If you are like me, you read other forums, as well. One of my favorites is bananas.org

I want to look seriously at a better forum format: still simple, but with some additional features.

If you have a favorite forum (fruit, dolls, old vinyl records, whatever) that has a nice format and easy function, please post a link here, so I can start evaluating some possibilities. Also, pleaase add some comments on what features you like about your favorite forum, and maybe what you don't like.

This is not going to happen over night, but I want to start the process.

Jon, you'll love this football forum. I like being able to return to the main page, in our case here to "FORUMS" from the top and bottom of the posting page after
you have added a post.

http://www.secrant.com/rant/b/207/UGA-Sports.aspx

bushcraft forum. 

http://bushcraftusa.com/forum/cmps_index.php?s=d7085fe718e9c54e11b2afe1be64f212

http://www.gardeningclub.com

the way thier forum is set up a user can chose from topics such as new members, plant id, propagation, trades, etc there is even a state by state set up so people can post local or nation wide. it seems to help keep topics in certain areas. i have been a member in good standing for a few years. check it out Jon might just be what your looking for. 

Jon, most forums I follow use vBulletin and that seems to be the best.  I'm a moderator at bananas.org and I only see a little of what goes on behind the scenes, but I like it quite a bit.  Jarred has added a lot of extra things there and some of it is certainly of little value (banana bucks?), but I like the map inclusion, gallery software (many people don't post photos on other forums because of the hassle of uploading to another hosting site and then figuring out the code to post it in their thread), and maybe the "thanks" option (don't know of any other site with that).  Several years ago at my request, Jarred added a profile area for folks to include the varieties of bananas they are growing and someone can do a search to find any members who have listed a particular variety in their profile.  I think that would be helpful here.

One thing I wish bananas.org had but doesn't, is the ability to enable it for Tapatalk which makes posting via mobile phones, even photos, much easier (so I've read).  Two other forums I participate in, tomatoville.com and calguns.net but have Tapatalk enabled and I see folks using it but I haven't bothered buying the app for my phone since I don't care to post photos of guns and don't spend that much time posting about tomatoes.  There are other forums I participate in that use vBulletin but these are the busiest so they probably give a better idea of how they've made the best use of that software.

Another forum I have used just a little but seems pretty decent is http://forums.topografix.com/index.php?/forum/4-expertgps/ and it uses different software so I thought you might want to investigate it further.

Another platform is used at http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?board=1.0 and, again, I just mention it in case you wanted to checked out another platform.  I think the ones mentioned in the first paragraph are the best I participate in.

I don't know why, but I must sign in each time I visit the cloudforest forum and that annoys me enough that I don't bother posting as much as I used to but I think it's only partly responsible for that.

Hi Jon, so nice of you to ask our opinions for this change.  I also go to a bird forum, was much more active a while back but I like the format  http://www.upatsix.com/chats/

What I like about the bird forum is they show the date of the original post in the list of posts.  Currently on figs4fun, when someone replies to an old post you don't know it's an old post until you open it and start reading.  I must confess I do not make it a habit to check the dates of the post and replies when I open it - I just start reading.

What I like here is everything IS together on one page and I hope you keep all topics together.  It is less clicking to read the posts.  If I am not interested in a topic it is easy enough to not open it.  If the topics were to be categorized to the extent bananas.org is I would lose the sense of community.  Example:  right now I am reading a post your desire to make changes to the forum.  It is in with propagation, soil amendments, container gardening, in-ground etc.   When I am done with this response, I click on the back button or the forum button and all of the most recent posts are right there for me to see - no matter the topic.  If they are categorized like bananas.org, I will have to click on another category and read the new posts there, then click on another category and so forth. 

I like less clicking!!

If I need more information about soil amendments I could do a search.

I don't know if this is possible, to be able to go to a particular page to view older posts.  If there is a way, I haven't found it.  I think it would be a very useful tool.  If there are 200 pages of topics from over the years and I want to go to page 129 to see what was discussed, I can only advance a few pages at a time.  Many older forum members tell the new members to read the old posts, that's all well and good but it is difficult to do that.

