Text 4818, 86 rader
Skriven 2006-07-25 21:10:00 av Robert E Starr JR (5315.babylon5)
Ärende: Re: Why has this group no
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 * * * This message was from Neil B to rec.arts.sf.tv.babylon5.m * * *  
         * * * and has been forwarded to you by Lord Time * * *         
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@REPLY: <ea579h$8h4$1@dent.deepthot.org>
Jay Denebeim wrote:
> In article <1153557987.533672.233620@h48g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
>  <jonfrain@hotmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> I'm just curious as to why the moderators and JMS have chosen to
>> remain here and not move to more modern means such as Web based
>> forums.  Is it purely for nostalgia?
> 
> Excuse me?  Web based forums suck rocks.  First off they're slow,
> second they are not nearly as easy to navigate, third they are much
> more ephemeral data will be eventually lost, fourth they are usually
> not useable by lynx which makes them inaccessable to blind people,
> fifth they are not robust take out one site and the web board goes
> away.

I'm a bit bemused by the wholesale dissing of web forums here... perhaps 
my idea of a web forum differs from everyone else's..? If so, ignore the 
next few paragraphs! (BTW none of which is to say that I think RASTB5M 
*should* switch to a web forum, but I just have to counter some of the 
responses!)

I'll go with the accessibility issue, it's almost a dead cert, although 
I don't honestly know for sure. Robustness must also be taken into 
account, but server down-time should be a rare and easily remedied 
problem (this board has had its fair share of missing posts etc., I 
would hardly call this place 'robust' some of the time either).

Slow? Not in my experience, but granted for forums with hundreds or 
thousands of messages a day, you have to put some decent horsepower 
behind them to make them run smoothly. Not really an issue for RASTB5M. 
Any half-decent server would handle RASTB5M without even getting short 
of breath.

Not as easy to navigate? Erm, eh? Someone earlier in the thread seemed 
to think that threaded web-forums didn't exist... again, unless my idea 
of a web forum is dramatically off-base, threaded forums are the norm. 
Hierarchical conversations, new post alerts, etc. all make navigation a 
breeze.

Data will eventually be lost? How so? It exists as long as the server is 
archived, as well as on the hard drive of anyone who wants to subscribe 
to it on a message-by-message basis.

Now having talked about some of the cons, let's consider the pro's:

1. Ease of use. A lot of people have said that web forums are clunky, 
slow, and difficult to use. I can only theories that they don't go to 
the same 20-or-so places I frequent on a daily basis. Modern web-forums 
are slick and many of them offer a lot of customisability.

2. Uniformity. Formatting and posting styles tend to converge when 
everyone uses the same UI. Quoted text and spoiler-obfuscating tools 
only add to the appeal.

3. Moderation tools. A thread was 'verbally locked' only last week, but 
people still kept right on posting. That wouldn't happen on a web forum 
- once it's locked, it's locked.  Mods can also create stickies with 
often-asked-for information (FAQs, news on JMS projects & cons, etc.) 
which will always be front-and-center as long as needed.

4. Powerful archiving and searching. Want to find all posts by a user? 
Block all posts by a user? Find a thread you want to review? Bookmark 
old threads as favourites? Find that JMS quote? I certainly can't do 
most of that in Thunderbird, I have to go to Google; and being a web 
front-end on a USENET archive, Google Groups IS slow and clunky.

5. RSS integration. Effectively recreates the USENET 'feel' if you 
really want it, and a rock-solid standard which you can subscribe to 
from a whole bunch of applications.

6. Accessibility. I don't have to have a Thunderbird set up, configured, 
and customised just the way I like it. The web forum retains my 
preferences and they follow me around.

Yep, it's fair to say I like my web forums.

Neil B
                                                            
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