[azul]

Shame if this board goes warts and all and I’d contribute to keep it. Facebook just isn’t fit for purpose.

[hilly81]

There is no need to crowdfund! https://www.proboards.com/ is completely free unless we want business features. This is an example of the free product and is miles better than this board in it's current state: https://deva-chat.com/

It just needs someone to put a bit of time in to setup.

[JonB]

The only cost i can see would be this one if we wanted to carry on using the http://www.thecfss.co.uk/ address we have currently so there would be the cost of the actual domain name plus this $14 a year for it then work with the new board :-
Can I use my own domain name?
Yes you can! For just $14/year, ProBoards will link your existing domain name directly to your ProBoards free forum. Please note, domain registrars do charge a separate yearly fee for ownership of the domain name.

This post has been edited by JonB: 29 January 2024 - 11:40 AM

[RikShaw]

ah, we should never have got rid of 'Spirenet' !

[dim view]

JonB, on 29 January 2024 - 10:49 AM, said:

The board software is getting on a bit plus its lack of a valid security certificate is, i think, the root of some of the numerous logging in\posting issues that have happened to folk recently.

I’m certainly getting those problems. Out of interest, any idea why it wouldn’t have a valid security certificate? I can read BB on my laptop but if I want to login and contribute I have to use my iphone, so it’s a pain in the ass. Even so, I concur with everything The Earl and Blue 5 say.

[JonB]

dim view, on 29 January 2024 - 11:52 AM, said:

I’m certainly getting those problems. Out of interest, any idea why it wouldn’t have a valid security certificate? I can read BB on my laptop but if I want to login and contribute I have to use my iphone, so it’s a pain in the ass. Even so, I concur with everything The Earl and Blue 5 say.

Certificates need to be generated and have an expiry so basically its just not been done for a while. Modern browsers tend to look dimly on sites that dont have them so can sometimes cause issues. Think its likely a combination of factors with the forum software which is quite old and the lack of certificate thats stopping it playing nicely with the modern browsers.

[Trigger]

Facebook is horrendous media. I'm on it but I hardly ever use it and I never post anything on it. I read the football forums pages but never registered. These forums are the only formats I like to use.

[Mr Mercury]

Would a token membership fee be of any use, say £2 per month, would possibly be a sound enough amount to fund a food set up? Rather than individuals donating different amounts.

[Snowflake McBedwetter]

Quaker, on 29 January 2024 - 09:21 AM, said:

Not volunteering or owt, in my humble opinion this form of social media is well past its time, the technology is dated and so is the format.

I would just like to say a big thank you to yourself, Webby for sticking with it for such a long time, you have been outstanding mate doing an unenviable job. Knowing BC, I doubt he ever imagined it would last this long.

I'm sure some will battle hard to keep it going, particularly the "Personnel Section" but I, hand on heart think its had its day.

You managed to remove your hand from your heart long enough to post on this dated and obsolete format, and do so on a daily basis...

If a move is necessary these boards can be set up for nothing. No idea if mods are even required under such circumstances. If they are required then I'd suggest any donations could be used to reward them in some way for their time.

The monies required to use the current site can't be much - as it's pretty cr*p - but, warts and all, I think perfectly adequate for purpose.

This post has been edited by Snowflake McBedwetter: 29 January 2024 - 01:10 PM

[turrhall]

Andy Spireite, on 29 January 2024 - 10:53 AM, said:

Didn't the board used to be officially part of the CFC social media until Dave Allen threw his toys out of the pram? Would the Trust have an interest in taking this on again? Could it be raised at the next Fans Forum meeting?

Would much prefer the board to be separate from the club. Things are rosy right now, but if we ever (god forbid) returned to a state of affairs like under the previous owner, I wouldn't want them to be in a position to limit dissenting voices against them.

[gordon_brittas]

The Facebook groups seem to be littered with Mansfield fans who just post to take the ****, most notably when we lose. Moderation of the groups seems to be poor. I like this group as it’s our own support, same as Stagsnet for them. I’d never dream of setting up to post on their board.

[clarevoyant.]

Snowflake McBedwetter, on 29 January 2024 - 12:15 PM, said:

You managed to remove your hand from your heart long enough to post on this dated and obsolete format, and do so reguarly on a daily basis...

If a move is necessary these boards can be set up for nothing. No idea if mods are even required under such circumstances. If they are required then I'd suggest any donations could be used to reward them in some way for their time.

The monies required to use the current site can't be much - as it's pretty cr*p - but, warts and all, I think perfectly adequate for purpose.

