This Forum

[Guest Orj]

To my mind, this forum is, well, rubbish. All these fancy gizmos and gadgets, loads of smilies and gimmicks but something is missing.... Oh yeah, that's it, content.

If I wanted gizmos and gadgets, I'd go to the gadget shop or Dixons. If I wanted smily faces, I'd go in the away end at the Mem.

I, and most others I assume, come to a forum to have debates and discussions and this forum software, quite frankly, prevents this from happening.

Before this new forum came into being, the forum was going through a bad patch due to the school summer holidays and a lack of decent moderation. It also experienced a number of problems at the hands of some apparent Israeli hackers.

As things stand, the moderation has been sorted and the next time school holidays come about, the moderators should be sufficiently equipped to deal with it. The seurity issue appears to have been resolved, for now too.

But at what cost? I won't rattle of the names of the decent posters that are conspicuous by their absence but suffice to say that it is the top of the intellectual tree that has been the casualty of this change and for me, what was once a bustling cross-section of City supporters has now become a playground where debate is something we all know used to exist but is now a dim and distant memory.

In the context of a forum, content is everything and all the bells and whistles in the World won't disguise that fact.

I don't subscribe to this romantic idea that the forum was once great and can never recapture it's former glories. That is just a load of old tosh spouted by the people that have been around for ages and have a selective memory. I have been using the forum since well back into the Davidson era, well before posters like Billy Mercer's Gloves, Exiled in Watford and Kustard and while it has had it's ups and downs, to say it was once a wonderful place and will forever be rubbish is just defeatist cliqueyness by people who can't be arsed to improve the standard and want to sound wise and aloof to more recent subscriber.

Most of those that have contributed to the decent discussions of recent years are still around on this and/or other City-related fora, many simply choosing to rarely post on this forum, if at all (I include myself in this group). If you look in the member listings though, the usual suspects are still there and you often see names of people reading the forum that once upon a time would stick their oar in and make threads worth reading.

So, what's the answer?

I took a wander over to the site of the people responsible for the software that the forum used to run on before this current one. Guess what? There is a new version available. It runs on php and mySQL and, I believe, as such should be more secure. It has the old proper threaded view that allows growed-ups to have decent mass-debates. It does away with all the inhibitive periphery gimmicks that only serve to detrect from the point of a forum. Plus.... erm.... that's it really. Oh, and it costs about £81.

So, how's about it? This one has had long enough to establish itself and for people to familiarise themselves with it's interface and it has failed to deliver the goods.

With dcforum+ running, we could have the best of both Worlds. The moderation can continue as it has done so succesfully of late, the security problem will be solved, the gizmos that get in the way of the important stuff will be gone and the threaded view will come back. Everyone's a winner.

I'd be interested to know what the rest of you think. If there is a big enough consensus, maybe we can reclaim the forum and turn it back into a place worth visiting regularly. I'd even be willing to chip in a few quid myself and collect money off those in agreement to fund the cost of the new software so that it doesn't have to be a decision based on cost.

Power to the people, all aboard the revolution bus and all that....

[ThOmO]

Nice rallying call

kinda reminds me of "citizen smith"

but as i remember, he shouted that on his own in the precinct and i fear you may suffer the same fate.

tbh this forums about the same as all others, you can read what people write and respond, what difference does it make if its in a new skin on a new platform.

Do you really think the "muppet posts" would not have been happening if we had the old forum, i fear not.

All in all Mr Orj a good post , and as you state one of your few posts, kinda miss your pitch battles with RichieB.

[Guest Orj]

tbh this forums about the same as all others, you can read what people write and respond, what difference does it make if its in a new skin on a new platform.

Do you really think the "muppet posts" would not have been happening if we had the old forum, i fear not.

I really do think that it makes a difference, it isn't so much the skin or platform as it is the ability for a discussion to evolve in a fashion that it can branch off into sub-discussions that are easy to follow and contribute to. The way that the posts indented meant that you could see at-a-glance who was replying to who and dip in with your own thoughts where it was relevant. It encouraged others to join in and kept threads going for longer. There can surely be no doubting that the quality of posts has taken a dip since the advent of this new forum.

As for the muppet posts, they'll always be around, but I guess they are part of the tapestry anyway. With the improved moderation and some intelligent threads interspersed amongst them, the muppet threads will become much more tolerable.

[RedZepperin]

Hang on! Have I got this right?

From what I can understand from your post, you and your friends who you regard to be at the “top of the intellectual tree” (whatever that is) are staying away from this forum and you want all the plebs from the lower branches to chip in so that you can pay for the software for a new forum where you can get back together again with your clever mates.

[terpin]

I'll be honest and I have to agree with you Orj.

The quality of this forum has gone downhile dramactilly recently. I don't know if going back to the old style will rectify it but personnaly I prefered it.

There are some good features to this forum but he main thing that I miss (like you said) is that you could look down to how has/hasn't replied to a topic.

[Taz]

It's been said before, and to be honest I agree. There isn't a lot to debate at the moment concerning the team.

Team Selection - The team that has started the last few games, are on the whole the eleven players that the majority of this forum would pick. Not a lot to debate there then.

Danny Wilson - The Wilson out brigade don't really have as much ammunition (sp?) as they would if we were playing terribly, losing, and the team selection was wrong (in their eyes). Again not too much to debate.

Finances - Ok we are still losing money, but it's gradually getting better. With Steve L at the helm, along with the other directors, the finances of the club will improve.

Ground - Well the only real debate on this is whether we want to stay at Ashton Gate, or move to this Severnside site. It's been done though, and most people have already voiced their opinions on this proposed move, so what's the point in doing so again?

Catering - Probably the main vocal point out of all the above, but everybody knows that it is pants!! The supporters know it, the club knows it, hell even Lindsay probably know it.

