vBulletin Plugin Suggestions

[theprodigalrebel]

Probably not possible but I really liked the idea of thread tags/labels instead of subforums/categories. For instance, you can post a thread seeking guidance on how to overclock your X CPU on a Y motherboard and what heatsink would be best and have it appear in the CPU/Motherboard/Cases & Cooling forums. Since a lot of people only seem to dwell in a select few forums, that would get a thread far more coverage.

I think Barack Obama once posted a link to such a forum and it looked pretty neat.

Could have pretty useful implications: like a thread tagged both Hot Deals as well as Off Topic (for more exposure if it warrants it). Or maybe a PC game issue that might be related to both the Video Card driver and/or a OS issue.

Is this something that can be 'added on' or would require the forum software to be built from the ground up to support it?

 

[SparkyJJO]

Originally posted by: murray6475
Pics in sigs. With a size limit. A lot of other forums do this. Maybe custom avatars.

This.

Every other forum I'm a member of allows it, and they don't have any issues with abuse aside from an occasional person.

Unless AT isn't mature enough to behave themselves

 

[Gamingphreek]

Absolutely NO to deleting your posts. Perhaps locking or moving posts, but there needs to be very strict regulation on this!

If inline pics are enabled, file size needs to be regulated, and I like the idea of using javascript to see the picture only when you click on a small link. Obviously filtering needs to be in place.

A photo album for each user is not realistic. There are almost 200,000 registered members (Granted - not all are active) on the forum. Even if each user was allotted 10mb's for that photo album, that is already 2TB of data, not counting EVERYTHING else.

NO REP SYSTEM. All that will happen is that it will become a pissing contest to see who can get the highest or lowest rep.

No ebucks or any of all these other things that you build up points and buy.

Working code parameters (It is aggravating to have HTML parse through code for an array and make everything italic or bold or something).

No custom avatars and no pictures in sig. Allow custom sigs the way they are - I don't need a person's entire photo album popping up every time I open a thread.

I really like the plugin that was mentioned earlier that combines posts inside a certain time span - great for bumps and what not.

If there are more smileys - please, please, please not the animated ones. I hate seeing the smiley army walking around in a post all the time.

Perhaps some benefit for Elite Members and Lifers - but I don't like the idea of "prizes" for posting a ton of stuff.

No ignoring users; however, ignoring certain forums is a good idea.

A lock on the L&R forum or a sub-forum of L&R. There are some pretty explicit threads in there that young children who might post here have no business seeing. Request permission from a moderator for access to that particular sub-forum. Everything outside of that forum must be kept clean.

I was a big fan of the word censoring - though that is not everyone's slice of cake. Don't block the words, but use asterisks or something in place. It just makes it nicer to read a post where, although someone may be pissed, I don't have to read through the dictionary of curse words to figure out what they are saying.

Keep the forum professional looking above all! AT forums are a great place to not only hang out and talk about whatever is on your mind, but a great place to learn - lets keep it that way!

-Kevin

 

[Ken g6]

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Working code tags!

I vote "no" on rep system.

What he said!

By the way, how about a "thank" system instead of a rep system? If you post something informative or helpful, other registered users can thank you for it, and your "thank count" goes up. Kind of like a rep system that only goes positive.

Edit: I guess this is the "good post" system others have mentioned.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
A lock on the L&R forum or a sub-forum of L&R. There are some pretty explicit threads in there that young children who might post here have no business seeing. Request permission from a moderator for access to that particular sub-forum. Everything outside of that forum must be kept clean.

I don't agree with this at all. The way it is set up now is fine (just have to be a registered member to view the forum). To have to ask for permission would be ridiculous and would discourage people from venturing in there in the first place.

Anyway, you're supposed to be at least 13 years old to register, so you're saying we should discourage teenagers from asking questions which they might feel embarrassed about asking at home, to their friends, or in school? There has been some very good advice given in that forum to old and young on an amalgam of topics. Anandtech forums shouldn't be in the business of deciding who is mature and not mature enough to view the content of the L&R forum.

I was a big fan of the word censoring - though that is not everyone's slice of cake. Don't block the words, but use asterisks or something in place. It just makes it nicer to read a post where, although someone may be pissed, I don't have to read through the dictionary of curse words to figure out what they are saying.

An optional censor should be enabled by default that can be turned off by individual users would be good. Thread titles should still remain curse-free.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
A lock on the L&R forum or a sub-forum of L&R. There are some pretty explicit threads in there that young children who might post here have no business seeing. Request permission from a moderator for access to that particular sub-forum. Everything outside of that forum must be kept clean.

