Last night I fiddled a bit with the forum module and drupal.org's forum module in particular. I started off by reorganizing the forum structure to better address the needs of our growing community and to make sure the forums are well-balanced. Secondary objectives were to make the forums' design as user-friendly as possible and to make drupal.org's forums a better showcase: that is, to illustrate how forum containers can be used to create nested forums and to convince people that Drupal forums can be themed to look more like phpBB or vBulletin forums.
The changes were implemented on a local copy of the drupal.org database but screenshots and additional details can be found at http://buytaert.net/temporary/drupal-forum/. I'd like to proceed and port these changes to drupal.org but would like to solicit some feedback first. I'm looking for concrete suggestions and am interested to know whether the proposed structure fits your needs, be it as a Drupal developer, a Drupal user or as a Drupal prospect. It is my impression that we are slowly moving away from the mailing lists to the forums and the bug tracker, so this should be the start of an interesting exercise.
Comments
Just to double-check: the vis
Just to double-check: the visual improvements the changing of the colour bars to be consistent for all subcategories. (It's the only difference I could see).
It's a massive improvement.
As far as forum name selections go, I don't quite understand what "Feasability Questions" are. It is meant to suggest questions like, "Should I use Drupal for my own site?"
-- Irwin
Feasibility questions
The feasability questions-forum would be mainly for 'Drupal prospects' and would host 'Can Drupal do this?'-style questions. It is for people wondering if Drupal is suitable for the kind of site they plan to setup. Feel free to suggest a better name (or structure) as this should be clear by its name. Possible alternatives: feature questions, suitability questions, pre install questions.
can drupal do this?
Why not call it like that:
Can Drupal do this? It might not look very professional, but it covers the subject.
Another option would be Case Studies.
Ber
Colors: yes :)
Since I have implemented my own forum theme function to make the forum frontpage be colored the way it looks on your enhanced screenshot, I would very much support it being the default.
I also second the point that the title of the 'feasability questions' topic is not clear. I would reintroduce the descriptions, since it helps much in finding the right forum...
BTW useabilitiwise I think that the containers (General, Support, Development) should not be links since are not to contain topics themselfs and only lead to a reduced view of the very same structure with nothing more detailed on the page... It is just pointless to click on these, and therefore I think the legitimity of those links is questionable...
Some more..
Ok with the suggestions above, but you'd also want to make
"Jump to..." line stand out less. Currently the fontsize of [forum topic name] and [jump to...] are the same (it was not the same in previous version).
I'd suggest to use CSS to change [jump to...] link color to gray (but keep the bold)
BTW - does the forum overview still supports the forum descriptions (even if we do not use them on drupal.org)?
Added new screenshot
I added a fourth screenshot at the bottom of http://buytaert.net/temporary/drupal-forum/. I incorporated your suggestions. I also made the container titles stand out less as per Goba's suggestion (they are still links though). Btw, I never use(d) the 'Jump to' links.
Does the forum overview still supports the forum descriptions even if we do not use them on drupal.org?
Yes, they are still supported. I left them out because I found it easier to understand the forum structure without them: no need to scroll or read anything but the forum names.
Screenshot 4
All in all, I love the improvements. Coupla observations, tho.
I don't know that the toned-down 'jump to' links are the best idea. They're a bit hard for me to see, and I (personally) prefer links to all be presented with a common visual cue.
Perhaps you could do something like:
Forum Title (not a link)
view all | view latest | view ?? (what's the difference between most recent and first new, anyway?)
And in place of feasibility, I'd suggest 'pre-installation' or 'drupal features'
p
Grey Titles Not Visible
I believe that the forum title is better as a "blue" colour (more like Revision 1). The grey text on grey background does not make the forum title stand out as a heading.
Thank you,
-- Irwin
Suggestions
- Reorder the forums in 'support' a bit. I suggest: Install, Usage, Upgrade, Feasibility. This would (IMO) put the most used forum at the top. What exactly is feasibility for by the way...?
- Forum descriptions are still a good idea I think. Maybe not as long and verbose as we have now, but e.g.:
News and announcements - "General news and announcements for the Drupal community at large."
- Changing the colors of the forum containers like you did is much better. Losing the alternating-row coloring for the main front is not bad for your suggested structure, but I'd definitely keep it for regular lists. Also, we should take care that regular, non-containered forums still look okay.
