Jess' Cool Forum

listeninggarden wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 5:50 am

forums make up the vast majority of my online interactions, dating back to some bbs access in my youngest years into the general explosion of forum software and the proliferation of phpbb/nuke which was absolutely everywhere for the longest time

I actually tried to set up a BBS first with Synchronet but I couldn't really figure it out and it didn't really seem that great anyways, so then I tried phpBB because that's what I used back in the day. At the end of the day, I think this was the much better option because it's delightfully retro but still easily accessible, unlike a BBS you need a terminal for haha

Roxy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 6:32 am

listeninggarden wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 5:50 am

forums make up the vast majority of my online interactions, dating back to some bbs access in my youngest years into the general explosion of forum software and the proliferation of phpbb/nuke which was absolutely everywhere for the longest time

I actually tried to set up a BBS first with Synchronet but I couldn't really figure it out and it didn't really seem that great anyways, so then I tried phpBB because that's what I used back in the day. At the end of the day, I think this was the much better option because it's delightfully retro but still easily accessible, unlike a BBS you need a terminal for haha

honestly the right choice, as much as i love rolling a little command line inconvenience now and then this place is suuuuper comfy and i think has just the right vibes that we all could use right now!

Roxy wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 6:32 am

listeninggarden wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 5:50 am

forums make up the vast majority of my online interactions, dating back to some bbs access in my youngest years into the general explosion of forum software and the proliferation of phpbb/nuke which was absolutely everywhere for the longest time

I actually tried to set up a BBS first with Synchronet but I couldn't really figure it out and it didn't really seem that great anyways, so then I tried phpBB because that's what I used back in the day. At the end of the day, I think this was the much better option because it's delightfully retro but still easily accessible, unlike a BBS you need a terminal for haha

I mean, part of what makes Synchronet neat is how you can set up a bunch of ways to access it, not just through a terminal! It would definitely be more obtuse for new users, though...

Maybe I'll give Synchronet another try sometime

The tragic thing about this is the number of times people try to spin up forums... in Discord, not knowing the history of forum software through the decades.

That said, after forums started really falling off, I admit I had a dry spell where I didn't even see people trying to spin up forums again until recently, and the only one I actually signed up on very much fizzled out from inactivity, though certainly not helped by the lethargy in the community at large. It was an attempt to create something that would encourage people to participate on their own schedules when life was often too busy to get together and do things, but the general motivation and drive was still lacking.

Elfi wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:39 pm

The tragic thing about this is the number of times people try to spin up forums... in Discord, not knowing the history of forum software through the decades.

lmao Discord forums, aka "it's a channel with threads on it that you can't see the main channel's contents"

Roxy wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:52 pm

Elfi wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 8:39 pm

The tragic thing about this is the number of times people try to spin up forums... in Discord, not knowing the history of forum software through the decades.

lmao Discord forums, aka "it's a channel with threads on it that you can't see the main channel's contents"

To say nothing about the lack of public accessibility. Sometimes that's not needed depending on the circumstances, but for knowledge bases it's a damn travesty, dooming the content to eventually be erased with no recourse. How much will we lose when Discord goes under? A lot more than every time a forum becomes a ghost town, because the wayback machine will preserve much of it regardless.

Elfi wrote: ↑Thu Oct 19, 2023 11:35 pm

How much will we lose when Discord goes under? A lot more than every time a forum becomes a ghost town, because the wayback machine will preserve much of it regardless.

hopefully internet archive archives this forum better than it archives my gallery (which I put on my site with the express intent that internet archive archives it.) It's been... kinda working lmao

I've been hanging out on the SRB2 Message Board for a while but I guess that one has a reason to exist. It was created long before any centralised chat service like Discord showed up. (SRB2 also has its own MediaWiki instance instead of a Fandom page or something. Another one of the benefits of being a relatively old community.)

Someone else I know made their own forum for the sake of making one recently. I haven't checked it in a while.

I think a forum is more likely to last longer if it has a dedicated topic. That way, users have to go to that specific place for that topic instead of talking about it just anywhere.

PencilVoid wrote: ↑Fri Oct 20, 2023 7:26 pm

I think a forum is more likely to last longer if it has a dedicated topic. That way, users have to go to that specific place for that topic instead of talking about it just anywhere.

yea definitely, which is why the forums are technically based around my games lmao