I don't agree with this at all. The way it is set up now is fine (just have to be a registered member to view the forum). To have to ask for permission would be ridiculous and would discourage people from venturing in there in the first place.

Anyway, you're supposed to be at least 13 years old to register, so you're saying we should discourage teenagers from asking questions which they might feel embarrassed about asking at home, to their friends, or in school? There has been some very good advice given in that forum to old and young on an amalgam of topics. Anandtech forums shouldn't be in the business of deciding who is mature and not mature enough to view the content of the L&R forum.

I was a big fan of the word censoring - though that is not everyone's slice of cake. Don't block the words, but use asterisks or something in place. It just makes it nicer to read a post where, although someone may be pissed, I don't have to read through the dictionary of curse words to figure out what they are saying.

An optional censor should be enabled by default that can be turned off by individual users would be good. Thread titles should still remain curse-free.

Link

So you are saying that is something you would want a 13 year old reading!?!?

There are a lot of very explicit threads in L&R that should be in a sub-forum with a statement telling people what is in there at the VERY VERY least.

-Kevin

 

[zeruty]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

An optional censor should be enabled by default that can be turned off by individual users would be good. Thread titles should still remain curse-free.

I think the censor should be disabled by default, but be easy to turn on.

If it's on by default, people who don't pay attention to such details... and don't pay attention to other details... such as rules... will probably revert to tricks to bypass word filters. Such as typing fu.ck or $hit which pretty much negates the word filter for those that choose to use it.

I've seen people on forums with optional word filters defaulted on do this... because they didn't realize that the filter can be turned off. I'd rather those people just type the words normally, so the filters will work.

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Link

So you are saying that is something you would want a 13 year old reading!?!?

There are a lot of very explicit threads in L&R that should be in a sub-forum with a statement telling people what is in there at the VERY VERY least.

-Kevin

Yep, let's shield kids from reality....

Even if your insane system was implemented, how would you screen people? Ask them for a background check? You wouldn't really be able to prove someone's age....

Originally posted by: zeruty

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

An optional censor should be enabled by default that can be turned off by individual users would be good. Thread titles should still remain curse-free.

I think the censor should be disabled by default, but be easy to turn on.

If it's on by default, people who don't pay attention to such details... and don't pay attention to other details... such as rules... will probably revert to tricks to bypass word filters. Such as typing fu.ck or $hit which pretty much negates the word filter for those that choose to use it.

I've seen people on forums with optional word filters defaulted on do this... because they didn't realize that the filter can be turned off. I'd rather those people just type the words normally, so the filters will work.

Whatever way works best then. I'd be for either on by default or an easy to turn it on option.

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally posted by: ghost recon88
OP ability to lock their own thread.

 

[alfa147x]

Ok how about a subscription where if you get directly replied to or quoted you receive a PM ?

 

[Gamingphreek]

Yep, let's shield kids from reality....

Even if your insane system was implemented, how would you screen people? Ask them for a background check? You wouldn't really be able to prove someone's age....

If you send an PM to a Mod then you are saying you are of age. It isn't anyone's job here on these forums to ensure people are not lying to get around restrictions.

Shield them from reality!?!? There is no way a 13 year old middle school student should be reading content like that! I'm nearly 21 and in college and I think a lot of the topics in L&R are inappropriate (I don't frequent the forum though so I can't give many examples).

-Kevin

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Yep, let's shield kids from reality....

Even if your insane system was implemented, how would you screen people? Ask them for a background check? You wouldn't really be able to prove someone's age....

If you send an PM to a Mod then you are saying you are of age. It isn't anyone's job here on these forums to ensure people are not lying to get around restrictions.

Shield them from reality!?!? There is no way a 13 year old middle school student should be reading content like that! I'm nearly 21 and in college and I think a lot of the topics in L&R are inappropriate (I don't frequent the forum though so I can't give many examples).

-Kevin

Then what's the point of having to PM a mod? It would be utterly useless since everyone and anyone could do it. You wouldn't be "protecting the minds of the innocent". Plus, this is the internet, if they were curious enough to click on the L&R forum (as I said before, with its good advice for topics of all parts of relationships), they could be curious enough to browse Google pictures without the filter!

If they shouldn't be reading that content, their parents should be control freaks and install content filters in their routers/computers to protect their children from sex.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek

Yep, let's shield kids from reality....

Even if your insane system was implemented, how would you screen people? Ask them for a background check? You wouldn't really be able to prove someone's age....

