upepo
Elder Lister
A lot has been said regarding the decision by the new MCA investor to move to a new interface. Maybe it is time to hear from the most seasoned internet user of his generation. Here, I will tell you what the discourse interface is and isn’t. I will also speculate on the probable reasoning behind the move. Here we go.
First, you may have noticed how the Ktalk forum has changed hands several times in the past. This could be a sign of exasperation from the owners upon realizing there were no growth prospects. The newest owner must have come to the same realization, hence the decision to bet on the already existing content rather than the activity of the existing members. Let me explain this point a bit further. You see, the discourse interface works very well in serving content to casual web surfers, people who don’t have the motivation to dig for content. Luckily, Ktalk has tons of content from the past, enough to keep attracting hits to the website for years. Seemingly, this activity is more likely to enable the investor to recoup his investment. For an investor, this is a much safer bet than hoping to turn around a forum that has been turned to a pee ground by mentally unstable juveniles. In summary, discourse works best for casual web surfers.
Let us now see what the discourse interface is not. The discourse interface is not meant for member interactions. Discourse is like putting people in cubicles while expecting them to communicate. For comparison, Xenforo is like an open hall. The discourse format prevents interactions from happening, which has both positives and negatives. On the positive, it denies interrupters/peeing boys a platform to ply their trade. On the negative, it prevents productive discussions from happening. Funnily, the new platform seems to mostly affect the highest IQs and the lowest IQs. The high IQs cannot understand why they have to go through an unnecessarily complex process. On the other hand, the low IQs lack the cognitive capacity to cope with the complexity. In other words, the Discourse interface will never work in a 1000 years.
Let us now briefly review the merits and demerits of Xenforo. When selecting a user interface, it is important to consider the characteristics of the users. For instance, the average Ktalk user is someone engaged in employment of some sort but who needs to keep peeking at the forum to see what is happening. When this user peeks at the site, they need to instantly identify the newest threads since they last visited, the newest posts, the most active thread, and any reactions to their contributions. Xenforo excels in all these aspects. However, Xenforo can be difficult to navigate for random internet surfers who just want to read some content without digging. Hence, Xenforo is for interactions as opposed to serving content to random internet surfers.
First, you may have noticed how the Ktalk forum has changed hands several times in the past. This could be a sign of exasperation from the owners upon realizing there were no growth prospects. The newest owner must have come to the same realization, hence the decision to bet on the already existing content rather than the activity of the existing members. Let me explain this point a bit further. You see, the discourse interface works very well in serving content to casual web surfers, people who don’t have the motivation to dig for content. Luckily, Ktalk has tons of content from the past, enough to keep attracting hits to the website for years. Seemingly, this activity is more likely to enable the investor to recoup his investment. For an investor, this is a much safer bet than hoping to turn around a forum that has been turned to a pee ground by mentally unstable juveniles. In summary, discourse works best for casual web surfers.
Let us now see what the discourse interface is not. The discourse interface is not meant for member interactions. Discourse is like putting people in cubicles while expecting them to communicate. For comparison, Xenforo is like an open hall. The discourse format prevents interactions from happening, which has both positives and negatives. On the positive, it denies interrupters/peeing boys a platform to ply their trade. On the negative, it prevents productive discussions from happening. Funnily, the new platform seems to mostly affect the highest IQs and the lowest IQs. The high IQs cannot understand why they have to go through an unnecessarily complex process. On the other hand, the low IQs lack the cognitive capacity to cope with the complexity. In other words, the Discourse interface will never work in a 1000 years.
Let us now briefly review the merits and demerits of Xenforo. When selecting a user interface, it is important to consider the characteristics of the users. For instance, the average Ktalk user is someone engaged in employment of some sort but who needs to keep peeking at the forum to see what is happening. When this user peeks at the site, they need to instantly identify the newest threads since they last visited, the newest posts, the most active thread, and any reactions to their contributions. Xenforo excels in all these aspects. However, Xenforo can be difficult to navigate for random internet surfers who just want to read some content without digging. Hence, Xenforo is for interactions as opposed to serving content to random internet surfers.
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