Also, I can't pick out good names. If you can think up a good name for these forums, please respond in this thread.

I discovered that Opalstack is not running the most current version of Gitea. It appears that they are running 1.8.3.

This matters if you want to customize Gitea. You can download version 1.8.3 from Github here. 

You can find the Gitea version by running

I wrote up how to install Moodle on WebFaction, and I'm happy to say that the same technique works on Opalstack, as well.

The nice thing about how Opalstack works is that upgrading Moodle is extremely easy. I didn't include that in my original post, but I intend to rewrite the post about Opalstack, and will include that information, as well.

Most of this is copied from the Vanilla boilerplate. I'll probably change and adapt as we go along.

1. Make the discussion title or question as descriptive as possible. A good discussion title is a short preview of your post and is what gets people to click and read. A well written title is also going to help search engines better index your post which will bring more people into the discussion. For example, instead of ‘Help, Won’t Connect’, try ‘I’m having problems getting my Acme modem into bridge mode.’
   
2. Put the bottom line up front . See this page for more information.
   
3. Proof read. Spelling mistakes, typos, and bad grammar will distract readers from the point you’re trying to make. Vanilla automatically saves drafts as you type. If you’re writing a long post, save it as a draft and come back to it after a few minutes or as long as it takes your brain to forget what you had written.
   
4. If you want responses, ask for them. In marketing this is called a ‘call to action’. If you want others to comment, you can encourage them by asking them to do so. If your post is just an FYI then don’t.
   
5. Add an image. Images add visual interest and make your post look great when shared to social networks. You can embed an image using the button bar or you can upload one from your desktop or phone.
   
6. Take ownership. Most important of all, take ownership of the discussions that you have created. Respond to comments promptly and thoughtfully. Thank others for commenting on your discussion and help with moderation if things get heated.
   

This is mostly from the Vanilla software boilerplate, but I'll add/delete/modify as needed.

Here are some guidelines:

• Keep your posts relevant to the forum category.
  
• Please be respectful of others and don’t sweat the small stuff.
  
• Please do not post any personal information or photos that you wouldn’t want to be seen by the public.
  
• Do not post hateful or illegal content. Do not post copyrighted material without proper attribution.
  
• Don't spam. If you have a legitimate affiliate link (i.e., you actually use that service), feel free to post it, as long as you indicate that it is an affiliate link.
  

Opalstack doesn't have a user forum just yet, although I've been told that's something they're considering in the future.

In the meantime, if you have questions about how to make things work on Opalstack, or tips or techniques you want to share, this is the place. Just go ahead and start a new thread.

Cheers,
-Ken

Hello everyone,

I had mentioned here that I was moving on from Vanilla forums. To be honest, Vanilla forums had a lot of features that I really liked, but unfortunately, most of them were only available on the hosted version, not on the roll-your-own version. 

I was very tempted to just go back to my old forum software, Phorum, but it seems to have been abandoned. The security certificate expired over half a year ago as of this writing, and the last update was almost three years ago. (This sometimes happens, and it makes me sad. A lot of people put a lot of time and effort into projects like that, but in the end, there's just not enough interest to sustain the effort.) After much searching, I've finally settled on MyBB, which has a lot of features that I like, and seems to work well on Opalstack. (Well, except for seo-friendly urls, but I don't much give a crap about SEO. I'm not here for the money, just the adulation   .)

And who knows—Opalstack is still in beta, so I'm sure there are plenty of tweaks they need to make behind the scenes.

Also, I stated on that original post that we shouldn't have to copy any old threads over, because 

Quote:myBB has an import function that should pull in user accounts and forum posts. I'm experimenting around with this on another domain and will transfer it over here when I get it working without a snag.