If you send an PM to a Mod then you are saying you are of age. It isn't anyone's job here on these forums to ensure people are not lying to get around restrictions.

Shield them from reality!?!? There is no way a 13 year old middle school student should be reading content like that! I'm nearly 21 and in college and I think a lot of the topics in L&R are inappropriate (I don't frequent the forum though so I can't give many examples).

-Kevin

Then what's the point of having to PM a mod? It would be utterly useless since everyone and anyone could do it. You wouldn't be "protecting the minds of the innocent". Plus, this is the internet, if they were curious enough to click on the L&R forum (as I said before, with its good advice for topics of all parts of relationships), they could be curious enough to browse Google pictures without the filter!

If they shouldn't be reading that content, their parents should be control freaks and install content filters in their routers/computers to protect their children from sex.

How many people do you think frequent that forum?! There isn't many at all - everyone wouldn't do it - someone who honestly needed advice on that explicit material would go through that.

L&R should have a main forum (ie: Normal topics, relationship advice) and a sub-forum with the more explicit material.

To access that sub-forum PM a mod or do something of that nature. It will dissuade the younger groups from going through the trouble of seeing all that.

I certainly wouldn't want a 13 year old reading through the thread I linked to. That is absurd and ignorant to say that you wouldn't mind a small child reading that!

-Kevin

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Absolutely NO to deleting your posts. Perhaps locking or moving posts, but there needs to be very strict regulation on this!

If inline pics are enabled, file size needs to be regulated, and I like the idea of using javascript to see the picture only when you click on a small link. Obviously filtering needs to be in place.

A photo album for each user is not realistic. There are almost 200,000 registered members (Granted - not all are active) on the forum. Even if each user was allotted 10mb's for that photo album, that is already 2TB of data, not counting EVERYTHING else.

NO REP SYSTEM. All that will happen is that it will become a pissing contest to see who can get the highest or lowest rep.

No ebucks or any of all these other things that you build up points and buy.

Working code parameters (It is aggravating to have HTML parse through code for an array and make everything italic or bold or something).

No custom avatars and no pictures in sig. Allow custom sigs the way they are - I don't need a person's entire photo album popping up every time I open a thread.

I really like the plugin that was mentioned earlier that combines posts inside a certain time span - great for bumps and what not.

If there are more smileys - please, please, please not the animated ones. I hate seeing the smiley army walking around in a post all the time.

Perhaps some benefit for Elite Members and Lifers - but I don't like the idea of "prizes" for posting a ton of stuff.

No ignoring users; however, ignoring certain forums is a good idea.

A lock on the L&R forum or a sub-forum of L&R. There are some pretty explicit threads in there that young children who might post here have no business seeing. Request permission from a moderator for access to that particular sub-forum. Everything outside of that forum must be kept clean.

I was a big fan of the word censoring - though that is not everyone's slice of cake. Don't block the words, but use asterisks or something in place. It just makes it nicer to read a post where, although someone may be pissed, I don't have to read through the dictionary of curse words to figure out what they are saying.

Keep the forum professional looking above all! AT forums are a great place to not only hang out and talk about whatever is on your mind, but a great place to learn - lets keep it that way!

-Kevin

Agree with everything except for the ignore user function - I would like to see that implemented.

notfred's Firefox scripts were well received.

 

[Finalnight]

The option we used to have that recorded our records: IE: Most users online ever, etc.

Also, user-made ranks would be nice, I have noticed in forums I post in that allow one to set their own rank/title (animesuki, pcper), there is a lot less post count building threads, etc.

In addition, a "report this post" button on every post is another good feature i have seen on many forums, but make sure it opens up a window to allow comments to be typed in so the problem can be specified.

If you want to see a neat implementation of VB, check out http://forums.animesuki.com/

It allows mods to post infractions/warnings to the user control panel that are only viewable by the user and other mods and assign points to those infractions (like a driver's license). Also has social groups, contacts, friends, "walls". Its like the AT user profile but on steroids and speed with a little crack mixed in.

This implementation has dismissable banners, etc as well.

 

[silverpig]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
L&R should have a main forum (ie: Normal topics, relationship advice) and a sub-forum with the more explicit material.

To access that sub-forum PM a mod or do something of that nature. It will dissuade the younger groups from going through the trouble of seeing all that.

I certainly wouldn't want a 13 year old reading through the thread I linked to. That is absurd and ignorant to say that you wouldn't mind a small child reading that!

-Kevin

Terrible idea. Some mature users might not be bothered to PM a mod and wouldn't go in there when they could contribute. A 13 year old kid who wants to read that stuff will just PM the mod anyways (or go over to literotica or something).

