new thread
Don't you plan to move on to another type of board? (Invision Power Board, phpbb, etc.) This type of board I think that limits the participation of the members because you will have to remember in which threads you have participated..or to search up and down until you find it... :-/
And one more reason because the content is about hair...it's not possible for most people IMHO to spend some time just to post something about hair.
I a new member, I don't want to offend anyone, you are doing a great job, but I believe it could be better with another type of board :-)
Grigoris
The reason we use this format is explained in our FAQ.
Here is the link.
http://www.mlhh.org/forumformat.html
Kevin
Thanks Kevin and could of save me a job!
Hi there,
Well this topic has come up before and there are a couple of thread options created as links the top of the board. For someone that has posted here for many years it's fine by me and not to everyones taste. But perhaps that's why is makes out board destictive rather than alot of those "samey" looking forums.
Just my shillings worth!
Cheers,
John.B
Well for all my opinions worth I like the way this board operates as its simple to use,isn't cluttered with a lot of fluff,and the majority of its members are really nice people.Heck I've even met quite a few board members since joining here.Sure this is a men's longhair board but that's what I'm here for.Of course after being a member here for some time its cool to go off topic to learn what other longhair guys do in their real lives.This is such a fine community and its survived the test of time.Long live the MLHH!!
Mark
Even though I lurk a lot more often than I post, I feel like I know people more personally than I would at some random generic forum.
I've been thinking about this as well, as many features are not very comfortable or not present at all.
I came to the conclusion that the way this board is makes it different from all others and it makes the community 'closer'. One reason for this could be that the users have to actively scroll through the page (and maybe the archive) in order to use it. A big difference is also that users cannot just browse another users postings and pictures, he has to wait for new posts in order to get new information.
There have been many other longhair groups on yahoo, myspace, flickr and other places but many of them have become pornographic or became inactive or even disappeared.
So, I think this board should remain the same, probably with a few improvements (for example, the link 'other posts' should not only be based on the IP-address but also consider the name or e-mail of the posting user - I've seen this because I have been travelling during the past 2.5 weeks and 'other posts' never showed any other posts of myself).
--Tom
(n/t)
The software has been driving me nuts for years, but it seems like most people want to keep it the way it is, for whatever reason. It did start out as a commercial piece of software once, but has been modified a lot I believe.
*Not me. I like it just the way it is.
This type of board I think that limits the participation of the members because you will have to remember in which threads you have participated..or to search up and down until you find it... :-/
*You think. You think. But do you know?
*If you say so, I guess.
*Well, if we are doing a great job and its good enough for everyone else, then guess we will never have need for another type board. And by the way, I an old member. :-)
I would take Justins word for it he remembers the board back
when it was chiseled in stone.
LOL
Kevin
-----------------------------------------
Thanks for your concern, but this board works just fine as is. The board software has been optimized to work better than it originally did, thanks to a great tech crew who have tirelessly volunteered their time to do many improvements over the years. This board has been very successful. The proof of this is that this is the largest discussion board devoted to men's long hair on the world wide web. (that I am aware of)
Scott
I recommend Yahoo Groups, if you move. You won't have to pay your web host anymore.
If I could say my oppinion...there is not need to move. And the other boards (the new style boards) isn't so hard to cope with them and they have looots of features that would made the life all of us a whole lot much more easier. This board does not have to be deleted. It could be just closed and remain as the "old board" or something like that.
p.s.: I am just share with you all (who respect) my ideas and thoughts, because I own an Invision Power Board (theme is about reptiles) and only I have to say is if someone never try the new, he will never know what he is missing. Progress never ends :-)
When I first came here, I thought the same. Right now I'm used to this system.
But there are two options I miss:
Login: right now you've gotta type you're screenname and email over and over again.
Edit your post: When you've made a typo or you want to change something it isn't possible.
Those are good points, I use the autofill feature of my browser to fill in the user name and e mail. as for editing posts well what's a typo here and theere.
(grin)
Kevin
Viperalus:
Last time I used the autofill feature was more than 10 years ago. The autofill feature is used by other programs as well (trojans/worms) to stole your details AND passwords. And today with computer we are doing lots of things...that many of them are sensitive data that we would never wanted to go to "other hands".
I actually agree, but only for a few reasons. There's the login issue that's already been mentioned (typing the name over and over again is a pain at times especially since I have to clear my cache often so it doesn't remember it) and then there's the looking at past topics and threads. D: The search optionhere kind of stinks.
Beyond that its fine though, nothing too major. XD
I will agree that there are some features that would be nice, like a means to keep threads that are being posted to near the top (although the thread view helps with this, at least to an extent). And this is a relatively minor nuisance for me, so no great loss.
On the other hand, the feature that allows uploads of pics from your own computer is very handy. I'd very much like to have that on other boards I belong to, which are more along the styles you mentioned.
However the main point is that the majority of the regular users are satisfied enough with the way it works now, so we go with the flow.
I have to say - 'here we go again' - a newcomer wanting to change things.
I have posted here for 7 years now and it works well with a committed group who run it and get little public thanks for their trouble.
Leave well alone please.
I work in the IT Industry, and have quite a bit of experience with different message boards, community development, etc.
This board is nice, in the fact that is simple and easy to use.
However, it's very easy (especially with all the open source options available), to implement something that is still very simple, full featured, allows user avatars, uploaded pictures from your PC (as well as outside links to other hosting sources such as Flickr and Photobucket), HTML tags, BBCode, user registration, private messaging, (message editing!) and countless other options.
Sometimes, change is good, sometimes, it's bad. MySQL and PHP are great tools, and a redesign in this case, could work wonders.
I greatly respect those who contribute their time freely - but sometimes, in positions of power (even non-paid ones) - you must think of what's best for your users.
If anyone is interested, I'd be glad to help redesign and do a demo with a new package, etc. I could have something for you by this weekend.
Just my 3 cents.
~Zach
As you can see from peoples opinions below, it's probably a case of "if it aint broke, don't fix it". This board has worked perfectly since I have been participating here (over 2 years now). So there's no need to change it. It's simplicity is nice too because this site is one of the only sites I go on across the whole web that I have known to work PERMANENTLY.
Neil
This question seems to emerge every now and then...
As a professional system administrator I would simply say theres good reasons for not going with the newest and shiniest just because its the newest and shiniest...
I pretty much like the board for all the reasons you (indirectly) dislike it - no plugins required (therefore truly platform independent), no membership required, no advertisments, no browser compatibility issues and as a result of all this it doesnt consume your entire bandwith or indeed require a super high spec machine to open it! In short I think its one of the best sites around, simple and functional - thats all you need!
Mogh