Test version of WINHOTEL + feedback forum
I will release an online test version of WINHOTEL in the next few days. I’d like to integrate a simple forum for feedback.
What the AI suggested as options:
phpBB? A solid choice if you want to “set it up once and it runs,” and a classic UI is okay.
Your own forum with TinyMCE + PHP? Rather not. The effort for permissions, search, notifications, spam protection, moderation, uploads, and a mobile view will eat you alive.
Discord alone? Good for speed, bad for archive/search/threads. Better as a complement, not the primary system.
My take on this:
Interesting — the AI proposes solutions based on its training data.
But today, AI can independently build a simple forum in one go. With targeted questions and components you already built for your own application, a forum can be made operational quickly. On top of that, these components get tested in real-world use — for free.
If you’re building your own software products, why not rely on your own building blocks for communication as well? Isn’t that against basic marketing common sense otherwise?
Lesson from the past (mod_harbour):
Back then, we developed for tests our own forum — and then switched to standard forum software, Skype, and later Discord. Result: community energy scattered, identity diluted, learning curve squandered. We initially had up to 70 power users. With consistency, we would probably have the best simple forum today.
Imagine if this forum here were powered by mod_harbour/FiveWin. Our own components would be tested daily, developed and enhanced by all of us with new ideas. We could then use it as feedback for support requests—now connected with AI—without needing a new release of phpBB. I hardly dare to think about it.
This time I want to do it differently: keep feedback centralized in one place, ideally on our own stack — so that technology, community, and brand grow together.
Best regards,
Otto
I will release an online test version of WINHOTEL in the next few days. I’d like to integrate a simple forum for feedback.
What the AI suggested as options:
phpBB? A solid choice if you want to “set it up once and it runs,” and a classic UI is okay.
Your own forum with TinyMCE + PHP? Rather not. The effort for permissions, search, notifications, spam protection, moderation, uploads, and a mobile view will eat you alive.
Discord alone? Good for speed, bad for archive/search/threads. Better as a complement, not the primary system.
My take on this:
Interesting — the AI proposes solutions based on its training data.
But today, AI can independently build a simple forum in one go. With targeted questions and components you already built for your own application, a forum can be made operational quickly. On top of that, these components get tested in real-world use — for free.
If you’re building your own software products, why not rely on your own building blocks for communication as well? Isn’t that against basic marketing common sense otherwise?
Lesson from the past (mod_harbour):
Back then, we developed for tests our own forum — and then switched to standard forum software, Skype, and later Discord. Result: community energy scattered, identity diluted, learning curve squandered. We initially had up to 70 power users. With consistency, we would probably have the best simple forum today.
Imagine if this forum here were powered by mod_harbour/FiveWin. Our own components would be tested daily, developed and enhanced by all of us with new ideas. We could then use it as feedback for support requests—now connected with AI—without needing a new release of phpBB. I hardly dare to think about it.
This time I want to do it differently: keep feedback centralized in one place, ideally on our own stack — so that technology, community, and brand grow together.
Best regards,
Otto