Page 1 of 2
Finding the old group.
Posted: Sat Jan 10, 2026 2:12 pm
by Kevin
I sent this out to 16 people through various ways, including everyone on the Whatbirders of inatralist who wasn't already here. I heard back from Connor(who's joined) and Birds are cool(from Georgia) who's busy with life but said he'll probably join back at some point.
We wanted to to let you know the old whatbird forum is gone. So some of us got to gather and have started a new forum!
it is:
https://www.whatbirdisthat.net
So far it's just old Whatbird members, so feel free to use your old username as it should be available!
Currently we are manually confirming new members so it may take a little time for your account to be activated.
If you have any trouble registering please send me a message here or with my email.
(IMy email here)
This is being sent to multiple people, please feel free to forward this message to any old whatbird members you may have contact with!
Looking forward to seeing you again soon!
Kevin and the old Whatbird gang,
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:19 am
by Zoroark
Glad we're back!
Good old phpBB, which used to power every self-hosted forum
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:50 am
by Greyhawk
Zoroark wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:19 am
Good old phpBB, which used to power every self-hosted forum
Maybe I should have looked into a more modern platform, or specifically found out what drove the previous forum, but I already had some familiarity with phpBB, which I thought might reduce the learning curve and knew my host had a wizard that could install it automatically.
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 12:09 pm
by Charlie Spencer
Greyhawk wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:50 am
Maybe I should have looked into a more modern platform, or specifically found out what drove the previous forum, but
I already had some familiarity with phpBB, which I thought might reduce the learning curve and knew my host had a wizard that could install it automatically.
Eh, a newer platform may be a project when you get bored. In the mean time, great job of leveraging existing skills and resources!
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:21 pm
by aveschapinas
Greyhawk wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:50 am
Zoroark wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 2:19 am
Good old phpBB, which used to power every self-hosted forum
Maybe I should have looked into a more modern platform, or specifically found out what drove the previous forum, but I already had some familiarity with phpBB, which I thought might reduce the learning curve and knew my host had a wizard that could install it automatically.
The old forum was run on Invision. But it seems like this one will suit our needs!
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:30 pm
by Charlie Spencer
aveschapinas wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:21 pm
The old forum was run on Invision. But it seems like this one will suit our needs!
I must confess I'm missing the ability to give 'Likes' more than I expected. Sure, we could reply with smilies but that takes up a lot of space and give the impression new content has been posted.
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 7:01 pm
by Greyhawk
Charlie Spencer wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:30 pm
aveschapinas wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:21 pm
The old forum was run on Invision. But it seems like this one will suit our needs!
I must confess I'm missing the ability to give 'Likes' more than I expected.
I'll definitely look into an extension that at least allows users to "thank" a post.
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 7:22 pm
by aveschapinas
Charlie Spencer wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:30 pm
aveschapinas wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 6:21 pm
The old forum was run on Invision. But it seems like this one will suit our needs!
I must confess I'm missing the ability to give 'Likes' more than I expected. Sure, we could reply with smilies but that takes up a lot of space and give the impression new content has been posted.
I miss that too.
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 7:24 pm
by aveschapinas
Greyhawk wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 7:01 pm
I'll definitely look into an extension that at least allows users to "thank" a post.
I do think it's a bit strange that the platform doesn't offer reaction options, given how ubiquitous they are these days.
Re: Finding the old group.
Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2026 7:59 pm
by Charlie Spencer
aveschapinas wrote: Mon Jan 12, 2026 7:24 pm
I do think it's a bit strange that the platform doesn't offer reaction options, given how ubiquitous they are these days.
phpBB dates back to the early 2000s and predates the use of reaction icons. As @greyhawk noted, there are extensions that add newer capabilities.