Forum:Proposal: Real forum

Wikia has offered to install a real forum (phpBB) at The Vault, instead of its current wiki-based one. The forum would, of course, be fully integrated with the Wikia accounts. What do you guys think? Does everyone agree, or is anyone in favor of keeping the current forum format? We could also keep the current wiki forum for polls, votes etc. about the wiki, since these work better in a wiki format, but for general discussions about the games etc. use the more user-friendly phpbb one. Ausir(talk) 23:55, November 10, 2010 (UTC)

Poll

 * Yes Ausir(talk) 00:42, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes I heartily endorse this idea. Wikia: your reputation with me has increased! :P -- 00:21, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes The Grammar Police
 * Yes Gothemasticator
 * Yes Agent c 00:48, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Nukey  ☢ talk
 * Yes Aequalitas
 * Yes Johnny Trash (Talk) 12:15, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes ---bleep196- 13:55, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes --Anon undefined 14:06, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes FinalWish 14:12, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Zhukov 14:13, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Knock yourselfs out, young padawans.
 * Yes I approve, and a big thank you to Wikia ! Itachou [~talk~] 01:09, November 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * GhostAvatar 16:41, November 12, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes If nothing else, it would eliminate the impossibility of trying to read a topic with 20 posts and no signing or line breaks --DragonJTSLeave me a message 13:11, November 13, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes veryblackravenTalk 07:13, November 17, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Sigpic small.jpg 19:23, November 17, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Matthew 15:28, November 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Jonathan Strange 16:53, November 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * Tezzla CannonUser Tezzla Dog.jpg 16:54, November 20, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Cincykidscott 21:10, November 27, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes I thought that Wikia wasn't enabling these anymore O_o Ajraddatz Talk 05:24, December 23, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes Ghouly89 (Talk) 08:53, December 23, 2010 (UTC)
 * Yes UserofMagnum

Discussion
I'm against this idea for a few reasons: If I'm mistaken about something, please let me know. The Grammar Police 00:33, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * In my opinion, the wiki-based forums make discussion easier, as you can write a response to a post directly beneath it instead of having to repost it five lines below.
 * The "real" forums I've seen typically have far longer page loading times than the wiki-based ones, which makes things far harder on users with slower internet connections.
 * The four-tildes signature means that the accounts are integrated if the user wishes them to be, which is, in my opinion, better than seperating everybody's comments into huge blocks that can make five sentences take ten minutes to read.
 * I wouldn't say they make discussions easier. They might for experienced users, but inexperienced users often delete the header template by mistake or write above it instead of below it, forget about the tildes, etc. I think it would be a good idea to keep the current forum format for polls, discussions etc. about the wiki itself, but I think it's best to move game discussions to a phpBB forum. Ausir(talk) 00:45, November 11, 2010 (UTC)

I like the real form idea. Less people typing over each other, no more accidentally forgetting to add the tilde's. I cant see any reason not to. Agent c 00:42, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'm with Ausir. Discussions about the wiki itself -- which often include text that is revised in light of discussion, and polls -- would do well to remain wiki-style. But, moving the game discussion forums to a phpbb format will bring some visual organization to them as well as bring some ease-of-use for less wiki-minded users.--Gothemasticator 00:51, November 11, 2010 (UTC)


 * So the entire wiki discussion section would retain the current system? Fair enough, I was worried that it would only be the polls. In that case, I change my stance to neutral. The Grammar Police 01:47, November 11, 2010 (UTC)

Out of curiosity has anyone seen an example of what this might look like in Wikia's mind? I take it by saying they've approached it's a new feature or perhaps in beta? I agree it could be less handy for experienced users but probably more welcoming for newer users. Perhaps they've taken into consideration good integration into Wikia for links and such (try to hold back your laughter at that possibility). Either way - good chance it will increase usage. --Aequalitas 02:34, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * No wiki markup integration for now, I'm afraid. Ausir(talk) 03:23, November 11, 2010 (UTC)

Sounds good. I think this will be great - I don't have any actual data to support this, but I think there is a large segment of The Vault editors who only really contribute on the forums, so anything that makes it easier for these wiki virgins to write clear, coherent forum posts is a good thing in my mind. Question - what will this do to edit counts? Will post-change forum posts be completely separate and therefore not show up on edit count lists? --Johnny Trash (Talk) 12:15, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * It will be separate. Ausir(talk) 13:36, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * Excellent --Johnny Trash (Talk) 14:14, November 11, 2010 (UTC)

I've tried a few phpBB forums, and I must say that they are far superior to the other "real" forums I've seen: they aren't quite as space consuming, and the pages load far faster. With those trepidations gone, the pros outweigh the cons, I can see how they would make discussions easier for most users. So long as the wiki discussion forum keeps the current system, I'm changing my vote to a yes.
 * One reason I heartily endorsed the idea is that I have some experience administering a phpBB forum, as well as using the software as a normal user, so I know it's good software for our purpose. -- 19:54, November 11, 2010 (UTC)

Anyway, how are we going to alert users to the change? I've noticed that many users and most Unregistereds don't bother reading the Community Messages. The Grammar Police 16:19, November 11, 2010 (UTC)
 * I'll post a news blog about it, post it in community corner, and for those who don't read these there will simply be a new link in the main navigation menu anyway. I also think we could have a general wiki feedback forum there too, for the convenience of newbie users who want to report problems etc. but with a sticky thread pointing to this forum as the one for official discussions about the wiki. Ausir(talk) 16:29, November 11, 2010 (UTC)

A standardized forum that is commonly used through out the internet is a very good idea, mainly for people new to the wiki idea and especially its mark up language. Adding phpBB forums is a good move for user compatibly in the general populus. I feel it will make most discussions more coherent and easier to follow the natural flow of that discussion. It should also open up a lot more discussion from new users who are unsure of themselves, instead of the same old people always commenting.

However I do have a concern on how wikia will change the core coding to suit there own needs (I do notice that they are offering a forum based open source software), which we have all seen with the new skin that there needs will always overrule our own.

As for splinting the discussion between here and a new forum, I am not so sure thats a good idea as it could cause confusion, especially to new users.

GhostAvatar 16:41, November 12, 2010 (UTC)

Well, I guess my overall stance is "neutral". "Real" forums do have the advantage of being easier to use for inexperienced people, but the lack of wiki markup support and the crappy look (see e.g. Halopedia's) are somewhat off-putting for me. -- Porter21 (talk) 00:48, November 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Actually, looks like we might be able to get wiki markup support as well. As for the look, can it be improved via CSS? Ausir(talk) 01:03, November 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * No idea. IIRC, skinning phpBB2-based forums is usually done by editing the relevant .tpl files (which requires server access); it doesn't have a tool for editing the skin online, and it doesn't seem like Wikia is importing any kind of customizable style sheet from the wiki. Of course, I'm going by Halopedia's forum here - is that what we would get or an improved version? -- Porter21 (talk) 16:34, November 19, 2010 (UTC)
 * Not sure about the details yet, I'm afraid. Ausir(talk)

I would only support this idea if Wikia allows for customization. - Ghouly89 (Talk) 08:53, December 23, 2010 (UTC)

Why don't we have the real forum on for 3 days and see if it's okay. Tezzla Cannon 19:02, December 24, 2010 (UTC)