Dsource forum question

[Ameer Armaly]

"BCS" <BCS at pathlink.com> wrote in message 
news:e7rsbd$2a12$3 at digitaldaemon.com...
> Jarrett Billingsley wrote:
>> "BCS" <BCS at pathlink.com> wrote in message 
>> news:e7rnem$2a12$2 at digitaldaemon.com...
>>
>>>Is there any way to access the Dsource forum with Thunderbird or another 
>>>such client? I couldn't find any indication that phpBB can do this by its 
>>>self, but a search for phpBB+nntp turned up indications it is possible:
>>
>>
>> I think the question is: why would you want to?  Internet forums came 
>> about as an alternative to (ancient, poorly-featured) newsgroups..
>
> Because I hate crawling through web pages. About 90% of the data on the 
> wire is otherwise unneeded formatting, I can't re-brows stuff without 
> re-downloading it. Thunderbird on the other hand stores most of the data 
> locally, downloads little or no extraneous formatting, and even can pop up 
> a notification when new stuff shows up.
>
I agree here.  I always prefer clients as opposed to web-based protocols, 
but especially in the area of forums versus newsgroups or mail lists.
> *I* think the question is: why would anyone /want/ to use the Internet 
> forum?  It is now (IMO) the anachronistic, poorly-featured paradigm.
>
I personally don't see the point of web forums.  Besides all the extra 
content that is often there, you are usually restricted in more ways than 
just by using a standardized protocol such as but not limited to nntp.  IMHO 
layering message exchange on top of a website and offering no flat standard 
that opens up the door for other means of interaction is a bad idea.
> If the Dsource forum was accessible as a newsgroup I would read it with 
> great interest. As the only access seems to be by way of an internet 
> forum, I probably won't even bother.
Same here.