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Topic starter
So just talking to the universe here . . .
After only an hour or so of "work" I was able to spin up an on-line forum for no cost. And users were able to register and post comments. Yes there is an issue with the registration email getting marked as spam for some users, but not everyone. And this forum is missing some of the features we're used to on CD's forums.
So my question to those here and those who find themselves here from CD, should I continue to spend time working on this?
Things I need to do to:
1. Get a real domain name. Obviously the name of my home brewing operation isn't the best option. That's basically a $20 bill every year.
2. There are upgrades that can be made that give more features that put this forum on parity to what we're used to. Those all cost money, BUT I personally feel the free option is more than acceptable.
So for anyone who finds themselves here - is it worth it?
Posted : April 17, 2026 8:23 pm
Seems nice. Yahoo e-mails don't work so I tried my gmail and it worked instantly.
Posted : April 17, 2026 9:40 pm
Topic starter
@saginawhorror2 I did see that you create a new account. I think the other user who had issues was also using Yahoo (I've had issues with yahoo address in my professional life where they blocked our emails) so that might be the "trick"
It doesn't look like I can update your user name (also why mine is DUMB) but I can at least delete the other version of you.
Posted : April 18, 2026 12:08 am
Topic starter
Posted : April 18, 2026 1:14 am
I'm impressed. I had no idea there was a Wordpress plug-in to implement a forum.
Posted : April 18, 2026 2:32 am
BookHavenForumAdmin reacted
Topic starter
Welcome!
Yeah I was originally looking at phpBB and that seems like A LOT and then saw something on Reddit (maybe?) about a Wordpress plug-in. There seem to be a few, but this one, wpForo, had a ton of ratings and installations, plus the price was right.
Configuration wasn't too difficult - mostly just deciding what to turn off.
I'm impressed. I had no idea there was a Wordpress plug-in to implement a forum.
Posted : April 18, 2026 4:49 am
TD, I think it's a viable option and if you choose to take it on, I think it's a nice boon for our little group. With the CD forum still up, I think it's a given that you're not yet seeing the activity that might justify the effort, but if/when it does get shut down, this is the only real alternative that would duplicate what we all enjoy about the CD forum platform and I suspect participation would ratchet up. My Groups.io email list is fine and is an adequate backup, but it's not the same as a forum.
Only suggestion I'd give r.e. the construct of the site is to add some color for sectioning and warmth, if that's possible...this sea of all white (and a bit of gray) is not particularly inviting to the eye. I know the CD forum is similar, but there's something different about the way it's displayed where the white doesn't seem so overwhelming.
Posted : April 19, 2026 9:21 pm
Nice. Thanks for the info.
Years ago, I ran a couple of phpBB boards, and every new release of php broke the board one way or another. I eventually got tired to trying to keep them going and just killed them.
Posted : April 19, 2026 9:22 pm
Topic starter
I appreciate the supporting words sir!
About the color, or lack thereof - I totally agree. I just went with a default just to get it going and obviously didn't spend a lot of time customizing colors. I'll add that to the immediate to do list!
And thanks for understanding that this wasn't supposed to be a replacement to your email list. I have always enjoyed the forum approach to things like this (probably because I started reading sites like this via USENET a million years ago.)
TD, I think it's a viable option and if you choose to take it on, I think it's a nice boon for our little group. With the CD forum still up, I think it's a given that you're not yet seeing the activity that might justify the effort, but if/when it does get shut down, this is the only real alternative that would duplicate what we all enjoy about the CD forum platform and I suspect participation would ratchet up. My Groups.io email list is fine and is an adequate backup, but it's not the same as a forum.
Only suggestion I'd give r.e. the construct of the site is to add some color for sectioning and warmth, if that's possible...this sea of all white (and a bit of gray) is not particularly inviting to the eye. I know the CD forum is similar, but there's something different about the way it's displayed where the white doesn't seem so overwhelming.
Posted : April 21, 2026 10:09 pm
I appreciate the supporting words sir!
About the color, or lack thereof - I totally agree. I just went with a default just to get it going and obviously didn't spend a lot of time customizing colors. I'll add that to the immediate to do list!
And thanks for understanding that this wasn't supposed to be a replacement to your email list. I have always enjoyed the forum approach to things like this (probably because I started reading sites like this via USENET a million years ago.)
TD, I think it's a viable option and if you choose to take it on, I think it's a nice boon for our little group. With the CD forum still up, I think it's a given that you're not yet seeing the activity that might justify the effort, but if/when it does get shut down, this is the only real alternative that would duplicate what we all enjoy about the CD forum platform and I suspect participation would ratchet up. My Groups.io email list is fine and is an adequate backup, but it's not the same as a forum.
Only suggestion I'd give r.e. the construct of the site is to add some color for sectioning and warmth, if that's possible...this sea of all white (and a bit of gray) is not particularly inviting to the eye. I know the CD forum is similar, but there's something different about the way it's displayed where the white doesn't seem so overwhelming.
No worries at all -- I'll always consider the SmallPressHorror Groups.io list as the backup, not the primary...email is just inherently more cumbersome for multiple threads whereas a forum is certainly more suited for it.
Posted : April 21, 2026 11:11 pm
All moved over now. Weird Google message is fixed.
Posted : April 22, 2026 12:50 am
TacomaDiver reacted
The weird Google message was probably my own doing - I think I was editing the wrong site. 🙂 But things are looking solid again here.
Thanks for confirming!
Posted : April 22, 2026 1:04 am
Yahoo has always been problematic in my experience with certain types of emails. More times than not when someone tells me they're not getting a newsletter they signed up for, they have a Yahoo address. Not sure why...
Founder and publisher of Lividian Publications. My other website is BrianJamesFreeman.com because sometimes I do still write or edit something. Sometimes. Please always feel free to email me if you have any questions about either.
Posted : April 22, 2026 1:52 am
Yahoo seems to be the common denominator for users who registered but never were able to activate. I work in mortgage technology as a job and Yahoo emails are problematic there as well. It's always a Yahoo email whenever anyone says "I didn't receive the email". Always.
Posted : April 22, 2026 2:32 am