# New Forum Software - Guess who is the poster child for why things should change? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [February 5, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429 "2013-02-05T23:15:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/1 "2013-02-05T23:15:58Z")
So, [Jeff Atwood](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2013/02/civilized-discourse-construction-kit.html), the guy who founded StackOverflow with Joel Spolsky, has released a shiny new replacement for the veritable and dusty VBulletin and phpBB forum software. So, I clicked the link, headed to the “[about](http://www.discourse.org/about/)” page, and what do I find but our own message board, in a pair of screenshots from 2000 and today, with the caption “Is there any other form of communication on the web that looks nearly identical, 13 years later?”. Frankly, far from embarrassing, I find that something to be proud of. When you hit on the right solution, and the requirements don’t change, why “fix” it? But hey, Jeff has predicted my skepticism, and countered it: > [@](#): > > The Problem > > The state of forums has been unchanged for so long that forums are considered unworkable and undesirable; few sites want forums any more because the software is so poor. The idea of free, unfettered online forums that anyone can “fork” and install is actually under threat. The dystopian future of company towns for all human discussion is all too real, because forum software is its own worst enemy at this point. > > Most people, if pressured, can name at least one blog platform. But can they name even one single forum platform? Forums have had no champion that we know of. Even the better forum software is almost exclusively 100% for-pay closed source (although a rare few offer crippled open source versions), and all based on ancient, legacy PHP/MySQL code bases. > > The freedom to easily one-click install and run a decent forum software for a topic you love is an essential part of the wild, chaotic, vibrant “let your freak flag fly” formula of the Internet that we’ve always known and loved. > > Forums may not be sexy, but they are a fundamental building block of all online community, and they reliably produce useful search artifacts even today. It is a testament to the power of these communities that they are thriving despite the primitive state of forum software. > > Today’s forums are smart people trapped in bad software. So what say the Dopers? Is there any compelling reason to upgrade now? Do you think this particular software offers any benefits over the crufty VBulletin we currently use? Any other thoughts or input? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/2 "2013-02-05T23:19:32Z")
We already know how he feels about this site. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/3 "2013-02-05T23:30:41Z")
Go to the “[Try It](http://try.discourse.org/)” tab on tha site in the OP. I’ve never seen a more fugly forum. If that’s what they think works well they can keep their dirty mitts off the SDMB. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/4 "2013-02-05T23:34:13Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > We already know how he feels about this site. 😉 Ha! That’s awesome. Guess he was doing some research then. Totally missed that thread since I hardly ever come to ATMB. I’ll be reading that one too. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/5 "2013-02-05T23:37:27Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Go to the “[Try It](http://try.discourse.org/)” tab on tha site in the OP. > I’ve never seen a more fugly forum. If that’s what they think works well they can keep their dirty mitts off the SDMB. Agreed. I don’t like all the gamification and icons and such. Still, it has some interesting features I’d like to see available a la carte. Being open source and free, I’d like to think a million themes will be available soon after this software releases. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2013, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/6 "2013-02-05T23:40:03Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > Go to the “[Try It](http://try.discourse.org/)” tab on tha site in the OP. > I’ve never seen a more fugly forum. If that’s what they think works well they can keep their dirty mitts off the SDMB. Ew. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/7 "2013-02-06T01:52:53Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > Ha! That’s awesome. Guess he was doing some research then. Totally missed that thread since I hardly ever come to ATMB. I’ll be reading that one too. Heh. The best part is where BigT reads him the riot act for not understanding how this board works and he bets he won’t come back because he doesn’t understand how this board works…and he doesn’t ever come back! WAY TO FLY BIG T ! ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/8 "2013-02-06T02:14:07Z")
And yet…we grow. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/9 "2013-02-06T02:53:08Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Ew. Seconded. I think the hysterics around here every time some innocuous change like avatars or even just Google crawling FFS come up are absolutely ridiculous, but that example site makes me want to hurl. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/10 "2013-02-06T02:56:34Z")
[He’s back in the original thread.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=15975392&postcount=111) ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/11 "2013-02-06T03:08:18Z")
I think I’ll just bite my tongue for now. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/12 "2013-02-06T03:13:19Z")
Interesting-on his “about” page the second picture isn’t a screenshot of the board as it is today, it is actually a direct link to the board. Is he allowed to use a link to the SDMB to promote his project? ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/13 "2013-02-06T03:34:17Z")
Speaking just as a longtime poster, I see no reason to change, and frankly the dude’s test forum looks ugly as hell and has no feature this one doesn’t except for ugly little avatars. It looks like The SDMB For Small Children. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/14 "2013-02-06T03:39:12Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Speaking just as a longtime poster, I see no reason to change, and frankly the dude’s test forum looks ugly as hell and has no feature this one doesn’t except for ugly little avatars. It looks like The SDMB For Small Children. …with Attention Deficit Disorder. ---
**Author:** ![PlainJain](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5daacb/32.png) [@PlainJain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PlainJain)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/15 "2013-02-06T03:54:12Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I think the hysterics around here every time some innocuous change like avatars or even just Google crawling FFS come up are absolutely ridiculous, but that example site makes me want to hurl. Agree with every word. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/16 "2013-02-06T04:07:41Z")
While I have no doubt that there are features in the new software that would make life easier on the SDMB, I wouldn’t trade this format for anything else. It’s one of the reasons I still post here. I know what to expect, I don’t have to continually check to see what has changed, and for the most part, things act the way we expect them to. if the software is free, I can see it getting some takers. But if this board ever goes down that road, PLEASE keep avatars away from us. We like our look and feel, even if it is considered primitive. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/17 "2013-02-06T04:12:48Z")
I don’t think it looks bad, but I see problems with the Ajax implementation. It could make the board more difficult to search if the only way to access older threads is to scroll and wait for more topic/thread titles to load. [It’s not really](http://ezrahub.com/) [that original](http://vanillaforums.org/discussions), though. ---
**Author:** ![Absolute](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b2d939/32.png) [@Absolute](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Absolute)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/18 "2013-02-06T04:22:45Z")
I am still not convinced there is any sort of problem with the SDMB, other than from the crowd that don’t read novels because there are “not enough pictures.” ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/19 "2013-02-06T04:36:16Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Agree with every word. Yes, I actively campaign for image tags, smiley overload, and avatars. Hell, I’ve idly posited finding a way to add a stack exchange plugin for GQ. But that forum layout? Oh, God, ew. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429/20 "2013-02-06T04:55:14Z")
I like the look of that new forum. If we switch to it then I won’t need the grease monkey script anymore that adds random animated gifs in restricted margins to this forum. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-forum-software-guess-who-is-the-poster-child-for-why-things-should-change/649429.md?page=2)