Things I like to see in forum software

....that make it more usable IMO....

[vkaryl]

A shortlist of things that make forum software more usable/user-friendly as far as I'm concerned (and from years of using different "brands" and talking to users about them.... and not necessarily in "priority" order AS WELL AS from the perspective of RP fora!):

1. Switchable between "flat" and "threaded" styles
2. Latest-post-on-top functionality
3. Multi-nicks available from one "non-freemail" addy
4. Small avatars okay, but no other graphics possible
5. NO SMILIES ALLOWED
6. Some html okay, "bbcode" available
7. Complete "thematic" customization without effort
8. "you posted in this thread" notifier which never expires
9. um. it's late, there're probably lots more, maybe later

[rogerd]

#2 - how about switchable order of post displays? Some may prefer reading posts in chronological order.

#5 - no comment ;)

[vkaryl]

Switchable is probably good - I just don't have ANYONE on any of my fora who wants to wade through tons of earlier posts to get to the last one.

Add instead, maybe, an easily accessible "go to LAST POST in this thread"?

As to the smilie thing: I've said before, they are all too often misused to simply cloak the "real" intent behind a post. I don't "see" them at all, and the texty ones are fine really, but what REALLY tees me off are the animated ones! GODDESS DELIVER ME FROM ANIMATIONS! Especially gratuitous animated smilies!

YUCK.

[Marcia]

>>"you posted in this thread" notifier which never expires

That could be a serious problem, vkaryl. With some people's post counts it could take longer to download than a midi of the 1812 Overture with animated graphics.

I love smilies, especially the one with the big teeth. And the one with the little pink tongue sticking out, that goes without saying.

>>to simply cloak the "real" intent

Yes, it does *not* ever fool me for even one second, but I love that part of it. ;)

[vkaryl]

Marcia, was trying to remember where the "forever post count" forum I used to hit was.... and I think it's the phpBB community. I'd have to go check, but if that's where it is, not only will the posts I made 2 years ago still be "marked" it won't take very long to load. Their fora have always been very fast....

It probably depends on a LOT of variables....

[Smilies: I'm aware that I'm a vanishingly small minority here....]

[AAnnAArchy]

<<3. Multi-nicks available from one "non-freemail" addy>>

Why? I want everyone to be just themselves, as one nick, period. Is there a purpose for multiples?

Count me in as a smilie lover. Sometimes a graemlin says what a whole paragraph doesn't. Don't get me wrong, I prefer long entertaining paragraphs, but I'm a sucker for cute graemlins. On one of my boards, I have all the usuals, plus holiday ones, special ones attached to certain users, etc. What I won't ever allow is those huge banner sigs. Ugh.

[Marcia]

I do like a "report a problem" feature for forum posts, that's for sure. That can be really important. Ditto on sigs, particularly when they're 5 times longer than the post. Not adamantly, but it sometimes make it hard to find the actual message.

[vkaryl]

<<3. Multi-nicks available from one "non-freemail" addy>>

Why? I want everyone to be just themselves, as one nick, period. Is there a purpose for multiples?

Well, you have to factor in the background: my fora are mostly for roleplayers and roleplaying. Right now, I have 20 different characters on a number of different games/worlds. That's why I use the board software I do - because there's a hack to fix this....

I would like to see this written into the code, with a "switch" (eh, probably not what it's called - MUSHcode talking there!) like 1=on, 0=off.... admin-switchable, not user....

[chadmg]

I'm too tired to think of to many features that haven't been mentioned, but I'll comment on those that were.

Smilies: It's great having smilies enabled/disabled on the user level. I never see them on this board.

An unlimited record of the threads you posted in is a feature I too would also like. This wouldn't be too much of a strain on your server if done right. If you index the member id in your post table and limit the results per page, it would be pretty fast. If you only give this ability for the member to see all of his own posts then it certainly wouldn't be that bad. It's also a good tool for moderators if you are really interested in a member's past posts.

A recent post list is great. I never used the one here until recently and it's great if you're just hanging around or bored. I just never noticed it here.

Another feature? Customizable styles are always fun.

[vkaryl]

I do like a "report a problem" feature for forum posts, that's for sure. That can be really important. Ditto on sigs, particularly when they're 5 times longer than the post. Not adamantly, but it sometimes make it hard to find the actual message.

Yes, the report feature should actually be a "given", because though an admin/mod's email MIGHT be obvious, a seriously unhappy camper may not find it - but a report a problem link will be seen almost instantly.

The sig thing is basically handled by the software I use though others aren't so easy on the admin. The sig stuff with mine is number-of-characters limitable, and also limitable as to whether to allow graphics or not. And so is the avatar stuff - the admin can choose to allow only a specific size graphic, or none at all, or unlimited (BAAADDD idea, that last one!)

[vkaryl]

chadmg: yup. I ADORE multiple styles. Mostly they don't take a lot of space, and they give the user something that suits hisser personality.

One of the biggest problems I have with the web in general is that you are served WHATEVER dish the webbie found appetizing.... and which may make you wish you could hug the porcelain throne for a couple of hours....