drastic
Well-known member
The common look of forums is majorly outdated, doesn't invite social shares, and needs a major overhaul with more attention and integration of media and ease of use.
I hope XF2 is more focused on content rich, easier to use, and shareable content like a blog (first post looks better) while having streamlined discussions under it like a forum usually does.
Look at the most popular social sites and how easy it is to post something, then compare that to the nightmare of surfing a forum. For the common user who spends more time on social media, why would they want to login, then click forums, then click on a node, then finally post something? They can post something on their own social media page in one click. This next generation coming up barely knows what a forum is and they'll be damned if they need to take 2-3 extra steps to post something. That's not what this crybaby millennial era was raised to do. We gotta hand them everything.
How can we make forums faster and easier to surf, while also making them look better and be more shareable? Social shares is important, but sharing a forum conversation isn't something I ever see on the many Facebook and twitter accounts I see. I literally don't think I've ever seen any of the thousands of users on any accounts share a forum post. They've shared tons of other sites though. How can we compete with those sites? They have great looking content and 900 comments under each piece. That could be our sites with tons of comments for each post. But what's preventing us from achieving that? Well, forums are ugly. No way around that. Sure there's nice styles, but the way the forum is presented, which often leaves a blank space in the center of ones screen, just needs to be rethought.
What about an option to get rid of nodes? Why not have one single node that's completely organized by prefixes only, with most popular content rising to the front, boring content pushed to the back, while letting the community dictate what content is best. List your prefixes in a navigation or sidebar and its already faster to navigate than a node list.
There's a lot of ways XF2 can be amazing, but if it simply looks like a forum and acts like a forum - then what's the point?
I hope XF 2 kills the concept of a forum and adapts the concept of a content rich, shareable, easy to use social network - something new and fresh that users will enjoy. Think outside the box and create something that hasn't been done before. Build a hybrid that's content rich and easy to use. It's already a rock solid option, but it needs a few tweaks and adjustments to meet the needs of the lazy people we cater to. You know, those people called surfers...ugh. Back in the day they would register for 100 forums like it's their job, but now its all social media and apps. We need to adapt to social trends on the web.
In all honesty, why does anyone chat on a forum when there's a Facebook group for just about everything and you don't have to go anywhere else when you're logged in. It's just too easy to do that now. I'm really struggling to get any of my Facebook people (12,000 of them) to register for my site. They will visit the link, then comment on it on Facebook. They won't even register to comment on the site. Holy ****, talk about lazy or not getting the point of why the forum is there. I had to buy posts on some crappy service just to show the users that YES you can chat on the site. But no, they digress and remain on Facebook because it's easier. They'll share and like content from the site too, they just won't sign up. Too hard for them, I guess.
How can we take some social concepts and create something better?
Can XF2 be the system that finally makes a Facebook killer?
I hope XF2 is more focused on content rich, easier to use, and shareable content like a blog (first post looks better) while having streamlined discussions under it like a forum usually does.
Look at the most popular social sites and how easy it is to post something, then compare that to the nightmare of surfing a forum. For the common user who spends more time on social media, why would they want to login, then click forums, then click on a node, then finally post something? They can post something on their own social media page in one click. This next generation coming up barely knows what a forum is and they'll be damned if they need to take 2-3 extra steps to post something. That's not what this crybaby millennial era was raised to do. We gotta hand them everything.
How can we make forums faster and easier to surf, while also making them look better and be more shareable? Social shares is important, but sharing a forum conversation isn't something I ever see on the many Facebook and twitter accounts I see. I literally don't think I've ever seen any of the thousands of users on any accounts share a forum post. They've shared tons of other sites though. How can we compete with those sites? They have great looking content and 900 comments under each piece. That could be our sites with tons of comments for each post. But what's preventing us from achieving that? Well, forums are ugly. No way around that. Sure there's nice styles, but the way the forum is presented, which often leaves a blank space in the center of ones screen, just needs to be rethought.
What about an option to get rid of nodes? Why not have one single node that's completely organized by prefixes only, with most popular content rising to the front, boring content pushed to the back, while letting the community dictate what content is best. List your prefixes in a navigation or sidebar and its already faster to navigate than a node list.
There's a lot of ways XF2 can be amazing, but if it simply looks like a forum and acts like a forum - then what's the point?
I hope XF 2 kills the concept of a forum and adapts the concept of a content rich, shareable, easy to use social network - something new and fresh that users will enjoy. Think outside the box and create something that hasn't been done before. Build a hybrid that's content rich and easy to use. It's already a rock solid option, but it needs a few tweaks and adjustments to meet the needs of the lazy people we cater to. You know, those people called surfers...ugh. Back in the day they would register for 100 forums like it's their job, but now its all social media and apps. We need to adapt to social trends on the web.
In all honesty, why does anyone chat on a forum when there's a Facebook group for just about everything and you don't have to go anywhere else when you're logged in. It's just too easy to do that now. I'm really struggling to get any of my Facebook people (12,000 of them) to register for my site. They will visit the link, then comment on it on Facebook. They won't even register to comment on the site. Holy ****, talk about lazy or not getting the point of why the forum is there. I had to buy posts on some crappy service just to show the users that YES you can chat on the site. But no, they digress and remain on Facebook because it's easier. They'll share and like content from the site too, they just won't sign up. Too hard for them, I guess.
How can we take some social concepts and create something better?
Can XF2 be the system that finally makes a Facebook killer?
