STH/ Forums Next-Gen Look - Input requested

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Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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I wanted to take a community pulse and see what folks think we should have as next-gen platforms.

STH Forums
The big decision for me seems to be: continue with XF - or switch to Discourse. I can see pros and cons of both, but I did want to see what people thought about this. I know, this seems like an old thread. I think the resources would need to get

STH Main Site
OK - Time to start testing some changes. There is now a LOT of data conversion that will need to happen but it is about time to start playing with potential next revisions. Have a WP theme that you really like? Let me know. Unless there is something ultra compelling, I think staying with WP will be the future.

Other bits
  • Another goal will be to remove most if not all of the SkimLinks/ Resources.
  • I really do want user reviews as well. E.g. Formal review of a product and the opportunity for user reviews as well
  • One part of the XF - WP world that I like a lot is that MariaDB + nginx can run both
  • I think memcached / varnish will get replaced by redis
  • If you are a guru at any of this stuff, let me know, I will likely be looking to hire folks to help as time is very constrained at the moment.
 
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T_Minus

Build. Break. Fix. Repeat
Feb 15, 2015
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I like XF myself... but I'm curious what your thoughts are about Discourse and what you like about it?
I've not given it serious thought, but it's something on my mind as well.

Have you considered a custom WP Theme? I prefer them vs. purchased if I don't need a ton of 'custom' implementations that a cheap theme may already offer out of the box. It should be doable to keep a similar look or something else simple with the features you have (nothing super fancy) for $1k or less from a reputable freelancer. Then you don't have 50+ things you don't need that could be security risks, or break, etc... just another thought :)
 
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wsuff

Member
Aug 16, 2015
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Discourse seems to be the new popular option in OSS community circles. I haven't used it hands on from an administration/operation standpoint yet tho. [Been meaning to deploy it to play with it but don't have a project on hand with a need for it]

WP I'd recommend getting a theme done for STH so it can fit the needs of the site. I've dealt recently with too much pain/suffering from purchased themes that don't play nice as WP evolves or theme authors that don't keep their themes current. I been using the roots.io offerings for deploying/managing wordpress but I have yet to get into Sage their starter theme. Sage | WordPress Starter Theme | Roots. Bedrock has been a solid package for deploying WP in a sane fashion for me.
 

Terry Kennedy

Well-Known Member
Jun 25, 2015
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New York City
www.glaver.org
I wanted to take a community pulse and see what folks think we should have as next-gen platforms.

STH Forums
The big decision for me seems to be: continue with XF - or switch to Discourse. I can see pros and cons of both, but I did want to see what people thought about this.
Please, not Discourse! Discourse's stated goals are to change the way people interact in forums, by forcing their "norms" on everyone. In other words, it is Discourse's way or "no way". It might have some use in getting an out-of-control community back on track, but I doubt it - and this isn't a dysfunctional community. As an example of an out-of-control community, I nominate The Straight Dope, which is the reason vBulletin added the "you may not give infractions or ban other moderators or administrators" check to its software. :eek:

The Daily WTF just got rid of Discourse after a protracted dalliance with it. You might find the reaction informative.

Also, a Google search for "discourse sucks" provides some useful information along with the flames.
 

BlueLineSwinger

Active Member
Mar 11, 2013
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Another -1 or Discourse. Maybe it's because I'm just accustomed to more traditional forums, but I find using it aggravating. It comes across as almost user-hostile to me.

The current forum is fine.
 

tjk

Active Member
Mar 3, 2013
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The Daily WTF just got rid of Discourse after a protracted dalliance with it. You might find the reaction informative.
Been watching that flame-fest for a long time, interesting to see they are now using NodeBB, be curious to see how long before there is another revolt by the users.
 

DavidRa

Infrastructure Architect
Aug 3, 2015
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Central Coast of NSW
www.pdconsec.net
I am only new here, but the big question I have is, "What's wrong with XF"? For me the only real annoyance is that the theme refuses to be more than about 1100px wide (which is ok on a 1366x768 screen, but hopeless on a 2560x1440). Also, when trying to edit a post - not only does the editor get squashed to 500px or so, it tries to be smart and use the full screen height - which messes with scrolling etc.

Functionally, then, what are you trying to accomplish? What are the big challenges (current or foreseen)? Are you trying to solve an architectural problem with implementation details?