• Members 1053 posts
    Sept. 22, 2025, 2:43 p.m.

    I did not say that, I said:

    Sounds like fun - see here for example (244 posts to read before you can post).

  • Members 549 posts
    Sept. 22, 2025, 2:55 p.m.

    Ask Microsoft Copilot to read the thread. lol
    It read the whole thread and replied in less than two seconds - - - welcome to the future!

    Here's a brief synopsis of the ~598 replies to the DPReview forum thread titled “Upcoming forum changes: investing in our community's future”1:

    Forum Upgrade Announcement
    The thread begins with an official post from Dale Baskin, Managing Editor at DPReview, announcing a major upgrade to the forum infrastructure.

    DPReview is transitioning to a modern platform called XenForo, aiming to improve usability, mobile responsiveness, photo sharing, messaging, and personalization.


    Community Reactions
    The replies span a wide range of sentiments and concerns:

    Positive Feedback
    Many users welcome the modernization, especially the mobile-friendly design and enhanced photo galleries.

    Some appreciate the transparency and proactive communication from the DPReview team.


    Skepticism and Concerns
    A number of users express worry about losing the simplicity and familiarity of the current system.

    Concerns about potential paid memberships, data migration, and feature loss are common.

    Some fear the new platform may prioritize aesthetics over functionality.


    Technical Questions
    Users ask about:
    Whether existing posts, threads, and galleries will be preserved.
    
How usernames, bookmarks, and subscriptions will transfer.

    The timeline and expected downtime during migration.


    Nostalgia and Resistance
    Longtime members reminisce about the forum’s 25-year history and express resistance to change.

    Some lament the loss of the “old-school” forum feel and worry about alienating veteran users.


    Meta Discussions
    The thread itself becomes a microcosm of forum culture, with side conversations, jokes, and debates about forum etiquette, moderation, and community identity.


    Overall, the thread reflects a passionate and engaged user base grappling with the tension between preserving tradition and embracing innovation.
    Would you like a breakdown of the most common themes or concerns raised in the replies?

    References (1)
    1Upcoming forum changes: investing in our community's future. www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68444187

  • Members 1053 posts
    Sept. 22, 2025, 3:15 p.m.

    Wow, didn't know AI can do that!

  • Members 549 posts
    Sept. 22, 2025, 3:43 p.m.

    It's a crazy world, Ted.
    If you ever engage with these AI bots - - - do not give them any personal information about yourself (when signed in), as they will remember it for all eternity.
    copilot.microsoft.com/

    The question asked for the above response was...
    Can you give me a brief synopsis of the ~598 replies to this DPReview forum thread.
    www.dpreview.com/forums/post/68444187

  • Sept. 22, 2025, 4:16 p.m.

    I think I could create similar summary after seeing the thread title only... ;)

  • Members 1053 posts
    Sept. 22, 2025, 6:08 p.m.

    Thanks for the advice, Greg!

  • Members 2303 posts
    Sept. 22, 2025, 9:01 p.m.

    So, to save money, they dich the best forum software on the WWW ( from user point of view) and swap over to a bog standard software that is used by the other sites in the corporate stable.

    It all stinks of a historic site dying a slow death. Already, I hardly visit anymore as it has lost most of the best posters. The forums were moderated to death before the aborted closure, and traffic has been declining as people are seemingly loosing interest in photography.

  • Sept. 22, 2025, 9:08 p.m.

    I read in one of the threads that the one guy who understands the workings and structure of the site is retiring soon. This may explain why the management wants newer software, so that more people understand it.

    Whether that is true or not, reading the discussions it seems that the whole site is self-destructing.

    David

  • Members 2555 posts
    Sept. 22, 2025, 10:17 p.m.

    its been self distructing since camera sales became more important than actual photography, moderators stepping in and basically sandbagging any long standing member that gave there personal thoughts on cameras. the site has now become the same as our camera club concentrating on begginners, our club is falling apart for the same reason.

  • Sept. 23, 2025, 3:08 p.m.

    This is a screen shot of an ad that I now get every time I visit the dpr thread. Not very elevating, in my opinion.

    F47B7A34-D41D-46E3-A15B-FDCC070F33F6.jpg

    David

    F47B7A34-D41D-46E3-A15B-FDCC070F33F6.jpg

    JPG, 395.1 KB, uploaded by davidwien on Sept. 23, 2025.

  • Members 13 posts
    Sept. 23, 2025, 3:24 p.m.

    hardly a third world problem but anyway i always use threaded on man y forums.

  • Members 1053 posts
    Sept. 23, 2025, 3:38 p.m.

    discuss.pixels.us is none too friendly either. A Mod just told me:

    Nothing like dire threats to make one's blood run cold ...

  • Members 549 posts
    Sept. 23, 2025, 4:03 p.m.

    @davidwien

    I have never seen an ad anywhere on the internet for over 20 years.
    That includes eBay and YouTube.

    I use two Firefox Extensions/addons on my Mac mini desktop computer.
    NoScript version 13.0.9
    And… uBlock Origin version 1.66.4

  • Sept. 23, 2025, 9:07 p.m.

    I use uBlock Origin on Firefox and don't see any adverts over there.
    Alan

  • Members 49 posts
    Sept. 23, 2025, 11:59 p.m.

    Wonder if their new platform is intended to defeat uBlock ?
    Somewhere, somehow, in the midst of all that spin, there must be a reason to risk losing 50% of their membership.
    Otherwise, it's leadership à la Trump.

  • Sept. 24, 2025, 5:43 a.m.

    I use my iPad to view DPR and the advert problem has only arisen since the recent change to iPadOS 26. Previously I could just tick "continue wiothout supporting". I use AdBlockPlus but it seems that avoiding ads is yet another form of whack-a-mole!

    No problem with hte desktop. Thanks!

    David

  • Members 538 posts
    Sept. 24, 2025, 10:03 a.m.

    This idea that threaded posts is hard to do seems very odd to me. These posts are stored in a database (I assume). All you need to do is add a field to the post record that can contain the record id of any post it is a reply to then just display the replies under the parent post slightly indented. You could even do that in a flat mode: instead of displaying posts in linear chronological order, group them by parent id.

    I expect there are all sorts of complicated reasons why this is not possible but at first blush it seems trivial. We are talking about computer systems after all. Storing organising and displaying data is what they do!

  • Sept. 24, 2025, 9:49 p.m.

    I think it's something along those lines that Bob is considering. Adding the record isn't too hard, except how do you do it on existing posts - what does it link back to?

    Then there's the display - it all depends on how Misago does it at the moment.

    So, the concept may be "trivial", but the implementation can take some working out.

    It reminds me of the time I was asked to design and implement a migration from Windows 3 to Windows 95 for a company. The previous person wanted to walk round with a load of floppy disks and wipe/install. Obviously, that got thrown out. So they called me in. In about 2 weeks I came up with a design and PoC which worked. It took 6 months to produce the final plan. And then about 3 days to do all 2,000 PCs. Oh, and I ended up marrying the project leader (a nice bonus).

    Alan

    Alan