MyBB Community Forums

There are 2 usual questions:
- People want to quote/reply ratings.
- People want a visitor page.

This way people can reply to rep comments and ratings, discuss a bit, have some fun. Post some greetings, etc.

Thus the absence of a "visitor page" would be solved in the best way.

2-in-1.

I think you need to flesh this concept out a bit ... your description is very confusing.

What's a visitor page?

He basically wants it like vBulletin, how you can post on peoples profiles and stuff. I don't like this , but there are plugins for this.

(2012-11-16, 01:32 AM)imtiax Wrote: [ -> ]He basically wants it like vBulletin, how you can post on peoples profiles and stuff. I don't like this , but there are plugins for this.

Different concept. You'd have something new, since rep points in MyBB are public (which I find good).

Often people want to reply to the person who gave them a rep comment.

This way a rep comment or rating would generate a convo and make the reputation page a guestbook.

(2012-11-16, 02:58 AM)Sector Wrote: [ -> ]Often people want to reply to the person who gave them a rep comment.

Is this true? How many places do we need conversations happening on a message board?

(2012-11-16, 03:18 AM)brad-t Wrote: [ -> ]

(2012-11-16, 02:58 AM)Sector Wrote: [ -> ]Often people want to reply to the person who gave them a rep comment.

Is this true?

...

(2012-11-16, 03:18 AM)brad-t Wrote: [ -> ]How many places do we need conversations happening on a message board?

"we"?

I think I see where you are going on this Sector. Imagine the scenario: I arrive at my favourite forum and I see that I have received a rep from someone. I might want to reply FROM the rep report saying hey, thanks for the rep, maybe even give a rep in return. That is something I can understand you wanting, though I personally would never use it (such a system might create squabbles) and really we can already do that, just in a slightly more clunky way. It might be neat to have the username link from MY rep report link straight back to the rep givers rep page ready to rep, but I am not sure if that is the "right" thing to do (clicking on username takes you to profile - that is expected behaviour).

However, I am not too sure about the guestbook being combined. I have a guestbook on my board, and I see it does get used but really it is "diffusing" the messages too much.

Right now, on a stock install, there are two ways to message - by writing in a forum or sending a pm. Adding a "guestbook" maybe makes sense for those users who do not want to be messaged, but if they don't want pms, maybe they dont want a guestbook either.

I think it is a fineline any admin needs to walk - user "wants" versus the good of the board. To be honest, I saw this line:

Sector Wrote:This way people can reply to rep comments and ratings, discuss a bit, have some fun. Post some greetings, etc.

and boggled a little bit. This is actually the "problem" in my opinion - "discuss a bit, have some fun" - surely that is the point of the forum?

What you may find is that once there are guestbooks and conversation PMs and all sorts of places that users can interact then the risk is that the main areas get less frequented with the possibility of cliques forming.

In short, as Brad said: How many places do we (MyBB) need conversations happening on a message board?

First of all, congratulations for being part of the staff now! Well deserved, you have been always one of the best regulars!

(2012-11-16, 12:23 PM)Leefish Wrote: [ -> ]

Sector Wrote:This way people can reply to rep comments and ratings, discuss a bit, have some fun. Post some greetings, etc.

and boggled a little bit. This is actually the "problem" in my opinion - "discuss a bit, have some fun" - surely that is the point of the forum?

What you may find is that once there are guestbooks and conversation PMs and all sorts of places that users can interact then the risk is that the main areas get less frequented with the possibility of cliques forming.

Well, you gotta point, it can deviate people from the forum, but in my point of view it would have a very efficient anti-offtopic effect. Off topic most of the times starts with personal remarks and exchange, have you thought of that?

Most users I've met are acquainted with VB which has an efficient guestbook (please forgive me for mentioning competition not too seldom) but it's a very ubiquitous and versatile software, and they have been asking for me to move, proposing even to fund, but I've been willing to stay with MyBB, because it has some advantages beyond being free: for an instance is easier for me to customize and by the way I prefer this scheme of reputation being public.

I used the aforementioned software a lot some years ago and the private reputation system was way too pernicious, that one yes, with cliques forming but in a distasteful way. As an administrator I often saw people backstabbing each others and making nasty gangs. On the other hand, I remember the visitor page (or guestbook, if you prefer) was very appealing and successful.

My experience tells me that a fusion between the "reputation.php" with a personal comments page would be a great asset, generating great dynamics among users.

I'm not talking out of the blue, that's why I decided to open this thread and make this suggestion. If I considered this to be a personal whim, I would simply offer some bucks to have someone doing it for me because I can do some programming, but it takes me too much time. I'm really confident it would be not only unique, it would be innovative. I can make you a photoshop mockup of how it would look like. =)

I do not expect suggestions to be accept just like that and I can live with it, it doesn't shakes the Earth's foundations. I saw potential in one thing and gave my 2 cents in the best possible way, sharing the idea.

I think any board that allows negative reputation is asking for trouble, in general. It promotes a negative atmosphere whenever anyone uses it. If someone's post sucks, you should post a reply explaining what's wrong with it. Respected members exist to establish the level of quality for the community – negative rep isn't necessary.

Positive rep, on the other hand, is a great way to show gratitude/appreciation without having to make an empty post of "thanks!"

Off-topic posts are not really a bad thing. I mean, I get that there's an aversion to them from a lot of admins, but this is something have to get over. Obviously if a thread has been off-topic for like 5 pages then yeah, there's an issue, but if a side-conversation happens ... why not? Your community is bonding. Emotional attachments are what will keep people coming back. Embrace it.

That said, splintering conversations off into many locations strikes me as not particularly advantageous. Reputation should be a one-way street, otherwise it ends up turning into the kind of clique behaviour that you're against.

This is just my opinion, and I'm not inherently against the idea of a "visitor wall", but I also don't really understand the appeal, either.