TylerC
04-10-2005, 06:23 PM
Hello All,
There is so much ground to cover! I've had this idea for a new forum application on my mind for almost six months now. It's one of those ideas that gets planted in the back of your head, then it grows and grows it just keeps growing and soon you can think of nothing else; it consumes you. Well this is how it has been for me, and I must say I think it is very good. I have been visualizing this for several months. So I've decide to take action, and pursue it, and here it is:
Background Information
As of this time we do not have a name for the forum software. But we are calling it it Codename: Evolution since my intention is for it to be a whole new evolution in forum software! I understand there are many other forum applications out there: vBulletin, IPB, and the major free ones, like phpBB, Simple Machines and punBB. Each has its strengths, and each has weaknesses inherent in them that I believe a new approach can solve. vBulletin - It is considered by many to be the highest standard in the industry. Not everyone can get their hands on it; it very expensive for many potential forum owners, and this discourages them from purchasing it. IPB - Most users do not like their staff, especially their President who constantly delays release dates, etc. It is also somewhat expensive, and it lacks features that are people prize in vB. phpBB - Arguably the most popular free BB out there is very nice. However, its quality, efficiency and features pale in comparison to the paid applications. It has a history marked by security holes, and since their staff is not getting paid, concerns may arise about timeliness and effectiveness of fixes. The same can be said for many of the other applications available at no cost.
Why another?
Why introduce another Bulletin Board on the market? As I mentioned earlier, each BB has its own weaknesses. We hope to eliminate all of the weakness the others have, and we've been brainstorming functionality that goes way beyond that offered by the strongest boards currently available.
Here (http://www.cbttechs.com/Evolution/features.rtf) (user cf password forums) is a list of mandatory/traditional features and innovative features, and we are adding more and tweaking this list every day. I'm confident this project can set a new standard for BBs, and I'm committed to putting together the right team to make it a reality.
How it came about
This idea came about as I was trying to find the BB that suited me best. When my forums were first made, we went with phpBB. We had registered about 25 members when phpBB was hacked. We did everything we could upgrade phpBB, PHP, MySQL, everything, but it was no use, the hacking continued relentlessly. We were forced to go to an alternative. phpBB was the best free BB in our eyes, and we wanted to make sure we didn't downgrade our functionality, especially with the number of modifications we'd make up to that point. So we purchased vB. vB was great once we laid down the cash, but everything can be improved, which we hope Evolution will do. We want to bring the best of every forum together into a single application and then take this a whole level higher.
What we need
Evolution is an idea waiting to be brought to life. We need people. We need as of this just only need programmers. We hope to get a one or two more programmers added to our current team. All participants need to be experienced and dedicated and at least 18 years of age to be legally bounded to our legal agreement. I am hoping to have this available for purchase in two years. Here is a rough timeline for which I'm shooting, starting with finding the right team.
1 Week - Our first meeting as a team, introducing ourselves, deciding where we want to start, who does what etc. From then on, we will have weekly meetings to see how everyone is doing, if anyone needs any help.
3 Months - Have our basic visual design template prepared, waiting it to be coded. Coding begins for the design. Designers will then focus on our main Web site. Programmers hopefully have most of the required files finished, and maybe even start work on the backend (including AdminCP).
6 Months - Designing and construction of the application's front end continues, along with work on a site for the application. AdminCP and required files as well as backend completed. Programming for the client side begins.
1 Year - Designers are finished with site, programmers will probably have a few changes etc. Programmers will continue finishing up client side, script installation and other last touches.
1-1/2 Years - Installation script nears completion.
1 Year, 8 Months - Application and site nearly complete. Final testing and tweaking takes place. Alpha is released.
1 year 10 months - Beta edition of our forum software is made available to a predetermined number of people for two months. After two months their software expires. We will make a decision as to whether testers will be given stable release licenses.
2 Years - The beta is complete, and we have applied all of our changes. 1.0 version is released and is ready for purchase.
As you can see its not a quick-and-dirty project. We want to take our time to create a product that stands out, quality over quantity (construction time). We want make it excellent, presentable to other companies, and to be competitors for other BBs like vBulletin. Most importantly, we have to identify and capture the market that needs our product.
For example, I'm proposing that this new system come with a parental control panel, where parents can sign up their children for a forum, and using their own CP, they can monitor their children's online activities. This would endear our product to companies and organizations that target minors, to the point that it might be the feature that sells the product. I'm proposing an optional self-imposed time/post limiting feature that can allow individuals to track, regulate and cap how much time they are spending on a site. This would help people with time management issues, and forum owners may find offering this sort of function makes for better quality contributions with less membership burnout.
I'm asking experienced programmers to contact me, at the very least to give me feedback on it, and at best, to be a part of the production team. If you know of anyone who might be a good fit for this project, I graciously request that you forward on my contact information so they can learn more about it from me.
There are still plenty of logistics that need to be sorted out. I understand developers are busy with their own projects, and we need to set realistic levels of involvement for people. There's the matter of pay; I'm asking for an investment of time on people's parts now for structured compensation in the future, and this needs to be ironed out. There are matters pertaining to effectively managing this project in light of geographic/time zone inconveniences. There are logistics I'm certain I haven't considered, and this is one area where your feedback would be most valuable to me.
You can PM me here, or reply to the thread with your contact information.
I look forward from hearing from you! Remember contacting someone never hurts, you may just fall as much in love with this project as I am!
Thank you everyone for reading this. I hope to hear from you soon!
