Limit to Posts Per Thread?

[TheWizard]

Perhaps Socheat could best answer this question since he installed phpBB...

Is there a limit to the amount of posts allowed in one thread? I only ask because the Media Compatability thread has over 225 posts (10 pages worth) and I worry the bulletin board software will explode eventually due to the overload.

Here is the thread - http://www.cdrlabs.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=6005

Also, while I'm on the subject, is there a limit to the amount of times a person can edit a post? I constantly edit one post in the Media Compatability thread, and again, I worry that the software will explode if I edit it too much.

[dodecahedron]

i was rather thinking that the number of views is so high it will be wider than the column width and mess up the whole page!

11478 and counting!

[TheWizard]

Haha, yeah, that may be a problem too. We'll see what Socheat says.

[socheat]

Theoretically, the only limit to the number of messages per thread is the max table size of the database in use (i.e, MySQL). I've seen other phpBB forums with threads longer than ten pages long (phpbb.com's forums for example). As for editing the same post over and over, I don't think that's a problem either. It doesn't create a new record for each new post, just modifies the post currently in the database, so it's not really hurting anything.

Remember, we're leveraging the power of Open Source: Linux, MySQL (to a degree), Apache, PHP, and phpBB. All 5 have very competent programmers behind them, as well as thousands and thousands of eyes looking over the code every day making sure the software works, is stable (we aren't using beta versions), and is scalable. And all 5 run very well, even on "old" machines.

So don't worry about the software "exploding". We'll most likely see a performance degrade before something explodes (phpBB is known to be pretty slow on very large forums), in which case we'll probably have already made provisions for it. Though, now that I've shot off my mouth, the server will probably explode tomorrow. Sorry, Dan.

Socheat

[TheWizard]

Thanks for the reply, Socheat. It sounds like the Media Compatability thread is in no danger of being capped. As you mentioned, chances are the software will show symptoms of something going wrong rather than just stopping completely. If any symptoms surface, you'll be the first to know. Otherwise, I look forward to a long (literally) and prosperous thread.

[coolestnitish]

What about making a separate topic in the forum index called Media Compatibility. Then start Sticky threads there with all manufacturers having each thread. Then make a nice table and keep adding results with different media with different drives (we can also get DVD-R and DVD+R results). That way the information will be a lot more organized and no need to worry about the phpBB slowing down or "exploding". Just a suggestion.

[TheWizard]

More organized that would be, but the current layout of the forums here are good as is: CD-R/CD-RW, CD-ROM, DVD. I'm not one for major change anyway. By adding a brand new forum, there would be a lot of sticky topics inside the media compatability forum. Furthermore, the giant list has its advantages; it can easily be downloaded in text format. Many frequenters of the CDRLabs Forums have multiple burners, therefore they would have to look at two or three different sticky topics: one for each of their burners. If they download the entire list in text format then they can scroll up and down reading results for the burners they have.

[Matt]

Maybe we could get Ian to give TheWizard access to the articles section so he can update it there??

[TheWizard]

The Articles section is cool, I almost forgot about that. How flexible is it though? All the articles I have read seem pretty static, whereas the Media Compatability list is very dynamic.

[Ian]

Talk to Socheat. If he can whip something together that TheWizard can easily modify and update, I'd be cool with it.

What if we had downloadable text files for each drive?

[TheWizard]

Downloadable text files would be fine too, although eventually some numbnut would put a direct link to the file instead of linking it through CDRLabs. Furthermore, by updating a thread in the forum, it makes users come back to the site rather than downloading the file, leaving, and never coming back.