Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Chat about just about anything else
Forum rules
Do not post support questions here. Before you post read the forum rules. Topics in this forum are automatically closed 30 days after creation.
User avatar
Lady Fitzgerald
Level 15
Level 15
Posts: 5695
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:12 pm
Location: AZ, SSA (Squabbling States of America)

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

drlucas wrote: Sat Nov 14, 2020 7:35 pm ...an excellent forum platform (Discourse)...
Seriously? I feel it's one of the lousiest platforms out there.
Jeannie

To ensure the safety of your data, you have to be proactive, not reactive, so, back it up!
User avatar
AZgl1800
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 11113
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:20 am
Location: Oklahoma where the wind comes Sweeping down the Plains
Contact:

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by AZgl1800 »

This is my Favorite Forum of all time, and it is PERFECT as it is.

it does not need trashy crap to socialize it, this forum gets 100s of new posts a day because it a Help forum for all of us, new or used old farts. ( I'm 78 and need help a lot )

IMO, there is nothing that needs to be done to change this forum, it works great as is.
LM21.3 Cinnamon ASUS FX705GM | Donate to Mint https://www.patreon.com/linux_mint
Image
Petermint
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2976
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:12 am

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Petermint »

"old fart"
Did forums based on paper tape allow smilies?

The only thing on this forum that is not so effective is the search. Google often does a better job for anything other than the simplest search. Google also includes Ubuntu results which can be handy.
User avatar
Pierre
Level 21
Level 21
Posts: 13182
Joined: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:33 am
Location: Perth, AU.

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Pierre »

the Forum Search function is an issue with the Forum phpBB software,
and it does seem to be common issue on some other forums, as well.

you can use the Google Search Trick, to mitigate that issue.
Image
Please edit your original post title to include [SOLVED] - when your problem is solved!
and DO LOOK at those Unanswered Topics - - you may be able to answer some!.
User avatar
AZgl1800
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 11113
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:20 am
Location: Oklahoma where the wind comes Sweeping down the Plains
Contact:

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by AZgl1800 »

IF,
I just want the search to be confined to this forum, I use Google Advanced Search which allows you to enter the website, I can never remember where the """" marks belong to do that trick.

https://www.google.com/advanced_search

.
LM21.3 Cinnamon ASUS FX705GM | Donate to Mint https://www.patreon.com/linux_mint
Image
User avatar
Lady Fitzgerald
Level 15
Level 15
Posts: 5695
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:12 pm
Location: AZ, SSA (Squabbling States of America)

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

I almost never use Google's search engine (Google's too darned snoopy). Instead, I use Start Page with Duck, Duck, Go as a backup.
Jeannie

To ensure the safety of your data, you have to be proactive, not reactive, so, back it up!
Buffy

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Buffy »

The "site:forums.linuxmint.com " search cue works in Duck Duck Go, too. :)
User avatar
Dark Owl
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 553
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 7:43 am
Location: Brit

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Dark Owl »

coconut00 wrote: Tue Jan 12, 2021 7:32 am Forum owners should not limit themselves to their closed world, but go out to people. Create the same public forum on social networks or promote on YouTube, for example.
Why? Ludicrous. We have no need nor desire to know what you had for breakfast or which bars you frequent.
Currently: Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon 64-bit 5.8.4, AMD Ryzen5 + Geforce GT 710
Previously: LM20.3 LM20.2 LM20.1, LM20, LM20β, LM18.2
User avatar
TheyLive
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 290
Joined: Wed Jun 03, 2020 1:47 pm
Location: Russia

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by TheyLive »

drlucas wrote: Fri Nov 13, 2020 11:43 pm I was wondering why this forum looks so unattractive (IMHO) and old, no offence.
I made few changes.
Try "Goodly Mint" - Firefox addon for this forum:
viewtopic.php?f=211&t=340039
>>>>> Goodly Mint <<<<< Only browser addon for this forum
ZakGordon
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 925
Joined: Thu Feb 12, 2015 11:07 am

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by ZakGordon »

A couple of other links around the forum, as this topic never seems to want to die. The first link in particular is basically the same question (even has a poll up top) as the op is asking:

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=339579

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=342344

And related to all this is a thread about the 'look' of the OS in particular:

viewtopic.php?f=60&t=272323

That is about the difference in modern post Win8 era GUI design as much as anything, but the cross-over with modern forum software design falls into the same kind of issues (functionality vs style/trends etc).

