, I think, is that new users may not be able to sign up, and it feels a bit dated.

simwhi · May 2017

@totebo I agree with all you points, totally.

talis · May 2017

After sleeping on the subject and think rationally, i totally agree with @totebo also.

HubertRonald · May 2017

@tobeto took the words right out of my mouth +1

john26 · May 2017

My attitude is, if it aint broke don't fix it! Are people really having a problem registering with Vanilla? TBH I can't think of a single feature Vanilla lacks.

simwhi · May 2017

I think the new forum looks much better/cleaner, and the search features are more advanced, too.

SinisterSoft · May 2017

I think a more modern forum will attract new users. just imho.

totebo · May 2017

@john, it is a common complaint. A friend of mine hasn't been able to join. He tried to sign up with Facebook.

john26 · May 2017

I suggest remove the sign up with FB option as this is extra complexity for us (whatever forum we use). Better not get FB etc involved at all! Let users sign up here directly, it might be slightly more hassle for them but Gideros is a free product so they can't expect every convenience IMO.

SinisterSoft · May 2017

I login with FB, please don't remove it.

Howdy, Stranger!

Categories

In this Discussion

Top Posters

Switching to a more modern forum

Comments

Howdy, Stranger!

Quick Links

Categories

In this Discussion

Top Posters

Switching to a more modern forum

Comments