- The splitting of the support forums sort of serves as a first-step in a support wizard: "what problem are you having?". We can exploit this and provide quick links to FAQs, a couple of relevant book pages, etc. at the top.
In my experience (I moderate a support forum elsewhere ;) ), people repeatedly need to be reminded (and in flashing, red, bold letters) that maybe their question has been asked before. Putting something like this at the top of the first forum page handily places it near the 'create new topic' link: some newbies seem to have the amazing ability to completely ignore everything except that link/button and its immediate surroundings.
Against all logic in, people will be much more eager to spend time typing up their issue and waiting for an answer, rather than finding existing answers.
Comments
Overall - much improved!
Suggestions:
1) Drop the "jump to" links or make them more subtle.. perhaps tiny icons? It's a lot of clutter for a savings of 1 click. They also don't seem overly useful [to me] since I don't get to see a subject of the message I'm about to read - just assume I'm interested based on category? Would this be true for many users (generally, on any site)?
2) Bring back descriptions. They're nice.. but just a lot less text than there currently is. This, again, is a personal preference. For example, the 'Feasability Questions' could have a simple subtext 'is Drupal right for you?' and it would clear up all of this confusion. Can be very handy.. but the current descriptions here are a little lengthy.
However, nice changes.
Usage Group with Module forums
Here's an observation from a newbee - It would be useful to have a Discussion group on Drupal Usage with forum for each module that included in the standard Drupal distribution. Perhaps you could have a sandbox discussion forum for everything that's not included in the standard release. As a member of the user community, I'd really find that helpful as I'm working on understanding how specific modules can help me to develop a robust site.
Thx,
Mac
Module/Template Forum
Having a forum for each Module/Template has been discussed a few times, but it's been decided that with so many Module/Template being available, creating a forum for each one would be impractical.
Instead, it has been suggested that a future version of the Projects module will provide a discussion feature for each Module/Template.
------------------------------------------
Drupal Specialists: Consulting, Development & Training
Robert Castelo, CTO
Code Positive
London, United Kingdom
----
Update 1: changes in CVS
I made a couple more changes to enhance the contrast of the container titles and committed my changes to CVS. You have the sources now so feel free to contribute more improvements. For example, the Chameleon theme(s) could do with some forum-specific CSS.
Also, something is telling me we should fiddle with the Xtemplate theme's color scheme a bit: a slightly larger and more colorful palette might have been handy in this particular case.
I'll update drupal.org's forum structure shortly. Re-categorizing 5.000 forum topics will be tedious as there is no convenient way to do so ...
PS: one forum that looks really nice (IMO) is http://www.pmachine.com/forum/.
A different forum module?
PS: one forum that looks really nice (IMO) is http://www.pmachine.com/forum/.
That forum does indeed look really nice. Is it possible for drupal forums to be configured that way?
More generally, the functionality of the forum module seems rather lacking. As I see it it is not rreally a forum in the sense that most internet users would see it. Rather it is a posting with a load of comments attached to it (eg. more like a slashdot article, or a normal drupal document)
It also seems to lack features such as quoting, user post history, etc. which would all be nice. However, I haven't been looking at this for long so I could be wrong in that assumption.
So if this forum module can't do all this, maybe it can be made to. Or maybe there is another module I haven't come across that will. Or maybe not...
Anyway, just a few thought from someone considering the use of drupal who is after some full-featured forums... which probably means that I've posted this in the wrong forum, under the new re-organisation... if only the forum supported cross-posting... ;-)
--
Artemis Studios | Artemis Agency
Role-based Forums
The main issue I have with the forum module is that you can't assign a user role to a forum in order to have some forums with restricted access or restricted posting. But I think you're right its basically a slightly reconfigured node and comments system, not really a forum in the traditional sense, which is misleading.
Update 2: drupal.org forums updated
I updated the forum module on drupal.org and made some structural changes to the forums. I'm going to re-categorize the existing forum topics though bear with me as it will take a few days to complete (I can only work on it periodically). It is a work in progress.
PS: I'm not 100% happy yet with how the forum are themed but it is getting better step by step.
color
that "newest topic, active topic" link color bites with the others. colors, esp. link colors, should be consistent. please don't add new ones. it took a while to get those we have.
I concur...
with ax - consistent is good. granted, it's easy to hack the stylesheet, but still...
Fixed the colors
I removed the new color.
