[wp-forums] The future of the forums

Wed Jan 24 07:51:53 GMT 2007

Oh, well, OK then,

That narrow fixed-width layout: aaaaaaaaargh!

More and more people have high-res screens, and wide screens. Might be nice
to let them use some of that width if they want to. 

The de facto standard forum layout people are used to from tools like phpBB
isn't just a standard because that's how it comes out of the (metaphorical)
box - it's good use of screen space, degrades well in smaller window sizes,
and provides clear breaks between sections. Nice to drill down through
clearly described sections and subsections to find what you're looking for.
And to have a search that works reasonably well.

Even navigation tools like breadcrumbs would be friendlier.

I've been on the WordPress embedded (WPG2 etc)[1] forums a lot lately,
looking for information, and even for a techie like me, they're much more
approachable and easy to use than the current WP forums. I suspect this is
less of a limitation of the software[2] than the particular implementation
and design on the WP forums.

[1] http://www.galleryembedded.com/forums/index.php
[2] *That* discussion has met with very negative responses in the past

Les Bessant les at lcb.me.uk
Losing it[1] - http://lcb.me.uk
My flickr pictures - http://flickr.com/photos/lesbessant/

> -----Original Message-----
> From: wp-forums-bounces at lists.automattic.com [mailto:wp-forums-
> bounces at lists.automattic.com] On Behalf Of Kaf Oseo
> Sent: 24 January 2007 06:57
> To: wp-forums at lists.automattic.com
> Subject: Re: [wp-forums] The future of the forums
> 
> A few points I wanted to make apart from my little list:
> 
> Whatever we do should be aimed at improving how the forums are used,
> and can be put to use. Keep in mind we need to serve admins, mods AND
> members in this. We can come up with something that does wonders for
> support time but makes life miserable for people just trying to get a
> WordPress installation running right.
> 
> Feel free to think big. The solution may have to be far more extensive
> and far-reaching (and harder to implement!) than we may be expecting.
> The curve way down the road can be just as important as the turn we're
> thinking about making right now.
> 
> Finally, this is a chance for *us* to brainstorm. We (sadly!) are not
> the final arbiter of what happens on the forums. Keep that in mind.
> 
> -Kaf
> 
> P.S. No solution is full-proof, nor permanent.
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