Sorry for the length of this - you asked!!

I'm another fan of vBulletin. A feature I like in a forum is a 'go to first unread post' that will take you immediately to the newest post in a thread without having to scroll down until you think you have found what you have not yet read. I also like having an ignore list available, but rarely use one. And I also like having an array of simple smilie faces.

I like that this place is simple and does not have 'rooms' or smaller forums within. That can make things more fragmented. Less is more. I really like having an unlimited 'edit' feature.

I dislike ratings or bonus stars. And I don't much like images in signature lines - too much clutter. Those make it harder to find the text of messages.

Jon,

    My vote is for buttons that let you return to topics once you've read the last post in a string. Also, is there something that will let you print or save a post or a string without cut-and-paste?

Thx for the opportunity, just another example of why this forum works so well.

I like Pete's suggested forum format,(Bushcraft)

I agree with Joann's comments concerning the diversity of topics in one area/section/page

I like the "Who is on line"

I like the Profile part, wish it were mandatory to enter your location when signing up

Currently, deleting PMs is cumbersome, I like a # of listings per page option so that I can view more PM's without changing pages, also a highlight (single or multiple) delete option

Would like to see more posting listings  on each page, 50 or so per page

Artwork size limitation for posting is a challenge for some (profile posting pf art seems to take anything, based on the size of some of the pictures)

Avatar size is currently smallish

This a great forum so please consider the last comment

Last but not least, somethings do not need fixing!

I wish we had a feature like Garden Web has so you could save tidbits from your favorite posts to a special place.  But really I sometimes just copy my favorite tips and save on my hard drive.  My wine making forum goes down regularly just when I need it, so I'm happy to just use the search feature and my own hard drive.

I hope you could fix that PM delete box so it doesn't jump around so much.

I'm very happy with this site and all the work you have done on it!

Suzi

BTW - A classified section would be nice, especially if it were divided into "For Sale" and "For Trade"

I sell cuttings and trees but for some reason I don't want to sell MY cuttings in the general posting area, IMHO it has a potential for problems which has no place in our forum (remember the Dan issue, the Ebay seller issue)  I also like the casual/personal (Not commercial) aspect of the current forum.

this isn't a forum but having a google map for all of us to add our locations and or locations of abandoned fig trees....just a thought

A map would be nice. i bet there are some of us pretty close to one another here and there. this info could be a big step in helping other find figs for thier zones.

Greetings All

I agree, some things don't need fixing, but some tweaking and updating is always a good thing.  One thing I'd like to see is an easier way
to upload photos to this forum, especially from devices like the Apple iPad.  I find it very cumbersome to take a picture, move it, resize it,
etc. for an upload.  I'd post a LOT more photos of various stages of fig propagation, fruit stages, issues...etc.  if  I could upload easily
from the iPad.

Thanks for asking! 

Jon I know nothing about software but I do know what I like. I belong to a gardening forum that I think uses "Simple Machines Forum". The thing I like best is that whenever someone makes a new post, there is a "new" button that shows up on the line with the subject in the index. By clicking on the "new" button you are taken to the first new post that you haven't read. That site also has a map where you put pins to show where you're at. Here is a link to the forum. I sure you can figure it out better than I can explain it.

http://thebayougardener.com/index.htm

"gene"

I like the forum just the way it is ; )

I like the forum as it is.  But I can see value to a few other features as well, so I'll offer my 2 cents worth about a couple of others I use (and comments about what I like about them or dislike).

WetCanvas   (an artists' site, with forums and other things)
http://www.wetcanvas.com
          This particular site is set up more complicated than I like... too many channels.  But I do like the way it has easily separable sections for News, Events, Classifieds, and Forums.  (I think the software that drives it could be used in a way that keeps the setup simple... i.e. keeping the discussion forums from fragmenting into too many "channels" and categories, can kind of fragment things and make it harder to find things... i.e. what Gina said above in post #7.  Though wetcanvas has that kind of fragmentation, I think the software package that drives it can be set up simply... it's not a function of the software driving it so much as the way that particular site was set up).

