Do You Believe a New Forum Software Will Attract More Users to Bitcointalk?

[shield132]

I think that so many times have passed that the epochtalk, idea behind the epochtalk and everything related to a "new forum software" is already old and we have to really work on a new one. Bitcointalk needs full, enormous change in a better way or this forum will turn into a digital museum where the legend has born.

We need a new forum with brand new features and capabilities, kinda a mix of stackoverflow, github and reddit with some exchange elements (at least it should carry btc price in live). It can be a great PR if bitcointalk has academy or publishes course on coursera, in my mind this website has huge potential but in a way it is represented today.

There was an idea of bitcoin land by theymos that was requiring enormous amount of money but the idea of developing this forum is 100% achievable, the man was thinking about island after all.

Are you saying that they should give up on epochtalk and start from scratch designing a new forum?  If so, thank you for the smile.    The idea that the "new forum software" has taken so long to be developed that it needs to be scrapped and a new forum design started is funny to me.  It probably shouldn't be, but it is.  Reminds me of traffic problems playing Sim City as a kid.  You quickly learn that addressing traffic by building more roads is the best way to create more traffic problems. 

I don't really mean doing everything from scratch but really, we should meet the modern requirements and these requirements change quite quickly. Bitcointalk needs to deliver product at high velocity, it needs a team of front/backend developers, devops engineers, etc... Bitcointalk can be more than just a forum because this website has a unique history and it carries a lit of revolution in financial system, am I wrong?

Forums were popular in old years with bitcointalk's current features and ui. Do you think that 2007's Amazon could beat the current eBay? Or 2007's Youtube could beat the current dailymotion? What's the cost of bad UI? From the recent months we can say that in Citibank's case, it was 500 million USD.

[sisikin]

The disadvantage of this forum is that it cannot upload videos, only photos, and you can add links.
If you add a link, it may be another software. But this leaves the user in another software.
The advantage of the forum over other software is that you can learn a lot of knowledge, whether it is technology or the history of Bitcoin, and there will not be many advertisements in the forum.

[FatFork]

I don't really mean doing everything from scratch but really, we should meet the modern requirements and these requirements change quite quickly. Bitcointalk needs to deliver product at high velocity, it needs a team of front/backend developers, devops engineers, etc... Bitcointalk can be more than just a forum because this website has a unique history and it carries a lit of revolution in financial system, am I wrong?

In my view, you are not wrong. I'm all in favor of new software and I don't think it can negatively affect the community in any way. For nostalgic members, I believe it would be relatively easy to create a new theme (frontend ui) with the current forum's look and feel.

[JohnBitCo]

The disadvantage of this forum is that it cannot upload videos, only photos, and you can add links.
If you add a link, it may be another software. But this leaves the user in another software.
The advantage of the forum over other software is that you can learn a lot of knowledge, whether it is technology or the history of Bitcoin, and there will not be many advertisements in the forum.

Although i am in favor of the new forum software with more improved and advance features but i will certainly not like people to upload videos on the forum.
This is a forum, let it be a forum. We already have youtube and other streaming platforms for videos. 

[The Sceptical Chymist]

Although i am in favor of the new forum software with more improved and advance features but i will certainly not like people to upload videos on the forum.

I don't see any advantage to being able to upload videos here, which I assume would mean ones that are embedded in posts.  It might be convenient for members who want to link to a video, but frankly I think just dropping a link to a Youtube video (or wherever it's hosted) works just fine.  Yeah, this forum is old school (and getting more and more older school as the years pass), but I'm satisfied with the way it is--and I know I've said that a number of times.

Forums were popular in old years with bitcointalk's current features and ui. Do you think that 2007's Amazon could beat the current eBay? Or 2007's Youtube could beat the current dailymotion? What's the cost of bad UI? From the recent months we can say that in Citibank's case, it was 500 million USD.

Those are businesses, though, and they have to keep upgrading their user interface in order to keep up with all the new features they offer--except eBay, which doesn't need to keep changing their UI as often as they do; it's annoying, to be honest. 

Bitcointalk isn't trying to compete with any other discussion forum, nor is it rapidly expanding like those businesses are.  For what it is, it works just fine with the UI and functionalities it has.  I'm not saying there aren't improvements that could be made, because there certainly are, but comparing it to Amazon, Youtube, and eBay isn't appropriate.

[Pmalek]

The disadvantage of this forum is that it cannot upload videos, only photos, and you can add links.

A link that explains the content of the video works just fine. The forum won't be better with videos everywhere. And besides, you can always use a workaround for that if you want. Here is the code, remember it or write it down:

Code:

[url=link to the video][img]link to the image that will be shown on the forum in place of the video[/img][/url]

If you add a link, it may be another software. But this leaves the user in another software.

What?

[actmyname]

If you add a link, it may be another software. But this leaves the user in another software.

What?

Users are not necessarily lazy, though they will choose the most accessible option. That would include forums that do not require website redirects. Opening a new page is so much work: you have to navigate the mouse and click.