How about the drupal.org specific links in the 'support container'?
color and links
not sure about that red, neither. isn't there a graphic designer out there? at least it catches attention ;)
the links should be a little more verbose, like "Try these places before posting questions". i wouldn't link "submit a bug report" and "submit a feature request", as people do this too often already without having tried to find the answer themselves. instead, links to the mailing lists search (devel, support) should be added.
and probably a link to "how to use this site: how to search, how to use the issue tracker, the forums, the mailing lists". and this page be created. thank you ;)
Support Container
I think I'd go with either blue or white for those links, since those are the two link colors used sitewide. I'm leaning towards white, so they'll pop a bit more.
Question: does 'active topic' mean 'most active topic'?
Also, if it's possible to customize the sub-head on each Topic page, I'd repeat the support suggestions there.
Again - the forums are looking fantastic! Keep up the great work, and thanks for being so receptive to everyone's feedback...
missing discussion threads?
Hi Dries,
I had a conversation topic dissapear on me. Is that due to 'the work in progress', or is it a problem with the conversion? Just curious.
Thanks,
Mac
Moving topics
I have been moving forum topics. Sorry for the inconvenience.
Code Changes?
Hi,
What code changes are necessary for making your forums look like this --> http://www.buytaert.net/temporary/drupal-forum-new-theme-2.jpg
I would really like to be able to change the container color to whatever I would like, but I have no idea where to start.
Can someone help me out with this?
Thanks, th3gh05t
I'd like to do the same on my
I'd like to do the same on my forum but how do you use teh forum containers?
Or how do you do it?
http://your.drupal.site/admin/system/modules/forum :
Forums are threaded discussions based on the taxonomy system so you must first create a taxonomy of type "forum" to place the forum tree in. Then add terms-add to this taxonomy. Each term becomes the name of a forum. If you define a term as a "Container" (See below) the term is not a forum itself, but rather holds forms. This lets you group your forums.
thanks it works
thanks it works
Has Anyone Imported Data From PHPBB2?
Hello,
Has anyone yet imported data from PHPBB2? I would start to use the drupal forums simply to get everything under 1 login if only I could keep my 250 posts. I know it's not many but it is a lot of work to import them manually but not enough to warrent writing an import script. If anyone has had any experience please let me know.
Best regards,
Brett
Clean look is good
I like it. It's a great improvement. I would dare to simplify it even more: the gray section bar (General, Support, Development) seems more prominent than necessary; it could be eliminated, or reduced to an underline. I should point out, however, that I am partial to a very plain layout for forum listing and message display. My ideal would be the forums of openacs.org (the old version was better than the new, but close enough). I say, eliminate the message boxes; do away with threading altogether.
Threading within a thread is not conducive to growing a coherent, informative, and reusable thread. Without threading people reference the context better and refer to one another by name, creating a fluid and very readable discussion. It makes for better posting, really. The forums of http://infogettable.net are exactly what I'm talking about (the old ACS). Anyway, drupal forums are a lot cleaner than most. Kudos to the team.
Installing an efficient and excellent forum system
I'm a Drupal supporter and fan, and I decided to use Drupal for my site and haven't stopped, but I would really like to suggest we simply drop the forum module and propose to webmasters to use the really excellent "phpBB" forum system at: www.phpbb.com
It was really easy to install and it uses my single Drupal database without a problem; in fact the installation script offered me the option of using an already existing database!
- All the configuration you need can be done on line with this system (there's a bit of code editing only if you add special contribution modules);
- To add languages, you simply dump the small language pack in the appropriate folder;
- and so on.
Sincerely, I propose to the Drupal developer community to let go of the forum module and focus on the rest of Drupal. At best, a bit of adaptation could be done to make phpBB appear within a Drupal site, but webmasters would simply be invited to download phpBB.
Michael Lessard
webmaster of Siriel-Media - world citizens sharing news about "policies of mass destruction" (crimes against humanity, crimes of war and violent policies against civilian populations)
Michael Lessard
webmaster of Quebec City "democracy in action" media
It is funny to read recommend
It is funny to read recommendations on what to develop from a person who has not exactly a huge contribution record.
--
Drupal services
My Drupal services
I don't really see why you mu
I don't really see why you must be an active developer to suggest things that you think you would improve drupal. Ideas from the people actually using the system should be welcomed by developers.
