On the future of BBCODE

[zarathoustra]

Wouldn't it be better to have semantic BBCODE. the idea is the same that for XHTML, users would have a language for structuring their message and not for styling their message. The idea is that, users would have tags like, [em], [author], or whatever is semantic instead of [b], [u] or [i], then the style for thpse could would be the matter of the admins would would choose a style coherent with the style of the forums. this would be the end of things like huge red lines in posts but would still allow users to control some aspect of their messages by giving users the responsability of saying "what" and admins the responsibilty of saying "how" to render things.

[psoTFX]

I'm afraid given the stage of development the way things currently operate is pretty much how they will appear in 2.2.x. However, please feel free to add your idea/request to our feature tracker (see board index) for 2.4.x.

[Viperal2]

Sorry but maybe in wrong or i missunderstand,

But isn't this already enbaled in the current 2.1.2. Where each theme has a bbcode.html, with contant the style well actuall the eact code to replace the bbcode with. so can actually be anything you like a table or what ever.

Haven't payed much attention to the bbode parser and bbcode template parser so i not sure if im right.

[psoTFX]

Unless I read the post incorrectly he was suggesting that a) bbcode more closely follow standard W3C recommendations for HTML/XHTML, i.e. use [em] not , use [strong] not , etc. and b) that bbcode be stylable. Obviously b) already exists. We will not be changing the system to enable a).

[Martin Blank]

I imagine that, for those that want to, it could be enabled with a few additions to the custom BBCode. I might just do that myself.

[zarathoustra]

Unless I read the post incorrectly he was suggesting that a) bbcode more closely follow standard W3C recommendations for HTML/XHTML, i.e. use [em] not , use [strong] not , etc. and b) that bbcode be stylable. Obviously b) already exists. We will not be changing the system to enable a).

yes, bbcode are already stylable, the idea was just chaging the default codes to replace them with semantic codes as in xhtml so that users control the structure and not the style in their post. i don't think changing the default codes would be lots of work especially when there's a mecanism to add new codes. the idea is essentially philosophical.

[psoTFX]

Changing the basic codes people use to include bbcode is a big issue ... it's not just a case of changing a few lines in the relevant routines. Because phpBB has and continues to process lots of bbcode on the fly every existing post would need to be analysed and relevant codes replaced. Hence my comments.

[zarathoustra]

it could be a standalone script which would analyze and fix the DB at instlation time.

[Ptirhiik_]

hmmm... and what do you propose to "patch" users habits, as they are using [b][/b] since the earlier times, when bbCode was introduce in uBB ? . Don't you think also this is a quite ridiculous thing willing to stick always on latest "norms" on this kind of things a user really don't care (it brings him nothing at all, at contrary it will bother him) ?

In the same veins, you have xyz-html-what-ever-you-want-the-more-digits-with-plenty-of-dots-is-best, quite no usual currently browsers fully supports, and what the user so don't care at all, if he never heards of : he is using IE 6 for more than 94% of them, and as long as it is ok in his windows, he's happy and don't ask for more. If you start to bother him to download and install the last mozifoxscapexplorer to get a simple coherent display, there starts the problems.

[psoTFX]

it could be a standalone script which would analyze and fix the DB at instlation time.

I know it could ... and that's my point ... it's not the simple thing you thought There are going to be enough things to do during upgrade as is. This is something that is just unnecessary, hence my final decision noted above.