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graz
Chief SQLTeam Crack Dealer
4149 Posts |
 Posted - 2010-12-12 : 10:24:56
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| I've started looking at new forum software. I've identified the following so far:http://www.jitbit.com/asp-net-forum/http://mesoboard.com/http://www.yabbforum.com/http://www.instantasp.co.uk//Products/InstantForum/http://aspplayground.net/http://yetanotherforum.net/I'm specifically looking at the .NET/SQL Server platform. I know there are lots of PHP solutions running around but I don't think that's what I'm looking for.Has anyone found anything interesting?=================================================Creating tomorrow's legacy systems today. One crisis at a time. |
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russell
Pyro-ma-ni-yak
5072 Posts |
Posted - 2010-12-12 : 11:25:37
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| I don't know how useful this is Graz, but this is by far the best performing forum I know.Would some new and fancy features be cool? Sure, but not as cool as keeping the performance you already get. I'm a mod on a different SQL forum, one that used to be as popular as this one. Then they started having performance problems. Then they changed the froum software which effectively killed it. Used to be 100s of posts a day. Now there are a handful a week. And the regular "experts" have mostly scattered (some here, some to other forums).You probably already know about that other site, but I can't stress enough how disappointing that was, and how the clean, text based interface and high performance here is a breath of fresh air. |
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graz
Chief SQLTeam Crack Dealer
4149 Posts |
Posted - 2010-12-12 : 12:40:11
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| russell, thanks for the comments. I've been specifically looking for forums that are clean and simple. I rejected a few just because they were ugly and cluttered -- and I would guess slow. I would to stay on Snitz but I just can't deal with writing ASP code any more. There was a Snitz.net started but hasn't really gone anywhere. I plan to spend some time performance testing whatever I end up choosing. The open source forums are certainly interesting because I can get in and clean up the SQL.=================================================Creating tomorrow's legacy systems today. One crisis at a time. |
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dataguru1971
Master Smack Fu Yak Hacker
1464 Posts |
Posted - 2010-12-12 : 12:40:48
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I agree with Russel. This site performs better than all the others. I visit the others, but rarely. I moderated several VBA and other forums in the past, and when the forum software was upgradled or changed causing performance issues--it became a chore to even visit the site. This one works great.
Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part. |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2010-12-13 : 04:33:50
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| "but this is by far the best performing forum I know."I have a contrary view, as I have stated before. All the messing about I have to do with Snitz to keep up with threads. The only indicator Snitz has is that it boldfaces threads that I have replied to. I have to click on the thread and manually scroll up and down finding where I had read to (and try to select the right page on multi page threads). If I am not paying attention I click on a thread where I am the last respondent.All the other forums I use give me far more targeted ability to read threads. They remember which page I got to, and scroll to the ANCHOR of the last post that I read. If I am the last respondent the thread is not included in the "new for you" list.They also alert me to changes to the thread by other people when I compose a response & press SAVE - so I can modify my post before sending it to take into account what other people have said - instead of using the quaint [snipped] system (which must be very confusing to the person asking the question)I don't want / need all the Social Networking paraphernalia that other sites have ... but a simple "Thanks" button, or "I agree" would help - every "Thanks" post followed by "You're welcome" post, whilst all very friendly (and I'm not against) means that the thread is flagged for everyone to consider as having new replies.Reporting SPAM here is a PITA - having to navigate to the Spam forum / thread and add a link, which potentially causes multiple MODs to set about sorting it out concurrently. A "report this" would be much easier.I would also like to be able to completely ignore certain forums - I know nothing about Report Services, for example. I use a Grease Monkey script on other forums for this purpose, but have not been able to find anything for Snitz. If something was built in that would be good. |
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Lumbago
Norsk Yak Master
3271 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-06 : 03:43:53
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| I just noticed this thread now so sorry for not posting my opinions sooner. But graz: have you considered the fact that by changing the forum software you will also orphan every single sqlteam index item in Google? That will amount to *a lot* of lost traffic... Doing redesign like this is really dangerous and can potentially destroy what you and the rest of us have spent so much time building. It's like refurbishing your favorite bar that you have been going to for as long as you can remember. The bar keeper is the same and you can still buy a beer but it's just not the same feeling anymore, and eventually the regulars go elsewhere. - LumbagoMy blog (yes, I have a blog now! just not that much content yet) -> www.thefirstsql.com |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-06 : 05:22:33