Think mobile interfaces with infinite scroll and swipe controls. Minimal effort. Wait until we get the eye-controllers!

[macson]

i think this forum with its current appearance is very interesting and simple....i see the majority of users on this forum are those who want to join the bounty campaign, they were recommended by relatives to make a few bucks from this forum.  so, adding new software may not necessarily increase users imo.

[Helen-cty]

For me, a newcomer who has just joined the forum for a month, here are the most authentic exchanges. Every user will express his inner thoughts and suggestions. I like it here.
When I came here, I published my first article. Although some people disagree with my approach, I respect them. Everyone has different opinions and opinions. This is where people need to learn and discuss, otherwise there will never be progress.
Compared to fancy pages, I prefer the simplicity and content of the bitcointalk website. There is much more knowledge that can be learned here than I thought. In the future, more novices like me will come to the forum and grow slowly.

[virasog]

For me, a newcomer who has just joined the forum for a month, here are the most authentic exchanges. Every user will express his inner thoughts and suggestions. I like it here.
When I came here, I published my first article. Although some people disagree with my approach, I respect them. Everyone has different opinions and opinions. This is where people need to learn and discuss, otherwise there will never be progress.
Compared to fancy pages, I prefer the simplicity and content of the bitcointalk website. There is much more knowledge that can be learned here than I thought. In the future, more novices like me will come to the forum and grow slowly.

No site is 100% perfect as there is always an element of improvement. The admins can bring many technically and physical appearance changes in the forum which can make the forum more attractive. However i oppose the ideas like making the forum more animated or video oriented. Simplicity is the trademark of bitcointalk and it should never be compromised.

[Mikayla Buckley]

There are relatively few advertisements on the forum. If there is a brand new forum, many old members on the forum will not be interested in the new forum.
This forum has accumulated a lot of history. If there is a new software, it means restarting. Many meaningless topics have to be talked up again. There are many topics that have already been discussed.

[BITCOIN4X]

No site is 100% perfect as there is always an element of improvement. The admins can bring many technically and physical appearance changes in the forum which can make the forum more attractive. However i oppose the ideas like making the forum more animated or video oriented. Simplicity is the trademark of bitcointalk and it should never be compromised.

Some users support the creation of a new bitcoin discussion forum and some are still very enthusiastic about using the old forum. It all really depend on the user's preference whether they want to use the new forum or stay on the old forum.

So far the bitcointalk forum has been around since 2009 and has attracted users to access this discussion forum with the largest number of profiles currently reaching 3,367,387. Although today its user base has dropped drastically based on available data, its contribution and usefulness as a digital library is still embedded in bitcointalk.org. This forum is simple and light enough to use on android or laptop. Without denying future update, I'm still quite interested in using this old forum.

[Pmalek]

If there is a new software, it means restarting. Many meaningless topics have to be talked up again. There are many topics that have already been discussed.

The forum isn't going to start from 0 posts and with all members being newbies starting from the bottom again. Everything will be exported and imported into the new forum software. Anything else wouldn't make much sense. That wouldn't be the first time Satoshi's forum moves, and its name was also not Bitcointalk when it was created.

[Stalker22]

There are relatively few advertisements on the forum. If there is a brand new forum, many old members on the forum will not be interested in the new forum.
This forum has accumulated a lot of history. If there is a new software, it means restarting. Many meaningless topics have to be talked up again. There are many topics that have already been discussed.

I think you are mistaken about this

Like Pmalek said, a new forum software doesn't mean a restart. Think of it as a forum refit. According to my understanding, the complete database with all the topics, posts, user data, etc., will remain untouched by the upgrade process. The only thing that will change, from our perspective, will be the user interface and look and feel of the forum.

[1miau]

With all this in mind, do you believe that once the new forum is released, Bitcointalk will increase its userbase?

100% yes.
A new design will attract more users but I can't say how much more. My estimation would be a significant increase if we can improve the following issues:

- Mobile version: our current version isn't mobile friendly at all. I'm personally not using it because it's horrible. But I can imagine some people are using their phones more frequently, therefore avoid Bitcointalk and post more content on other platforms
- Outdated PM function: our current PM function is a complete mess. When you are getting many PMs from different members, it's a very hard job to go though previous PMs if you want to read read a detail. It is difficult or almost impossible to find an old PM from someone years ago. Managing PMs can be a very time consuming activity and it's much easier on other plarforms. I proposed a change here.
- Network effect: by getting more users, Bitcointalk will produce more crypto-knowledge content for new people and these new people will probably sign up here. Merit has helped improving content.
- General design of Bitcointalk: the most important part! Corporations are allocating tons of money for brand design, website design and product design because it is important to get customers. People are choosing products, favorite websites etc. based on design. There are lots of studies proving how important website design is. Corporations know about the importance of design and spending money for improving this to stay relevant against competition.
Reddit noticed design importance few years ago, when it changed from "old desidn" to new. The old design was very outdated (like Bitcointalk is today). After Reddit had a new design, it was growing quickly and has become an important part of crypto internet culture. Or another German Forum for cryptocurrencies, called Coinforum. It was established in 2012 and has now much more discussion than our German local board. Their software has always been more updated and a much better design; most new German members are signing up there instead of German Bitcointalk because design matters.

