Time for an upgrade?

Browncoat

Senior Member
Anyone else think the forum is looking a bit dated?

There are themes out there for vBulletin that have a sleeker interface and are mobile-friendly.

It's been what...10 years? Time for a face lift.
 

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
I am happy with what we have. Could it be improved? Yes, but does the admin want to go though all the problems and issues with a major overhaul?
 

Texas

Senior Member
Several forums have moved to (or updated their) XenForo. Some of those site owners clearly do not know how to set it up and that was a giant step backwards.

I like the functionality of this site just the way it is.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
I agree with Anthony, most other forums are so much easier to work with. It would be so much better if we could just drag and drop to upload our photos. The late "cameras without mirrors" forum had a much better interface.

If only wishes could come true...
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
It's the content that matters, not the window dressing....
In most cases I would agree with you.

But the reality is, there are potential new members who are passing up the forum because of the dated interface. In particular, not being mobile-friendly, which has been pretty standard for several years.
 

Fred Kingston

Senior Member
In most cases I would agree with you.

But the reality is, there are potential new members who are passing up the forum because of the dated interface. In particular, not being mobile-friendly, which has been pretty standard for several years.


There are also older members that are not participating as much because the backend performance is so bad it simply takes too long to post images (if you can at all)
 

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I agree that the site doesn't need to have a particular style or look that makes it "updated." That said, the performance issues are myriad.

Back Country Gallery just opened a brand new forum, and it is pretty slick. I don't have any idea how much work/money this kind of thing takes to set up, but it would be nice to have this forum truly and fully functional again.

https://bcgforums.com/index.php
 

Scott Murray

Senior Member
I have stopped using this forum as much as I used to, main reason is that I have issues uploading sometimes.
@jdeg have you thought about updating this forum? Or do you have other plans?
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
I have stopped using this forum as much as I used to, main reason is that I have issues uploading sometimes.
@jdeg have you thought about updating this forum? Or do you have other plans?

I've noticed that you've been scarce around here for a while, Scott. It also seems that traffic (posting) on the site seems to be down from what it was a couple of years ago.

WM
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
I have stopped using this forum as much as I used to, main reason is that I have issues uploading sometimes.
@jdeg have you thought about updating this forum? Or do you have other plans?

Please know it might be a while before he is able to respond. He is post-op and not sure if he was able to go home yet.
 

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
Thanks guys. I managed to break my leg when I forgot that Newtons 1st law DOES apply to me, and a golf cart WILL turn over if you are going to fast and try to turn. I had some metal put in to fix it. I'm able to hobble around on a boot for now.

Regarding the forum software. This version of vBulletin is pretty dated at this point. The newest version is pretty bloated and not terribly attractive for the cost. If I update everything I'm probably going to move things to something like Discourse, which is free and open source. There's a lot of community support behind it too. There's also xenForo, which I've used in the past as well.

In the meantime, I'll get to adding some new forums to reflect the newest camera releases.
 

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Contributor
Thanks guys. I managed to break my leg when I forgot that Newtons 1st law DOES apply to me, and a golf cart WILL turn over if you are going to fast and try to turn. I had some metal put in to fix it. I'm able to hobble around on a boot for now.

Regarding the forum software. This version of vBulletin is pretty dated at this point. The newest version is pretty bloated and not terribly attractive for the cost. If I update everything I'm probably going to move things to something like Discourse, which is free and open source. There's a lot of community support behind it too. There's also xenForo, which I've used in the past as well.

In the meantime, I'll get to adding some new forums to reflect the newest camera releases.

Glad to see you back, John! Rest up - and thanks for looking into adding the other subforums as well as considering updating the forum overall! :encouragement:
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
Thanks guys. I managed to break my leg when I forgot that Newtons 1st law DOES apply to me, and a golf cart WILL turn over if you are going to fast and try to turn. I had some metal put in to fix it. I'm able to hobble around on a boot for now.

 
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