Modern forum and GUI design actually harms conversation. It is all about the ease of posting and less about the 'listening' or actually taking part in a potentially complex conversation. It is about chucking out a post as quick as possible, with as little effort as possible, to have as much impact as possible - then sink into obscurity as the 'platform' (modern forum/chat software) has all manner of functions to help kill an honest and open discussion.

Things sink fast if not 'upvoted' or 'liked' enough, and due to the platform encouraging 'spam' posting, many topics disappear so fast they never become a conversation of any note. Good luck trying to patch together a decent technical solution from disparate conversations on Reddit for example.

I despair at the state of modern GUI design, but am not totally surprised it has fallen so low, as we are mostly now a self obsessed society with falling concerns for others, and i see all this new software (how it is designed and how it looks and functions) as just a reflection of that. It is about the posters 'fame' (how many hits can this topic get!) and not about the functionality of the conversation that should follow.

It is all total fail in terms of providing a good and decent technical level of platform for the kind of in-depth discussion that OS such as Linux often require. So as per the poll in my first link i will carry on to simply say 'No' to any kind of modernisation push to software such as Discourse or any other of it's type.
Laptop overheating? Check link here:itsfoss guide . Also a move from Cinnamon to XFCE can give a -5 to -10 degrees C change on overheating hardware.

Build a modern dual-boot Ryzen Win7/Linux Mint PC:Tutorial
User avatar
Lady Fitzgerald
Level 15
Level 15
Posts: 5695
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:12 pm
Location: AZ, SSA (Squabbling States of America)

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Lady Fitzgerald »

ZakGordon wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:14 am ... i will carry on to simply say 'No' to any kind of modernisation push to software such as Discourse or any other of it's type.
You and me three except I would be saying a harsher version of HECK NO! There are no forum acceptable words to adequately describe my distaste for Discourse!
Jeannie

To ensure the safety of your data, you have to be proactive, not reactive, so, back it up!
User avatar
AZgl1800
Level 20
Level 20
Posts: 11113
Joined: Thu Dec 31, 2015 3:20 am
Location: Oklahoma where the wind comes Sweeping down the Plains
Contact:

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by AZgl1800 »

Lady Fitzgerald wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 1:01 pm
ZakGordon wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:14 am ... i will carry on to simply say 'No' to any kind of modernisation push to software such as Discourse or any other of it's type.
You and me three except I would be saying a harsher version of HECK NO! There are no forum acceptable words to adequately describe my distaste for Discourse!
I'm going to have +4 this post.

I like it short, and simple, TEXT only, unless an image is required to clarify a situation,
and using the Code symbols handles that quite nicely along with external Image hosting if the Image is too large.
LM21.3 Cinnamon ASUS FX705GM | Donate to Mint https://www.patreon.com/linux_mint
Image
User avatar
Dark Owl
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 553
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 7:43 am
Location: Brit

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Dark Owl »

ZakGordon wrote: Thu Feb 18, 2021 7:14 am Things sink fast if not 'upvoted' or 'liked' enough, and due to the platform encouraging 'spam' posting, many topics disappear so fast they never become a conversation of any note. Good luck trying to patch together a decent technical solution from disparate conversations on Reddit for example.
I'm with you. Upvoting works if a question is entirely self-contained in a first post and alternative answers are entirely self-contained in subsequent posts, and then the best answer rises to the top. It's a neat idea, and in some ways it makes solutions to problems more "available", but that simply cannot apply to a question which requires further details and a solution is only arrived at by discussion.

An alternative is for the OP to come back once the problem is solved and edit a summary into the first post - but most won't bother to do that, and it would be too much effort to expect mods and admins to do it.

Another forum I use upgraded to Xenforo 2.2, and along with the upgrade came all manner of features which were not broken in the first place - including the option to assign a thread different "types": discussion (normal), poll, article, or question. Question uses the upvote mechanism (but it can be turned off by the reader so posts become chronological). Article appends a biography of the OP to the first post (really?!). Poll can be useful, and existed before the update. Not only that: the post edit toolbar got rearranged with new icons so we couldn't find anything.

