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[Toady One]

In this thread, we've been discussing upgrading the forum, and now that I've tested out some of the conversion software, I'm leaning in the direction of going through with the upgrade at some point in the future.  Member lists and posts will survive the process.  A move would involve anywhere from a day to a few days of downtime here, which I'd warn you about well in advance.

Right now, we're thinking of going with either an SMF or a phpBB3.  I'm currently inclined toward the SMF simply because we have an SMF person (Janus, of the DFFD and other endeavors) who is familiar with SMF and willing to do SMF stuff.  phpBB3 people are welcome to make their case in this thread.

So, what do you think?  Do you want me to go through with the move?  If so, do you have any preferences?  For instance, people have concerns about avatar/signature images, and so on.  Either new forum would give me a lot of control over this, so you don't need to worry about this forum turning into something you'd hate, provided you let me know what the issues are, preferably in this thread.  If you don't want me to go through with the move at all, what are your concerns?

Try to keep any disagreements civil.  There are likely many different views here, both about the upgrade and about potential optional features on the new board.  I won't be upgrading in haste, but I did want to let you know that I'm considering upgrading.  In the thread above, about the sixth post down, Dasleah provided an extensive partial list of features that would be available on a new board, in case you are curious.  The webpages for the boards in question also provide this information.

[ May 23, 2008: Message edited by: Toady One ]

[Narushima]

Do we really need to move on to something else ? I really like the style of this forum, it's cheap and simple, something rare concerning forums.

[Dasleah]

The new forum can be styled to look exactly like (within reason) this current forum. It's more about all the features that it brings - the better community management, security, back-ups - things like that.

I've made my views clear in the original thread. Bring on the upgrade  

[Narushima]

I personally experienced both phpBB (as a user only) and SMF (as a user and moderator). The SMF looked better on some points.

[niaba]

The thing I like most about this forum is its simplicity. No (very few) superfluous details.

[Dasleah]

All controllable by Toady. Whilst I wouldn't mind avatars (just so that quick-browsing threads for particular users is infinitely easier) I would sign any petition to ban signature-pictures.

And many of the features the new forums bring make things easier and faster for us. Faster, more detailed searching, stickied posts, more control on how individuals read and view the board, more detailed subscription options to threads, rating, comprehensive archiving features for the best threads - it goes on and on...

[Janus]

For my part, I'm firmly behind migrating on over to either one of those two. Preferably SMF, of course.  

[Janus]

Meant as an EDIT of my above post (oops): I have no objection to keeping it somewhat simple; having size-limited avatars and limited signature usage would be nice, but it would be no big deal to me if they were disabled.

EDIT 2: it will also be nice to have the forum be able to notify me of new posts to threads I've set to be watched. SMF and phpBB both have such a feature, of course.  

[ May 23, 2008: Message edited by: Janus ]

[The-Moon]

The forums are fine, improve your website toady!

[Torak]

But... I like this current setup.

[Caz]

Looking forward to the update.    SMF looks good too.

[martinuzz]

Well, in another thread I shared my concern over losing any content of this forum.
But Toady's OP reassured me enough on that one.
I'd say, go through with it.
If I understood correctly, this forum costs Toady more money for less bandwidth, in comparison to some of the newer boards.
So a move would be beneficial to Toady's resources, to us as community (more options, more bandwidth), and as such to the development of DF in general.
I don't know anything about the different board formats / providers so I'll leave commenting on that to the experts around here.

I should say, however, that I, too, like the simple no-nonsense style of this forum's layout. So please try and keep it similar on the new forum.

[ May 23, 2008: Message edited by: martinuzz ]

[Neonivek]

I am also with the people who like the simple nature of the board.

As long as the upgrade keeps that in mind I will be alright. I don't want to see any large format changes like color scheme or personal pics.

It is kinda like the difference between Gamespot and Gamefaqs. They are both controlled by the same company... and even share the same boards, though they have different layouts and features... But I prefer Gamefaqs everyday of the week to Gamespot. (And apperantly the mature gamers tend to use GameFAQs to the point where, I hate to admit, most dumb posts are made by people on Gamespot). I just really like the reference because it so perfectly demonstrates why I like cleaner boards.

Gamespot has soo many bells and whistles that it takes away from just chatting... plus the color scheme and layout is off too. GameFAQs is simple and has everything infront of you in a clear to see sort of way and with only essential features. (I personally think it is study worthy)

This would be the second time I made the Gamespot Vs. Gamefaqs reference on this board... I need to stop... I am addicted... to similes (and Metaphors)

[mutant mell]

I like how this board looks, but thats about it.  Honestly, the functionality of this board is a complete joke.  I wouldn't mind a move at all, and some added (basic) things might be nice.  I do agree that having pictures in the signature could get out of hand easily though, so having that disabled would be nice.

[Kagus]

I would recommend a move, as there are quite a few things that this board inhibits.  I do like the layout, and would very much like to see the closest possible replication on the new board.  I would have to say that avatars and signature pictures should not be allowed...  If they really want something that bad, they can slap a couple code tags in and draw up an ASCII picture for their sig.