[still giving]

… or sell them them something they know they don’t want.

Yes, I think you need to do more idiot testing … you are forgetting that as a techie you see and get things newcomers dont.

• Its about clarity and simplicity.

We plan to use Buddypress for a national NPO. It has local ‘groups’. Fine, a forum for each local group work well.

People think of “groups” as ‘Groups’.

We make a group for “tech support” … everyone wanting tech support has to join it where it would make more sense for only the ‘tech support group’ to be members giving advice to others (like groups or ranks in most forums).

A non-tech person just wants to post to a general forum … you start forcing them to have to decide one forum or another and then they don’t know where to post when they have something that does not fit.

We make a group for “newcomers” … people make their first post and then get stuck with the label for the rest of their membership.

Each time any activity happens, it all pops up in the ‘activity’.

Why does the limitation need to exist?

Yes, partly it is nomenclature. But, partly, it is an unnecessary rigidity or encumbrance. Being forced to do it this way.

Yes, it may not be a problem for developers to get but, yes, it is a problem for non-techie users. I know that. I have tested it. They don’t get it. it puts them off.

As with the removal of the admin interface and plugin ability, effort has gone in to *downgrade* BBpress not enhance it and that goes against the grain.

“Groups” are groups … not sub-forums.