OT: forum wishlist

[serious-noir.livejournal.com]

[If this is too OT for DS, sorry. Delete or let me know and I will delete (assuming the software allows me to do that)]


I am considering starting a Boston/environs focused forum/discussion site. I know, there are loads but this will have a certain focus/purpose which might make it useful to people. Might be a lame idea too..

Anyway, what I wanted to ask: what forum interface elements/features do you find most important? For example, with this LJ forum software, I find the lack of expandable/collapsible threads annoying (e.g. when a comment gets more than a few replies, the content of those replies is not displayed and requires leaving the current window or opening a new window in order to read them).

So what do you like/hate about the various forum software out there. Links to good/bad examples most welcome.

Again, sorry if this is too OT. If I actually get this thing launched I will post a link to it here.

Comments

[veek.livejournal.com]

Threaded comments are helpful, as is the ability to subscribe (by email) to comments thread by thread. Syndication feeds are a good idea.

[ringrose.livejournal.com]

You might want to look at Simple Machines Forum software.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Machines_Forum

It probably has most of the features you want, and if you (or someone you know) can write PHP software you can extend it for your own needs.

[ron_newman]

As a moderator here at davis_square, these are the features LJ lacks that I most miss:

- Poster should be presented with a menu of tags to add, rather than having to type them free-form (and often get them wrong)

- Moderators should be able to strip formatting from posts

- Moderators should be able to add or remove LJ-cuts

- Moderators should be able to close a post to new comments without hiding all existing comments (right now, these two things can only be done together)

- Moderators should be able to temporarily hide a post without actually deleting it (an irrevocable action)

[ron_newman]

regarding the expandable/collapsible threads: if you have a paid LJ account, you get an 'Expand' link which will expand the comment threads inline without going to a new page.

[veek.livejournal.com]

The account doesn't have to be paid. I think that whether Expand links expand inline depends on the style being used.

[ron_newman]

Ideally, the forum software should understand both HTML tags and BBCode such as [url] -- I should not have to remember which type of markup to use where.

[usernamenumber.livejournal.com]

As the maintainer of two SMF fora, I second this recommendation. In addition to lots of nice user features, it is dreamily easy to maintain when compared to, say, phpbb.

[misterthorn.livejournal.com]

I'm not a moderator, but it always makes me happy as an end-user when I sign onto a forum that uses http://www.phpbb.com/

[squirrelitude]

I'm fairly happy with the commenting/discussion system that Reddit uses. (It's open source, too!)

[squirrelitude]

I should add that there is a Boston section on that site: http://www.reddit.com/r/Boston

[antimony.livejournal.com]

Paid does matter -- Paid users always get it, and non-paid users reading a paid users journal who has chosen an appropriate style also see them.

There are also Greasemonkey scripts if using firefox.

[acidgalore.livejournal.com]

there is a menu of tags; you don't have to type them, you just select them from the menu.

[ron_newman]

I see that menu when applying tags to an already-published post, but not when making a new post.

[solarpanda.livejournal.com]

A usable search feature. Please.

[rethcir.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's inexcusable in this day and age to have absolutely no search function. One of the many reasons livejournal will be going the way of geocities before too long (i'm calling it)

[jd-science.livejournal.com]

my extended family has been using a forum for several years to keep in touch. what they like about it:
-one user/password for everyone just to get in, then you put your name on your individual post (like a feedback form)
-"index" of posts in the LH frame, with the content of posts in the right-hand frame

it's very much like the forums used on craigslist, except password protected.

on a related note - we are now getting booted off our old server, and no one has any idea what software runs a forum like this. craigslist's is probably proprietary. anyone have leads on something similar to this format, which is appropriate for a small, trusting community like my family? :)

thanks.