phpBB3

[iblis]

Actually... I have a real question, too.

Why use phpBB at all?

i'd wondered the same thing, but hey, php works. at least it's not running on mongrel.

[vertigo25]

Actually... I have a real question, too.

Why use phpBB at all?

i'd wondered the same thing, but hey, php works. at least it's not running on mongrel.

I think at some point I had recommended Vanilla. I have some issues with Vanilla's non-compliance with accessibility standards, but it's superiority in all other regards is indisputable for me.

From a developer POV, it's code is extremely well thought-out and once you get it, it's great to work with. From a designer POV, it's a bit... mmmm... weird, but in the end, makes a hell of a lot more sense than phpBB.

For the end user, it is phenomenal. It's entire interface is geared towards conversation. The idea of "whipsers" was something that should have happened a long time ago in the web based BB arena. It has RSS feeds for an entire board, single conversation, and each topic. You can choose editing in HTML, bbCode (aka "the suck"), or Markdown.

The admin side of things is beautiful. I've always thought phpBB administration was akin to pounding your head against a wall. Vanilla makes every aspect of administration *simple*.

Plus, through stable plug-ins, you can add things like tags, YouTube embedding, spell check... lots more.

It's a shame that some admins think change is bad.

[DarkVader]

It's really a shame that some users think that change for the sake of change is good.

I like phpBB. It's not perfect, but it's a good thing.

I remember the Vanilla recommendation, I looked at it then, and I hated it. I looked again just now, and I still hate it. I think the "whispers" feature is asinine, and I think it's butt-ugly.

I'll fix the brokenness and the ugly with this upgrade when I have time, which will hopefully be soon. It accomplished its primary goal, which was to keep me from having to delete 20 spam accounts every day. It also accomplished its secondary goal, which was to preserve all accounts and posts in any upgrade.

I'd be happier if I could have preserved the exact look of the old forum, because I was happy with that - but I couldn't. So, I'm sorry for the ugly, I'm sorry about the broken buttons, and I'm emphatically not even remotely sorry about sticking with phpBB.

[vertigo25]

It's really a shame that some users think that change for the sake of change is good.

I like phpBB. It's not perfect, but it's a good thing.

I remember the Vanilla recommendation, I looked at it then, and I hated it. I looked again just now, and I still hate it. I think the "whispers" feature is asinine, and I think it's butt-ugly.

I'll fix the brokenness and the ugly with this upgrade when I have time, which will hopefully be soon. It accomplished its primary goal, which was to keep me from having to delete 20 spam accounts every day. It also accomplished its secondary goal, which was to preserve all accounts and posts in any upgrade.

I'd be happier if I could have preserved the exact look of the old forum, because I was happy with that - but I couldn't. So, I'm sorry for the ugly, I'm sorry about the broken buttons, and I'm emphatically not even remotely sorry about sticking with phpBB.

Wasn't looking for, requesting or even desiring any kind of apology, there, little guy.

But I will say that I think my reasoning for requesting Vanilla (which is far more customizable than phpBB (so it being "ugly" isn't really relevant)) was somewhat detailed and a far cry from wanting "change for the sake of change." More like "change for a better user experience." But we all know this is your board, not ours,

[iblis]

It's really a shame that some users think that change for the sake of change is good.

I like phpBB. It's not perfect, but it's a good thing.

I remember the Vanilla recommendation, I looked at it then, and I hated it. I looked again just now, and I still hate it. I think the "whispers" feature is asinine, and I think it's butt-ugly.

I'll fix the brokenness and the ugly with this upgrade when I have time, which will hopefully be soon. It accomplished its primary goal, which was to keep me from having to delete 20 spam accounts every day. It also accomplished its secondary goal, which was to preserve all accounts and posts in any upgrade.

I'd be happier if I could have preserved the exact look of the old forum, because I was happy with that - but I couldn't. So, I'm sorry for the ugly, I'm sorry about the broken buttons, and I'm emphatically not even remotely sorry about sticking with phpBB.

like i said, php works. the broken parts can be fixed, and i'm willing to bet they're fairly simple issues. and phpBB v3 has an assload of improvements, including and beyond the spam issue.

at this point, from a programming point of view, i don't think i'd like any forum software that i didn't write myself. but i'm picky. i'll get over it.

but i do understand what you mean about time, especially lately. until tonight i haven't had any either, to do much more than work or *possibly* post some odd jib-jab on the forum.

