This is why I like forums

**VinnyVideo** · 03-03-2018, 09:54 PM

https://www.theringer.com/tech/2018/2/27...m-facebook

On forums, posts and topics are in chronological order*, and nobody will try to muck it up with a non-chronological timeline! I kind of understand why certain social networks use non-chronological timelines (especially if the volume of activity is huge), but I hate how Twitter tries to cram non-chronological timelines down our throats. Ideally, they'd give us better filters for letting us choose what we want to see (for example, Facebook would be more usable if you could hide posts cross-posted from other social networks, since I don't want to see the same posts on both Facebook and Twitter).

* You could argue that stickied topics break this chronological order, but 95% of the time I use the New Posts button as my primary means of browsing MFGG and other forums.

**Retriever II** · 03-04-2018, 03:28 AM

You know what else is great about forums?

I can go back and reliably find a thread or post, even after years.

If it's been more than a day on Twitter and I haven't favorited (aka stealth retweet) a post, I'm never gonna find it again.

**Hyper** · 03-04-2018, 05:34 AM

Another great thing with the forum software:
Admins have full control/customization with the board. There are limitless options/features to add as long as you know how to code them.

Main Site | YouTube | Bluesky | My OC

**Friendly Dictator** · 03-04-2018, 12:06 PM

i swear the devs of every social media site are actively trying to make them worse

DO NOT under estimate this lakitu to much or it will be the end of that life (note: do not over estimate him either).

LONG LIVE LITTLELUND [Image: pnKXAQy.png]

**Mario** · 03-04-2018, 12:15 PM

I love forums!

However, I think forums aren't in too great of a state at the moment. The Internet has changed a bunch but most free forum software out there hasn't evolved much since IPB 1.3 was released in 2004. There's a lot of room for improvement! Especially considering chatrooms, which I think most people though was a solved issue, got huge enhancements relatively recently with what Slack and Discord did to modernize what had been more-or-less the same for around 20 years with IRC. The closest forums get to this is with Discourse, but for various reasons (one being infinite scrolling- yuck!) I'm not a fan at all.

The closest I've seen to a real modern rethinking of forums is Twist, but that's for businesses (both by design and by pricing) and wasn't really created to improve forums- it was actually built to solve the nightmare of using Slack for companies and was mainly focused on bringing the best of both worlds from email and Slack together.

Social networks and chatrooms are far from a replacement for the place in my heart for forums. Hopefully organized, archivable conversation can make a comeback soon.

**Shadow Administrator Drei** · 03-04-2018, 12:23 PM

Luckily, there is a singular. Glorious. Amazing. Game, which is disguised as a forum that also happens to be the most interactive and best forum created. It shows that the capabilities of a forum are limited by user interest than functionality or even purpose.

**Retriever II** · 03-04-2018, 02:15 PM

(03-04-2018, 12:15 PM)Mario Wrote: I love forums!

However, I think forums aren't in too great of a state at the moment. The Internet has changed a bunch but most free forum software out there hasn't evolved much since IPB 1.3 was released in 2004. There's a lot of room for improvement! Especially considering chatrooms, which I think most people though was a solved issue, got huge enhancements relatively recently with what Slack and Discord did to modernize what had been more-or-less the same for around 20 years with IRC. The closest forums get to this is with Discourse, but for various reasons (one being infinite scrolling- yuck!) I'm not a fan at all.

The closest I've seen to a real modern rethinking of forums is Twist, but that's for businesses (both by design and by pricing) and wasn't really created to improve forums- it was actually built to solve the nightmare of using Slack for companies and was mainly focused on bringing the best of both worlds from email and Slack together.

Social networks and chatrooms are far from a replacement for the place in my heart for forums. Hopefully organized, archivable conversation can make a comeback soon.

Considering how much I dislike Discourse, I think I'm fine declaring the message board model "matured" and evolving in only small increments.

**Mario** · 03-04-2018, 04:04 PM

Honestly I'm glad Discourse is out there. I haven't met anyone out in the wild that actually likes it, I figure having an example of the wrong direction to take is pretty helpful towards building a better future. Failure is an important part of the process of success.

**jas** · 03-24-2018, 11:03 PM

Forums are a better format of interaction for a host of reasons, but I've gotta say, these forums look absolutely gorgeous now. So easy on the eyes and so engaging.

**Retriever II** · 03-30-2018, 02:37 AM

(03-24-2018, 11:03 PM)jas Wrote: Forums are a better format of interaction for a host of reasons, but I've gotta say, these forums look absolutely gorgeous now. So easy on the eyes and so engaging.

Long time no see, jas!

**Jaden1291 the Toad** · 03-31-2018, 08:33 AM

I've been using forums for a long time, and it's a great way to promote my SMBX levels and other stuff. Also we can play forum games Other Big Brin

And hey, forums are way less buggier and less complex than the Google+ app. Except for UCP, that is.

**jas** · 04-02-2018, 04:04 AM

(03-30-2018, 02:37 AM)Retriever II Wrote:
(03-24-2018, 11:03 PM)jas Wrote: Forums are a better format of interaction for a host of reasons, but I've gotta say, these forums look absolutely gorgeous now. So easy on the eyes and so engaging.

Long time no see, jas!

Likewise! Life has been busy but it's taken surgery to knock me out enough to have time to visit MFGG.

**Hyper** · (This post was last modified: 04-02-2018, 12:18 PM by Hyper.)

Welcome back Jas! I've been working hard with these themes ported over. There are still some that are not ported yet but I will get them ported and modenize these as much as possible. Perhaps I am whip up some unique theme or something.

MyBB (the current BB software) is a bit harder to port but still it is better than most social media with little to no customizations.

Main Site | YouTube | Bluesky | My OC