I meant to ask if that’s with a smartphone. I find Discourse a PITA with my iPhone. With my Mac… Discourse resizing, changing screen and menu options layout is really quite impressive compared to other forums which simply enlarge/shrink what’s displaying.
By simply adjusting zoom Discourse changes from this-
To this-
To this-
Smartphone. Apple type.
This pops up every few minutes when I’m editing a post. It’s annoying as hell. iPhone on Safari browser and I don’t have any other windows or tabs open.
I logged in today for the first time in months. I never chose to stop using this forum and I don’t think this is the last time I’ll sign in, but it’s hard to stay enthusiastic about it.
Forgive me for rehashing something that I am sure has been questioned ad nauseum but was there ever an explanation given for why the old forum software could not continue to be used?
Jelsoft, the software provider, sunsetted vBulletin. Without support, over time new bugs would crop up with no real support to fix them, leading to database crashes and corrupted data. Another ex-vB site I’m on was having those happen with disturbing regularity, and IMO a move to Invision as that other site did would have been better as it would have kept very similar user experience and function.
I never posted much, but have been a member here for at least a decade. Every time I tried to read the forum the last 6 months or so, all I get is a blank screen with a m4c header. Desktop or iPad.
You have to scroll down a ways to see the content due to a poorly optimized ad-block that has never been either filled or removed.
Some of us mods have tried to pop smoke and get the code monkeys to look at it, but… the issue remains.
When they said that, I looked into VBulletin, and newer versions are still available. So I dunno.
I’ve been a staunch adversary of XenForo for years but the newest iteration with the UI that mimics the old VB layout isn’t half bad.
If you’re on Apple iOS, Safari web tools are great for blocking ads and empty areas.
You know how we always use hardware solutions to software problems as an analogy. This is kind of the same problem, the site reskin did not kill the forum rather the final straw that broke the camels back.
The real issue is plain to see when you click on AR/M4 and compare that to General. The forum has become a discussion board for out of touch boomers with no sense of reality who don’t shoot anymore or don’t have an interest ARs or anything AR related.
Its a self enforcing problem, users pop in, see irreverent boomer opinions in the most active forum which is General with no activtiy in the actual shooting related forums and take off somewhere else. Say what you want about arfcom, it maybe full of retards but at least those retards shoot their ARs.
Perhaps we should go back to a post quota to post in General. Maybe even to see it.
I don’t think there is really anything you can do, the reason this place is dead something akin to brand damage. There really is no short term fix for something like this. You said it yourself, M4C has a terrible reputation amongst the gun community in general which was probably alot to do with how many SMEs were treated years and years ago. Reputation is built over years, you can’t change culture in a day.
True, but you never GET there if you don’t start with that first step. BTW, @vicious_cb that thread of mine about “what did you DO today”? YOU inspired it with your previous comment. 
If it were me, I’d do three things.
Pull a list of the most prolific users (good contributions), SME’s, and generally helpful folks from the last 10-15 years. Two of those groups could easily be seen on the old forum and I’m sure can be viewed still by someone. Then email those users and invite them back. People like chuckman, robertthetexan, sinister, (kino), and many others.
Consolidate and simplify the subforums. Make it easy for people to see where to participate and find information. A single addition: Night Vision - move other threads here. OK, another good addition: Competition. This ties into my point below.
Directly invite social media folk to participate. Make them feel special with a tag or something. Plenty of the early YouTubers frequented this site…make this a place that recognizable names want to be associated with. This might seem dumb, but…well…isn’t this a big part of how the site originally came to be, when DVD’s were the influence item instead of Instagram? Look for the “good folks” who run their guns. A newer arrival like ConcreteCowboy is a great example of this.
Think about it this way: We are no longer at war. This site blew up because the AWB sunsetted and a lot of people were shooting a lot of other people on our behalf on the other side of the world. The world is different now. We are not at war. So what do people do with their guns? What do they want to talk about?
11 months in with almost zero resolution on core issues. There are days within a week with zero posts. Feels like it’s pretty much over at this point.
Lots and lots of great ideas on keeping moving forward, adjusting and reinvigorating the site by users, but zilch from the owners.
That alone shows the owners DGAF. We have a few dedicated mods hanging in there with us but the ones who can truly fix things are MIA.
Which worries me. The last time I was under Executive Level this silent, it was after the Palace Coup at Redstate between Karen the Hutt dethroning Streiff and then months later shitcanning his entre Mod team.
If anything the AR platform is more popular than ever. Forums in general have taken a hit with more engagement happening in social media. However even in places like arfcom there are still enough SMEs and 20+ year AR smiths engaging in conversation. Ask yourself why the old timers with all the knowledge and experience are over there and not here? Maybe something to do with the culture around here?
