Raymond Camden wrote: > I have to say I'm really surprised by this. I don't mean to say my > product is the best, there are other good forums apps out there. But > do folks truly think that the only good CF forum would be a phpBB > clone? Maybe it's just personal bias, but I've never liked forums > built upon it. I don't think they are bad per se - just a bit over > complicated.
phpBB is by far the most popular out there. It doesn't have to be a clone but phpBB has certain features that make it popular amongst people who use message boards in a social environment. We're not talking about us programmer geeks here as the target audience.. it's the teens and 20-somethings sharing fan fiction, discussing their favorite bands, or talking about their favorite TV show. It's also the sports fans talking about their favorite teams. People use phpBB because of it's power... you don't HAVE to use private messaging, but nearly every phpBB board out there does. It lets board members communicate with each other without having to share email addresses. BBML lets people do things to make their posts look different... you'd be amazed at how many people I know on some message boards that change the color of the font on all their posts. If they wanna be LOUD they change the font size to 25. BBML is also intended to be implemented so people can't break the rest of the page.. ie, if you put a [b] tag without an end [/b] tag, none of the code will be bolded. It forces validity on the BBML. You can't even do this: [b][i]hi there[/b][/i] It lets people put image files in their signatures, which almost *EVERYONE* participating in the Carolina Hurricanes message boards does. Heck, people there ask people with cool signatures where they got their image and they'll go have someone make THEM a cool signature too. Avatars gives users another opportunity for people to express themselves, to make themselves unique. In one case, a bet was made between an Ottawa Senators fan and a Carolina Hurricanes fan. The bet was, if the Canes win, the ottawa senators fan has to change his avatar to something like the Canes logo and the words "CANES ROCK", and something similar the other way around. These things build community and allow for individual expression, and *THAT* is what makes those features popular. I don't think anyone necessarily wants a phpBB clone, but we want all the features that phpBB has. Rick ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:233117 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