TheSamba   (an aircooled Volkswagen/VW enthusiast web site, with forums and other things)
http://thesamba.com
          This site is set up very nicely.  It has forums, and allows categories for forums  (defined by the administrator though, so that the categorization doesn't get fragmented willy nilly... it stays stable).  One feature that I particularly like on this site is the Search function... it is set up in a way that fits the basic taxonomy of the site pretty nicely (a nicely tailored search function)... and it allows Saved Searches (favorite searches) to be stored in your profile.  (Only you can use your own saved searches... there's a non-public part of the profile).  The overall profile function of this site is pretty nice... it allows saving of several different kinds of site object in the profile  (I can save references to particular ads, I can save searches, I can save particular posting references, etc.).  It also allows the categories of content to include other things besides forum threads  (classifieds, news, reference sections that are pretty nicely done).  It also is arranged to keep the reference materials integrated in with a number of options for easy header-bar links  (i.e. a header that reflects the site taxonomy or "site map"... you can link to any of the main sections of the site by clicking items from a menu bar across the top).
Overall I like the layout of this site (thesamba) pretty much.  Plus one feature that I think is very important:  I believe the software package driving it is very simple for the site administrator / moderator to use and manage.  (This opinion formed from correspondence with Everett, the site admin/moderator, rather than from personal use of the site management software package).  If true, I think that's an important consideration for Jon's use.

Figs4Fun   (this fig enthusiast site).  
http://figs4fun.com
This one is great because it is so active... a very active community here!  Though I miss a few of the features above (like saved searches, or easier navigation to reference parts of the site), this site has more of the "community" sense than any of the others I use.  That may be partly because of the size  (e.g. wetcanvas and thesamba each have over 250K members), but I think it's mainly because of the enthusiasm of the members and moderator here on figs4fun.

OK, that's more than 2 cents worth.  Good luck Jon with your quest for site software alternatives.

Mike   central NY state, zone 5

My second post on this subject.  I'd like to have a Google search function embedded.  On the calguns site I mentioned above you can click on search and the drop down menu includes a custom Google Search which works out great like going to Google direction using the tip in the sticky thread here at F4F.

I'm sorry, every time I go to another site it looks so cluttered.  This site is VERY user friendly.

Greetings again,

I agree with Steve. Since I also have a few more banana trees than I should, I checked out the bananas.org forum site and found it very distracting. All kinds of moving and jumping avatars, popups, various links to and fro, signature blocks the size of Manhattan, etc. There also seems to be a lot of threads that have nothing to do with the raising and care of banana trees ( upload any photo of anything???) for example.

So, I'd vote for a few minor tweaks ( if any).

The sun finally broke out here in central MD, going to be mid-60's today!

I vote keeping this one but kicking it up a notch. Add new folders like....
1. How to propagate cuttings
2. Soil medium used by some
3. FMV
4. When to water / When not to water
5. Yellowing leaves....what should I do?
6. Cuttings for sale
7. Trees for sale

8. Add key words for every thread. This will allow the administrator to easily grab and drop threads to new or existing folders.
9. Allow the ability to export mail to a flat file

I agree with Dennis, keep this site with some tweaks.

Dennis, are you suggesting 7 categories for posting, or are they to be stagnate information pages? 

I like the idea of stagnate information pages Jon publishes and he alone can add or delete.  Maybe members would submit information to add such as a new potting medium or propagation technique.

I do not like the idea of all these categories - my poor clicker finger gets tired ;) lol

I like the way the forum is now because when I finish a thread and click the back button or forum button the surprise of a new post to an older thread or a new thread has started!  It's like being at a family reunion with all of these conversations going on in the same room! 

[Some of my/others oldie comments: Problems/Cures/Suggestions (bla, bla) Re F4F Site]:--

http://figs4funforum.websitetoolbox.com/post/ProblemsCuresSuggestions-%28bla-bla%29-Re-F4F-Site-5531418

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