If a 13 year old can get to L&R he can get to google. If he can get to google he can type in boobies and search for images. You're trying to tie a helium balloon onto the Titanic because it'll make it more buoyant.

 

[silverpig]

My suggestions:

Quote tree killer. I'm on another vb forum where it automatically only quotes the text from the post you are quoting, and not anything quoted in it. Much cleaner.

Multiple quotes. You can click a quote switch on several posts, then hit reply. You can then type in your reply and you will automatically have all of the posts quoted for you in your reply box. You can then reply to 3 messages and have their text quoted without having to make 3 posts yourself.

The user rating/reputation system didn't work here. You either got a 5 or a 1 depending on if you pissed someone off or did something nice for them. The 2, 3, and 4 ratings were useless.

If there are any custom avatars/sigs/inline pictures/new emoticons, PLEASE disallow anything animated. No moving .gifs, no moving emoticons. They're the equivalent of the <blink> tag that sucks so much.

 

[fustercluck]

Originally posted by: fustercluck
Would be helpful to know which plugins are actually available...what's the site that lists the vb plugins?

 

[Flammable]

Originally posted by: Piuc2020
Instead of a reputation system you should have a "Quality Post" feature, if your post is good enough, you get a little red star (or any other symbol), all QP (quality posts) could be linked to in a sticky where people could really enjoy all of the bests posts for each of the forum categories. Threads could have a number of red stars next to them indicating how many QP the thread has and of course there would be a way to narrow down the thread to only see the quality posts.

Posts deemed for quality could be decided by moderators with a strict standard for what makes a post "quality", maybe include a flag system where people can flag posts they think deserve a red star to bring them to the moderators attention. I don't think user voted would be a good idea, it might clutter the board with too many red stars, only remarkably excellent posts should be red starred, something that truly deserves to be highlighted for the appreciation and utility of everyone.

The "Heroes Community" boards use this feature (www.heroescommunity.com) it works great and allows access to all the great content from the site in a very handy manner, also it gives emphasis to the posts, not the people who made them like a rep system. Maybe you could build on it to make it even better.

That's the feature I would like the most, please consider it

define: quality

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: silverpig

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
L&R should have a main forum (ie: Normal topics, relationship advice) and a sub-forum with the more explicit material.

To access that sub-forum PM a mod or do something of that nature. It will dissuade the younger groups from going through the trouble of seeing all that.

I certainly wouldn't want a 13 year old reading through the thread I linked to. That is absurd and ignorant to say that you wouldn't mind a small child reading that!

-Kevin

Terrible idea. Some mature users might not be bothered to PM a mod and wouldn't go in there when they could contribute. A 13 year old kid who wants to read that stuff will just PM the mod anyways (or go over to literotica or something).

If a 13 year old can get to L&R he can get to google. If he can get to google he can type in boobies and search for images. You're trying to tie a helium balloon onto the Titanic because it'll make it more buoyant.

Terrible idea. Some mature users might not be bothered to PM a mod and wouldn't go in there when they could contribute. A 13 year old kid who wants to read that stuff will just PM the mod anyways (or go over to literotica or something).

If a 13 year old can get to L&R he can get to google. If he can get to google he can type in boobies and search for images. You're trying to tie a helium balloon onto the Titanic because it'll make it more buoyant.[/quote]

Just because that person CAN go to google doesn't mean we should just say "Oh well". If you are mature and have something to contribute, then you should also be mature and proactive enough to PM a mod!! I don't know a parent in the world that would approve of their child reading the thread I linked.

-Kevin

 

[Brainonska511]

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Just because that person CAN go to google doesn't mean we should just say "Oh well". If you are mature and have something to contribute, then you should also be mature and proactive enough to PM a mod!! I don't know a parent in the world that would approve of their child reading the thread I linked.

-Kevin

Then the PARENT should be responsible and watch where their child goes on the internet if it is so important to protect them from the good and bad of reality. The Anandtech moderator is not your mother and should not act in such a capacity.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: Gamingphreek
Just because that person CAN go to google doesn't mean we should just say "Oh well". If you are mature and have something to contribute, then you should also be mature and proactive enough to PM a mod!! I don't know a parent in the world that would approve of their child reading the thread I linked.

-Kevin

Then the PARENT should be responsible and watch where their child goes on the internet if it is so important to protect them from the good and bad of reality. The Anandtech moderator is not your mother and should not act in such a capacity.

