Design Most Difficult ACP?

[Cpvr]

Out of all the popular forum software out there, which one do you think has the most challenging Admin Control Panel to navigate?


Was it due to overwhelming options, a confusing layout, or something else entirely? Share your thoughts and stories—especially if you’ve had to overcome a tricky learning curve. It’ll be interesting to see how different platforms compare!

 

[Arantor]

I actually did a comparison of a few a bit back including screenshots (though I was focusing on permissions, which is usually one of the areas people do have most trouble navigating)

I don't really want to repost it here because it's quite lengthy, but https://admin-junkies.com/threads/forum-permissions.5456/ (don't even need to be logged in to see the previews of the screenshots)

 

[Cedric]

I actually did a comparison of a few a bit back including screenshots (though I was focusing on permissions, which is usually one of the areas people do have most trouble navigating)

I don't really want to repost it here because it's quite lengthy, but https://admin-junkies.com/threads/forum-permissions.5456/ (don't even need to be logged in to see the previews of the screenshots)

I remember that. Loved that post,

 

[Arantor]

I remember that. Loved that post,

I got bored of arguing with Tracy, but what's new?

But it really is fascinating just how the platforms differ on just the one area that you can reasonably infer they all have. It's almost the only feature set that they all do actually have, that and setting boards/tags/categories for how topics get grouped together, and even that isn't entirely consistent.

 

[Cedric]

Yeah they all have their own style.

I actually tried out the free forums ACP a few days ago. Proboards, Forumotion and Jcink. Out of the three Proboards was the worst. I don’t understand how people can build a forum on that.

 

[Arantor]

I don’t understand how people can build a forum on that.

Patiently.

 

[Cedric]

Patiently.

No, not even that. It’s absolute chaotic and not user friendly. It takes 100 clicks to do something, installing a theme often gives a 500 server error, but the install did go through. I ended up installing the same theme three times. Then there’s so much onlogical placement, it’s not even funny. Pair that with way too small icon, links and text. Like I said, I don’t understand how this platform got so popular.

 

[Cedric]

This is what I mean:

 

[Arantor]

It mostly reminds me of how things were in about 2008. Inertia covers a great many things.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I haven't used ProBoards since the very early days it came out. I'd hope the admin control panel has changed.

I found SMF to be difficult for a while. I think the admin panel could be organized a bit better. For example, why not put all settings in one tab rather than a settings page for each tab? But it's merely personal preference rather than the way it should be. Opinion.

But SMF was quick to get the hang of it.

vBulletin 6 has been a learning experience. Channel manager is how you add forums, and it can be tricky, too, but once you get it, it becomes a lot easier to manage.