That said, I hope drupal stays with a leaner module (like the one we have).
Well, you probably don't have
Well, you probably don't have to be a developer but it sure helps to impress other developers with the profoundness and viability of your ideas.
Of course, they have been great contributions to the project by non-coders, but those were also rather people who did something instead of talking what should be done.
--
Drupal services
My Drupal services
Not a development recommendation
I don't see this as a development reccommendation, per se. He's addressed it to webmasters. This is a recognition that, for quite some time now, the forum is one area where drupal users aren't getting a set of tools equivalent to what they get if they choose another php/MySQL-based CMS or forum package. In most areas, they get just as much or more.
It's a drastic suggestion, and certainly not one I intend to follow. But I do think the fact that people who would like to use Drupal but are not finding it adequate for sites in this one area, so much so that they'd be willing to forgo the tight integration between modules that is clearly one of Drupal's greatest strength, shows a widespread desire to see more features in forum.module than it currently has.
Remarks like the above only go the further the perception that Drupal is a by-developers-for-developers community where only coders, not system administrators, webmasters, graphic artists or writers are welcome, and that the needs and desires of those who want to use Drupal but are unable to code for it are ignored and belittled. This is generally not the case, but oftentimes people will forget ten times as many friendly answers to requests for help, support and features, but remember the one curt reply, especially on a public forum where hasty words can be preserved indefinitely.
If that were the reality of the Drupal community, and not merely a perception, then Drupal would have achieved the growing user base it has more or less by accident. I choose to believe that is not the case. However, I do believe that as long as some feature requests from non-coders continue to get treated to the "if you want it, you develop it", and "if you want to be listened to, develop code" responses, there will be certain limits placed on what could potentially be far more widespread use of Drupal. I have not seen many replies like that, but I have seen more in the past few months than I remember from two years ago when I began examining and using Drupal.
Just to conclude-- I am not defending or supporting dropping forum.module for phpBB or advocating integration of phpBB into Drupal. I'm just acknowledging that the existence of the suggestion itself illustrates a desire for similar features in Drupal's forum.module that are no less legitimate just because they come from a non-coder.
phpBB
I won't stop you, or anyone else, from integrating phpBB with Drupal (or vica versa) but I, for one, am determined to improve Drupal's forum module. I won't replace it with phpBB.
Your arguments have nothing to do with the forum's functionality but with the installation process - something that is bound to be worse when you integrate both packages.
Maybe we should start a feature request to track forum module improvements?
Forums permissions
I've been using phpbb for a number of sites, and have only created three Drupal sites, but I agree that if possible the built-in integration would be much easier for maintaining the consistent look and feel. I don't even like the postnuke and phpbb combination very much in terms of keeping them both maintained. I like phpbb in it's stand-alone mode and find it a powerful tool, just kind of homely and can be difficult to adapt and customize.
My perspective is any forum system has to have the ability for forums and their content to be 'hidden & private' and for selected role or group login's only. I have a new site that I'm stuck on unless I can make specific download areas and forums show up selectively according to group/role permissions which I gather I can't do with any built in or currently available modules. (if there is any work-around until these types of group permissions are included I'd love to be pointed to where I can learn more). -GZ
There is one
It's possible to comment on so many different things and in so many different ways in Drupal. That, combined with the recent trend to take sites that can barely support a single message board because of size (not referring to drupal.org here) and and make categorized forums, is leading to a lot of fragmented discussions.
The old forum_link module was a step towards trying to offer some re-integration of those comments, but I tried it and it just confused users.
What is really needed is the ability for comments to be made on nodes, as Drupal has, but for those nodes and comments to be able to be viewed in a forum-like way. For an example, see the news and forum on subnova.com. In Drupal this could theoretically be implemented by making all promoted nodes with comment privileges on as forum topics, regardless of node type.
At any rate, back to my original point, which is that a forum thread already migrated over to a cvs forum module feature request, here:
http://drupal.org/node/view/5830
It does not include the installation-related issues mentioned in this thread, but perhaps those are better addressed to the threads elsewhere on an automated Drupal installation system.
OT: The search features of the project module are excellent; it's something I've always wanted for the site in general in terms of limiting search results by taxonomy. It's always been a pain that although I could assign a half-dozen terms to any node type across several different vocabularies, I could never do anything more useful with them than click on a single term and see a list of nodes.