Or are we a dying breed of forum users taking their last breaths. At the same time, bigger (but not necessarily better) communities are being established elsewhere?      

Bitcointalk has still many advantages in my opinion:

- Bitcoin history like old posts of Satoshi, Bitcoin Pizza and HODL. It's a very underrated argument to register for Bitcointalk and I think many people still don't know about it. But new histories won't take place at Bitcointalk because other networks like Reddit or Twitter are more relevant now.
- Collection of very good guides and tutorials, especially for beginners.
- Bitcointalk's forum structure has many advantages over Reddit and Twitter. Reddit is very difficult to follow all comments and some comments are vanishing quickly even if they are good. The result is often a spam wave. Twitter is even worse for discussions, it's rather a propaganda platform and I don't like it at all. Maybe that's why Bitcoin Twitter is such a toxic, (mostly) uneducated shithole where conversations are impossible.
- Marketplace section to exchange good, coins, etc., protected by Default Trust


A new forum design would help Bitcointalk a lot to attract more people because right now, Bitcointalk is getting more irrelevant every day, unfortunately. It's sad to see Bitcointalk wasting so much opportunity and if we keep waiting, Bitcointalk will really be an antique shop soon, where almost no one will ever go to.  

[Stalker22]

~
A new forum design would help Bitcointalk a lot to attract more people because right now, Bitcointalk is getting more irrelevant every day, unfortunately. It's sad to see Bitcointalk wasting so much opportunity and if we keep waiting, Bitcointalk will really be an antique shop soon, where almost no one will ever go to.  

I agree with everything you're saying.

I feel like the new forum software is already way overdue. It's been years since it was announced, and for a long time there has been almost no progress. Other platforms are emerging and evolving, while this forum should be the nexus of the crypto community because after all, it all started here.

[KingsDen]

We need a new forum with brand new features and capabilities, kinda a mix of stackoverflow, github and reddit with some exchange elements (at least it should carry btc price in live). It can be a great PR if bitcointalk has academy or publishes course on coursera, in my mind this website has huge potential but in a way it is represented today.

Do you mean to have two bitcointalk forums? Maybe one serving as social media entertainment while the other for serious bitcoin discussion. I know it can never be what you meant.
But my concern is the full migration you are suggesting? What will happen to this present forum. Dumped in the dustbin of history?

The graphics of this forum might be a way too old and may not be what we want, but I advice every improvement should be done here and Theymos should try to avoid much evolution. The nature of the forum depicts that it's the oldest cryptocurrency forum, which might be its unique attribute that differentiate it from others.

I support part changes and not holistic change.

[Pmalek]

Or another German Forum for cryptocurrencies, called Coinforum. It was established in 2012 and has now much more discussion than our German local board. Their software has always been more updated and a much better design; most new German members are signing up there instead of German Bitcointalk because design matters.

I wanted to check this, so I did a Google search using a few keywords to see which of the two forums are ranked better in the search results.

This is what I found:

1. When you search "german crypto forum", the German local of Bitcointalk will be the 1st result, an Ethereum forum will be 2nd, and CoinForum is 3rd.
2. When you search "german bitcoin forum", again the German local of Bitcointalk is 1st and CoinForum is 2nd.

It's a bit different if you search with German keywords:

1. A search with "deutsche crypto forum" places CoinForum on top and the German local of Bitcointalk on the 2nd place.
2. You get the same results searching for "deutsche bitcoin forum".

What that shows is that both forums are easily found, but if Germans prefer CoinForum instead of Bitcointalk, the correct question we need to ask ourselves is why and how can it be corrected?   

[cabalism13]

Yes

I'm interested on why ypu say so?
In my end I don't think many will be attracted unless the old forum will be unusable just like the old one, I guess that's the idea but it can't be possible when there's a lot to be fixed. If Both will still be running expect this to be a ghost town just like what I saw on Yobit Forums even though they had a campaign. JM2C

[ShowOff]

In my end I don't think many will be attracted unless the old forum will be unusable just like the old one, I guess that's the idea but it can't be possible when there's a lot to be fixed. If Both will still be running expect this to be a ghost town just like what I saw on Yobit Forums even though they had a campaign. JM2C

It can take a lot of time and money to migrate to a new forum or forum software. Although it seems possible, but if users are given the option to stick with the old forum then I'm pretty sure bitcointalk.org will still have a large user base. Although we have to get used to accepting something new, but bitcointalk.org is still the biggest one for me. Sometime change is hard to accept at first, but we really have to get it when we need it.