Thank you for all the great comments, feedback and patience during our recent modernization efforts at unix.com.
Now, I need to decide where to go next, as we move into the next phase.
Some of the ideas I have are:
Make the UserCP experience and all those non-public UserCP pages responsive for mobile and other devices other than the desktop. This seems like a low priority since these pages are not public.
Redesign the user profile pages. However, this does not seems like a high priority for members and others have suggested we use the "blue side bars" feature for this and do not redesign and do unnecessary work.
Add new code to make it easier to upload attachments. This seems like a "higher priority" item, because uploading attachments is not easy, so I am considering some new code to make it very easy for users to upload attachments.
Add new code so guests can give thanks / thumbs up for posts. This seems like somewhat a low priority.
Add new code so guest can post questions and replies. This seems like a good idea, but I have mixed feelings because of the possibility for increased spam and a work load increase on moderators. This is related to the next bullet point:
Add new code to permit login with FB and other social media accounts. I hesitate to do this because I'm not very happy with what is going on in the world of social media these days and the lack of privacy and transparency. Personally, I have disabled all FB and other social media logins on all websites. I am working to decrease my personal dependency on social media and not increase it.
If anybody has any "burning ideas", "strong feelings" or features they want to see, please post them in this thread so I can think of the path forward for the next phase of site modernization.
Create browser notification system (subscription service) whereas users can be notified in their browser (with UNIX.COM closed in browser) that they have "new replies to posts" or "new PMs" etc.
Seems everyone is happy with the forums and there are no strong feelings about what to code first (or next) during the next upgrade phase.
In that case, I may just put a new button in the quick editor / quick reply area to make uploading attachments easier (without going to the "advanced" editor page).
Personally, I think that it should be easier to upload attachments (screenshots, screen movies, text files, etc.)
I agree with your priorities. I see no need to let guests post or give thanks without logging in (due to spam/accountability issues).
There are some sites that I visit that allow subscribers to login by using their Facebook or Google account credentials (but still have an independent account at that site). I don't use these features because I don't want a break-in at Facebook or Google to give a cracker access to my accounts on other sites, but I won't object if you want to allow users to create a login at the UNIX & Linux Forums that can be logged into by giving a Facebook userID and password or a Google userID and password and you don't think it will compromise the UNIX & Linux Forums site security.
I'm 50/50 on adding FB and Google login and post capabilities. I'm not so worried about UNIX.COM security as I'm just "fed up" with FB, Google, and other social media companies data sharing and selling our person data policies.
However, it does seem that many people like logging in with FB or Google, so I'm OK to add this capability if many people see it as useful and facilitates more questions from non-members.
I used to "login with FB" on many sites, but after the many stories of FB data abuse in the media (like the Cambridge Analytica data breach, etc), I blocked this part of my FB app and I stopped logging into any website using third party logins, especially FB.
