RE: [tdf-discuss] [libreoffice-website] [Forum] How will the forum be organized?

Hi Michael,

In general, I full hare your views.

> Your average end user will likely never search through mailing list threads, even if they
> contain exactly the information they are looking for. 

Exactly!

> A well presented forum running from a dedicated forum system such as vBulletin or phpBB
> provides the end user with interface familiarity and branding which
> builds trust in the brand and community.

A BB is much more user-friendly than a mail-list. 

The following features do not exist in a mail list at all:
1. Conduct precise searches (with search parameters).
2. Split the domain into hierarchical forums, which prevents a mixup of issues.
   This in turn avoids repeat discussion of the same topic endlessly.
3. It establishes credentials of any user so that a casual visitor instantly knows how much to 
trust him.
    (is he a SC member or any other office-holder? How many posts are to his credit?)
4. We can check out a particular user by looking at his posts (genuine helper or trouble-maker?)

On the other hand, please check if the selected tool has the facility to read/respond the posts 
while offline, and then do a rapid sync operation when the internet is available.

> As I understand it, Silverstripe is a long way behind all the major
> CMS systems in terms of 3rd party integration, but looking through the
> forums I have seen that there are a few people who have hacked
> Silverstripe in order to allow some basic functionality:
> http://www.silverstripe.org/archive/show/2593
>
> If we did provide a user forum, which I believe we should, using a
> dedicated forum system will provide far more functionality and
> usability, as well as regular security updates than we could ever hope
> to code and maintain ourselves without drawing on resources that could
> be used for development of LibreOffice.

And THAT in turn means we should be using a readymade plugin for Drupal, which will ensure 
availability of regular updates and well-tested security, as compared to home-grown hacks. Even if 
the solution is solid today, the same resources may not be available in future; or may lose 
interest in maintaining this project.
 
> What do others think? Is the forum support option important for trust
> building and familiarity? What system would we use?

Since vBulletin is commercial, we should opt for phpBB as Drupal plugin.

While I think the forum should be established, I am against setting it up for SilverStripe as well. 
The reason is simple: It will not be possible to migrate the threads from SilverStripe to Drupal. 
We should not waste efforts on two fronts.

I believe Drupal website should start functioning NOW on production-grade servers in some 
functional areas which do not need to be closely integrated with other functional areas. For 
example, BB does not need to be linked to any other area, where as all production-related areas are 
interrelated). Specifically, we need to think whether any hyperlinks will break later due to 
migration.

-Narayan
                                          
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