New Features and Mods For v3

[keith10456]

From what I've seen and read so far phpBB v3 is going to be a great BB. However, I think it is time for it to start developing into a Board of the present - if not the future.

A prime example is the Cash Mod (I know there is a topic for this). I think the Cash Mod or a similar feature should be added. At the least, as an option that can enabled/disabled in the ACP.

If you look at the web today and the things that people are doing on it - blogs, RSS feeds, personal web pages, etc - the concept of a plain "Message Board" is becoming a thing of the past.

There are some really great mods for phpBB. Many of them should be added to the core product because modding a Board with just 3 of the most popular mods is truly a headache when you add-in the issues of updating the Board and/or removing a Mod. As I stated above, at the very least, many of these mods should have the option of being enabled/disabled in the ACP. This way, if an Admin feels they don’t need the feature, he/she doesn’t have to use it – and the majority of the people who use it won’t suffer. Giving credit where due... The "Friends and Foe" feature and the addition of the attachment mod is a start.

Yes... I know the core product can't have 50 mods due to... I also know that many features of some of the mods out there have been added. What I'm mainly referring to are mods that make the Board more "fun" and/or gives a member more of a reason to use the Board.

Please don't misinterpret what I'm writing... I think the phpBB team are doing a great job and have a great Message Board. However, to stay competitive or even relevant for that matter, it's time to start looking ahead.

[Martin Blank]

Setting aside that feature requests have to be held for later...

People have been doing online journals and personal pages for the last decade and then some. There are hundreds of thousands of forums out there. Just because someone comes up with something doesn't mean that the entire infrastructure has to be reworked.

The Friends and Foes feature was added because it has clear and tangible value to site users. It helps to avoid fights (though some people will refuse to use it and still get into arguments). Attachments help to share files without people having to track down hosting sites or places like ImageShack. How does a cash mod help out on a large scale?

phpBB is still one of the most popular software packages available anywhere, despite not being significantly updated in four years. Olympus is a major overhaul, enough so that few mods will work with the new code, and it's only going to increase in popularity as people see what it can do. And if it doesn't... Popularity isn't what they're after in any case.

[SamG]

I second Martin's comments.

Making a discussion forum "fun" used to be about the content and the users. Now it appears to be increasingly about what I'll presume to call gimmicks. In the open source world, gimmicks are commonly what MODs and plugins and add-ons bring to the table, and there's a certain amount of wisdom there, I think.

As Paul Revere and the Raiders said so long ago, kicks just keep getting harder to find …

[keith10456]

People have been doing online journals and personal pages for the last decade and then some.

My point exactly. Maybe I should have been clearer... The profile section in v3 has been greatly improved. Something "similar" - maybe not with as many features - as the "my space" mod would have been a huge step forward.

The Friends and Foes feature was added because it has clear and tangible value to site users. It helps to avoid fights (though some people will refuse to use it and still get into arguments). Attachments help to share files without people having to track down hosting sites or places like ImageShack. How does a cash mod help out on a large scale?

The cash/points mods don't "help out on a large scale" in the perspective you're referring to. But they do keep people's Boards active because its an incentive to use a respective Board. That's why they are so popular... And they greatly contribute to the activity on the Boards of those that use them.

phpBB is still one of the most popular software packages available anywhere, despite not being significantly updated in four years. Olympus is a major overhaul, enough so that few mods will work with the new code, and it's only going to increase in popularity as people see what it can do. And if it doesn't... Popularity isn't what they're after in any case.

I agree that phpBB is still one of the most popular and better software packages... These are the reasons I'm using it and will use the next version (among other reasons). However, the fact remains that the Internet and what people are doing with it is changing. The mod teams for phpBB are fabulous... But that doesn't mean that the core of phpBB should depend on them to "get with the times" - for lack of a better term.

[keith10456]

I second Martin's comments.

Making a discussion forum "fun" used to be about the content and the users. Now it appears to be increasingly about what I'll presume to call gimmicks.

It was and is about the content of the users. However, that is no reason to put the breaks on creativity. And I don't mean that as disrespect to any of the codewriters of phpBB.

"Gimmicks"... Come on... Be for real. Many of the mods out there bring life to a lot of Boards. Yes, there are mods that "are not for everone". But lets keep it in the correct perspective.

[SamG]

Speaking of perspectives, in order to see what I'm saying, you need to see this from a couple of perspectives, one mine, the other, phpBB's tradition.

My perspective: I'm old. I've been involved in discussion forums for more than twenty years. In the beginning, we had significant, world-wide text-only discussions without using the Internet at all. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The phpBB tradition: phpBB is a core product that does in fact depend, by intent, on the MOD team and community. It's not meant to be "with it" in itself. Widely useable, yes, but not competetive in the sense you mean.

[keith10456]

Speaking of perspectives, in order to see what I'm saying, you need to see this from a couple of perspectives, one mine, the other, phpBB's tradition.

My perspective: I'm old. I've been involved in discussion forums for more than twenty years. In the beginning, we had significant, world-wide text-only discussions without using the Internet at all. We enjoyed ourselves immensely.

The phpBB tradition: phpBB is a core product that does in fact depend, by intent, on the MOD team and community. It's not meant to be "with it" in itself. Widely useable, yes, but not competetive in the sense you mean.

Point taken But I hope you understand mine

[SamG]

Sure, I do. And we aren't going to settle our differences, as it were.

I have to say that I do honestly fear the idea that the developers would have to become responsibile for the code base of a "kitchen sink equipped" phpBB as well as the leaner phpBB 2.0 line (which they may continue to support due to significant community interest in a "bloat free" forum product). As an open source project, I think their time would be better spent improving on phpBB's API, keeping to the stable core philosophy, and letting the community continue to do its thing. But they didn't ask me how their time would be best spent, so we'll all just get to wait and see.

[keith10456]

Sure, I do. And we aren't going to settle our differences, as it were.

I have to say that I do honestly fear the idea that the developers would have to become responsibile for the code base of a "kitchen sink equipped" phpBB as well as the leaner phpBB 2.0 line (which they may continue to support due to significant community interest in a "bloat free" forum product). As an open source project, I think their time would be better spent improving on phpBB's API, keeping to the stable core philosophy, and letting the community continue to do its thing. But they didn't ask me how their time would be best spent, so we'll all just get to wait and see.

A since of humor... I like that - considering I have one as well

I understand where you're coming from... Trust me. I love the phpBB community for a number of reasons. That's why I jumped shipped from "another community" a couple of years ago. Not seeing some newer features that the users would enjoy was/is a little troubling. I take it I'll have to wait for the mods.

[SamG]

MODs of whatever sort aren't meant to be seen as unimportant or as afterthoughts, meaning that people are meant to enjoy and use them. For myself, even if I resent the idea of gimmicks over meaningful discussion, in no way do I resent what the MOD team and community contribute to phpBB.

The only thing I really dislike is signatures, believe it or not. I've been to way too many forums where I had trouble finding the one line posts for all the huge signatures. 8O