Forum upgrade?

[Dave Bryce]

So, lets say - for arguments sake - that we were going to finally do something about the ancient forum software and the related issues weve been having.

 

Im looking to collect a wish list of things yall would like to see if we were to try to upgrade the forum. No idea when (or if) any of this will happen - just curious what yall think.

 

dB

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[torhu]

I would like to see the same forum as now, pretty much. But if you need money for an upgrade, have you considered using Kickstarter or something like that?

[nursers]

Hi db, definitely have suggestions but nothing you probably don't already know:

 

- better search

- ability to host limited amounts of images within the forum

- a 'most popular posts' sidebar and/or stick posts on sidebar rather than at top of list

[Dave Bryce]

I would like to see the same forum as now, pretty much.

I would figure most folks want that preserved.

 

But if you need money for an upgrade, have you considered using Kickstarter or something like that?

This aint about $.

 

dB

[Doerfler]

I would like to see the same forum as now, pretty much.

I would figure most folks want that preserved.

I'm good with it the way it is now.

[lightbg]

I'd like to be able to give "likes" and other reactives.

 

Jake

[ElmerJFudd]

Casio Forums are based on modern code.

https://invisioncommunity.com/features/content/#forums

 

 

Pianoworld stuck with UBB but brought it up to newer version.

https://www.ubbcentral.com

 

 

Better security, auto resizing of large photos, ability to imbed video from YouTube including start time, Vimeo, and other things that have come into common use since this forum was put up. Rescaling for mobile device screens.

 

 

 

 

[mate stubb]

No upgrade unless:

 

1. All post history is retained and searchable and -

2. Search works much better and can go back more than 1 year

[The Real MC]

In addition to a working search engine and all post history, please retain the "Ignore" list.

 

Yes I do use it. Not many people are on it, and I won't confirm or deny who.

[CowboyNQ]

Mobile responsiveness.

 

Thanks for asking Dave.

[RudyS]

Uploading pictures on the forum so these will be preserved and bit better mobile compatibility. But these are nice to haves, not must haves for me.

 

What is important to me is speed. This forum is fast and I really like that. The Dutch synthforum just put a lot of work in migrating to a new platform and now its terribily slow. Real pity.

[Dave Bryce]

I would like to see the same forum as now, pretty much.

I would figure most folks want that preserved.

I'm good with it the way it is now.

I would guess most folks probably are; however, there are some potential problems with not doing anything.

 

This thread is more about a wish list so I can explore what it is we can do, though.

 

dB

[Synthaholic]

XenForo makes nice forum software.

 

https://xenforo.com

 

[marczellm]

+1 vote for image hosting.

+1 vote for the ability to search the entire history of the forum.

 

On another forum I frequent, they've gone from Telligent Community Server through Discourse to NodeBB. They've also evaluated Flarum, Thredded, Xenforo and others, so there's a number of alternatives.

 

These newfangled JavaScript based forum engines offer stuff like

+ Infiniscroll: alternative to switching pages. If you scroll down it loads later posts, if you scroll up it loads earlier ones.

+ New posts load in real-time

+ Instant preview of posts when typing

+ Image hosting

+ Automatically generated fancyboxed image+caption previews of links

+ Ability to register/login with Google, Facebook accounts etc.

+ Plugin architecture: you can mix and match original code, third-party plugins and your own work to customize the site and functionality

+ Permission system: some post categories can only be seen by certain users / user groups

+ Separate personalized page for Recent, Unread posts

+ Tags, Bookmarks

+ Ability to follow people and get notified about their posts

+ Notifications and opt-in desktop notifications

+ Customize what you get notified about

+ Chat

+ Mobile responsivity

+ Some of them offer mobile apps

etc.

 

You know this Dave, but just so it's clear to others:

Switching to a new forum engine like these comes with a lot of work: migrating the database. Someone has to understand the internal representation of both fora, and convert one to the other. (NodeBB and Discourse maybe have a such UBB importer already but they might not be perfect.)

 

So despite all the above modern features, just updating us to the latest version of UBB might be the best outcome for this community, the most of us being keyboard nerds and not web technology geeks

[marczellm]

Oh, and I use the RSS feed, so that's (not a "nice to have", but a) "not nice to lose" feature by me.

