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Flarum vs Traditional board layouts - Printable Version

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Flarum vs Traditional board layouts - Kyng - 05-25-2019

(05-25-2019, 05:13 PM)Crooked Crow Wrote: I think forum UI is seriously clunky and outdated compared to Discord's.

Assuming we're talking about a traditional board-style layout (like you'd find on MyBB, ProBoards, XenForo, or the other major players), I agree here: it's still basically the same user experience as 20 years ago. The internet has changed radically over those 20 years; the table-based forum index has not.

Long-term, I think that, if forums are to remain relevant (or perhaps it's more correct to say "regain relevancy"?), then they're going to have to adopt something more streamlined. I've spoken about Flarum before, and its basic layout shows promise, but it's still a work-in-progress. It's definitely something I'll be keeping an eye on, though (I keep meaning to get a Flarum test board to play around with, but I never seem to get around to it :lol: )

(Of course, the problem there is, most of the people who have been using forums for 20-odd years don't want to re-learn the basics of using a forum - so, they'll reject anything that isn't a 1998-style table-based layout :( )

Quote:Re speed - then you have the problem of having to keep a community small - at which point it's not really a community and more just an exclusive group.

With regards to UIs, I honestly find Discord a lot harder. Here, everything has its place, but in Discord there's always discussions that start in #general, turn into #gaming chat and finish off with people posting jokes and funny stuff that should go in #memes. Simply put, in Discord conversations flow too much for things to be ordered, and I dislike that.

Yeah, I think Discord's 'exclusive' nature is one of its defining features, for better or worse. Whether you want an open community or an exclusive club is purely a matter of personal preference: it doesn't mean one approach is 'better' than the other.

And, re the second point: that's because Discord is at its best when it's used for just-for-fun, whatever's-on-your-mind small talk. I've always been bad at Discord, because I've always been bad at small talk.

RE: Forums vs Discord - Ravenfreak - 05-25-2019

I'm probably in the minority when I say that I like the traditional table style of forums and hate the modern layout of forums like Flarum. If forums end up going that route, I'd probably stop using them honestly. :\ That's why I don't use or visit forums that use that modern layout. It looks bland IMO and cluttered.

RE: Forums vs Discord - Deleted User 8 - 05-25-2019

(05-25-2019, 07:09 PM)Ravenfreak Wrote: I'm probably in the minority when I say that I like the traditional table style of forums and hate the modern layout of forums like Flarum.
For me, I'm the other way round. I've also checked out Flarum's support forum to see what a common Flarum forum looks like and personally, I believe it's far more organised than others, especially when tags are used instead of forum sections as mentioned in the Forum Software Discussion thread. If I ever made a new forum, and new how to self-host, I'd definitely use it.

RE: Forums vs Discord - Kyng - 05-25-2019

(05-25-2019, 07:09 PM)Ravenfreak Wrote: I'm probably in the minority when I say that I like the traditional table style of forums and hate the modern layout of forums like Flarum. If forums end up going that route, I'd probably stop using them honestly. :\ That's why I don't use or visit forums that use that modern layout. It looks bland IMO and cluttered.

I'm not sure you are in the minority: I suspect most forum users do like the the traditional table style! The thing is, for many of those users, their reasons for liking that style have their roots in their own nostalgia, or are simply "I've always done it this way". (I should also point out that Flarum does have an alternative view that's more like a traditional forum. Yes, all those colours look atrocious - and yes, I'd prefer it to be each one on its own row rather than three across - but, I'm hoping that's something that individual admins will be able to customise)

IMO, the 'blandness' is a result of the default theme having been designed with a very 'minimal for mobiles' appearance to it. If they're listening to what forum owners want, then hopefully it'll be possible to customise it and make a theme for it that's on par with any MyBB/ZetaBoards theme.

(However, I guess this is really a discussion for the "Forum Software Discussion" thread :P !)

RE: Forums vs Discord - Deleted User 8 - 05-25-2019

(05-25-2019, 07:37 PM)Hotspot Wrote: Forums are good for sitting down, and writing about how you feel. While discord is good for a quick chat.
And I personally think Flarum is a mixture of both.

RE: Forums vs Discord - Pyrite - 05-25-2019

(05-25-2019, 07:09 PM)Ravenfreak Wrote: I'm probably in the minority when I say that I like the traditional table style of forums and hate the modern layout of forums like Flarum. If forums end up going that route, I'd probably stop using them honestly. :\ That's why I don't use or visit forums that use that modern layout. It looks bland IMO and cluttered.

No, I'm with you. I like a layout that has everything listed in sections. I just can't understand what's so good about modern layouts with tags and the like. To me, they genuinely seem like more of a step back than a step forward.

RE: Forums vs Discord - Kyng - 05-25-2019

(05-25-2019, 08:43 PM)Pyrite Wrote:
(05-25-2019, 07:09 PM)Ravenfreak Wrote: I'm probably in the minority when I say that I like the traditional table style of forums and hate the modern layout of forums like Flarum. If forums end up going that route, I'd probably stop using them honestly. :\ That's why I don't use or visit forums that use that modern layout. It looks bland IMO and cluttered.

No, I'm with you. I like a layout that has everything listed in sections. I just can't understand what's so good about modern layouts with tags and the like. To me, they genuinely seem like more of a step back than a step forward.

Well, it's not a matter of "either/or". I can certainly see modern forum softwares being developed with the option to choose between a "timeline view" and a "classic view". (Indeed, as I said three posts up, Flarum itself does this; I don't think its 'classic view' is particularly good, but at least it has one, and hopefully it would be possible to modify it so that it isn't three-across and isn't a mess of all those different colours).

The thing about Flarum is, it's designed to be very bare-bones and minimalist out of the box, but it's also designed to be highly extensible and customisable. I don't know how many extensions will be made for it, or how easy it'll be to customise, but it looks like it's going to live or die on the quality and quantity of its extensions and customisations.