General Do you tend to join/avoid sites that use a certain forum software?

[fdk]

Effort matters, but there’s a limit to how much DIY should be required. Take MyBB as an example: it still lacks a built-in alerts system and a proper mobile interface. These are fundamental features that should be included by default, not something the forum owner has to implement themselves.

I don't quite agree on one aspect - the alerts system. Alerts systems were never originally needed for forums - forums were exactly the kind of place alerts weren't needed, as at least when I was younger, forums were supposed to be something dipped in and out of - you discussed only the things that interested you, and you went back to posts you'd made frequently to check if anyone had replied to you - alerts just weren't envisioned as a core feature needed.

Granted, it's absolutely possible that MyBB could've moved with the times and implemented systems similar to what XenForo and vBulletin have, but at the same time, I like the fact that MyBB has retained a lot of it's "core values" as much - which is that forums are meant to be relatively simple places. Sometimes I think members appreciate a break from a forum/social media/website or whatever it might be that is constantly demanding their attention by notification.

 

[Arantor]

you discussed only the things that interested you, and you went back to posts you'd made frequently to check if anyone had replied to you

On an even modestly-busy forum this can be a chore to find the thread(s) you were previously in, unless you had a way to get back to them directly...

alerts just weren't envisioned as a core feature needed.

With the exception that nearly all the old school forums implement email alerts, for that exact reason: so you had a way to get back to them directly.

The move to having an in-app alerts system came partially because that's what social media did but more significantly because email providers started treating such notifications as spam because they're all very similar (and few systems ever bothered implementing reply-by-email which would have been infinitely more convenient in many cases while also solving the spam problem)

Granted, it's absolutely possible that MyBB could've moved with the times and implemented systems similar to what XenForo and vBulletin have, but at the same time,

It's had 15 years to implement this off the back of just XF. It's also had slightly longer to get a mobile-friendly theme in the core (given that the iPhone debuted in 2007). There is a very real danger of it being just left behind entirely.

 

[fdk]

On an even modestly-busy forum this can be a chore to find the thread(s) you were previously in, unless you had a way to get back to them directly...


With the exception that nearly all the old school forums implement email alerts, for that exact reason: so you had a way to get back to them directly.

The move to having an in-app alerts system came partially because that's what social media did but more significantly because email providers started treating such notifications as spam because they're all very similar (and few systems ever bothered implementing reply-by-email which would have been infinitely more convenient in many cases while also solving the spam problem)


It's had 15 years to implement this off the back of just XF. It's also had slightly longer to get a mobile-friendly theme in the core (given that the iPhone debuted in 2007). There is a very real danger of it being just left behind entirely.

Back when I first started using forums, it seemed a pretty commonplace method for people to find threads they had previously participated in was simply to go to their posts and find the thread from there. Absolutely it took slightly more time, but that was what forums were back then.

I completely take on your point about the email alerts - however for me this was something I never personally used and I know plenty of people who never used that feature and never would. But I do understand the point behind email providers beginning to mark such emails as spam, and that's one factor that I definitely didn't consider.

Yes it's had 15 years to implement a notification system and I'm guessing from the fact that they haven't done so that they didn't feel it was necessary previously. As I said, I certainly don't feel it's a "necessary" addition for a forum - useful sure, but not a deal-breaker, at least for me. Your point about the mobile-friendly themes is a completely different one, and one I agree with 100% actually. That's one thing I'm happy to bash MyBB about. The lack of development in the mobile area has been really disappointing, especially considering it's been quite clear to most for years that mobile is the way people are browsing the internet moving forward into the future.

 

[Arantor]

I'm guessing from the fact that they haven't done so that they didn't feel it was necessary previously.

Given the lack of other major features actually being shipped, I strongly doubt this is the reason.