# Any chance of a forum software upgrade? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [April 24, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444 "2015-04-24T15:16:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mascaroni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dc4da7/32.png) [@mascaroni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mascaroni)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/21 "2015-04-24T20:00:51Z")
> [@unwashed\_brain](#): > > Hi Dopers - I’d hoped to attract the attention of SDMB admins, people-in-charge, or people who can answer my questions or expand my understanding (thank you **IvoryTowerDenizen** ). > > Perhaps those of you with opinions about what you would and would not like to change could start a different thread to debate the merits of various features. > > Thanks! Not bothering what the hoi polloi thinks then… ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/22 "2015-04-24T20:01:09Z")
tldr: Threaded view doesn’t work with the style of communication most folks use here most times. Long form: As to the OP’s Q about threaded reply view … That view works OK _when the dominant paradigm of posters is to explicitly reply to single specific posts earlier in the thread_. Conversely, when one post replies to 3 or 4 earlier posts, or when a reply is simply an addition to the sum total of all posts to date, the threaded model merely confuses matters by trying to impose an automation-derived structure on what’s inherently an unstructured cluster of messages. The dominant reply paradigm used by SDMBers is the latter. So the chronological thread view is the more natural way to display the posters’ collective intent of the conversation. For those threads (perhaps more common in GD) which degenerate into \*he said she said \*tit-for-tats, the threaded view is perhaps more natural. And we’ve had many threads discussing how much most of us hate it when a discussion is derailed by two posters playing that very irritating game. They’re often invited to take their dispute to another thread and even forum. My advice to the OP is to suspend judgment for a year or two. If after that time you’re still active here, then give us the benefit of your more fully informed opinions. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/23 "2015-04-24T20:15:55Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My advice to the OP is to suspend judgment for a year or two. If after that time you’re still active here, then give us the benefit of your more fully informed opinions. The OP joined in 2001. I too would like to see a platform upgrade, but for very different reasons. Another forum I use upgraded to Xenforo a while back and they report great success, in particular with searches, which have bedevilled the Dope for a long while. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/24 "2015-04-24T20:28:05Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > The OP joined in 2001. … D’oh!! :smack::smack: I saw “Guest”, didn’t recognize the name, and didn’t look further to the right. Dumb-ass me. ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/25 "2015-04-24T20:55:52Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > You are, you realize, basically complaining that the SDMB isn’t like the other 99% of the net, and in that, you are absolutely correct. What you don’t seem to grasp is that it’s different - that it has chosen not to change - by choice. It has? I’ve never personally seen any kind of poll on the subject, though I’d guess there are some somewhere. Usually so far as I remember, threads on updates/changes to the boards are at the very least usually has some people preferring change (until the mods come and say no). ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/26 "2015-04-24T20:56:58Z")
> [@Ed\_Zotti](#): > > On the question of upgrading to a newer version, no. We were hacked about a year and a half ago due to a vulnerability in the vBulletin software version we had at the time. Sun-Times IT management went to some trouble to establish the most secure stable version of vB. They determined it was the one we subsequently upgraded to and use now. Unless some new vulnerability comes to light, they’re not budging. Are there problems with what we’ve got? Some, but basically it works and no sense fighting battles you can’t win. Sorry. Thanks for the reply, Ed! Any chance of minor enhancements to fix nagging issues (such as the incessant “install Tapatalk?” prompt on IOS)? I’m guessing vB doesn’t actively support v3.x given its last release date. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/27 "2015-04-24T20:59:00Z")
The vote is by user count. Those who don’t like a nice, stable, forum platform go elsewhere. And enjoy the purty, interactive, customizable “user experience” and 140-character _oh look, squirrels!_ ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/28 "2015-04-24T21:01:20Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The vote is by user count. Those who don’t like a nice, stable, forum platform go elsewhere. > > And enjoy the purty, interactive, customizable “user experience” and 140-character _oh look, squirrels!_ That’s a terrible argument. For one thing, user count compared against… what? All the people who’ve left? For another, it’s possible to like something without considering unimprovable upon. And it’s not an argument bettered by your mocking. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/29 "2015-04-24T21:09:49Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > So what? Forum technology matured somewhere in that range. I know; I ran several using a variety of platforms back to FidoNET. The only “enhancements” since then are pretties and socialist media features. Neither are useful nor wanted here. > I have no problem using this forum pretty much the way I like it on any browser from my desktop to my phone. Some prefer the Tapatalk app, but I haven’t found any need for it on a larger, glass-screen phone. > > You are, you realize, basically complaining that the SDMB isn’t like the other 99% of the net, and in that, you are absolutely correct. What you don’t seem to grasp is that it’s different - that it has chosen not to change - by choice. Thanks for condescending to reply in such a patronizing tone. I’ve learned a lot.:smack: ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/30 "2015-04-24T21:27:09Z")