Tyler Cole
There is so much ground to cover! I've had this idea for a new forum application on my mind for almost six months now. It's one of those ideas that gets planted in the back of your head, then it grows and grows it just keeps growing and soon you can think of nothing else; it consumes you. Well this is how it has been for me, and I must say I think it is very good. I have been visualizing this for several months. So I've decide to take action, and pursue it, and here it is:
Background Information
As of this time we do not have a name for the forum software. But we are calling it it Codename: Evolution since my intention is for it to be a whole new evolution in forum software! I understand there are many other forum applications out there: vBulletin, IPB, and the major free ones, like phpBB, Simple Machines and punBB. Each has its strengths, and each has weaknesses inherent in them that I believe a new approach can solve. vBulletin - It is considered by many to be the highest standard in the industry. Not everyone can get their hands on it; it very expensive for many potential forum owners, and this discourages them from purchasing it. IPB - Most users do not like their staff, especially their President who constantly delays release dates, etc. It is also somewhat expensive, and it lacks features that are people prize in vB. phpBB - Arguably the most popular free BB out there is very nice. However, its quality, efficiency and features pale in comparison to the paid applications. It has a history marked by security holes, and since their staff is not getting paid, concerns may arise about timeliness and effectiveness of fixes. The same can be said for many of the other applications available at no cost.
Why another?
Why introduce another Bulletin Board on the market? As I mentioned earlier, each BB has its own weaknesses. We hope to eliminate all of the weakness the others have, and we've been brainstorming functionality that goes way beyond that offered by the strongest boards currently available.
Here (http://www.cbttechs.com/Evolution/features.rtf) (user cf password forums) is a list of mandatory/traditional features and innovative features, and we are adding more and tweaking this list every day. I'm confident this project can set a new standard for BBs, and I'm committed to putting together the right team to make it a reality.
How it came about
This idea came about as I was trying to find the BB that suited me best. When my forums were first made, we went with phpBB. We had registered about 25 members when phpBB was hacked. We did everything we could upgrade phpBB, PHP, MySQL, everything, but it was no use, the hacking continued relentlessly. We were forced to go to an alternative. phpBB was the best free BB in our eyes, and we wanted to make sure we didn't downgrade our functionality, especially with the number of modifications we'd make up to that point. So we purchased vB. vB was great once we laid down the cash, but everything can be improved, which we hope Evolution will do. We want to bring the best of every forum together into a single application and then take this a whole level higher.
What we need
Evolution is an idea waiting to be brought to life. We need people. We need as of this just only need programmers. We hope to get a one or two more programmers added to our current team. All participants need to be experienced and dedicated and at least 18 years of age to be legally bounded to our legal agreement. I am hoping to have this available for purchase in two years. Here is a rough timeline for which I'm shooting, starting with finding the right team.
1 Week - Our first meeting as a team, introducing ourselves, deciding where we want to start, who does what etc. From then on, we will have weekly meetings to see how everyone is doing, if anyone needs any help.
3 Months - Have our basic visual design template prepared, waiting it to be coded. Coding begins for the design. Designers will then focus on our main Web site. Programmers hopefully have most of the required files finished, and maybe even start work on the backend (including AdminCP).
6 Months - Designing and construction of the application's front end continues, along with work on a site for the application. AdminCP and required files as well as backend completed. Programming for the client side begins.
1 Year - Designers are finished with site, programmers will probably have a few changes etc. Programmers will continue finishing up client side, script installation and other last touches.
1-1/2 Years - Installation script nears completion.
1 Year, 8 Months - Application and site nearly complete. Final testing and tweaking takes place. Alpha is released.
1 year 10 months - Beta edition of our forum software is made available to a predetermined number of people for two months. After two months their software expires. We will make a decision as to whether testers will be given stable release licenses.
2 Years - The beta is complete, and we have applied all of our changes. 1.0 version is released and is ready for purchase.
As you can see its not a quick-and-dirty project. We want to take our time to create a product that stands out, quality over quantity (construction time). We want make it excellent, presentable to other companies, and to be competitors for other BBs like vBulletin. Most importantly, we have to identify and capture the market that needs our product.
For example, I'm proposing that this new system come with a parental control panel, where parents can sign up their children for a forum, and using their own CP, they can monitor their children's online activities. This would endear our product to companies and organizations that target minors, to the point that it might be the feature that sells the product. I'm proposing an optional self-imposed time/post limiting feature that can allow individuals to track, regulate and cap how much time they are spending on a site. This would help people with time management issues, and forum owners may find offering this sort of function makes for better quality contributions with less membership burnout.
I'm asking experienced programmers to contact me, at the very least to give me feedback on it, and at best, to be a part of the production team. If you know of anyone who might be a good fit for this project, I graciously request that you forward on my contact information so they can learn more about it from me.
There are still plenty of logistics that need to be sorted out. I understand developers are busy with their own projects, and we need to set realistic levels of involvement for people. There's the matter of pay; I'm asking for an investment of time on people's parts now for structured compensation in the future, and this needs to be ironed out. There are matters pertaining to effectively managing this project in light of geographic/time zone inconveniences. There are logistics I'm certain I haven't considered, and this is one area where your feedback would be most valuable to me.
You can PM me here, or reply to the thread with your contact information.
I look forward from hearing from you! Remember contacting someone never hurts, you may just fall as much in love with this project as I am!
Thank you everyone for reading this. I hope to hear from you soon!
Tyler Cole