What about seeing all nodes that share two or more terms, or all nodes except one or more terms, or searching for an index keyword in combination with one or more taxonomy filters?
Project module seems to do exactly this. Can some of this be brought over to the taxonomy system as a whole, similar to what I imagine taxonomy_search.module was originally intended to do?
new forum structure
this is very important for attracting new drupal prospects - add a third category under 'General' called "drupal showcase" where developers/site owners announce recent site launches/redesigns and requests for aesthetic feedback. works very well for postnuke. the dynamic list of drupal sites is very dull since it doesn't highlight new sites or encourage interaction between developers/owners...
-eric
eric shannon
ceo, latpro, inc
the essential job board for Hispanic professionals
'Drupal showcase' forum created
I just created a 'Drupal showcase' forum. Feel free to kick it off.
showcase
Thanks consider it done!
eric shannon
ceo, latpro, inc
http://www.latpro.com
the essential job board for Hispanic professionals
The most annoying forum limitation
is the fact that a URL typed into a comment is not automatically linked so that the reader can click it. look at the drupal showcase forum where only two of the five sites mentioned managed to make their link clickable.
Next, I would add the ability to quote (which I have already contributed through moshe w.) and pushbuttons for bold and italics, etc.
You've made great improvements on the drupal forum, nice work!!
-eric
Where Can I Download This?
Hello,
I like the drupal system so much that I am scrapping my phpBB installation (leaving it up for reference only) and using drupals forum module.
I would like to download this update. Can anyone tell me where I can get it?
Best regards,
Brett
<a href="http://www.mrphp.com.au">Mr PHP :: We Make Code</a>If we are indeed being more f
If we are indeed being more forum oriented then we really need to address the problem of moderators. I cant see how the forum module can scale if it's not possible to appoint moderators to specific forums, or just 'the forums', it's too much work for one person in many circumstances once you reach critical mass....
As for the visual improvements, game on! ;-)
Nick
Forum Improvements
Two yen's worth: I think the way the forum and all the modules for that matter integrate with each other is fascinating, being a very new Drupal user. I like the fact that Dries does not want to integrate other OSS forums such as phpBB into the system, and think that would be very messy (having seen it in other CMSs). If some module needs improved, it would be great if the programmers of the community can do so, while sticking to the base spirit of Drupal. The consistency of concept is what makes Drupal great.
Rick Cogley :: rick.cogley@esolia.co.jp
Tokyo, Japan
Is This Site Using Drupal?
Hi, is this site using Drupal?
http://www.lulu.com (look the forums under the community section)
if so, it seems they've got phpBB well integrated into their system. I've registered as a user and automatically was included in the forums.
I know it's better to keep everything in one place, I mean Drupal for the whole CMS and forums, but there are some webmasters and users already used to phpBB forums, so the ability to being able to integrate would be nice.
Best regards!
Alexis Bellido - Ventanazul web solutions
phpBB is not a forum, it's a site
If we try to integrate things like phpBB, then that means that all of phpBB's non-forum features (such as email notification, user profiles, private messages) will not be available to the rest of the Drupal site.
On the other hand, the drupal equivalent is forum.module + notify.module/subscription.module + private_msg.module + profile.module. This works just as well and will integrate with everything else, not just the forum.
By the way, as far as I can tell, that Lulu site does not use Drupal at all.
--
If you have a problem, please search before posting a question.
Actually, it is using Drupal.
Actually, it is using Drupal. Just take a closer look and you'll find 'node/view/x'-style links.
Is there a doc somewhere that describes how to do this?
Would be good to know how you have done it and point to examples where there are private or restricted forums next to public ones. Realize that this is somewhat tricky, but a screenshot and a url should do the trick.
--
Mike Gifford, OpenConcept Consulting
Free Software for Social Change -> http://www.openconcept.ca
Forum/Term Privacy by Role
One of the features which I think is extremely important for any forum is the ability to have sections which only certain users can see based on their role (moderators, admins, etc).
Anyone who runs a large forum with a lot of users is going to have an internal section for staff discussion.
We had planned on looking into how to do this as part of our upcoming rollout, but it would be nice if this could be included in this project.
Does the node_privacy_byrole work for forums?
I MUST have this feature before I can use DRUPAL or Civicspace in my project(s).
I've used the PostNuke/PHPBB combination before and it worked pretty well, although I had a lot of trouble synchronizing the themes/skins between the
two systems.