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| "have you considered the fact that by changing the forum software you will also orphan every single sqlteam index item in Google?"Well, that's only if you implement it badly.You just have to set up 302 Redirect (or is it 301? whichever one is the "permanent redirect") from the old style to the new and Google will adapt to match (and all inbound links from other sites will still find the original thread)IIS has a URL Rewriter (with regex pattern matching etc) which, whilst not entirely trivial to set up and get right, makes it a breeze to implement.I've got plenty of experience of this stuff Graz if you need a hand."The bar keeper is the same and you can still buy a beer but it's just not the same feeling anymore, and eventually the regulars go elsewhere."The bars round here get redecorated, it doesn't stop me going to them. Sure, sometimes they get it wrong, or they change hands and the new hands get it wrong (same thing!) ... so it is important to avoid "getting it wrong"Do you report spam posts here? Its the most tortuous thing I do, and I curse the waste of my time every time I have to do it ...Editing in this crappy little window is old-hat too and wastes more of my time ... I'll stop before I go on-and-on-and-on ...so:I agree: keep the clean user-interface, make sure that nothing changes dramaticallyMake the regular's time here more productive and enjoyable. Maybe we might attract some more "regulars" - have you considered how few there are on this forum?Make it far more attractive, and familiar, for newbies to post (and help them get their posts right)Make the resource more useful to casual visitorsWe'd get a whole raft of new, up-to-date features (TAGging for searching, WYSIWYG editors for newbies, and so on)Perhaps new questions could start with a list of possible existing solutions (like Stack Overflow does) - I do NOT need to answer another question about how you format Dates in SQL (in fact I never read those threads any more)! and we don't need to waste Madhi's patient time on all those questions eitherAnd heck! this place is jam-packed full of IT professionals who design, build and rollout upgrades all the time. We KNOW how to do the testing etc. to make sure its flawless. And if we can't do it at least as well as that then we can all go jump off a tall building!Previous discussion threads (for reference):http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=142841http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=139601http://www.sqlteam.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=139601#546072 (My Feature WishList) |
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Lumbago
Norsk Yak Master
3271 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-06 : 06:06:06
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| I sort of agree with you Kristen, and I'm sure you are right about the url redirection thingy. I'm just afraid that the same thing's gonna happen to this site as what happen to the site russel mentions.- LumbagoMy blog (yes, I have a blog now! just not that much content yet) -> www.thefirstsql.com |
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graz
Chief SQLTeam Crack Dealer
4149 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-06 : 09:30:03
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quote:
Originally posted by Lumbago
I just noticed this thread now so sorry for not posting my opinions sooner. But graz: have you considered the fact that by changing the forum software you will also orphan every single sqlteam index item in Google? That will amount to *a lot* of lost traffic... Doing redesign like this is really dangerous and can potentially destroy what you and the rest of us have spent so much time building. It's like refurbishing your favorite bar that you have been going to for as long as you can remember. The bar keeper is the same and you can still buy a beer but it's just not the same feeling anymore, and eventually the regulars go elsewhere.
There are very easy ways to not orphan posts. All you need is mapping from the old URL to the new URL and just redirect people and search engines. It works just fine.=================================================Creating tomorrow's legacy systems today. One crisis at a time. |
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Lumbago
Norsk Yak Master
3271 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-07 : 03:22:04
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| Good thing there are people that know more about this than me :)The thing I probably like best about this forum (the software that is) is the fact that the name/postcount/etc "window" to the left of each post is so small. It doesn't steal focus from the actual thread like it does in other forums. Avatars and mvp-logos and date registered and all that other crap information that is totally irrelevant can easily be placed on the profile page instead. And I also like the verdana font. I might be a little picky on this subject but if you switch to arial or something I'm probably gone for good. Not to be regarded as a threat, but on a site that caters as much reading as this one verdana is the way to go in my opinion.- LumbagoMy blog (yes, I have a blog now! just not that much content yet) -> www.thefirstsql.com |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-07 : 12:21:14
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"the fact that the name/postcount/etc "window" to the left of each post is so small."Me too!A forum I like just moved from vBulletin to MyBB (never heard of that before). I think they are trying to make it more like FaceBook or somesuch. There are now so many buttons around each post to PM the user (why do they need to encourage that?), FIND other posts by that use ... all things that would be available from their Profile page if I clicked on their UserName.yeah, nothing wrong with the format of this forum in that regard. I can read a thread without having to plough through nine-yards of signature and profile-supporting-data on each individual post.(However, on all the other forums I use most of that can be turned off - Avatars, Signatures [I have that turned off on all other forums; some of the ones on here create a significant "gap" between the content of adjacent messages])"I also like the verdana font"I'm less fussy on that (although will probably instantly hate anything that the status quo was changed to  ), but most of the other forums I use provide quite a lot of per-user configurability on that score.Not reasons for change, but perhaps methods of keeping existing users (and new ones) happy  |