Also, ultimately, this forum is an asset of a business. It’s naive to think business and technological forces won’t affect what “just works fine” right now. I was just wondering whether such changes might be close at hand. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/31 "2015-04-24T21:30:58Z")
> [@unwashed\_brain](#): > > Thanks for condescending to reply in such a patronizing tone. I’ve learned a lot.:smack: I don’t think I was condescending in the least. I am saying that the “improvements” in most of the other areas of web communication are either suited to those purposes or limit “communication” to very pretty and multimedaic but brief and inconsequential exchanges - or both. Forums look dull. Forums work dull. Forums ARE dull if you’re looking for Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr or whatever biff-bang-boom eye candy and bumper-sticker, tweet-length wisdom. They are anything but dull if you’re looking at long-form, detailed, persistent and multi-participant exchanges. Asking for a highly functional platform to evolve just “because we use a lot of devices these days and all the other platforms accommodate them” is to truly miss the point. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/32 "2015-04-24T21:31:14Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Quite a few businesses still run COBOL because it’s stable and it does the job. No need for a young whippersnapper change when the old fart system works just fine for its intended purpose. If you want la-dee-da go for it with Facebook. Nothing beats a well worn, oak, coffee stained chair over a 21st century extruded plastic chair any day. Only problem with your maxim and analogies is that Sun Times Media owns your chair, and it exists outside the eternal sameness of your living room. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/33 "2015-04-24T21:33:16Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > I too would like to see a platform upgrade, but for very different reasons. Another forum I use upgraded to Xenforo a while back and they report great success, in particular with searches, which have bedevilled the Dope for a long while. I know it’s a bit inconvenient but searching via Google is pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/34 "2015-04-24T21:35:54Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Asking for a highly functional platform to evolve just “because we use a lot of devices these days and all the other platforms accommodate them” is to truly miss the point. And to not realize the disadvantages of remaining on a dated, _ **unextensible** _ platform is what exactly? ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/35 "2015-04-24T21:40:34Z")
> [@Deeg](#): > > I know it’s a bit inconvenient but searching via Google is pretty good. Good info - thanks. I often forget about this capability. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/36 "2015-04-24T21:42:44Z")
> [@unwashed\_brain](#): > > And to not realize the disadvantages of remaining on a dated, _ **unextensible** _ platform is what exactly? You may as well be talking about books. What advantages would some theoretical 2015-tech platform bring to the essential purpose here? Now strike out all the ones that are essentially imports from other forms of communication and would distract from long-form, persistent, threaded discussion. ---
**Author:** ![unwashed\_brain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/a9adbd/32.png) [@unwashed\_brain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unwashed_brain)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/37 "2015-04-24T21:53:48Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > You may as well be talking about books. > > What advantages would some theoretical 2015-tech platform bring to the essential purpose here? > > Now strike out all the ones that are essentially imports from other forms of communication and would distract from long-form, persistent, threaded discussion. You seem to be only looking at it from an end-user angle. From that standpoint, you’re saying the status quo will always be good enough for you. I disagree. ---
**Author:** ![Ed\_Zotti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/fbc32d/32.png) [@Ed\_Zotti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ed_Zotti)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/38 "2015-04-24T22:12:44Z")
> [@unwashed\_brain](#): > > Thanks for the reply, Ed! > > Any chance of minor enhancements to fix nagging issues (such as the incessant “install Tapatalk?” prompt on IOS)? I’m guessing vB doesn’t actively support v3.x given its last release date. Tapatalk is a plugin. When you install it, it (not unreasonably) starts asking mobile visitors if they want to use it. It has no way of knowing they were asked this question before and evidently decided in the negative. So no, short of uninstalling Tapatalk, we have no way to make this stop. ---
**Author:** ![Deeg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/deeg/32/2955_2.png) [@Deeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Deeg)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/39 "2015-04-24T22:14:14Z")
> [@unwashed\_brain](#): > > Good info - thanks. I often forget about this capability. I forget who gave me this tip, but adding “SDMB” to your Goggle queries almost always gives you what you want. E.g. Googling “sdmb software upgrade” has this thread as the number one hit. More in-depth searches can be done with “site:straightdope.com” (and you can set up a search bar for the SDMB). ---
**Author:** ![Revenant\_Threshold](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f1d935/32.png) [@Revenant\_Threshold](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revenant_Threshold)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2015, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444/40 "2015-04-24T22:14:28Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > I don’t think I was condescending in the least. I am saying that the “improvements” in most of the other areas of web communication are either suited to those purposes or limit “communication” to very pretty and multimedaic but brief and inconsequential exchanges - or both. > > Forums look dull. Forums work dull. Forums ARE dull if you’re looking for Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr or whatever biff-bang-boom eye candy and bumper-sticker, tweet-length wisdom. You really don’t see this as condescending? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-chance-of-a-forum-software-upgrade/718444.md?page=3)