The Future of the Forum

[claracc]

I think the Ubuntu forum has been very useful in the past for many people and it will be in the future too. I personally am very grateful for the help I have found here.

I vote for archive the forum, it contains valuable advice and information.

In order to update the forum, I think it would be better to use modern and free software for the forum.

Thank you very much to all people who works for the forum survival.

Best regards

[Erik1984]

Along with Debian Forums and Linuxmint Forums, this software seems to be used by many familiar names.
Ubuntu Italy and KDE are mentioned here https://www.phpbb.com/showcase/

KDE is on Discourse now, that link to https://forum.kde.org redirects to: https://discuss.kde.org

[oldfred]

I do not think kde is Kubuntu as this still is valid:
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/

[ozark_hillbilly]

I am in favor of anything that allows UF to survive, even with a new redesign/upgrade.

In my case as an older user who still prefers the desktop environment over the mini-screened
cellphone I would be dismayed to see the forum die. I have used it over a decade to answer my
stupid questions about why "this is doing this." I am not a programmer or analyst or server admin guy.

I dabble with IDE's like Arduino and Raspberry Pi and poke at C code. But my knowlwdge of Linux
is fairly limited and to be honest when it runs for months on end without a hiccup the ole "use it or lose it"
adage steps in.

Just as I make an annual donation to WikiMedia I would not be adverse to doing the same with a new site.
People who volunteer their time should be respected for their service offering. If a monetary incentive would
invite more of the expert volunteers back so be it. Knowing I can post a thread on UF and receive good advice
has value.

I do hate to see UF struggling against AskUbuntu and StackExchange. If Linux wants to remain relevant at the
personal user level we need to make sure tech support is only a post away.

And for those that run programs like the Arduino IDE platform a cellphone is not gonna cut it. Desktop/laptop PCs
will always have a following as long as there are those of us addicted to the microcontroller world.

Its an unsettling thought to think UF may die after using it for over a decade. A reincarnation to something more
adaptable to today's digital environment should be seriously considered.

I really do not want to see a trusted friend walkaway never to return.

[werewulf75]

I do not think kde is Kubuntu as this still is valid:
https://www.kubuntuforums.net/

Indeed, the KDE link is just the KDE Discourse forum, not the Kubuntu forum which is still at the above link. This latter however looks nothing like phpBB but visually could well be Discourse, and it certainly looks a most uninviting mess.

[sudodus]

I think the Ubuntu forum has been very useful in the past for many people and it will be in the future too. I personally am very grateful for the help I have found here.
...
Thank you very much to all people who works for the forum survival.

+1
I see a lot of people volunteering to step up and help revamp our Ubuntu Forums. (I cannot promise anything right now, but maybe ...)

[maglin2]

This thread came as an unpleasant surprise. I find the forum very useful. Both the help I get resolving specific issues I have and the 'learning by lurking' that I get just from reading. Ask Ubuntu just isn't the same. There isn't the same level of interrogation of the specific issues raised as I see in the forum. A lot of that process I find educational.
I'm very grateful to all those who run it and help by providing support. Since I don't I couldn't complain if it folded, but I'd certainly miss it.

[AnupamMitra]

I joined this forum in 2009 at the age of 58. I was a novice and didn't know much about Linux at that time. Whatever I've learned about Linux that is from the volunteers of this forum. I am indebted to this forum. There is no comparison of this forum with Ask Ubuntu. Please don't shut down the UF. Don’t make us orphan.

[ozark_hillbilly]

"Is this forum still useful?"

It certainly is to me. I do not operate "inside" Linux like those who are more intimate wth the operating system
and have a solid command of manipulating it at the terminal mode level. But I greatly appreciate being able
to tap into the considerable wealth of information from those who share their knowledge and troubleshooting skills.

[grahammechanical]

We have made some comments about Canonical. So, to balance things out a bit, have you noticed that Ubuntu.com is titled Canonical Ubuntu? Look at the Community drop down menu. I see Ask Ubuntu; Forums [that's us folks]; and Ubuntu Masters - seems to be video talks by experts on using Ubuntu in the commercial setting.

https://ubuntu.com/#community

So, it seems that previously stated moans have been rectified.

Regards

P.S. that web site has some useful tutorials and guides that we can use to provide answers to problems. I think it diminishes the need to archive the forum. Start again from the beginning, in my opinion. Keep a copy of the forum on someone's drive. Keep it sandboxed so the the age of the software is not a vulnerability. Access it for solutions but remember - the useful knowledge of years ago is no longer useful because the hardware is obsolete and the software and applications have been upgraded almost beyond recognition?

Regards