Doyce T. said:
I keep trying to install Dolphin on my domain, and it keeps exploding…
Got a link to what you’re trying to install? The only Dolphin “forum” thing I could find was https://www.boonex.com/, which is muy expensive.
author: Bill G.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6963665
The traditional forum-y options exist (e.g. phpBB). Depending on peoples’ access level (from work etc.) and interest, just going to one of the G+ replacements, like Pluspora, is an option. They should already have a mature framework for things like notifications, categorization of posts, search, and so on.
author: Bill G.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6963695
Hmmm. Curious how some of those will handle long-form writing. (Ahem.)
Hmmm. Not sure about *diaspora sites – there’s not really a Private Group structure there, I don’t think, and (at least on Pluspora) the search only looks for userids and tags. I don’t have a sense for how healthy its APIs are, but I know there are some weird gaps in its loving-hands-at-home approach to support and development. (And I say that as someone seriously looking at Pluspora as a new home after G+ goes dark).
I’ve got some problems with MeWe for personal use, but it’s got some features that would potentially work well here, esp. as it’s private group focused. It also includes a chat function, which could be handy. Doyce has done more with it than I have, I think.
I’ve supported phpBB on my own domain in the antediluvian past, and I’ve got access to setting up phpBB, SMF, MyBB, AEF, Vanilla, PunBB, XMB, FluxBB, Phorum, bbPress, ElkArte, FUDforum, miniBB, LayerBB, Carbon forum, my little forum, Beehive, TangoBB, and Unclassified Newsboard on my domain. I have no sense of which would be best (and all seem to be 4.5 stars inside of cPanel, which is tremendously helpful). If it would be helpful I’d be happy to play around with things, work up a desired feature list, see what seems to fit, whatever.
author: *** Dave H.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6964075
Mike said:
I know I didn’t see it mentioned above, but there is a PbtA games focusing on community that wasn’t mentioned: Legacy: Life Among the Ruins. Haven’t delved into it too much (I mostly bought it for the expansion Rhapsody of Blood because I needed more Castlevania in my life) but it might be something someone was looking for. Or it might be trash. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
There’s an interesting expansion book for legacy life amongst the ruins 2nd edition that set on a malfunctioning Generation ship.
author: Doyce T.
url: Community Forums: Future planning/musing | Roll20: Online virtual tabletop
I love the Generation Ship genre, even though things are often depressing and/or end poorly – or maybe that’s because the first one I read was Heinlein’s classic Orphans in the Sky.
author: *** Dave H.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6965210
Bill G. said:
Doyce T. said:
I keep trying to install Dolphin on my domain, and it keeps exploding…
Got a link to what you’re trying to install? The only Dolphin “forum” thing I could find was https://www.boonex.com/, which is
There’s a free version that gets packaged as an installable thing in cpanel stuff on some sites. But that keeps failing because it needs an older version of PHP than what my server is running and I am not interested in going backwards on that.
author: Doyce T.
url: Community Forums: Future planning/musing | Roll20: Online virtual tabletop
I found the free download, and there’s a Dockerfile that someone else produced. This should be easy enough for me to host. The question is, how much time should I commit on this particular software package, vs. other existing alternatives? How strongly do you guys believe in Dolphin?
author: Bill G.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6966175
Don’t worry about it right now.
author: Doyce T.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6966195
Okay, that’s good, because from what little I’ve worked with it so far, this software is a piece of shit. 
author: Bill G.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6966200
https://drawception.com/panel/drawing/0NzP3336/gangsta-dolphin-is-a-bada/
author: *** Dave H.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6966313
How does this look? https://try.discourse.org/
author: Bill G.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6966723
Bill G. said:
How does this look? https://try.discourse.org/
No paragraph alignment or header formatting.
Long format stuff works fine and feels readable. Handles drafts! (Interestingly enough, there’s a 20 character minimum to a post or comment.)
Image handling is kind of clumsy:
-- web links create links (not images)
-- uploads need manual (dimension) resizing.
-- no image alignment (like Roll20 did before it didn’t)
No horizontal lines.
Posts and Comments can be linked.
Posts and Comments can be bookmarked.
Posts and Comments can be liked.
Categories and Tags
Integrated search with lots of parameters.
Preformatted / code text wraps.
Paste of copied images into the editor (does an auto upload)
Supports animated gifs!
Not quite WYSIWYG, but a live panel.
Lots of notification options.
Emojis!
Overall, a richer environment that looks like it’s actually intended for the role, rather than being an add-on for an overall feature set. Some odd omissions and rough spots, but good step up from the Roll20 forum, IMO.
author: *** Dave H.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6966987
I spent 3 or 4 years as the admin for an masters program’s online campus. Dusted off a bit of that knowledge and put something together we can test out.
http://randomaverage.com/vanilla/
Register, I’ll approve, then try to break it, I guess?
author: Doyce T.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6967009
Doyce T. said:
Register, I’ll approve, then try to break it, I guess?
author: Bill G.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6967226
PRO
Attractive header.
CON
The Security Check is a bit overzealous.
author: *** Dave H.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6967263
Summer and Alycia are going to forever be Good Cop / Bad Cop. And I’m quite happy about that.
author: *** Dave H.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6967278
I spent 3 or 4 years as the admin for an masters program’s online campus.
Was this one of those for-profit schools that took all your money and then conveniently had a broken registration portal so that they didn’t have to provide any educational material? Because I’ve read about those.
(ducks)
author: *** Dave H.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6967284
Vanilla Forums are open-source, standards-compliant, customizable discussion forums. It is specially made to help small communities grow larger through SEO mojo, totally customizable social tools, and great user experience. Vanilla is also built with integration at the forefront, so it can seamlessly integrate with your existing website, blog, or custom-built application.
Here are just a few killer features Vanilla Forums have to offer.
- Rich User Experience
- Slick Administration Capabilities
- Limitless Add-ons
- Custom Themes
- Change Title of add custom logo with one-click
- Easily Import old Forum
- Vanilla API
- Social Connect
- Vanilla Mobile
- Vanilla Connect
- Banner
- File Upload
Quoth Cpanel/Softaculous.
So that’s promising.
author: *** Dave H.
url: Community Forums: Future planning/musing | Roll20: Online virtual tabletop
Let me get to a computer and change the registration process. I wasn’t using the cap shit registration the last time I used the software and clearly I set it up wrong in the 10 minutes I had last night
author: Doyce T.
url: https://app.roll20.net/forum/permalink/6967869
