[nabs-l] Bulletin board software

Fri Apr 23 19:29:23 UTC 2010

I would reply in-line, but it irritates some people on blindness 
lists who only know some of their screen reader's commands.  *grin*

I can do both install one-click solutions (most of them PHP based) or 
install my own.  Python's an option.  If phphBB is generally 
considered accessible, it's what I'll use.  It's pretty stable, low 
maintenance, and depending on how much tweaking I want to do, I can 
probably use the one-click installation Dreamhost provides and call 
it a day—let THEM worry about keeping it up to date and operating 
properly.  (I have the option to install it myself, but then I'll 
have to maintain it myself.)

I'm familiar with MediaWiki's accessibility, and it would have been 
my logical first choice for a wiki failing other options.

I've never seen Invision Power Board, but since it's a paid package 
I'm not surprised.  I'm not opposed to that, so long as I get 
security updates free and the thing doesn't require that I regularly 
fork over additional money to keep the thing from locking me out 
while locking my content in, or something equally unsavory.  (What?  
People think it's just Freedom Science Fiction and Inhumanware who 
do everything they can to ensure that you have no choice but to keep 
giving them money no matter what bug-ridden crap they foist upon you?  
Not hardly!  But that's another rant..)

Anyway, Tikiwiki looks promising.  The last integrated solution I 
used was Trac, which is great if you have a bunch of nerds hacking C 
source code and users reporting bugs against same, but it's not so 
friendly for a completely non-technical community.

It seems the need for a wiki in the project is vanishing rapidly as 
the project reshapes itself.  That'll probably lead me to phpBB, 
which I use pretty regularly and pretty much works.  I can personally 
see some value in adding some BBcode tags to the standard list for 
specific purposes, but that would require me to do some programming 
myself and maintain the whole thing.  Possibly not worth it in this 
instance.

Thanks for the advice!

Joseph

On Thu, Apr 22, 2010 at 11:00:48AM -0600, Joseph C. Lininger wrote:
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>Good morning,
>I have quoted parts of your message inline and responded to them. Just
>as a heads up.
>
>> 1. It is a hosted solution, but at the moment it looks like the host  is gonna be
>> Dreamhost, so there's a lot of leeway for what I want to do with it.
>
>I don't have much experience with that one. Most times when I've done
>something like this, I've run it on a personal or company server so I
>could install what ever I wanted. That being said, some hosting
>companies offer message board software, wiki software, etc. etc. etc.
>Some even let you install your own stuff if you want. We'll go with the
>assumption this one either comes with something you can use, or will let
>you install what ever you want to for the purposes of this discussion.
>
>> 2. I'm looking ultimately for a discussion forum and possibly a wiki open to certain
>> contributors to collect the best collective wisdom of the forums into a more easily
>> searched manner.  Integration here isn't critical, but I wouldn't mind if it were
>> present certainly.
>
>I'll give you some information for each function you want, then suggest
>a couple that might work if you want a solution that can do both.
>
>Ok, first, wiki software. There are tons of them. If you want a Python
>based solution, which I'm gathering you don't based on your previous
>message, MoinMoin is probably the most popular. If you want a PHP based
>solution, you can look at MediaWiki, which is the software wikipedia
>uses. There is also dokuWiki if you'd like something simpler. See below
>though because I suggest a couple others which integrate forums.
>
>AS far as PHP based forum software, phpBB is a common solution. You
>mentioned that people might make it inaccessible via graphics and that.
>Well, phpBB doesn't allow imbedded content, and it doesn't look as
>though it requires java script or anything like that. Most likely, at a
>minimum the basic functions will work. If you don't like something, you
>always have the option of customizing themes and that with it. Smilies
>and that will probably be a problem no matter what solution you choose,
>but perhaps you can administratively disable them if that's a concern.
>
>There are two solutions which integrate Wiki and forum functions. The
>first, IpbWiki is one you probably won't be able to use. It's wiki
>software based on MediaWiki with integration with a forum software
>package called Invision Power Board. Invision Power Board is a
>propriatary program which you have to pay for. The second solution is
>worth considering though. It's a PHP solution called TikiWiki. It's a
>complete content management solution. Wiki and forums just happen to be
>two of the functions it supports. I haven't used it myself, but it looks
>as though it is kind of complex. However, if you want a completely
>integrated solution written in PHP, it's worth looking at.
>
>Let me know if I can be of further assistance.
>- --
>Yes means no and no means yes. Delete all files [Y]?
>Joseph C. Lininger, <jbahm at pcdesk.net>
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