Lewes Forum thread

Go on, tell 'em what you think

Lewes Forum New message

tidy mind equals a tidy life ...

On 17 Jul 2009 at 2:28am harold wrote:

Hey webmaster, can you make the forum show the threads with new posts at the top of the page so we do not have to hunt them down, there are lots of lost threads here that dont get commented on because i dont look for them ....( im a lazy git BTW)

On 17 Jul 2009 at 8:42am Regular. wrote:

Oh Harold! Hunt them down? You are a lazy git !! Well.whatever Webby decides is ok with me,but I think it's fine as it is.The difference it has made having the posts running in order settles my addled mind.
Webby has done a grand job.

On 17 Jul 2009 at 9:21am MC wrote:

I agree with Harold. The most popular current threads should be at the top of the page (as happens with *every* other forum software). Also, there should not be a restriction on the maximum number of posts a thread can have. The effect of these two limitations is to curtail discussion of popular topics before forum users are ready.
I know the off-the-cuff answer is "anyone can start a new thread" but that is not satisfactory as the history of the discussion gets lost, which leads to constant repetition of the same points of view (due to people not realising that someone said exactly the same thing in the previous thread... as new posters have no way of knowing that a previous thread exists).
The overall result is to that discussions are shallow, inconclusive and abruptly curtailed.
Regular says above "Hunt them down"... well... the location of older threads is seriously hindered by the inadequate search facility which fails to show complete threads in the returns. Anyone finding a thread via the search and then posting to it will not have seen the whole thread (and worse, not realised that they have not seen the whole thread) so their post can look ridiculous when the whole thread is viewed by another.
Personally I'd like to see the forum software improved for the benefit of all forum users but I imagine that the development task for this bespoke forum software is not at all trivial (and there is no money to be made from it) which is what it has not happened. Maybe we could start a development fund, or just click on the adverts a lot! :-)

On 17 Jul 2009 at 11:36am Ed Can Do wrote:

You don't need any bespoke software, just vBulletin or invision boards or something. I believe the licences for those are pretty expensive and both would be overkill for the level of traffic this forum gets. There's about 20 posts a day here when it's busy, surely it's not that hard to find what you're looking for?

On 17 Jul 2009 at 12:18pm MC wrote:

There is a lot of good quality free forum software (even for a Miccrosoft server platform). The majot problem with off-the-shelf software for this forum is the fact that implementing it would probably mean that users have to register and so not be able to change their user names every other post. The very good thing (imho) is that forum users could be alerted by email to any subsequent posts in threads they had previously posted to (or subscribed to).
Personally I like that fact that users can change their user names. It makes the forum a bit edgy and slightly dangerous (well for local businesses it does anyway!).

On 19 Jul 2009 at 6:56pm The Webmaster wrote:

I personally prefer this forum to standard forums as I feel this one is a lot more accessible and simpler to use.
If there is a lot of demand for a more conventional forum like the one on another Lewes website (that doesn't get used) I could look at installing one alongside this one.
I take the point about showing the whole thread as a result of a search, I'm not convinced about moving threads with new posts to the top as I think the animated stars is enough notification of new activity and it would mean that new posts dont appear at the top which I think would be more confusing.
There were 50 posts on Friday btw Ed.