A forum without a forum

[Davyc]

Just opened up my new site for an initial viewing - there's still much more to be done as this is a work in progress but there is enough there now to open it up to let everyone see what it is all about.

The site is a tribute to Mrs Brown's Boys, a BBC TV comedy series that has won a number of awards, yet there appears to be no fan sites/forums supporting the series. As there is a lot of strong language and it is basically adult humour there is a large warning notice (dismissible) for those who may be easily offended.

The site is obviously using XF but there are no forums visible - the site is basically using XF as a core with the content being presented by @Bob AMS add-on. The AMS system does create forums when a new item is added and this is what is used for any discussions; the AMS system also has a comments system that can be used.

This is almost all video snippets, with the series being a visual experience; there is still a lot to do but you can see where it's going.

Any and all comments would be appreciated.

Try it out @ https://www.feckingreat.co.uk and I hope you find that you can laugh as hard and as much as I have putting it all together.

 

[Alpha1]

The yellow stars on your home page break up between 900 and 1300 width.
Home page font size on desktop is quite large.
The warning only partially shows.

 

[Davyc]

Thanks for that - @Alfa1 I'm not a mobile Internet user much so this info is good to know. I meant to add some responsive code to the notice, but I was so caught up in the laughter it slipped by me. I'll get this added ASAP. Will take a look at the font and stars on my mobile to see what can be done - perhaps add some @media code to compensate for the screen size differences.

Update: Have corrected the notice being cut off - responsive code and CSS added to resolve this. I'm going to have to look at the star ratings and perhaps move them to a separate line to avoid the break up. I'll update tomorrow sometime.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Thanks for that - @Alfa1 I'm not a mobile Internet user much so this info is good to know.

No need to be, these days you can get a responsive view mode in most browsers (not sure if you need to get a developer extension)

Safari is good because it simulates actual different size iPhones and tablets.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Responsive_Design_Mode

http://www.mcelhearn.com/use-safaris-responsive-design-mode-in-el-capitan/

 

[Mr Lucky]

I like it, but I think if you are going to be apparently forumless, you need to get rid of all links to forums, e.g. the Quick Navigaton Menu which takes you here:

https://www.feckingreat.co.uk/index.php?forums/

Just shows a sign saying ther's nothing to see. Bit odd

 

[Davyc]

It would be impossible to remove the forums completely as I still use them, via AMS, to create a discussion thread for those who want to move beyond the comments feature in AMS. What I have done is remove the forums from view completely and if anyone uses the forum links to find the index page they get that notice which will direct them back to the home page. As this is a work in progress I still have many things to do and removing all visible links is one of them, when I get around to them lol.

More template edits needed, but not just for the forums - for other items too that need some slight attention in order for the site to function on mobile devices and devices with small screens such as tablets. My reason for launching now was to get feedback and I thank you for yours @Mr Lucky as the Quick Navigation was not on my to-do list - but it is now lol.

 

[Alpha1]

There's an addon to remove the forum. I think it's confusing to users to have both comments and discussions. I would choose one or the other.

 

[Davyc]

There's an addon to remove the forum. I think it's confusing to users to have both comments and discussions. I would choose one or the other.

I had the same thoughts last night and slept on it - the discussion part will be removed. I'll check out to see if there is an add-on to remove the forum, save me a lot of time if there is lol.

My to-do list should be completed by the end of February, including member only benefits and all other areas that need content. I'll also be adding some more styling to the pages to make them just a little bit different. So, lots to do.

 

[Davyc]

The yellow stars on your home page break up between 900 and 1300 width.
Home page font size on desktop is quite large.
The warning only partially shows.

Stars should be fixed now.
Warning is now responsive and should auto adjust to screen size

Checked out the add-ons for removing forums but both are out of date. So, it's back to manual edits lol.

All references to forums are (hopefully lol) removed, including quick navigation and off-canvas menus. There may be other references that need to be removed regarding posts/threads,etc.
Discussions removed leaving comments as the main user interface for interaction

Can you screenshot how you see the font size as I'm limited to desktop (large screen) and mobile which reduces everything to one column so it doesn't look out of place.

Thanks again for comments.

 

[Mr Lucky]

I had another look (I do like Mrs Brown).

When you click on the entry, before playing the video, you don't see the video image, just this:



Is that a limitation of the Youtube and/or the way they are embedded. It appears at first to me as if the video is broken.

Are there any comments yet, or do you have to be registered to see them?

Call me old fashioned but I'm not convinced that having comments instead of threads. I'm not quite sure what AMS system is, but appears to be more or less the same as what you might do with the Media gallery.

I think threads would encourage more discussion than just comments, as well as fostering a community.

