To be fair, customization is very important to Discourse. It’s a rainbow system, it should work for 99% of communities, from here to stormfront.org –
I’d just like to point out that The Squirming Cabal of Twelve would be a kick-ass band name.
The SDMB is already several upgrades behind in the vBulletin 3.* series, which is up to 3.8.7. However, with vB 5 going gold soon, support for vBulletin 3.* will be going away. No more upgrades, and no more bug or security fixes. Fewer plugins will be written or supported.
The alternatives? Nothing, if you don’t want to piss off the members. Dopers hate change. However, it’s inevitable. vBulletin 3.* will soon be an orphan.
vBulletin 4? It’s finally stable at the 4.2 series, but it’s more processor- and query-intensive than vB 3.. vB 4 works with most vB 3.6/3.7/3.8 plugins, and it has a cleaner look than vB 3., though not as polished as IPB. On the traditionally underpowered SDMB servers, it’s probably not an option.
Invision Power Board? It has the familiar UBB-style interface. It has a clean, uncluttered look, but it’s different enough to feel “weird” to those familiar with vBulletin. With vB 5 on the horizon many message board admins are making plans to move their sites to IPB.
MyBB? An open source message board with a vB3 look and feel. Maybe.
Why do you keep putting asterisks next to everything and not putting an explanation at the bottom of the post?
And if you were to put an explanation at the bottom of the post, would it be the SAME explanation for everything you’re notating?
He’s using the star to indicate a wildcard. 3.* meaning 3.0 - 3.9999999 (or whatever the numbers are.)
Aw. Shoulda just answered, “yes.”
hah! Funny. You should have gotten that in before* me!
Sure, and getting arrested for assault can really liven up your day, but I think I’ll give it a pass.
Ok, but that’s your choice. Many of us gamble, choosing the chop to the stomach knowing that the good for humanity far outweighs our own personal negative if we get some jail time.
It’s a very selfless act.
It’s an act that’ll get you jailed, fired and sued.
Everybody needs a hobby.
That wouldn’t work either Chronos, it’s not just that everyone wants their own view, they want everyone else to use their view too so there are no potential references that they might miss out on if people are talking about a feature they have that others do not and do not want.
/avatar agrument
NOW we’re there.
I’m all in favor of upgrading the software so long as we can keep the boards looking and acting precisely as they do now.
Except for the search thing. I kind of resent having to go to Google to search our own site for anything even moderately complex.