[binary visions]

vBulletin has, I think, lost its way. During each upgrade, it has become subsequently slower, harder to use, and more bloated. It is no longer focused on being great forum software, becoming a monster of a content management system, which is not what we need.

Because of this, I'm investigating alternatives. The front-runner so far is XenForo, which seems to be focused on creating a great community experience.

I'd like some feedback. Specifically:

• What features are missing from Ridemonkey right now, that you'd like to see? What problems do you want addressed?
• What features on RM could you not live without?
• What other forums do you think provide a great user experience?
• Check out the XenForo Community. What do you think of the layout?

Also, right now there is no great classifieds solution for XenForo. We may go back to some kind of hybrid forum-style classifieds but hopefully with some better search features than the old style forum layout. Thoughts on that?

 

[jonKranked]

What features are missing from Ridemonkey right now, that you'd like to see? What problems do you want addressed?

Lack of free beer. You've been advertising it for years. Time to pay the piper.

What features on RM could you not live without?

The rep system. no really.

What other forums do you think provide a great user experience?

4chan

Check out the XenForo Community. What do you think of the layout?

in comparison to our current theme, it seems to be moving away from a "work stealth" look and feel. However I'm sure that there are themes for the front end that would fix this.

 

[jonKranked]

the image attachment and youtube embedding have been less than consistent lately. is this something that xen does better?

 

[johnbryanpeters]

Rep, PMs, help to form the social glue that holds this forum together.
XenForo looks OK, but it's hard to get a handle without some use time

 

[binary visions]

the image attachment and youtube embedding have been less than consistent lately. is this something that xen does better?

Well, XF is less buggy first of all, but part of the issue is that nobody is happy with VB right now so we'll do bugfixes, but correcting systemic or underlying problems isn't going to happen since it's just investing development time into a dead end platform.

 

[binary visions]

For color scheme and stuff, I don't anticipate a big change from our current layout.

Social features will definitely stay, and maybe expand a bit. There's a rep system for XenForo, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to bring over current reputation - we may have to start with a clean slate.

Also, right now there is no great classifieds solution for XenForo. We may go back to some kind of hybrid forum-style classifieds but hopefully with some better search features than the old style forum layout. Thoughts on that?

 

[jonKranked]

I'm not sure how easy it will be to bring over current reputation - we may have to start with a clean slate.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

tapatalk...
most of my forum browsing is made on my phone nowadays....

other good forum´s layout i like?
www.forosperu.net, www.advrider.net

 

[Pesqueeb]

There's a rep system for XenForo, but I'm not sure how easy it will be to bring over current reputation - we may have to start with a clean slate.

http://nooooooooooooooo.com/

 

[jonKranked]

paid memberships? unlimited rep? new rep tiers?

 

[binary visions]

Every time paid memberships come up, I ask what people actually want out of paid memberships. The answer is always, "no ads." But if we were to price paid memberships to eliminate all of the ads, nobody would buy them (at $20/year for no ads, which the original premium memberships were, it was ludicrously underpriced and still only a handful of people bought them).

Anything in particular you'd want to see out of paid memberships? We could probably serve fewer ads but I'm not sure what other perks people would want to see.

We could definitely adjust the rep system tiers/allotments.

 

[Pesqueeb]

I'd like to be able to see a list of who I've repped. Some kind of reverse settings page?

 

[jonKranked]

Every time paid memberships come up, I ask what people actually want out of paid memberships. The answer is always, "no ads." But if we were to price paid memberships to eliminate all of the ads, nobody would buy them (at $20/year for no ads, which the original premium memberships were, it was ludicrously underpriced and still only a handful of people bought them).

Anything in particular you'd want to see out of paid memberships? We could probably serve fewer ads but I'm not sure what other perks people would want to see.

mod privileges

 

[jonKranked]

paid memebership aside, a way to report or block ads that may not be NSWF but otherwise wouldn't really be work appropriate might be nice. i've been seeing some questionable ones for some clothing company lately. i'll try to snag a screencap the next time it comes up.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

Forum software that brings back DMG and banishes PSP.

 

[Quo Fan]

The ability to keep the current rep would be awesome, but not totally necessary.

 

[jdcamb]

The ability to keep the current rep would be awesome, but not totally necessary.

Does Rep actually do anything?

 

[WestCoastHucker]

it cures cancer...

 

[jdcamb]

it cures cancer...

That's way better then the Courtesy Phone!

 

[4130biker]

I see on XF that it can pair with Facebook. Is the FB pairing something you can choose to opt out of?

Edit: Here's my feedback: I would prefer not to associate my FB account with my RM account.

 

[Da Peach]

the ability to try it now at any time I choose.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Can we get a forum just for MMike's birthday ?

 

[jdcamb]

Can we get a forum just for MMike's birthday ?

Jesus Dude. Pandering.....

 

[4130biker]

What features on RM could you not live without?
Setting up number of posts per page viewed. It sucks when I'm not logged in!
I also like the rep and would like to see accumulated rep and nicknames carried over, if at all possible.

