[PSUBS-MAILIST] new forum alternative

[Jonathan Wallace <jon@psubs.org>]

Hello,

I've added web based forum software to PSUBS.ORG.  I know some people prefer
email delivery while others prefer web-based reading, and hopefully we won't
fracture discussions and the two will complement each other.

Since I couldn't find any software I liked, or that would compile on the
server, I wrote my own.  Functionality is limited and there may be some
rough edges to it, but it seems to be working well enough now for public
use.

Registration is required, and you will be required to log in prior to
adding any new topics or commenting on existing ones.  The default layout
is FIFO...sequential listing of comments based upon the time they were
created.  I have LIFO functionality built in for those that like reading
the last entry first and following discussions in reverse order.  I have
not activated this yet however, but I'll make it available in a couple
of days.

Hopefully the flow will be pretty self-evident.  On the left side you will
see various categories for discussion.  Click on a category to see topics
that relate to that particular category.  A list of topics will be
displayed (NOTE THERE ARE NO TOPICS YET.  you need to add them.) in the
right side of the page.  Click on the yellow box marked "Create Topic" to
create a new topic for discussion.  If topics exist for the category, they
will be listed under the "Topics" column.  Click on any topic title to
read the entries for that particular topic.  Each entry will have a read
(sorry RED, not read) box with "Add Comment" in it.  Click "Add Comment"
to reply to the original topic.

New windows will pop-up when adding topics or comments so that you can
cut and paste references from other entries.

Anyway, this is a first cut at it so have some fun and try it out.  I will
open up a comments section under "Admin Notices" so that you can make
suggestions for the software.  If it works for us, fine.  If it doesn't
work for us, I'll find some other software that does or remove it and stick
solely with the email distribution.

If you have suggestions for additional categories, make an entry under the
"Admin Notices" category and under the topic "Suggest New Discussion
Categories".

Or, email me with suggestions, criticisms, etc.

Jon



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