phpBB woes

[LA-MJ]

What's with the read threads and 'first unread post' features? They consistently fail forcing me to manually 'mark topics read' or hunt down previous pages for the first unread.

Considering those two things are THE features that make a forum forum, it is EXTREMELY ANNOYING.

I'm haven't done a formal investigation but it seems some/all of the following are bugs:
1) Visiting threads in 'announcements' from another subforum will not mark them as read thereafter, even if you visited them again from the proper subforum afterwards.
2) 2-page threads always consider 1st page read when opened and first unread post to be on the 2nd page
3) renamed threads always send you to the last page? or is that only renamed 'announcements' threads?
4) [add yours]
...

Solutions:
1) Remove 'announcement' threads. Add navigation links where appropriate and maintain the blog for actual release announcements.
2) Don't rename release threads but create new ones. There is no actual use having threads with 100+ pages. Additional strain on the DB by the way.
3.1) Upgrade phpBB
3.2) Submit bug reports
....
3.42) Ditch phpBB if all else fails. Why do we even need to open a thread to see the 'first unread post' link anyway?

I confess I am not much of a forum guy any more so I have no idea if those issues plague all phpBB setups. Anyway, one other non-custom forum setup I'm visiting these days is the Manjaro linux forum. Looks way more professional and functional. I haven't actually heard about Simple machines forum-soft before but it might be worth checking it out.

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Thanks for taking the time to read my rant.

[plykkegaard]

Announcements is never marked read in phpbb, otherwise they wouldn't be announcements
New posts, unanswered posts (links from board index) and thread watching (email) works like a charm, I never use unread posts
phpbb 3.* is the latest release
No bugs to report it's working as designed/intended

phpbb is one of the best if not the best free forum as of today, ease of administration and useabillity considered

[LA-MJ]

No bugs to report it's working as designed/intended <...> I never use unread posts

Well the design is poor and you can't actually comment on what you don't use.

Announcements is never marked read in phpbb, otherwise they wouldn't be announcements

Except they are just glorified topics and should work like them. Actually they do work properly if you visit them from the 'right' subforum. Argument invalid.

New posts, unanswered posts (links from board index) <...> works like a charm

Care to make a screenshot of what you mean exactly by those two?

thread watching (email) works like a charm,

Too much spam already.

phpbb 3.* is the latest release.

that's why there are options 3.2 & 3.42

phpbb is one of the best if not the best free forum as of today, ease of administration and useabillity considered

That's just your opinion. I should probably made it clearer but this thread was not an invitation for opinion as my mind is set. That might seem silly, I know, let me explain:

I hate being inconvenienced. I've been diligently suffering this bullcrap for 1.5 years now and I've already passed the point of keeping silent My point was to let everyone know those issues do exist. They are not some weird irreproducable glitches so you are not imagining things: we're all in the same boat. I also want other people to add anything else annoying with phpBB I've missed.

Second reason for this topic is to gather any links to other forums people are using that might be better than phpBB. I know I/we don't actually decide things but it's my way of at least doing something so I wouldn't have to deal with this shift in, say, 2017. Who knows maybe scul? actually reads this and finds some better forum software that is to his taste.

[plykkegaard]

Alternative forums then? You won't find them
The server is running php/Apache on a Linux box

I've used, modded, administered phpbb for a decade and I've also tested some of the best alternative webforums
When it comes down to ease of maintenance/cost of ownership you won't find any better

EDIT: vBulletin is the only forum I know of which is better but unfortunately it's commercial software
$250 for a simple version or $400 with mobile support
http://www.vbulletin.com/en/purchases

[plykkegaard]

Care to make a screenshot of what you mean exactly by those two?

Board index or "Home" in upper left corner
http://www.promods.net/

Red links just below date/time

Unanswered posts
http://www.promods.net/search.php?search_id=unanswered

New posts
http://www.promods.net/search.php?search_id=newposts

[LA-MJ]

Hmz, thanks, perhaps those will make things a bit more manageable.

I wonder how those work exactly. E. g. I see unread posts includes subfora I never even visit. New posts don't.
Unanswered is obvious though

[ScuL]

I always click on the little orange icon in front of thread title, it always takes me to the first unread post.
If you are having problems with threads being marked unread when they are, it helps to press the "mark all as read" link on the forum index (of course after you have read everything and caught up).

This function clears the user's unread threads "cache" and if there was any hiccup it will then be gone.

Regarding upgrades, I have not been able to upgrade just yet. This is a custom forum (with the def generator etc.) and so it will take some time (which I do not have at the moment)

[Aussie Trucker]

I also want other people to add anything else annoying with phpBB I've missed.

phpBB has just as many flaws as any free software and it's all a case of what you get used to and are willing to put up with. Personally I don't agree that it's the best free forum software because like all software it needs modifications to make work for a specific purpose and it's those mods and how they are implemented that make or break the software. Given that most of the free forum packages have the same mods written by dedicated users willing to improve the base program the free forum software platform is a pretty even playing field and owners/admins selection will more often than not come down to exposure to a particular software package rather than a true sense of "what is better".

While I have used free forum software for years I also don't see the cost of VB as a problem but over the years the one thing I do know is that the majority of problems on all forums are based on personal opinion. "I don't like the background colour.", "The headings are not bold enough.", "When I hit send a fluffy bunny should pop up and thank me for my valuable input.", "The free money button should be at the top of the page.", "Forum XYZ does this differently and I like it so you should implement it here." The list is as endless as the "learn to use the search button" replies that every forum has but the biggest difference is that unlike the often rude and inconsiderate search button replies the "problems" usually come down to personal preference and changing for one person even on a small forum like this is unlikely.

Don't get me wrong I'm but kicking you for thinking changes can be made or having an opinion, we've all had at least one, but at the end of the day if one can type a message and have it appear on the screen (without the fluffy bunny unfortunately) sometimes it's easier to ignore personal preferences and likes, even if they appear to be glaringly obvious flaws, and just accept that change doesn't always happen.

[Stuferus]

if im not wrong, than phpbb is opensource. that means anyone may feel free to change anything in the php code.
i think the phpbb main team is happy about patch submissions or any help.

btw. i do like and prefer phpbb over any other forum software becouse it is free/opensource, i quite like it, from both, user and admin point of view.

[plykkegaard]

Personally I don't agree that it's the best free forum software

I always like to be informed of alternatives, don't need pros/cons as it's down to preferences anyway
Platform is Linux/Apache running PHP and mySQL or PostgreSQL at the backend