Check out the XenForo Community. What do you think of the layout?
I like the layout. Only thing I noticed, which will probably change when you make it look like RM, is that between posts is not very clearly defined. Other than that, looks pretty sweet!

 

[4130biker]

How about a NSFW forum, including, but not limited to Katy Perry threads.

 

[JohnE]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ What he said^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Pay? No. I like you guys, but $$ is $$ is €...

Ban N8, PSP and the other fart knockers types? No. Who would we openly mock, ridicule and otherwise taunt if they were gone?

Lose rep? Heavens no, my entire sense of self worth is tied up in my RM rep. Rebuilding would result in an orgy of self indulgence and a$$ kissing. Hmmm...wait a tic...

New lay out that is fasterbettercooler from a computer nerd perspective? Sure, whatever.

Bring back DMG? Yes. Please.

 

[binary visions]

I see on XF that it can pair with Facebook. Is the FB pairing something you can choose to opt out of?

Edit: Here's my feedback: I would prefer not to associate my FB account with my RM account.

I have no plans to implement a forced Facebook link. The Facebook pairing can be done today with vBulletin, but it's just an option - a convenience for people who are usually logged into Facebook, so their account stays logged into both.

Thanks for the other feedback guys, both Katy Perry and non-Katy Perry related.

 

[Muddy]

Getting rid of the small Manufacturer space, expanding the Trail Advocacy theme in it's place instead. A lot of Trail Builders could expand their working-radius this way.

 

[ALEXIS_DH]

i´d definately pay $1-$2 for custom title giving-rights and other lulzy stuff, somethingawful-style

 

[jonKranked]

here's one i've asked about in the past....

the ability to customize the order in which the forums/subforums are ordered

 

[binary visions]

Getting rid of the small Manufacturer space, expanding the Trail Advocacy theme in it's place instead. A lot of Trail Builders could expand their working-radius this way.

I'm all for anything that adds to the forum, I'm not sure what you're asking for in the expansion, though. The trail builder forum gets a few posts a month - it's not exactly overwhelmed with content such that we need to split it into multiple forums.

I'd love to get a more active community in there - but diluting the few posts into several forums isn't going to help, I don't think. Maybe I'm not understanding what you're looking for?

the ability to customize the order in which the forums/subforums are ordered

Yeah, just not an option right now. I don't think XF provides this either.

 

[jonKranked]

Yeah, just not an option right now. I don't think XF provides this either.

binary visions, ruiner of dreams

 

[4130biker]

binary visions, ruiner of dreams

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NWnSL0aMkYw

 

[Muddy]

I'm all for anything that adds to the forum, I'm not sure what you're asking for in the expansion, though. The trail builder forum gets a few posts a month - it's not exactly overwhelmed with content such that we need to split it into multiple forums.

I'd love to get a more active community in there - but diluting the few posts into several forums isn't going to help, I don't think. Maybe I'm not understanding what you're looking for?

Space on the Manufacturer & Venue Forums is small, nearly all really not needing any further presence. So why not pool together all points that cultivate cooperative Trail Networks and self-sustained Trail Networking?? Not a Body to regulate Trail Volunteers, but instead space for the Industry which exists within that.

Granted this would not be an immediate reversion to a thriving forum population, maybe though a Regional theme could develop and be given space accordingly. Then find better recognition and promote a working knowledge-base. More potential geological surveyor ability and of course the valuable input from the Public and Members than just another place to post up trail dates and pictures of fresh trail; that'd be the most valuable find, applying similar construction techniques and applications to areas with common infrastructure.

It's a stretch since it takes many types of investment in order to be recognized for having a Riding Destination, but I can't imagine space for something along these lines not finding an interactive Forum in the future.

Then again, there being this and two other Major Forum populations in North America it may not be viable, because it'd already be expanding beyond a single Topic on these message boards.

 

[johnbryanpeters]

The three forum populations being empty beer, Pinkbike, and RM?

 

[mandown]

youtube, pic, and gif threads scan links for duplicity before posting. when a poopy-d happens, a small shock is administered via the user's mouse/keyboard/phone.

 

[HardtailHack]

Rep for stoopid **** and a seperate one for Tech, people that post dumb stuff get more rep than people that know stuff about bikes.

Nicest looking forum I have seen is this one but I believe it has a whole bunch of custom programming work done(Iknow nothing about this sort of stuff)-
http://caraudioaustralia.com.au/
http://www.caraudio.com.au/forums/

 

[jonKranked]

ooo if we could get a IM style chat feature that would be fun

 

[4130biker]

Rep for stoopid **** and a seperate one for Tech, people that post dumb stuff get more rep than people that know stuff about bikes.

I like this idea.

 

[CrabJoe StretchPants]

Rep for stoopid **** and a seperate one for Tech, people that post dumb stuff get more rep than people that know stuff about bikes.

Some of the funniest people on this board also happen to be some of the most knowledgable people as well. They aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.