I admire the idea of bbpress … I really do. After several hours of work, I’ve finally got a forum up and running on my site. There is so much more work to be done to make it usable for my visitors, though, that I just don’t think I can do it. Every installation has been a struggle for me. I don’t know php. The config file took me an entire day to get right. Each and every plugin I installed required further tinkering.

Here’s a small example that represents my large frustration:

Allowed markup: a blockquote br code em strong ul ol li.

Put code in between backticks.

That’s not enough information for me. I can’t make that work. I’d have to read the forums, once again, to figure out what you mean. And I’m just too exhausted to do that, so I’m going to install another forum for now.

I’ll keep checking back to see the improvements that you make and, when you get everything worked out and as easy to use as WordPress, I’ll try again.

But, for now, installing bbpress requires too large a learning curve for me.

Good luck and carry on,

C.R. the Exhausted

[@trent Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

It can be daunting at first, but if you have the correct paths and database information in your config.php it really is a quick and easy install. There is a plugin for ‘quicktags’ that will put in a graphical buttons portion for those tags if you want to make that easier for visitors. It is currently working on the wordpress.org forums if you want to head over there and take a look.

Trent

[@fel64 Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

I’d have to read the forums, once again, to figure out what you mean.

Or you could just ask us here. A large part of these forums is just for help making it work. You’d be happier with bbPress in the long run.

The markup thing for example is quite simple; I struggled with it initially but a random guess worked out, and the quicktags certainly help. Any text between two backticks (on a European/English keyboard, the button just above tab) will be rendered as code. The ‘markup’ thing refers to HTML, so to make that work you do this:

<em> makes your text italic </em>

<br />
like so will create a single new line.

<ul> or <ol> will create a ‘list’ structure. Simply put <li> and </li> around each seperate list element. End the list by putting </ul> or </ol>.

To create links, you do this: <a href="www.example.com/linklocation">link text</a>.

[@wittmania Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

He does make a good point, though. Most people can’t/won’t figure out how to use html code in their posts. Heck, for many people who use my forum, the bbcode in phpbb was too difficult for them to figure out. It’s not that the people installing/administering BBP can’t figure out what they are doing (although his post does make me a little nervous about his ability to maintain a board), it’s the general public using the board that are likely to have trouble.

The quicktags are nice, but you still have to know a little about opening/closing tags (and what they all mean) in order to use them appropriately. This is one area that I think many plugins will address as BBP becomes more popular and stable.

[@fel64 Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

The nice thing is you don’t actually need any of that. People can still read your posts if you don’t.

But I know what you mean; a truly polished interface would be intuitively sensible. I’m not sure what you’re thinking of when you say a plugin to improve it beyond the Quicktags plugin? Obviously minor improvements are always possible, but can you think of a change to make it much easier?

That’s not rhetorical

[@ardentfrost Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

I think the point of bbpress is to allow ultimate customizability (same as wordpress). If you want all-in-one forums, then bbpress is certainly not for you because you’ll spend 3 years installing and writing plugins to get you to that point.

If you want a slim forum software that allows you to pick and choose what functions you want, then bbpress is really good. You don’t NEED to know php unless you want to add something specific for you.

And, of course, as bbpress grows so does its plugin list. Plugins is what makes bbpress particularly special because if, for instance, you don’t find private messages useful, then don’t install that plugin. The base software is just enough to have forums that are easily navigated and posted to. Everything else is up to you (and plugin creators)

[@fel64 Member 17 years, 9 months ago]

Damn right!

bbPress can’t toast your bagels, but a plugin for it sure could!