[zephonic]

Quote notifications (as in you get a notification when a part of one of your posts is quoted). Makes it easier to keep track of who replied to you.

 

While I like post upvote/downvote on other forums, I think its absence here is good. Those things have a way of turning everything into a popularity contest, and I worry it might change the tone and feel of this forum.

 

[BluesKeys]

+1 Image hosting

+1 improved Search

+1 Like button

+1 Chat... or instant messenger pop up

[stoken6]

First and foremost: preserve all the great content/history that's here already

 

Second (and five-most?): run a secure supported forum platform

 

Other enhancements: better search, image hosting (with auto-resizing of oversized images), a better mobile experience, and like button.

 

Personally, I hate infiniscroll pages. You click into a thread, hit the Back button, and end up somewhere else...

 

Cheers, Mike.

[PianoMan51]

We have a lot of talk about gear. But not much about « musical ideas ». Easier ways to drop in youtube snippets at particular spots will help. Ways to upload videos or audio files to a Keyboard Corner server would be helpful for sharing ideas without using third party businesses.

 

But I think that the current sfw makes sharing written music tough. Im not suggesting that Keyboard Corner becomes a site for pirating other musicians work. But an easy way to post, display and share various types of written music (full-staff, leadsheets, chord progressions, Nashville, etc.) could enable more discussions of what we play, rather than just « on what ».

[Dave Bryce]

What about elements of commerce? For example, I was thinking about all the compilations we did and that made me wonder if there was a way to allow the (established) community members to sell their own music here for whatever price they want, keeping all the $...?

 

We already have commerce going on with the Garage Sale sub-forum, of course.

 

dB

[marczellm]

Hmmmmmm not so sure about that. Plenty of sites and services allow you to do that already. Let's not branch out but stick to what's working and fix what isn't.

[Dave Bryce]

I've also been talking with Dr. Fortner about the idea of having him essentially do his Keyboard mag gig here - do reviews (interactively), get some of the folks we know (players, designers, etc) to come hang and talk to the community - that sort of thing. JerryK and Mark Vail are a part of that discussion, too.

 

dB

[Dave Bryce]

Hmmmmmm not so sure about that. Plenty of sites and services allow you to do that already.

So, you think the Garage Sale sub-forum is a bad idea? Not sure I see that much of a difference...

 

dB

 

 

[jimkost2002]

I've also been talking with Dr. Fortner about the idea of having him essentially do his Keyboard mag gig here - do reviews (interactively), get some of the folks we know (players, designers, etc) to come hang and talk to the community - that sort of thing. JerryK and Mark Vail are a part of that discussion, too.

 

dB

 

THIS is BRILLIANT, db!

Itd be a live version of the OLD Contemporary Keyboard!

 

I also like the idea of an expanded marketplace for albums, gigs, webcasts, etc!

[Rusty Mike]

I think the Garage Sales subforum is fine the way it is, including the policy for who is allowed to post.

 

Dave, are you thinking other types of commerce, such as sidebar ads to support the costs? Sort of like what Piano World does?

 

Some restructuring would be nice. Subforum ideas would include:

 

- Product Reviews

- Player Techniques (such as PianoMan51 recommends) to "help me be a better musician"

- Vintage Gear and repair room

- It would be nice to see the Reharm Room get a dedicated space that does not get buried over time

- A dedicated OT room would be great as well. Should include stuff like wellness and overall musician health

- Artist appreciation or examples of quality musicianship

- Dedicated Dig My Rig space, possibly to include rig reviews of touring or well know musicians

 

 

And yea, better search, a Like button, preserve the archive, keep the block feature. Some modern-day formatting capabilities would be nice as well.

[Doerfler]

I've also been talking with Dr. Fortner about the idea of having him essentially do his Keyboard mag gig here - do reviews (interactively), get some of the folks we know (players, designers, etc) to come hang and talk to the community - that sort of thing. JerryK and Mark Vail are a part of that discussion, too.

 

dB

 

THIS is BRILLIANT, db!

Itd be a live version of the OLD Contemporary Keyboard!

 

I also like the idea of an expanded marketplace for albums, gigs, webcasts, etc!

