I know this has been brought up before...and that it costs money....sadly....but I think that a better forum would make it a lot easier to post here, and may even encourage ppl to post here.

You're a web genius Reg...you could easily make a good forum.

I'll even mod it for you, as I now have modding experience. :)

What do you think?

You could use something like Snitz forums.....you download all the templates for the forum, edit it to how you like and upload it to your own webspace, so its totally free and with no ad's whatsoever!

Do you have a URL for that?

http://forum.snitz.com/

Looks promising....

..look pretty cool. The beauty of the current forum though, in my opinion, is its simplicity.. and the fact we've got years worth of posts.
Interesting though. What ya recon Reg?

Dave

I think the beauty of this forum is the strange purple stripe thats always been down the left of it.

I've been coming here and reading the posts regularly for over 2 years now but never really felt like posting much, I might consider it if there was a php forum I could sign up and be a member.

Wot a pretty purple stripe.. mmmm

Dave

to post in a forum with dedicated sections and threads.

Also having a forum like that means you can have it moderated and looked after.

Years worth of posts are wonderful.....and if we could tell which ones were about what subject they'd be even better...

Better in what way? I think it's alright as it is. I think if people have something interesting etc to post then they will. The annoying things are pop ups and people posing as 'fatreg' and writing moronic things.

...or believe me I wouldn't come and post here....

I dunno...it's just the enhanced feeling of being involved in a proper community which I don't really get at the moment from here....and I've been posting here for over a year now.

Also it would be better policed and as we'd have to register there'd be no posting as other ppl, no outrageously offensive or childish posts would be allowed and we'd be able to find previous posts much much more easily.

I know how busy it gets here, especially in the immediate run up to Reading. Having a more structured forum would, I believe, encourage more ppl to make the effort to post.

I like being properly organised I guess!! LOL

nah, stick with the current forum, it's been good for ages, gotta a nice community feel going on....

It's not the same kind of community feel I get from other boards I post on....

There are what...maybe a dozen, if that, regular posters here on Fat Reg? I've been posting here for a year or more with you all, and yet I still don't feel I know much about any of you!

It's not a complaint but I have genuinely made some real friends posting on some other sites....but I think that's cus on a different kind of forum boards you get lots of small talk along with the informative stuff. There's no small talk here...well hardly any.

*shrug* maybe most of you think it's better here that way...

....if we make too many posts in one 'thread' here on fatreg the darned writing gets all pushed out to the right, and eventually (as perfectly demonstrated just before Reading this year) you have to bloody scroll over for miles to read the posts. And every time you've read one and come back to the forum you have to scroll all over again to read the next one!!

Am I the only one who would welcome a tidier forum?

this place kinda feels less nerdy than efestivals ect..

the way the forum is at the moment is very good beacuse it has the feeling that anybody can go and post on it which in my view is a good thing as i have been put off other sites by the effort of it all, that said i would proabaly take the time to sign into this site.

Anyway i say keep it how it is or in a similar form

...well I don't think there was ever any doubt that it wouldn't stay like this...I was just asking really cus I was in that kind of mood....

And it had been mentioned before too....

I'll keep coming here regardless...

...seems to spark a bigger debate than anythin except "who was the best band at Reading?"

Am going to check out Snitz forums. I quite like to sort where the most recently-responded to thread comes to the top (I post on the offical Damned forum and that's an excellent example).

What I don't want is for people to have to register - the Damned forum is the only one I've ever joined. I forget passwords and logins and I reckon it can put people off.

My other reservation about "normal" forums is that you have to enter a thread to see what the newest posts are about - I've always liked the fact that you can see all the thread titles from the main forum page.

I am, however, extremely grateful to everyone that takes the time to post here, and I take the time to read every post.

Will see what I can do about an improved forum, though, as I accept there are advantages and disadvantages to this one - as with any forum.

Cheers!

Fat Reg

I think the only real disadvantage to this forum is impersonation. Luckily it doesn't happen too often

...can be set up on most forums to let you know when someone has replied to a thread you've posted in.

So you can see if someone has made a new post on a subject that interests you...

I'm glad you're going to look into this Reg. :)