Does the node_privacy_byrole module be configured to perform this function in the Drupal/Civicspace forum system?
Charlie
I'm puting up a NPO site
I'm puting up a NPO site based on drupal, and also liked to implememt this feature for internal discussions on iniciatives and etc ...
Does this module do the job?
regards
How about adding post bits,
How about adding post bits, emoticons and an add comment beside the Preview button.
Another badly worded post byu IBU.
www.ibunique.com - skins, hacks, graphics (for invision only currently, soon adding vBulletin content).
Forum CVS-version not working
I installed the CVS-version of forum.module (just copied it over the old one) but now my forum doesn't work anymore (page is blank) ... any ideas???
I'd really like to have the new look&feel.
phpBB notification
I've created a new module that adds support for phpBB style notification. I'm waiting for a cvs account to upload it.
It's name is comment_notify, stay alert!
Private and/or Public
If we could just have the option to select a forum to be Private or Public based on role... that would be the single most improved area within forums.
This is close to the issue of role_by_privacy module... where it should just be core.... not an add on. I suppose the real issue is people who use Drupal tend to be more public display of info and do not leverage drupal as an intranet for business or organizations. Hopefully Drupal will embrace this market and consider the changes to be critical from a PR perspective.
Drupal will miss the mark if this is not addressed.
David McIntosh
neofactor.com
Clean look, notifications, and a slick search box.
Well since we are on a Forum roll here. Here are my must have forum options...
For a clean look I like Sony's implementation on this site....
http://www.sonymediasoftware.com/forums/default.asp
I'll admit, a small description area in the categories would make things more general purpose, but when it comes to the actual postings it's nice and refreshing that the posters don't have avatars and preset signatures that are half a page long. Makes reading through the topic at hand much quicker and easier.
Second, the option of being notified when a topic is posted to. That's just about a deal breaker. Sometimes you just don't visit a forum very often and in those cases it's really nice to automaticly be informed if there is an update to the topic you posted to.
And Third, the search box in the vBulletin forums just tickle me pink everytime I get a chance to use one. http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/
Try it out. If someone could program this kind of feature into the Drupal forums I'd probably just.... ... hyper ventilate or something. At the very least, it should cause people to flock in droves toward using Drupal.
Really and truley though the vBulletin forum software is what I would call best of the best. If we pick a role model, vBulletin should be our role model ... in my opinion.
JBJones
P.S. 4th, I definitely like the idea of having Private and Public forums based on ones privelages.
Transition from vBulletin (or phpBB)
I'm trying to transition a user base from vBulletin to Drupal. Here are some comments on the process so far:
- Threads can get *very* long at 200+ posts quite often. Obviously these need to be split into multiple pages. However, under comment settings I'm selected to split pages at 30 comments but its very buggy. It splits the pages, but all links to comments past the first page (e.g. in 'recent comments' block or the redirect page when someone enters a new comment) don't go there, as they all just go to the first page. This must be fixed as its very important.
- In comments, people want their signature to work like in phpBB or vB. That is, if they have a signature and they choose to include it (using a tick box for each individual comment) then its added dynamically when a comment is loaded and isn't put into the comments box when they type one in. The current functionality also means that quote.module is less than optional. Again, whilst this may sound like small fish to some, to my site's users its crucial. Its very annoying to have your signature's text appear in the comments box when you type it.
You can see some user suggestions and my current progress at: http://www.ninten.com/node/7?from=30&comments_per_page=30
Comments and Signatures
I agree with jakeg, as my forum community which we migrated from phpBB are missing the links to the latest postings they are so used to.
I've modified the comment.module as indicated here and the problem is now fixed. I believe we won't see the problem carried through in 4.7.
I also second the suggestion to have the signature inclusion separately from the comment box. I wish I know enough of php to help out.
I made a large (but by no
I made a large (but by no means exaustive) list of things lacking in Drupal's forum compared to vB/phpBB/iB/etc here:
http://drupal.org/node/30161
I know there's some links in there on the links to comments beyond page 1 bug. And a lot of others too. :)
One thing that's changed since I put that list together, there's a new module out that gives a signature feature more like what you describe.
http://drupal.org/node/38829
http://drupal.org/node/38830
I'm currently working on a module that should help out all vbb (and the like) users - it's almost ready for it's second beta test, I'll keep you all informed if you're interested in it