[vertigo25]

at this point, from a programming point of view, i don't think i'd like any forum software that i didn't write myself. but i'm picky. i'll get over it.

When it comes to anything... shopping cart, forum, blog engine, CMS... I'm beginning to feel the same way. You spend just as much time learning someone else's hooks, and getting frustrated with their code, and bashing their templates as you would doing it all yourself from the beginning.

Plus, in the end, you know your code in and out.

My issue isn't so much with time as it is with skills. I don't consider myself very advanced in most programming languages. I used to be really very good with VB Script on ASP, but tha's not exactly a desirable skill any more. I know enough PHP to get myself in trouble.

I'm thinking, however, that I'm going to hand code my next CMS. It'll at least work out some of the wholes in my knowledge.

[Shadow Of The Fox]

Wow. I go away for a few weeks (ok, maybe longer), and then everything's changed. Fabulous.

[iblis]

at this point, from a programming point of view, i don't think i'd like any forum software that i didn't write myself. but i'm picky. i'll get over it.

When it comes to anything... shopping cart, forum, blog engine, CMS... I'm beginning to feel the same way. You spend just as much time learning someone else's hooks, and getting frustrated with their code, and bashing their templates as you would doing it all yourself from the beginning.

Plus, in the end, you know your code in and out.

exactly.

My issue isn't so much with time as it is with skills. I don't consider myself very advanced in most programming languages. I used to be really very good with VB Script on ASP, but tha's not exactly a desirable skill any more. I know enough PHP to get myself in trouble.

VB .NET can still land a few jobs. old school ASP... yeah, it's dwindling.

I'm thinking, however, that I'm going to hand code my next CMS. It'll at least work out some of the wholes in my knowledge.

CMS's are fun. and if you cheat a little bit, and use a decent (can't stress that adjective enough) framework, they're easy, too.

as far those go, i'd suggest either python (with django!)*, php (with smarty!)**, or ruby on rails***. of course, since i like perl****, cgi::application is a running fourth.

the mvc (or in django's case, mtv) concept has saved me a lot of time and frustration. i've done enough from
scratch. it's fun, too, but these days i have more deadlines.

* i've written blog software in five-ten minutes, the framework scales, and i'm a python whore, thus totally, completely, and happily bias in this regard.

** i can use it, modify it, and extend it, but i probably shouldn't start a huge project from scratch in it. so my judgement may be suspect on this one.

*** the company i work for has had issues with the scalability with rails. they go by the, "hardware is cheap, programmers are expensive, so throw more hardware at it if it slows down." approach. that's all well and good, if you're already either rich or a large company. not so great on a tight budget. which is too bad, really, since ruby itself is a killer language.

**** old habits die hard.

[vertigo25]

I did a bit of smarty awhile back for some templating stuff. I think it was for Drupal. I just remember that I hated it. The problem I see with certain frameworks is that a lot of applications have their own flavor. If you happen to know the basis, you're golden; but if you're learning it for the first time, it's really moving backwards in a way (unless you're learning the pure framework, and that framework will end up applying to a lot of things you do in the future).

I've been learning a smattering of Ruby here and there (via why_). I really like it a lot. I get the feeling I had back when I was a kid learning BASIC on my Atari 800xl. Good times. I'll eventually look in to Rails. I just hope that by the time I do, it's not irrelevant

[TheSym]

see title.
When I hit submit, it goes to a blank white screen.

[scarecrow]

Well this looks MUCH better....however, You could fix the banner glitch at the top

[iblis]

Well this looks MUCH better....however, You could fix the banner glitch at the top

Seconded! Looks sweet, but no-repeat is our friend.

EDIT: To be more specific/helpful, I believe the look you're going for could be achieved by changing the class .headerbar to:

Code: Select all

.headerbar 
{
  background-color: #443355;
  background-image:url(./styles/Carbon/imageset/kg_logo.png);
  background-repeat: no-repeat;
  color: #FFFFFF;
}

But then, I'm not a design guy. *shrug*

By the way, I'm loving the select all option for the code tags. It smells strongly of win.

[Mother Mo]

Pretty, I dig it!