New forum

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thumper
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New forum

Post by thumper »

I'm thinking of upgrading the forum to a better software platform. phpBB is, IMO, a little long in the tooth and not as featured as I'd like. The platform I have the most experience with is called IP.Board. In order to lessen technical issues, I will probably want to pop for a hosted solution that will cost about $20 a month.

So, the deal is, I'm OK doing this all by my lonesome, but I'm curious how many members would be willing to pop a few bucks a year via PayPal to help offset the costs. You can see the IP.Board hosted packages here:

http://www.invisionpower.com/hosting/select_package.php

I'm sure the $20/month option would be sufficient for this forum at the moment, but if it grows, the costs will grow along side.
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wishful4
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Re: New forum

Post by wishful4 »

Thumper,

Count me in.
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danj
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Re: New forum

Post by danj »

Thumper,

I'm fine with that, too.
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Atone
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Re: New forum

Post by Atone »

Occasionally when I get bored I go and hang out on a couple of the other chastity forums to see if there is anything interesting (there rarely is). I'm not sure why but it seems that they are extremely slow. phpBB isn't the fanciest out there but it is usually pretty fast.

I see that IP.Board has a chat feature. I wouldn't want to see good discussion moved to a chat room where it is not available to others that are not online. It also wouldn't be available for searching.

Would you be able to migrate this board to the new site? There were a bunch of posts on the old site that I wish I had saved before it bit the dust.

-A

p.s. I would kick in a little to help cover expenses of a new site (or this one for that matter).
p.p.s If you want some ideas for some good "in your face" advertising and obnoxious pop up ads (in)appropriate for a chastity site I can probably help you with that too :)
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thumper
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Re: New forum

Post by thumper »

Yeah, all the old posts would migrate over. And I agree, the chat feature would be nice to have.
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Tom Allen
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Re: New forum

Post by Tom Allen »

Okay, not to harsh anyone's mellow, but as somebody who still uses Usenet groups, let me toss out some thoughts:

While the php boards aren't as feature rich as the new stuff, does it really impact the people who just use these boards for information and discussion? That is, we log in, read some new messages, maybe reply, then log out. What kinds of features would make this more enjoyable for the average user (i.e., not a mod or admin)?

Some boards manage to stay active for years, others fade out for various reasons. This is a particularly limited group - would the same people be willing to donate *now* still be willing to support this board in 3 or 5 years? And if not, then what happens to this group?

I see that CM now has a subscription program - paying members get more features, etc. I'm not sure how that is working for them, but I wonder how many new members we now have because they didn't like the new CM boards.

With many people now accessing the internet via their phones and tablets, will the feature rich boards make browsing a problem? That is, too slow, too busy, no "mobile" option, etc.

I'm not trying to be a buzzkill, Thumper, but I'm asking these questions now before anyone jumps into something and becomes frustrated afterward. I've been part of a couple of committees in the past that have upgraded forum software, only to see a net dropoff because of similar issues.
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gungadn
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Re: New forum

Post by gungadn »

I would be happy to donate. Actually, I could probably donate the hosting space at a very reduced rate if you wanted to purchase a license or go with open source instead of hosted.....

But, I will second what Tom said. I generally will browse other forums. But, for example, the recent "upgrades" to CM have made it very slow loading and difficult for me to browse in the way I like. As such, I don't think I have even looked at it in several weeks...

PHP BB was never my favorite.. But, it is simple and quick loading and does what is needed. If there is an upgrade that is needed and makes it better, I will fully support and help donate towards it..... But, I would really hate to see change just for changes sake that causes a very valuable resource to be less used.
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Tom Allen
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Re: New forum

Post by Tom Allen »

Okay, just for something to think about, here are some (rounded off) numbers from a quick scan of the Memberslist:

Members with at least one post: 400
Members with only one post: 125
Members with 2 to 10 posts: 150
Members with 10 to 100 posts: 75
Members with 50 to 100 posts: 25
Members with 100+ posts: 25

This tells me that we've got 2 dozen people who are active, contributing members, and another 2 dozen who pop in periodically to see what's happening or to ask a question or two. Everybody else (i.e., 3/4 of the members) is probably a mix of the curious, the wankers, and people who asked a few questions and then wandered off elsewhere.
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thumper
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Re: New forum

Post by thumper »

Tom Allen wrote: With many people now accessing the internet via their phones and tablets, will the feature rich boards make browsing a problem? That is, too slow, too busy, no "mobile" option, etc.
IP.boards has a very nice mobile version.
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Celtic Queen
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Re: New forum

Post by Celtic Queen »

I have to say that we both deserted CM when they started to request a subscription. Well, that and the huge amounts of craggy 50 year men calling themselves "gurls" getting on my nerves with their unseemly "giggling". I'd be happy to contribute but IMO the draw and popularity of this forum is its simplicity. Would others pay for a feature rich version? I'm not sure they would. In terms of mobile access, I can see this forum easily with no additional apps on my i-phone. TapTalk etc didnt really add much to the mobile experience.
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