My view is people are becoming lazy, and there's no need to pander to that. If you can't be arsed to read through a thread to extract the information you're looking for, when it's provided for free, that's your problem not ours. Making the forum look "funky" is not an aid to readability.

(By the way: where's my avatar gone? Eek - it might have been missing since I moved web host!)
Last edited by Dark Owl on Sat Feb 20, 2021 4:21 am, edited 1 time in total.
Currently: Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon 64-bit 5.8.4, AMD Ryzen5 + Geforce GT 710
Previously: LM20.3 LM20.2 LM20.1, LM20, LM20β, LM18.2
User avatar
DraganTheMighty
Level 4
Level 4
Posts: 308
Joined: Sat Jan 30, 2021 5:53 pm
Location: HELLAS

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by DraganTheMighty »

likes and ratings it's a bad idea for a support forum.
I guess it's a matter of taste. I find it beautiful with the prosilver board style and fast and functional.
fixrman
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 111
Joined: Fri Apr 20, 2007 11:25 pm
Location: Pennsylvania

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by fixrman »

I know this is an old thread, but Beehive https://www.beehiveforum.co.uk/ is free, and is frame-based.
Petermint
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2976
Joined: Tue Feb 16, 2016 3:12 am

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Petermint »

From the Beehive demo:

Code: Select all

E_USER_ERROR sizeof(): Parameter must be an array or an object that implements Countable

Error Message:

Error in line 187 of file user_profile.php
User avatar
JesseRBassett
Level 3
Level 3
Posts: 174
Joined: Thu Apr 23, 2020 12:56 pm
Location: Minnesota

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by JesseRBassett »

Hi,
Personally I love the look and feel of this forum. Very easy to navigate and even easier to find what you search for in the search box. Some message boards I belong to you cannot find a darn thing in their search box. So I vote to keep things as is.
Sincerely,
Jesse R Bassett

My PC Specs:
https://onedrive.live.com/?cid=1B828140 ... ot&o=OneUp
linuxweb

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by linuxweb »

JesseRBassett wrote: Mon Apr 05, 2021 12:08 pm Hi,
Personally I love the look and feel of this forum. Very easy to navigate and even easier to find what you search for in the search box. Some message boards I belong to you cannot find a darn thing in their search box. So I vote to keep things as is.
HA! I too like the general layout and ease of use of the forum, but.... I do NOT like the search function. Ever time I try it I end up frustrated and use DuckDuckGo to search the forum. Much better results that way. I wish it would give you an option (radio button) to search the original or the DDG way.
User avatar
Dark Owl
Level 5
Level 5
Posts: 553
Joined: Sat May 02, 2020 7:43 am
Location: Brit

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Dark Owl »

linuxweb wrote: Wed Apr 14, 2021 1:03 pm I do NOT like the search function. Ever time I try it I end up frustrated and use DuckDuckGo to search the forum. Much better results that way. I wish it would give you an option (radio button) to search the original or the DDG way.
This is a common theme on forums. I'm an active member of a Xenforo forum and the search is frustrating. In particular, it rejects search strings of four characters or fewer (even within a phrase), so you can't search for abbreviated terms. Phrases enclosed in quotes are treated as separate words. The admin provided an alternative custom Google search, but that still has problems and I resort to an external site-specific Google search.

For those who don't know, it is typical in search engines you can filter results by URL. For example: to only see search hits from this forum in a Google search, include the following in the search bar

Code: Select all

site:forums.linuxmint.com
If you wish, you can extend the URL right down to a single page.
Currently: Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon 64-bit 5.8.4, AMD Ryzen5 + Geforce GT 710
Previously: LM20.3 LM20.2 LM20.1, LM20, LM20β, LM18.2
User avatar
Schultz
Level 9
Level 9
Posts: 2920
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 8:57 pm

Re: Any thoughts about upgrading this forum?

Post by Schultz »

Dark Owl wrote: Thu Apr 15, 2021 3:20 am For example: to only see search hits from this forum in a Google search, include the following in the search bar

Code: Select all

site:forums.linuxmint.com
This works in any search engine, not just Gooble.
Locked

Return to “Open Chat”