I do think it's great to have this, as you say there aren't other Mrs Brown fan sites - but this structure doesn't actually encourage me to sign up.

Another thing that struck me, you are relying on the clips being there. What happens if the BBC decided to pull them all?

I can't think of an easy way round that one, if you uploadoed them yourself they may well by removed due to copyright.

 

[Mr Lucky]

Ah, one more thing - I suggest friendly URLs and depending on the amount of entries you end up with, take out the redundant /ams/ in the URLs.

 

[Davyc]

@Mr Lucky You probably looked at that when I was updating the YT BB Code to add rel=0 - try it again now as it is there.

The idea about removing the forums is to simplify it for people who do want to comment, without having to click, click, search, look around umpteen pages and also to move away from the usual forum style which doesn't seem to attract people at all; at least not as it used to. Most people these days are not interested in fostering a community spirit, and that's not just online but offline too. Thank SM for that. Times have changed.

You don't have to sign up to read comments, just to add them; there's obviously not going to be any yet as the site only went live yesterday lol.

As with any site using YT videos there is always that risk of the files being deleted - if that happens I will look at other alternatives, including contacting the BBC to see if they will allow alternate clips being made; as the site is promoting their show I can't see why they would object, but if they do what the hell - there's plenty more for me to work on lol.

Just caught your last post before adding this lol. Friendly URLs are operating and AMS has been replaced with mrsbrown using the route filters.

 

[Robert F Schmitz]

Just opened up my new site for an initial viewing - there's still much more to be done as this is a work in progress but there is enough there now to open it up to let everyone see what it is all about.

The site is a tribute to Mrs Brown's Boys, a BBC TV comedy series that has won a number of awards, yet there appears to be no fan sites/forums supporting the series. As there is a lot of strong language and it is basically adult humour there is a large warning notice (dismissible) for those who may be easily offended.

The site is obviously using XF but there are no forums visible - the site is basically using XF as a core with the content being presented by @Bob AMS add-on. The AMS system does create forums when a new item is added and this is what is used for any discussions; the AMS system also has a comments system that can be used.

This is almost all video snippets, with the series being a visual experience; there is still a lot to do but you can see where it's going.

Any and all comments would be appreciated.

Absolutely love that show and am glad to see that you have done this!

 

[jmurrayhead]

wow...I see so much potential to be able to do something like this.

 

[DieselMinded]

how is this any different than just doing a you tube channel ?

 

[Davyc]

how is this any different than just doing a you tube channel ?

Because there will more added that you cannot add to a YT channel - the potential is expansive rather than restrictive. It also illustrates that you can have a site built on a forum framework without having to engage with forums.

An example will be the cast bio's which will be individual articles on the various actors/actresses who contribute to the series. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. If I thought this was just going to be a YT channel clone I wouldn't have bothered.

Hope that explains.

 

[DieselMinded]

if you can operate separate of youtube i can see the advantage but your still majorly relying on youtube. i take it your the one uploading the videos do you have permission to share this content? If so why not host them locally and remove the dependance on you tube?

 

[Davyc]

No I am not uploading the content - these are 'official' BBC snippets which can be shared. If there is enough interest in the site I may expand the repertoire to include snippets that I create (with the relevant permissions, licences of course) which will not be available on YT and will only be available to registered members. If you look at the category menu you will see that there are categories that I have yet to fill (the site has only been active for less than a week ((to-date)) so there's plenty to do).



I've barely scratched the surface as to what can be done. Plus it's more visually appealing than a YT channel and easier to find what you are looking for (that's an opinion).

As with any new project you have to assess how popular it is going to be before investing too much time, money and effort. This is testing the water with a new idea, so I will have to see how well it is received over the next several months.

 

[DieselMinded]

good luck, maybe reach out to Mrs Brown's Boys and land an official designation in the future

 

[Mr Lucky]

how is this any different than just doing a you tube channel ?

Because there will more added that you cannot add to a YT channel...An example will be the cast bio's which will be individual articles

I agree totally, there is more scope than a mre YT channel. But if there won't be any threads, I can't see xenforo being the best platform compared with a CMS e.g. Wordpress. xenForo is not ideal IMO.

In order to create the bios you either need xenForo's pages (not very versatile, require html as opposed to visual editor) or you will need an article addon. A CMS would make this easy, elegant and more easily styleable.

if you can operate separate of youtube i can see the advantage but your still majorly relying on youtube. i take it your the one uploading the videos do you have permission to share this content?

See my post above asking about the videos. It is highly unlikely to ever get BBC permission to upload as opposed to embed unless there can be some kind of official BBC backing which I also think is unlikely but worth pursuing, after all it's free PR for them so who knows?