Just to throw in my two cents here, the only reason I want some version of forums is for the discussion of technical issues regarding the wiki, cleanup projects, site policy discussion, stuff like that.
Example - Bob's earlier post about the screwed up word titles that needed fixing, site editing policy, suggestions for site code or features, page or category cleanup projects, etc.
Basically, internal matters only.
As for anything else, like discussion of politics, gardening, anime, or anything not in direct relation to the site, there are other places on the internet for that. (barring discussion pages and areas on the wiki designed for discussing those topics)
As for the "forum software", it would be purely in house, specifically, via this extension:
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DPLforum
Having been a member of TV Tropes at one time, I do not want a forum in the sense they had it. Their forum tried to be a little bit of everything, successfully enough you could just haunt the forums and pretend the wiki never existed, which I don't want. Also, in the interests of not attracting the same issues as TV Tropes, I only wanted forums for in house concerns, though site policy/updates was going to be announced courtesy of site notices and/or mass messages (there is an extension for that I'm looking into). TV Tropes' forum attained a bad reputation due to their diversification into areas covered by other forums, while I merely would like them for technical/site related reasons only.
Finally, I asked Vorticity to float the idea first because I wanted to make it clear we discussed these issues between us and I had no intention of pulling the admin fiat card, as was common on TV Tropes. If the consensus does not want an on wiki fora for the reasons I would like them, I will respect their wishes without contest.
P.S. - This forum is not a bad place for discussion, but it would be far easier for me to keep track of wiki issues in house, as it were, which is one of the major reasons I even suggested this idea.
Example - Bob's earlier post about the screwed up word titles that needed fixing, site editing policy, suggestions for site code or features, page or category cleanup projects, etc.
Basically, internal matters only.
As for anything else, like discussion of politics, gardening, anime, or anything not in direct relation to the site, there are other places on the internet for that. (barring discussion pages and areas on the wiki designed for discussing those topics)
As for the "forum software", it would be purely in house, specifically, via this extension:
http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:DPLforum
Having been a member of TV Tropes at one time, I do not want a forum in the sense they had it. Their forum tried to be a little bit of everything, successfully enough you could just haunt the forums and pretend the wiki never existed, which I don't want. Also, in the interests of not attracting the same issues as TV Tropes, I only wanted forums for in house concerns, though site policy/updates was going to be announced courtesy of site notices and/or mass messages (there is an extension for that I'm looking into). TV Tropes' forum attained a bad reputation due to their diversification into areas covered by other forums, while I merely would like them for technical/site related reasons only.
Finally, I asked Vorticity to float the idea first because I wanted to make it clear we discussed these issues between us and I had no intention of pulling the admin fiat card, as was common on TV Tropes. If the consensus does not want an on wiki fora for the reasons I would like them, I will respect their wishes without contest.
P.S. - This forum is not a bad place for discussion, but it would be far easier for me to keep track of wiki issues in house, as it were, which is one of the major reasons I even suggested this idea.