Lack of interest New node type: channel

[karll]

This is probably a "XF 2" kind of feature, since I believe it would require some work. And it doesn't have to be implemented exactly like described here, this is just an idea. The point is to enable members on different XF boards to talk together. (I suppose other forum softwares could join in too, if they supported the exchange format). I envision it could work similar to Usenet or FidoNet in some ways.

A channel has a relatively short description such as "PHP", "MySQL", "sci-fi", "barefoot", maybe analogous to Twitter hashtags. In appearance a channel node looks similar to a forum node. An XF board can then create a channel node which means it subscribes to that channel, which again means it will synchronize the threads within it with other boards that are subscribed to the same channel (probably using some kind of distributed web service).

In the configuration it should be possible to set the retention time for the threads in the channel node, since presumably there could be a lot of threads, and not all of them might interest the local users. There should be a separate setting for the retention time of threads where local users have posted. One of the options should be "forever". It should also be possible to configure how often and when the synchronization job should run. I envision this as a distributed network with no central node, so I guess each board has to be able to both "receive" and "broadcast".

(This is a slightly more distilled and concrete idea than my previous thread about a "Xenforo Network".)

Thank you for your time reading this. Now, let the nay-saying begin

Edited to add:
It might be a good idea if only threads where local users had posted got indexed by search engines. And it might make sense if users could choose whether or not they wanted to see each of the channels.

 

[Digital Doctor]

That's a lot of duplicate content.
Why would one forum want to see posts from another forum ? Is it a sister site ?

Overall: is the benefit of this setup to gain traffic ?

 

[dieketzer]

That's a lot of duplicate content.
Why would one forum want to see posts from another forum ? Is it a sister site ?

Overall: is the benefit of this setup to gain traffic ?

i used to import an rss feed of a rival forum so we could mock OP

 

[karll]

That's a lot of duplicate content.
Why would one forum want to see posts from another forum ? Is it a sister site ?

Overall: is the benefit of this setup to gain traffic ?

Thank you for your thoughts!

Yes, it's duplicated, but so do/did Usenet servers etc. And if no one replies to it on your board, it will be thrown away at the end of the retention period.

The post/threads might come from a sister site, and it might come from some random other forum.

One of the benefits of this setup for the boards involved is to gain traffic. And it can be a way for new boards to draw people in and get their members to start posting. The board will look busier than with just the content from the local members.

For the members, their posts and threads in the channels will have a much greater reach. If enough boards participate in a channel, it can perhaps rival social media.

At the same time, the other parts of the board provide a sense of community. So it's the best of all worlds, hopefully.

 

[karll]

I've had some further thoughts:

• Moderation: Each board will be responsible for the posts by their own members. In addition, it's possible to locally edit or remove posts from other boards. (When broadcast further to other boards, these moderator actions are included, so the other boards can choose whether or not to apply them, either wholesale or one-by-one.) If a board is identified by other boards as too permissive of spam or trolls etc. then they can choose to block / filter out posts from that board.
  
• Feed sources: Each board will have a primary and secondary etc. source of the feed for a particular channel. Each source will publish metadata such as their update frequency, which boards are blocked. Info from other boards about that source is also available, such as how many boards have blocked it. It's possible to configure a source so that its moderator actions against external members are propagated as well.

I realize my suggestion is a bit on the revolutionary side as it changes the way forums work and probably also the dynamic between members. However, the Internet forum world is ripe for big changes, and this is exactly the kind of thing we need now!