Expired XenForo Upgrades

[Senkusha]

Very soon, I'll be upgrading the site to use the XenForo forum software instead of SMF. I've given a lot of thought to this ever since I first began using XenForo as a user, and I feel that it's user interface is superior to SMF's. Here's just some of the features that are built-in, that SMF doesn't appear to have rivals for:

• Message posting box automatically grows as you type, nearly eliminating the need to scroll.
• Multi-quoting system. In SMF you can quote a single post at a time, and it copies it to the Quick Post box below. If you want multiple quotes, you need to go back up into the thread and select each message individually. This is a problem if the thread spans multiple pages. Another cool feature is that if you want to reply to specific points within a quote, all you need to do is press Enter and the quote is broken into two or more pieces!
• More modern look/ease of theming. In SMF, if the software receives an upgrade, then sometimes the themes need to be updated as well to incorporate the new functionality. From what I understand about XenForo is that the theme (skin) is truly separated from the functional core of the software.
• The code is fully OOP (Object Oriented Programing) compliant. SMF 3.0 is currently being developed using OOP methodology, however, there is no announced time frame when it will become a reality.
• XenForo readily accepts MarkDown syntax (as of version 2.4, I believe).
• The Default theme for XenForo is fully Mobile-Responsive, and modifying the colors and style doesn't require CSS knowledge.

Some of the features that I need modifications for using SMF, are built-in directly into XenForo. For example:

• Reseller Theme for Mobile Responsiveness.
• Thread Tags
• TinyPortal for Articles

And there's some add-on extensions that XenForo offers that SMF simply can't compete with right now. The consequence of moving over to XenForo means that I'm moving away from the Free-Source environment of SMF. Seemingly everything is a pay-for-it modification. This does have the additional benefit of the Third Party Developers staying involved via the financial returns. But some of the extensions I'm looking at include:

• Sub-Accounts. This is a feature that allows you, as a regular member, to post messages under specific accounts that you are linked to. This could prove beneficial for in-character posting.
• Dice Roller. There are a couple different options and they are being currently maintained, as opposed to the one we have for SMF, that I pretty much begged the developer who took over the project to port over to SMF 2.1.4.
• Drafts System. This goes far above and beyond the built-in auto-save drafting function. This modification apparently allows for collaborative efforts of single posts. I'm thinking this could be similar to how a Wiki would work, but for Articles or other professional posts, think like World Building and such.

There are probably others that I have yet to find that could improve the overall role playing experience here on Prismatica. As I find them, I'll create a separate topic using the Question thread type.