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robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-07 : 13:45:51
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quote:
There are now so many buttons around each post to PM the user
Yeah, this bugs me on the sites that do that. I even get annoyed sometimes at the strip of icons above each reply in Snitz. With all the Ajax going around it's really simple to have that pop up when hovering over an element, instead of using/wasting space. Also handy to prevent accidental deletes/edits etc.  |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-11 : 03:11:46
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| One of the Forums I frequent, which used vBulletin (VB), has just switched to MyBB and in the process thrown away all settings (posts per page etc), personal info (such as Bio, Location etc.) Changed the setting for DOB on all accounts to VISIBLE :O (fixed now, but took them a couple of days, and they are all in Google Cache :O). Thrown away the Thanks count, failed to convert all the links within messages to other messages, none of the old attachments work ...MyBB has a far less slick interface. VB has a nice little tooltip when you hover a Title in the message Index. You see the first few lines of the message. Handy before actually clicking to read. Now gone :(. VB editor was really slick (I hadn't realised until it was replaced with something less slick! for example, Control-Z to undo, works fine. But in MyBB the cursor then moves to the top of the edit box ... all things that reduce productivity and enjoyment. |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-11 : 03:15:05
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quote:
Originally posted by Kristen
One of the Forums I frequent, which used vBulletin (VB), has just switched to MyBB and in the process thrown away all settings (posts per page etc), personal info (such as Bio, Location etc.) Changed the setting for DOB on all accounts to VISIBLE  (fixed now, but took them a couple of days, and they are all in Google Cache ). Thrown away the Thanks count, failed to convert all the links within messages to other messages, none of the old attachments work ...MyBB has a far less slick interface. VB has a nice little tooltip when you hover a Title in the message Index. You see the first few lines of the message. Handy before actually clicking to read. Now gone  . VB editor was really slick (I hadn't realised until it was replaced with something less slick! for example, Control-Z to undo, works fine. But in MyBB the cursor then moves to the top of the edit box ... all things that reduce productivity and enjoyment.
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graz
Chief SQLTeam Crack Dealer
4149 Posts |
Posted - 2011-01-16 : 16:27:16
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| I've identified another contender that has possibilities at http://popforums.codeplex.com/. It's open source and under development. The problem is that it isn't completed yet. I'd like to wait a bit and see how it shapes up before making any decisions. It looks interesting.=================================================Creating tomorrow's legacy systems today. One crisis at a time. |
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Lumbago
Norsk Yak Master
3271 Posts |
Posted - 2011-03-10 : 10:30:46
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| Any progress here graz? Just being nosy :)- LumbagoMy blog-> http://thefirstsql.com/2011/02/07/regular-expressions-advanced-string-matching-and-new-split-function-sql-server-2008-r2/ |
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robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
Posted - 2012-02-15 : 07:56:55
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| This probably isn't an option based on the language it's written in, but CHECK IT OUT:http://forum.dlang.org/Notice the speed? How about the layout? Also check the HTML source and play with the basic/threaded/horizontal-split layouts (split requires JavaScript).There's some more info on the tech behind it here:http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/ppre5/the_new_d_online_forum_software_written_in_d/There's a lot of other things I like about it, but the speed and slimness of the HTML are the biggest hits for me. There's some perf numbers in the reddit thread against other forum software, and this blows them all away. Even if we can't use it there are design features we could learn from. I would LOVE a horizontal-split layout, especially for the active topics page. |
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robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
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Kristen
Test
22859 Posts |
Posted - 2012-03-03 : 05:11:36
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| I know its neither SQL Server nor ASP / .Net ...... but I have been tremendously impressed with Xenforo.com, another forum I use is just upgrading to that.Similar to vBulletin, apparently a developer who had a falling out over design etc. and has gone a separate way.It is incredibly slick, and in terms of productivity as a User making replies, and keeping up in touch with threads that I am interested in, and threads contributed to by people I respect, it is pitched absolutely spot on IMHO. (It even includes an ignore-forum option, and as I know Jack-S about SSIS that would suit me too!) |
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robvolk
Most Valuable Yak
15732 Posts |
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drawlings
Starting Member
14 Posts |
Posted - 2013-03-27 : 08:10:34
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| How about using phpbb as this supports MS SQL server. It is a good free forum software with lots of good add ons. Altough I have only used the forums with MySQL, MS SQL has been supported since version 3.0.7.I run a couple of phpbb sites, one is very heavyly customised while the other has some basic features installed.Have a look, and if want any support migrating let me knowCheersDanwww.forum.qiosdevsuite.com (light)www.fairways2play.co.uk/forum (heavy) |
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