 

 

 

agree with Jim.

[RichieP_MechE]

Nice to see some positive movement on this front, Dave. I know in previous discussions about forum upgrades you were afraid of 'poking the bear', so if you're starting an actual discussion on this that is a good sign!

 

If I could make only one change, it would be: automatically resize photos! Nothing worse than a thread ruined by a 4000 pixel-wide image.

 

A second change would be to allow image/file uploads. Hosting the images here preserves the content; there's lots of dead hotlinked images in older threads from image hosting sites that have gone by the wayside. Of course, this would have major implications on storage and bandwith usage compared to the existing forum.

 

A feature I like in other forums is the thumbs up/+1 button.

 

As others have alluded to, the most important thing in a software upgrade is preserving the existing content. In the ideal world, it could be done in a way that preserves the existing thread urls so links to threads aren't broken. Don't know if that is possible of not.

 

I also like the current layout of the general discussion forum and only a few sub-forums. Too may sub-forums may fragment discussion too much.

 

Finally, I love the simple interface of this forum. So that is something to look for in new software that is considered (though a upgrade from the mid-2000s graphic design would be welcome)

[TommyRude]

Not sure what the issues are that you refer to in your OP. With that, I think it would be a great idea to upgrade IF, the outcome would be to have a richer, more immersive and rewarding experience. That could potentially include commerce aspects. Some of my below ideas may already exist in the current site, but Im not sure how apparent they are.

 

Upvotes: these can be very useful to help the users get more value from the content. This concept has been proven out over and over across the universe. And having the ability to have the most upvoted content rise to the top may be very appealing to lots of folks, and if members can get to the most valuable content more quickly, that's good business.

 

Favorites: Some folks might want to see a particular members posts quickly, and this could potentially make that happen more quickly rather than searching for a particular member, this would allow people to save these folks and access their posts right away. Perhaps another way would be to be able to "follow" members? Again, getting useful data faster is good business.

 

Search: Ditto to the other posts simpler, better, faster search would be great.

 

Member stats: You have this now in a very simple form the total posts by users. Possibly adding some additional metrics would help members extract more value. By identifying certain things, such as number of upvotes, number of times favorited, will help members to more easily and quickly identify more valuable content. Thats happening now to a certain extent but its organic and less explicit.

 

Reduce the number of stickies: these, while important, rob valuable screen space and are a barrier to the speed at which members can get to the content. Perhaps consider ranking the existing stickies to what are must haves and what are nice-to-haves, and limit the stickies to the must haves.

 

Left (or right) hand sidebar with key links: This while robbing screen space, might be useful and help folks get them to what they want more quickly. For example, there could be categories in the sidebar, similar to how Quora does it. Or links to sub-forums. And potentially, some of the commerce aspects could be included in the sidebar. This could also possibly happen via dropdown menus embedded in the page header bar.

 

Modernize the posting process: The window that opens up for posting is definitely ancient. Further, the mobile process is not very user friendly, and likely inhibiting folks from adding content from their mobile devices.

 

Chat/Text: Getting content via text might be cool. And the ability to chat/text with other members might be cool too. Possibly an opt in/out feature?

 

All these are meant to enhance whats already the most valuable content on the keyboard planet!

 

[HSS]

In general I'm happy with the KC forum as it is. But I agree with all of the above suggestions that could improve the site's capabilities / functionality.

 

I would only add a recommendation for space for perhaps two or three more "homepage" links in the KC member profile. Many folks not only have band and personal websites now but also have Facebook pages, YouTube Channels, Soundcloud pages, LinkedIn pages, etc. These different "homepages" commonly have overlapping but often important content differences (e.g. current band vs. personal Soudcloud page).

[J. Dan]

I would mostly echo the others, my list in order of importance...

 

-Image resizing

-Image hosting

-Tagging with notifications (somebody says "what do you think J.Dan" and I only know it if I happen to come along and read it. A notification would help)

-Search would be nice but google works well

 

Being that this is a music forum, I don't know if there's the possibility of embedding mp3's similar to YouTube videos, maybe via soundcloud or some 3rd party the way we do with YouTube, which by the way is another thing....make sure anything new embeds videos without using Flash.