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New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
Just wanted to point out an alternative to PunBB for standards-compliant web-forum, Lussumo Vanilla seems like a solid product. It’s licensed GNU GPL, which is cool, and the folks who make it seem very helpful. Don’t know how gracefully it handles a huge archive, but it is way easy to skin (everything is just handled by a CSS file).
After enduring years of Art School, mild mannered Owen Waring noticed some unusual changes… the constant bombardment of criticism, it seems, had altered his DNA. Half pixel pusher, half programmer, he had become…. THE BIZARTIST
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#2 2005-08-17 18:52:33
- Mary
- Sock Enthusiast
- Registered: 2004-06-27
- Posts: 6,236
Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
I saw this before.
I love minimal (I actually consider Pun to be “more than I would like”, design wise. !) because that often means its also highly functional as well as being easy to maintain.
Saw the website and thought, “Wow, I bet the forum looks nice.” Then I looked at it. Yuck. (Not colours, just how everything is laid out.) Its confusing not knowing what you’ve read, etc. I like the thread view though, nice and light.
Each to their own. :)
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Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
hmm too unorganised – it’s like they’ve thrown everything into one page
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Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
I rather thought the layout was refreshing. You can toggle the # of threads per page in prefs I believe, and it only defaults to show all threads on main page, the little select box to the left is for selecting categories.
Dunno, I like it, YMMV. There is definitely room for improvement, but it’s fairly new, not a mature 4.0 application like TextPattern ;)
After enduring years of Art School, mild mannered Owen Waring noticed some unusual changes… the constant bombardment of criticism, it seems, had altered his DNA. Half pixel pusher, half programmer, he had become…. THE BIZARTIST
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#5 2005-08-17 23:35:40
- Th4rg0r
- New Member
- Registered: 2005-01-31
- Posts: 8
Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
Favorite still simple machines, urm without the ugly default skin anyway.
Curiously, what does “standards compliant” forums has, over traditional ones? Easier to skin?
I like PunBB too for it’s minimalistic approach.
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Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
when I say “standards compliant” I mean it uses proper seperation of Content and Presentation, using CSS for layout and presentation.
The only tables you should see on a properly standards compliant site are ones with data that makes sense in a “columns with headers” type relationship. At least that’s my take…
The benefits of standards compliance are many, among them being the fact that changing the look and feel is easier, but separating the presentation from the content is also the first step in making the site work on many different devices and for people with disabilities.
To it’s credit, PunBB appears to be largely built with this in mind, but as Mary mentioned, it still feels ever so slightly more complex than it needs to be. That is largely a matter of opinion tho…
After enduring years of Art School, mild mannered Owen Waring noticed some unusual changes… the constant bombardment of criticism, it seems, had altered his DNA. Half pixel pusher, half programmer, he had become…. THE BIZARTIST
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#7 2005-08-18 01:27:41
- Th4rg0r
- New Member
- Registered: 2005-01-31
- Posts: 8
Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
Oh … ok, makes sense, much like an “engine” that just whips out answers, and a wrapper that beautifies the whole thing … hmmm. Much too like a well written program, with well defined objects that don’t do too much. Heh.
Urm, sorry, just thinking.
Th4r
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Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
Vanilla is really nice. If you want to go back to the categories listing, then there’s a page for that, also.
bludrop studios .::. Creative Expression
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Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
It seems quite counter-intuitive to not have categories be the main page. On first visit, you are just bombarded with too much information to read through.
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Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
Well (on the homepage) you get the recently updated categories.
I know I do, and I’m sure many other people click the “show updated topics” button at the top of the page when they get to the forum.
If you were going to the forum to look for something specific (such as a plugin here), then you would go to the plugin category). Also, I’m sure that you can make the categories page appear as your homepage.
bludrop studios .::. Creative Expression
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Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
Wow! This system is simply beautiful. Its actually very nice and well laid out. Its even more beautiful on the inside (when you <a href=“http://lussumo.com/community/signin.php”>sign-in</a>). Its perfect for discussiong things. They even have a nice <a href=“http://thefilebrowser.com/”>file-browser</a> which can be integrated. The layout is very intuitive and it took me little time to get used to it. Overall its a unique and nice way to present a discussion forum.
“Take a point, stretch it into a line, curl it into a circle, twist it into a sphere, and punch through the sphere.”
— Albert Einstein
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#12 2005-08-22 01:21:28
- Mary
- Sock Enthusiast
- Registered: 2004-06-27
- Posts: 6,236
Re: New Web Forum Software: Lussumo Vanilla
Well there you go. You’ve shamed me into registering it to look at it more in-depth. :) I still say it looks confusing to a non-registered person, but I’ll see what changes if you login.
Edit: Oh they’ve got a guest account to tryout, how nice. (I hate giving out my last name when its required for no obvious reason.)
Edit again: they need a better style, that would seriously change the perception. I love “bookmarks”, I am always wanting those.
Last edited by Mary (2005-08-22 01:28:27)
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