Post by BisonRoadWarrior on Jul 9, 2023 2:37:35 GMT -5
I attempted to post this at our current board, but it wouldn't let me, even when I tried just the first few paragraphs. Impressive countermeasures for an antiquated platform!
As John Griffin undertakes a full-spectrum revamp of the Bucknell men’s basketball program, I think now’s the perfect time for us to upgrade our own corner of the Bucknell athletics experience and finally trade up to a better message board.
It’s been more than five years since the anonymous owner of our current platform posted a thread titled “Board Software Upgrade,” raising hopes that the site would be enhanced with cool features that are now common on other message boards. We’ve waited long enough.
I think we’d be well-served by moving here, to Freeforums/ProBoards, the same platform now used by Crossports after they made their own move several years ago. This platform has several enviable features:
The off-season seems like an ideal time to try out a new platform, and — with Team Griff bringing a huge breath of fresh air to the program — this off-season is more ideal than any for a new start of our own. Earlier this week, I started tentatively experimenting with this platform, and it quickly escalated into a full-on buildout and many hours of formatting and writing. (If we don’t move, it’ll make a fine life raft if and when our old site crashes.)
Note:
Having said all that, have a look around here.I haven’t opened registration yet, and I want to make sure people can claim their same screen name (except NoMoney89, for whom this is a chance to return to his proper GMoney89 glory). For now, anyone can comment as an unregistered guest on this "Let's Do A Revamp Of Our Own" thread, but not elsewhere. [JULY 10 UPDATE: Registration is OPEN and the migration is fully underway!]
Be sure to check out the "summer social media" thread under Men’s Basketball, which showcases some of the top features we can enjoy here. I can tweak things…for example, adding more individual sports categories if anyone wants one. I wasn’t sure how deep to go into the 27 varsity sports. For now I have the “big three” of men’s and women’s basketball and football, but maybe we should start with a few more.
But for now, have a look around BISON SPORTS and share your thoughts about whether you’d like to move or if you prefer basketball-u. Given I couldn't post this at our current board, I'll be curious to what extent we can discuss it there.
GO BISON
As John Griffin undertakes a full-spectrum revamp of the Bucknell men’s basketball program, I think now’s the perfect time for us to upgrade our own corner of the Bucknell athletics experience and finally trade up to a better message board.
It’s been more than five years since the anonymous owner of our current platform posted a thread titled “Board Software Upgrade,” raising hopes that the site would be enhanced with cool features that are now common on other message boards. We’ve waited long enough.
I think we’d be well-served by moving here, to Freeforums/ProBoards, the same platform now used by Crossports after they made their own move several years ago. This platform has several enviable features:
- Embedded tweets. Tweets are a big communication avenue in college hoops, and they’re already a major point of emphasis in the Griffin era. With embedded tweets, when someone posts a tweet, you’ll see it right on the board, with no need to navigate away to the twitter app or website.
- Embedded video. Watch YouTube videos right on the message thread.
- More flexible and easy post formatting, including tables and line breaks.
- Mobile-friendly. Unlike our current board, Freeforums adjusts its presentation for easy reading and posting with your phone.
- Hiding member posts. Want to take a break from a particular poster? Freeforums lets you hide their posts from your feed, and then restore them later if you decide to give them another try.
- Post likes. Ever wished for a quick way to let posters know you appreciate something they shared, but without doing it in a post? This platform allows for a one-click "like."
- Fixable mistakes. No more errors carved in stone because you didn’t catch them fast enough: Freeforums gives you a long leash (maybe none at all) to edit your post or delete it altogether.
- Individualized sports focus. Here, we can have separate categories for various sports, a category to discuss non-sports Bucknell topics, etc. Breaking non-basketball sports into separate categories may boost discussion of sports that some people would like to discuss more -- but hesitate bringing up now on a message board explicitly labeled as a basketball site.
- A customized environment: A Bucknell board rightly framed in beautiful orange and blue
The off-season seems like an ideal time to try out a new platform, and — with Team Griff bringing a huge breath of fresh air to the program — this off-season is more ideal than any for a new start of our own. Earlier this week, I started tentatively experimenting with this platform, and it quickly escalated into a full-on buildout and many hours of formatting and writing. (If we don’t move, it’ll make a fine life raft if and when our old site crashes.)
Note:
- I will not receive money from setting up this board – I’m driven by wanting to use the better features myself, and I also like the idea of enhancing this dimension of the Bucknell sports fan experience at the same time Griffin is rebooting men’s basketball.
- Our current board has hummed along without a central authority moderating content, issuing warnings or suspending users, and I have no interest whatsoever in changing that dynamic. In that spirit, you’ll note I’ve created a brief and friendly “Board Guidelines and Tips” post for new members, but no authoritarian list of commandments.
Having said all that, have a look around here.
Be sure to check out the "summer social media" thread under Men’s Basketball, which showcases some of the top features we can enjoy here. I can tweak things…for example, adding more individual sports categories if anyone wants one. I wasn’t sure how deep to go into the 27 varsity sports. For now I have the “big three” of men’s and women’s basketball and football, but maybe we should start with a few more.
But for now, have a look around BISON SPORTS and share your thoughts about whether you’d like to move or if you prefer basketball-u. Given I couldn't post this at our current board, I'll be curious to what extent we can discuss it there.
GO BISON