Look at the Rovers board. They have a manager that doesn't have a clue, and after nearly every single game there are threads on there with regards to him resigning or being sacked. They have players in the first eleven that they would say are Graydooms favourites, but really couldn't give flying you know what about the shirt on their back. They have cause to moan.

The fact is, the club is moving in the right direction. There will be the occasional blip, and I would imagine that it would be at these times when there will be a lot more deabte on the forum.

[Guest Orj]

[StapleHillPhil]

The fact is, the club is moving in the right direction. There will be the occasional blip, and I would imagine that it would be at these times when there will be a lot more deabte on the forum.

But does this style of forum actually encourage people to post? There's still plenty to debate on and off the pitch but in my eyes this forum is inferior to the previous one for just about everything from a users viewpoint. Go and take a look at the old one and tell me that the quality of posts wouldnt be better if we still had use of it.

As I understand it the previous forum would've become more prone to hackers but cant help but feel that the decision to use this software was taken a little hastily.

I for one back Orj all the way on this one and would be more than willing to put my hand in my pocket if it allowed us to have something like the old style back.

Orj - Any chance you could post a link to what the DCforum+ looks like?

[Guest Orj]

Orj - Any chance you could post a link to what the DCforum+ looks like?

This is a link to the dcforum+ homepage --> http://www.dcscripts.com/dcforump.shtml

There is a link at the bottom of the page for screenshots.

[England]

As I have said before, I preferred the old forum but it's fair to say it's probably my age because I don't easily take on board anything new or anything I have to think too deeply about. Having said that, this forum is easy to use and if true threads are returning, I am more than willing to give it a chance even though my usage overall is reduced as I am now forced to work again after several years having plenty of free time.

[redrocks]

For once I agree with you Orj. But i think the real thing lacking from this forum as is, are the people with something interesting to say. My guess is that when the new threaded version comes out and the cold truth that we are going to miss out on promotion yet again sets in, there will be plenty of fun on here once more.

Until then.... :Sleep12:

[Nogbad the Bad]

I've posted on this subject a couple of times so completely agree with you Orj.

For me, as a regular user, this new forum is nowhere near as good.

If the forthcoming "threaded view" gives this one ALL the capabilities of the former one ( including the ability to change the title in your reply and insert replies directly underneath) then all may not be lost.

But i still can't understand why the old forum which we all fought so hard to keep when it was unofficial, has undergone such fundamental, and to my mind detrimental, change without any prior consultation with the users.

The "Quote" method of replying is an unsightly mess and a huge step backwards.

[redrocks]

Agreed Nogbad. But I think you have to bear in mind that certain people involved with the new forum might feel a little protective of it as they have worked hard on it. For that reason, we might get a bit further if we stuck to documenting what changes we would like made rather than writing the whole thing off.

Maybe we could start an online petition!?

[Nogbad the Bad]

Agreed Nogbad. But I think you have to bear in mind that certain people involved with the new forum might feel a little protective of it as they have worked hard on it. For that reason, we might get a bit further if we stuck to documenting what changes we would like made rather than writing the whole thing off.

Maybe we could start an online petition!?

Far be it from me to want to upset those who have evidently worked so hard on this creation.

However i would like to see wholesale changes.

Redrocks, if YOU want to start a petition thread, i'll be the first to sign it.

[ballwinningcentrehalf]

in all honesty its more to do with the members and not the structure of the forum (although i think it might be better if there were less seperate forums for many different topics..?)

the thing that gets to me is that when certain people post a point or arguement and instead of a decent substantiated reply they are just met with petty insults... its just pointless really...

oh and also all those who post streams of 'sarcastic' posts just to get a reaction... it sort of goes with those who make a point.. then jump to 'i was only joking' the moment someone makes an arguement..

[Guest Eddie Hitler]

It's taken a while (check my post count) but I do now prefer this forum to the old one. Also it seems to have speeded up; or that could just be the current grindingly-slow state of Rivals.

What annoys me is people attaching vast images to their signatures. It seems to be a good rule of thumb that the bigger the pictures the less interesting the reply.

Just off to attach an ENORMOUS image to my signature

[Guest Eddie Hitler]

Thanks Tom, on my way to do just that.

Edit - done. I am now a regular.

[Ian M]

Reply to Tomarse

I'm not picking fault with your sterling efforts so far but I would of given more priority to threading i.e. the branch topic capability from the main posted topic. In this respect this forum is very poor compared to the old one. On the plus side, I do like the new iconography    :PC_Plod: 

As it happens Tom didn't "waste any time" on the icons that could have been better spent on achieveing full 'threadability' as that responsibility was handed to someone with as much programming knowledge as your good self (I imagine)

[Nogbad the Bad]

It is my main priority, and it does branch already.

When you hit quote, you get the option to change the title of your reply

It actually branches undernearth the post you just hit 'quote' on

To set up the threaded view, goto my controls, board settings and select 'yes' on the view forum in threaded mode setting.

To change the title, when you hit quote, change it here:

and it will apear here on the post:

What it doesn't do is thread the posts below - that is the part I'm left to work on, but I released the partial view initally.

As I said its my main priority - in my spare time as I have some sites to finish which I get paid for so thats where my time is at present.

Cheers for all your advice here and your promise of more good work to come.

I hope you are not taking the "criticism" of the new forum personally, it's certainly not meant to be.

I can see you have put alot of work in your own time into this and my comments are admittedly made as a pure computer amateur, a bit miffed, shooting from the hip.

As you can see, hopefully, due to your replies i have mastered the title change and also the threaded view.

When the promised changes come, hopefully you'll be able to guide us through them with the same patience as you have shown here.

I'm now confident that soon enough you'll provide us with a forum we're all happy with again - maybe with a bit less grey and a bit more more Red in it!