Re: Board Alternatives -- Comments and Voting

[Beebs52]

I'll go anywhere but some of the bells and whistles here are fun.

[Beebs52]

Where did my signature go? It went so well with the pic of Artie the Psycho Kitten.

[MarleysGh0st]

Is there some problem with the Search feature here? Or some trick to using it I don't know? Nothing I try returns any results.

[TheCalvinator24]

Is there some problem with the Search feature here? Or some trick to using it I don't know? Nothing I try returns any results.

I was able to get search results from a Subject, but not the body of a post.

[TheConfessor]

Is there some problem with the Search feature here? Or some trick to using it I don't know? Nothing I try returns any results.

I was able to get search results from a Subject, but not the body of a post.

Search works great at this board:
http://www.grandslamshow.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=4
There are lots of options for and/or logic that help customize the search.

[Bob Juch]

Is there some problem with the Search feature here? Or some trick to using it I don't know? Nothing I try returns any results.

It does seem that you can't search the text of a message.

I'll look into that when I can.

[Beebs52]

I never search anything anyway, so I don't care about that. I'm really liking the avatar stuff. I'm easily amused. I know.

[TheCalvinator24]

I've applied to the Motley Fool board. I hope I have what it takes to make the cut.

[TheCalvinator24]

Whoa, does the Motley Fool really only let you see messages from the past 365 days? Archiving won't be avaialble if that's true.

[TheConfessor]

In case anyone cares, I have enabled avatars at the other WWTBAM board at:
http://www.grandslamshow.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=4

It was originally set up with the default settings, which apparently had avatars disabled. It's not a big deal to me either way, but I guess some people like having avatars.

That board has essentially the same capabilities as this one, except that it has fully functional search. It's set up as a single forum, without all the sub-categories that are on this board.

[MarleysGh0st]

In case anyone cares, I have enabled avatars at the other WWTBAM board.

Hmmm. So why have you chosen E.T. as your avatar, Confessor? Can't find a good portrait of your historical namesake?

[MarleysGh0st]

I'm still trying to get a sense of who's paying for this board, and I suspect that's a concern for other BBs, too. Megabb.com seems to link to forumotion.com, which provides a lot of information about setting up free forums, but they don't say how they do that--or who they are. It's nice to see messages without any banner ads or other advertising garbage, but TANSTAAFL. Bob or somebody, can you enlighten us?

This quesiton may apply to the Grand Slam board, too. Perhaps Ogi is paying to host that web site and is just using the same open source message board software, or perhaps that URL is just another redirection to this same mysterious site.

Enquiring minds want to know!

[Bob Juch]

I'm still trying to get a sense of who's paying for this board, and I suspect that's a concern for other BBs, too. Megabb.com seems to link to forumotion.com, which provides a lot of information about setting up free forums, but they don't say how they do that--or who they are. It's nice to see messages without any banner ads or other advertising garbage, but TAANSTAFL. Bob or somebody, can you enlighten us?

This question may apply to the Grand Slam board, too. Perhaps Ogi is paying to host that web site and is just using the same open source message board software, or perhaps that URL is just another redirection to this same mysterious site.

Enquiring minds want to know!

As best as I can tell, they provide this site so that people will license the software that drives it. There are no restrictions and no criteria for saying, "OK, you've had your free use, now go and buy it."

Yeah, I know that's a bit strange.

Here's a site that uses the same software to host over 45,000 forums, all for free:
http://www.informe.com/index.html

[MarleysGh0st]

As best as I can tell, they provide this site so that people will license the software that drives it. There are no restrictions and no criteria for saying, "OK, you've had your free use, now go and buy it."

Yeah, I know that's a bit strange.

The software is open source, so what is there to pay to license? Shouldn't there be a company somewhere to be identified a link somewhere, with contact information, a real address, etc?

And have you read their TOS? Doesn't sound like English (or even legalese English) is their first language.

Just trying to penetrate the smoke and mirrors...

[Bob Juch]

As best as I can tell, they provide this site so that people will license the software that drives it. There are no restrictions and no criteria for saying, "OK, you've had your free use, now go and buy it."

Yeah, I know that's a bit strange.

The software is open source, so what is there to pay to license? Shouldn't there be a company somewhere to be identified a link somewhere, with contact information, a real address, etc?

And have you read their TOS? Doesn't sound like English (or even legalese English) is their first language.

Just trying to penetrate the smoke and mirrors...

No, their first language is French.

Looking into this further, it appears that the software is totally free and so is the hosting - on several different servers.

I have no idea how they cover the considerable cost.

[tlynn]

[quote="MarleysGh0st"]

In case anyone cares, I have enabled avatars at the other WWTBAM board.

SOME people just like sparkly things.


t.

[Bob Juch]

SOME people just like sparkly things.

t.

How's your weather today? Raining?

[tlynn]

Yup - rainy and cool. Liking it...gotta get the warmer clothes out now.


t.

[SportsFan68]

I'm still trying to get a sense of who's paying for this board, and I suspect that's a concern for other BBs, too.

I'm OK with this, Marley. Some ads may start showing up, but I'm OK with that.

Or maybe at some point they'll offer something somebody wants that's not free. I'm OK with that too.

[SportsFan68]

Yup - rainy and cool. Liking it...gotta get the warmer clothes out now.


t.

Same here -- love that rain. Warmer clothes have been out for a couple weeks.

[Bob Juch]

I'm OK with this, Marley. Some ads may start showing up, but I'm OK with that.

Or maybe at some point they'll offer something somebody wants that's not free. I'm OK with that too.

Nope, no ads ever. I know it sounds too good to be true.

[DevilKitty100]

Ok, I'm tossing my hat into this ring. Not a perfect world but it's ok.

I also like the goofy icons. And the avatars.

Am I correct that we must see a complete thread though, no single messages list from various threads?

[Bob Juch]

Ok, I'm tossing my hat into this ring. Not a perfect world but it's ok.

I also like the goofy icons. And the avatars.

Am I correct that we must see a complete thread though, no single messages list from various threads?

Yes, you're correct, but it's easy to jump to your unread messages. (See the first topic.)

Your avatar is so wrong!

[TheConfessor]

Looking into this further, it appears that the software is totally free and so is the hosting - on several different servers.

I have no idea how they cover the considerable cost.

Here's a Wikipedia article about phpBB. I'm not sure if it answers any key questions or just raises new ones. It's still not clear who's paying for all these free message boards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhpBB

[MarleysGh0st]

Here's a Wikipedia article about phpBB. I'm not sure if it answers any key questions or just raises new ones. It's still not clear who's paying for all these free message boards.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhpBB

Thanks, Ed. PhpBB is certainly a nice software package. Still curious about our mystery benefactor here.

Is it the same situation for the Grand Slam board (being hosted on a generic "free board" site) or is Ogi the official registrant of the URL and sponsor of the site?

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