What you said is the equivalent of saying, "Well there is no point in putting a lock on a safe in a bank. People know it is wrong and will get caught anyway" (albeit on a much lesser scale).

I agree that the parent should watch their child and monitor them, but that doesn't mean websites should just show people baring everything (Not saying that would happen here). Parents cannot watch their children 24/7 and can only do so much - the internet has these restrictions for this reason. AT should participate in it.

You mentioned to subscribe to OpenDNS or something and put blocks. You cannot block an individual sub forum with any service. If a parent didn't want them reading that particular section - the only way they would be able to stop it is to block the forums all together.

I began reading articles on AT and posting on the forums when they first started (Despite what my "Joined Date" says). I was 11 at the time. I can't begin to describe how much I learned from the articles on AT and the forums associated with them. I would hate for a parent to have to block all that just to protect against one forum of explicit material.

-Kevin

 

[chronodekar]

To what I can tell, there is a general consensus (especially among the older members) to avoid a rep system. At the same time, the suggestion DOES keeps popping up from time to time. Which means there IS a real demand for it. It seems that the last time the rep system was introduced, there was a HUGE issue with the way rep points were assigned. Bottom line, many felt the system was mis-used. Can we please try to find some middle ground here?

Having a rep point scale (from 1 -10) didn't work last time, so that's a NO. We don't even need to consider it. I feel that most those who are asking for a rep system (myself included) just want a way to distinguish between a respected poster and a troll. The number of posts is NOT a good indicator, neither is the posters join date. The suggestion to count the number of "Quality Posts" made by a user meets our criteria, I feel.

To count a post as a "Quality Post", all one needs is the approval of any other forum user. A "Quality Post" is also counted only once. i.e. even if 23 people found a post useful, it will count as only 1 "Quality Post". We can forget the idea of "Bad Posts", that will lead to more degrading and trouble than it's worth.

If memory serves me correctly, I think the ubuntuforums implements this. And it appears to be working just fine for them. So, to the older members here, what do you think?


EDIT: I can understand if anyone says 'NO' But, please, can you state a reason as well? I really want to find some 'middle ground' on the issue.

 

[Gamingphreek]

Originally posted by: chronodekar
To what I can tell, there is a general consensus (especially among the older members) to avoid a rep system. At the same time, the suggestion DOES keeps popping up from time to time. Which means there IS a real demand for it. It seems that the last time the rep system was introduced, there was a HUGE issue with the way rep points were assigned. Bottom line, many felt the system was mis-used. Can we please try to find some middle ground here?

Having a rep point scale (from 1 -10) didn't work last time, so that's a NO. We don't even need to consider it. I feel that most those who are asking for a rep system (myself included) just want a way to distinguish between a respected poster and a troll. The number of posts is NOT a good indicator, neither is the posters join date. The suggestion to count the number of "Quality Posts" made by a user meets our criteria, I feel.

To count a post as a "Quality Post", all one needs is the approval of any other forum user. A "Quality Post" is also counted only once. i.e. even if 23 people found a post useful, it will count as only 1 "Quality Post". We can forget the idea of "Bad Posts", that will lead to more degrading and trouble than it's worth.

If memory serves me correctly, I think the ubuntuforums implements this. And it appears to be working just fine for them. So, to the older members here, what do you think?


EDIT: I can understand if anyone says 'NO' But, please, can you state a reason as well? I really want to find some 'middle ground' on the issue.

No - why do you need a number to tell you if someone is a troll or not? Look at the thread - if it looks like a troll, smells like a troll, sounds like a troll - its a troll!

It will just get abused like every other try for a rating system.

-Kevin

 

[Lvcoyote]

I was a Moderator at the abit forums for years, and am currently an Administrator at The Raptor Pit Forums, so I have a little experience. You definitely do not want anyone but Moderators to be able to delete threads, or move them. If a member posts in the wrong section or wants something deleted he should contact a Moderator to do it for him. What we found is that people would come in, ask their question and get some great responses, then for whatever reason would delete the thread after a solution was found. We lost some good information before we implemented the "no delete" options. You also want to implement a time limit for editing posts, 3 days seemed to work well for us.

A few other good ideas are to put a post limit on the For Sale/WTB section of at least 50 posts to be able to participate. This really cuts down on the trolls, they wont bother making 50 posts in the forums just to be able to list items in the For Sale section. Implementing a rep system is a bad idea, your Moderators will be flooded with user requests to remove stupid reps from their accounts, its the most abused option there is. A "Thanked" system is much better, the more times a member is thanked the better he looks in others eyes as to the effectiveness of his replies in threads.