Topic: I gave buddypress a try

I gave buddypress a try

@beeza

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

I did give buddypress a try, I thought this would be the ideal package to use. The problem I have with the forums in buddypress is, it does not have a forum layout. At the moment when I post topics it is does not flow very well! It would be easier if it was in the standard format, something like: Board name/ Categories/ Forums / Topics. This way all the topics could be kept much more neat.

I have gone back to a standard wordpress layout, and I am simply going to link to a phpbb forum, that way all the post will be able to be kept in order.

It would be great if there were an option to add a forum such as phpbb etc into buddypress, as I said I did give the buddypress forum a try, but topics could not made like standard forums!

Viewing 17 replies - 1 through 17 (of 17 total)

@kriskl

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

Take a look at bbpress before you start phpbb

I am just about to move from phpbb to bbpress/buddypress

and converting it is major pain

so take a look before you decide

@beeza

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

But with bbpress it is not possible to do file uploads, you know such as an image in a post! Or am I wrong, is this possible? Oh and another thing, it is possible to moderate new user sing ups etc. Again is this possible with bbpress ?

@takuya

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

If you have searched the forum, developers (from the navigation on top), and google you have two options:

1. Install bbpress from the one click installer by BuddyPress

2. Install bbpress alone and connect to BuddyPress

You’ll have total freedom customizing the forum if you choose option 2, but thanks to the community, there’s a plugin for option 1 too.

https://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/forum-attachments-for-buddypress/

Get a testing environment, try the both and explorer the bp world!!

@beeza

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

OK thanks for the info, I will give it a try and see how I get on.

@beeza

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

Hi socialpreneur, so you mean standard wordpress install, then install bbpress, then add buddypress!

@takuya

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

Hi socialpreneur, so you mean standard wordpress install, then install bbpress, then add buddypress!

That’s option 2. Try both, use the one you feel the most comfortable.

@nuprn1

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

The problem I have with the forums in buddypress is, it does not have a forum layout. At the moment when I post topics it is does not flow very well! It would be easier if it was in the standard format, something like: Board name/ Categories/ Forums / Topics. This way all the topics could be kept much more neat.

with buddypress – everything is wrapped into groups – so you won’t see the traditional layout unless you rework the templates as such. (or install an external bbpress which links up with the groups)

@beeza

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

Well I did try and install bbpress, just got error message does not have a valid header!! Just wondering why is bbpress better than phpbb? bbpress looks a little spartan!

@takuya

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

This is getting bbpress topic. Please remember this forum is for BuddyPress.

@beeza you know you can always change the looks by themes. Google and/or visit bbpress if you want to learn more about bbpress vs phpbb.

@beeza

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

Hooray just got it to work! I just do not like the way topics are posted! At the moment all content from all the groups I have made go into one forum!! It would make so much more sense to have individual categoried forums!

Just wondering what is the point of having groups? It would be great if post topics could be kept in group forums, all content relative to the group kept in that forum!

It is difficult for people replying to post, when all content gets thrown together!!!! PHBBB really does look so much better!

But there again I am supposing I am expecting to much! WordPress/ Buddypress is a blogging software, not a forum one!

@takuya

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

WordPress = CMS / blog

BuddyPress = Community

bbpress = Forum

So yes, WordPress/BuddyPress is not yet a true forum like phpbb, which was just designed for the purpose.

@nonegiven

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

At present it is easier to add blogs to phpBB, and build community, than add a discussion forum to BP.

It seems to me that this strikes at the heart and tradition of what WordPress is … as in one way broadcasting (single blogs) … rather than discussion.

I think WordPress is the best blogging platforms but I would argue that real community building happens around discussion, not one way broadcasting.

Imagine the different between

100 people standing in the street all talking aloud to themselves about their thing … and now and then being heckled by a passerby

100 people sitting down at a conference having a managed, or group discussions, about various topics ….

The first example is a WordPress blog farm.

The second is a phpBB discussion forum … and a community.

I am not exactly sure yet where Buddypress fits in or what its roadmap is.

If you want to add an integrated blog, which is picked up by a site search, you can do so to phpBB via a blog MOD. Imagine the above “conference” attendees having somewhere to be able post their conference speech papers.

The real problem is, BBpress was a badly starved project, as a discussion forum, before it was chosen to be integrated into WMPU and Automattic do not, seemingly, have a strong interest in integrating it.

I am wondering if it was a wrong choice and they should have gone with something mature like a bridge to phpBB.

A few folk liked BBpress because it was so slim and minimal … but then a few folk also like playing with 68k Apple Macs and Ataris too.

I hope that helps …

@beeza

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

hmm now that’s a pretty good analogy, I really do like WordPress/Buddypress, I am just unable to structure the forums in buddypress in a true forum layout. At the moment it is a little confusing for my readers/members.

@andrea_r

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

“I really do like WordPress/Buddypress, I am just unable to structure the forums in buddypress in a true forum layout.”

If you’re just looking for a forum, then look at bbpress or any other forum package. BuddyPress has its focus on the social networking aspects. the forums area are minimized on purpose.

It sounds like you want a just a forum, not BuddyPress.

@mariusooms

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

Agree with Andrea_r. Note that the oneclick install forum doesn’t have as much community support as far as plugins go as the standalone bbpress does.

At the end for forums I think nobody beats phpbb. So whatever your focus is as a site/communicty/group go with the best extensible available solution. If forums is your core look at forum software that gives you what you need. I would hold back for investing in a swissarmyknife, but fail at the one thing that is important for your audience.

@3sixty

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

There is a long way to go, but now that bbPress is tightly integrated in BP, forum support is emerging. Etiviti (rich!)’s new “Forum Extras” plugin that is a big leap toward bringing classic bbPress plugins into the BP environment, and it’s getting better every day. Forum attachments is another great plugin that brings a classic forum feature into the BP environment.

There are some core limitations of bbPress that will keep it from being as “powerful” as PHPBB, such as the ability to merge threads, but whether those features are critical or even desirable is open to debate. (Moderators love that feature but I am not sure users do.)

I hope it’s not true that forums are “minimized on purpose” around these parts, because what you have built is a perfect fit with forums. Forums are the heritage of web-based “social networking”, and there are a lot of important social interactions that still lend themselves quite well to the forum structure (such as this thread you are reading right now, for example).

Like that hybrid commercial on TV right now: Forums were social before Facebook even existed or YouTube uploaded its first video.

@nonegiven

Participant

14 years, 9 months ago

I hope there can be, suggest and encourage, a rapid evolution from “plugins” to “modules”.

It is not possible to investing oneself in building a community dependent on third party plugins and it is unethical of anyone to do so.

I can understand individuals dislike of bloat, although often it is just posturizing these day. I agree that the likes of phpBB is too bloated, which is why I write modules that can be removed by switched off like a plugin … but so many key elements are dependent on third parties who cannot be expected to keep up with development cycles or lifetime commitment.

How and where is Automattic handling the adoption of such plugins into the core maintenance?

Thanks.