Meth (serious question): any chance NT ever moves to vBulletin?
Everyone here, down to the most casual user, is acutely aware with Yuku's "issues." Then, on top of that, factor in all the instability we've experienced at the management level as Yuku has been sold over and over again.
Since maybe 2005 or so, not a single year goes by that we haven't given serious consideration to switching platforms.
VBulletin has its own problems to be sure. Security, for example, is of particular concern. The larger the platform, the bigger the target and though, for the sake of flexibility, third party add-ons are convenient they're also problematic due to their impact on site performance as well as any vulnerabilities that such openness can create. Then there are cost issues. With a network, you distribute the expense of maintenance, updates are pushed immediately, etc. If you run a vbulletin site, you're generally on your own and everything's suddenly scaling in the wrong direction. Every so often, people campaign to be the next moderator - but nobody's gonna volunteer to play systems admin.
Really, there's no perfect solution. If there was, we'd be using it already. Anything we do will produce a certain degree of controversy. If we change the banner or replace an emoticon some people freak out. (And yet, often that criticism comes from the same people who want us to leave Yuku - like that won't result in massive changes throughout the site.)
I think what WORKS on NikeTalk is our people. The rest, to a certain degree, is window dressing. We want to create the best possible experience, but nobody comes to NikeTalk for a fancy layout or a bunch of tacky social media gimmicks. The best thing a platform can do, in some respects, is to simply work properly and get out of the way. We've all sort of gotten accustomed to living with this platform's stubborn flaws, but the concern is that it's creating an entry barrier that makes it more difficult than it should be for us to welcome like-minded newcomers to our community. It should be easier for people to find content of interest. The system needs to respond QUICKLY and stop crashing every time there's a traffic spike for a major sporting event or news story. The platform and its features should be intuitive.
While the status quo is comfortable simply because we're so accustomed to it, things need to get better and I know that we're all short on patience in that respect. All of us put a lot into this place every day and we deserve a platform that maximizes and enhances, rather than frustrates and undermines, our collective efforts. We'll consider any and every option that allows us to do so.
pathetic.
