Is the forum module going to continue to be developed so that it has
the features which SMF, phpbb, etc have?
For example:
- moderation tools like lock, move, and sticky threads
- split threads into pages (with navagation links at the bottom)
- pruning tools (deleting threads by date and/or unreplied threads)
- user post-count
- a good bbcode editor which allows lots of styling and uploaded attachments
- tracking interesting threads (not just ones you've posted to)
- personal messaging system
Basically, are there plans to develop it into a 'traditional' forum module,
At the moment it reminds me of the old featureless cgi forum scripts
from ten years ago. Although I'm trying to give up the idea of having a
traditional website in Drupal, I'm finding it hard to imagine not having a
'proper' forum.
Cheers.
Comments
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http://groups.drupal.org/drubb
the drupal forum module is extended like every other module in Drupal, with other modules.
you already have the ability for sticky threads in Drupal core, expand your publishing options menu
there is already two options for messaging systems in the downloads area privatemessage.module and messenger.module
as far as editors are concerned, there are a plethora of editors to choose from already in the downloads area.
want to track others posts ? investigate the views.module and build the proper query, same with post counts.
without people rolling up their sleeves and actually coding features, it moves at the rate necessitated by others.
WIll it every reach SMF or PHPBB ? doubt it, Drupal isn't forum centric. If you want a forum script you alreayd have SMF and PHPBB
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My posts & comments are usually dripping with sarcasm.
If you ask nicely I'll give you a towel : )
monolithic forums
Yep. Unlike the other standalone forum apps that are monolithic and just do forums, Drupal is a reusable modular CMS. Forum posts are a type of content, and get extended the same way all the other content types get extended. The base forum module provides the base forum functionality. Other functionality comes from other modules that may or may not only apply to forum posts.
Yep, and I think Drupal core takes care of the locking (if thats what disabling comments is) and moving threads as well.
Only a small part of the asked for functionality sounds forum specific aside from the fact that it is functionality that is typically available in a forum specific application. So in Drupal design terms it really isn't up to the forum module to implement that functionality - rather the job of general purpose addon modules.
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Anton
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Thanks for your reply >
Thanks for your reply
> Drupal isn't forum centric
And that is still very difficult for me to get a grasp of. I like the idea of multi-blogs, groups and wiki pages having more prominence than is usual, but I still can't imagine a website without a proper forum as a central 'meeting place' for users, so they can find out what's happening in the other parts of the site.
In the context of a school website, I can't understand how the students are going to easily find information and discussions intended for their class/groupwork without visiting a forum. I imagine, for instance, that Year 8 might be asked by their science teacher to add to a revision wiki page or 'book' on 'forces and motion'. So they'd log-in and... I can't think how Drupal would manage this.
I know DrupalEd has this thing whereby teachers invite students into groups, or students subscribe to groups, but for me that is going too far - it is too much work for the teacher to try to round up all the students who are supposed to participate in a particular group/book/wiki.
In my mind the students would go to the Y8 forum, where there would be a post linking to where the wiki page has been created, and instructions for the project. Whilst Drupal enables the students the opportunity to conduct the discussions and presentations outside of a forum environment, a good forum system would still be a crucial and central part of the website.
Anyway, thanks for the drubb link. Looks like it won't be finished until Drupal 6.x or 7.x though.
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won't be 6, it's feature frozen.
if you really wanted a full fledged forum script it can be integreated into Drupal. There are a few these days, FUDforum, SMF, PHPBB these are available in the downloads area.
Essentially integrated in this case means sign ons are bridged. you'd have 2 profile systems (unless Drupal's is shut off) 2 search systems so on so forth.
_____________________________________________________________________
My posts & comments are usually dripping with sarcasm.
If you ask nicely I'll give you a towel : )
Not forum centric
Drupal is a content management system, not a forum with some extras. There are plenty of sites made with Drupal that don't need forums. Not all websites have communities. Putting a full featured forum into core would be a waste for people who don't need a forum. Drupal's way is to provide the functionality in modules which you can add to get the functionality you need.
Michelle
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