I generally find 'Quakers' posts intriguing, but to have the power to post on something that is "obsolete" is amazing!!

[Painted Wagon]

I’d like this to continue, was a reader (lurker) for years before I finally decided to join officially again. And I’ve just been promoted in Bennos prediction league.

[Lincs Spireite]

It would be a shame for this not to continue in some form. I read other club's message boards and can say ours is by far the best. Our mods seem much better at controlling content than some. Like others I would be willing to throw a few quid in to upgrade and freshen it up. BTW would moving to a new set up solve the problem we had logging in with Chrome as I now have to use Firefox.

[Fit as a Nelson]

Can we swear on the next one please?

[Blue5]

JonB, on 29 January 2024 - 11:40 AM, said:

The only cost i can see would be this one if we wanted to carry on using the http://www.thecfss.co.uk/ address we have currently so there would be the cost of the actual domain name plus this $14 a year for it then work with the new board :-
Can I use my own domain name?
Yes you can! For just $14/year, ProBoards will link your existing domain name directly to your ProBoards free forum. Please note, domain registrars do charge a separate yearly fee for ownership of the domain name.

With a new backend system, will it be possible to integrate all the data (usernames, passwords, etc) from the existing platform without the need for members to re-register?

Given how long the board has been in its current state, I'm assuming Denny is struggling for time. If this is the case, is this an area you can assist with?

[JonB]

Blue5, on 29 January 2024 - 01:02 PM, said:

With a new backend system, will it be possible to integrate all the data (usernames, passwords, etc) from the existing platform without the need for members to re-register?

Given how long the board has been in its current state, I'm assuming Denny is struggling for time. If this is the case, is this an area you can assist with?

Looks like the option mentioned previously has an option to transfer stuff over but it costs and not sure how easy it is to do.

[Zigsuk]

Good luck to anyone taking over. Running a forum can often be a thankless task.
In 2010 I started a forum which quickly became immensely popular, however by Christmas 2012 I had had a bellyfull. What with the arguments and the moderation required, and various other problems, I decided to get out. Part of the problem was the board's very popularity.
I had a few people helping me to run it who I had known from a previous forum, including, quite coincidently and fortuitously, an IT / internet wizz who ran forums for a living. He quickly became indespensible to the extent that although I owned the forum he effectively ran it. He was also brilliant at dealing with any DOS and other cyber attacks we suffered in the early days. One of the other guys was an entrepreneur and he constantly suggested I could make an excellent living from the forum by charging subscriptions and/or taking advertising. So apart from the constant public arguments which often required intervention, moderation and frequent bans I was then caught between the idealists led by the whizz kid who felt that we shouldn't profit from the forum, and those like the entrepreneur who believed that I (and perhaps he) should be rewarded for our efforts. I did moot the idea of charging just £10 per year and received about half a dozen immediate payments, however for every one of these there were ten who thought the idea of my charging anything was disgusting.
In the end the whizz kid bought it from me, for what I thought at the time to be a generous offer, and preserved his ideals. He ran it for another eight or nine years and developed it in a way I never could have done. He has since passed it on to someone else (whether he made more than he paid me or indeed anything at all I never knew). I see they do now take limited advertising. I have nothing to do with it and have barely logged in for the past five years. However the membership is now five figures and I maybe let a small fortune slip through my hands. It wasn't the cost of the hosting the board - that was minimal - but rather the time and effort trying to keep people happy and dealing with squabbles and other stuff which I felt deserved some reward.
So in conclusion adminstering a forum isn't always as easy as it might appear to be on the outside.

Incidentally, although I am no IT / Internet expert, I did learn stuff from the whizz kid and one thing was - which some people might be aware of - that 'private messaging' on a forum isn't always private as admins can get into them if they are so minded, although I expect the vast majority don't bother.

Finally, I would agree that a forum such as this is better than a Facebook or some other such group. Indeeed from what I have seen of some other fans groups forums this is among the best, although it does have technical flaws.

[erniemossity]

Despite a fair few nobenz who come on here simply to argue, bicker and troll…I think this board is invaluable for info and provides at the bare minimum, a “conscience” if ever the club make a bad decision or heads down the wrong track. Indeed it’s acted as a superb investigative tool on several occasions in the past, and I would rely on it to do the same in the future if called upon. Bookface and ****ter are for the younger, more excitable fans….at its best, this forum is informative, funny, and interesting…at its worst, well, we’ve all seen it drop into childish name calling and blatant trolling. However, I for one would miss it a lot if it disappeared…I hope it can be kept in a similar format, and as others have said, I’d be happy to contribute if that’s the way forward.