Drama Llama - A Forum Spark forum (and Review)

[Katrina]

Hey all you Drama Queens and those who like to lurk and read about drama, I've created a new forum for all of you!

Well, kind of. It's more of an experiment to test out Forum Spark's free forum system that's available. I wanted to see for myself just how easy it is to create a forum with what's available for free. I kind of wished I had done this before Site Battle Madness this year. I mean, I could have won with this niche, right?

Let's get started:
Here's the link https://dramallama.forumspark.net

Sign up was really fast! I mean, super super fast. This is the second screen, I didn't capture the first one where I chose the name for the board.



This is what it gave me...a basic start.



I realized that I needed to LOGIN! So that username/password on the first sign up page needs to be written down. Thankfully I have a spreadsheet for that.



Don't forget to verify your email.



There are two ways to get to the tools you need...one is the Admin CP in the dropdown of your username on the far right of the screen. And the other is right there on the screen where it says Manage Your Forum structure (you will see that in another screenshot later.


Here's what you will find in order to start building your forum the way you want it. If you've never done this, it can be overwhelming. If you're a pro, then it's not problem. If you're like me and you have just a little bit of experience, it can be easy for some parts and time consuming for others.



They have a GitHub Document Guide! It's not completely finished, but it's a good start to help you figure out what's where, unless you just start clicking.



I don't know why, but the Shoutbox was the first thing I set up, even before putting up a logo. Well, tbh, I needed to wait for ChatGPT to create my logo, so I decided to work on the forum in the meantime.


​

 

[Katrina]

Once ChatGPT got my logo designed, I needed to find out where to put it. I thought it would be under Settings, but no, it's under Theme and then Images.





I added my image and pressed Save and there it is! BUT...it's so tiny. It took me a bit to remember that ChatGPT adds negative space around the logo even though there is a transparent background. I went to Canva, made the necessary edits and exported to the svg file needed.
Here's the screenshot with the final logo and with more of the site being built:


To create those forums go to Forum Sections and Create Sections.



And don't forget to scroll down and go through the permissions! You can do it later in another section in case you miss something or want to make changes.

First you create the main forum section, then you go back and make the forum that connects to it.

And again, do those permissions!
I decided to make a few forums and change some of the placement around.

This is a pretty good start.



​

 

[Katrina]

I almost forgot to give my Admin account an avatar! I just went to Canva, and zoomed in on my site logo and then exported for svg in 400x400 size. It's cute, isn't it?



Adding an Emoticon is easy. I just put the image I wanted on imgbb.



Same thing with Reactions:


I wanted to ask a question in their Support Community but couldn't login with my credentials:


Thankfully @Cedric was around on their Discord channel to let me know that currently those aren't integrated and I'd need to make a new account. I would add the Discord link but can't see where I found the invite...I'll edit this later.
​

Here are some pros and cons about the platform.​

​

PROS:

• Signing up was fast and painless​
• Permissions were a breeze​
• The 250MB will last a long time for people who are mostly using a forum for discussion​
• Creating forums was a cinch​
• I thought the ShoutBox was too large, until I remembered I have no shouts in it. Haha. I'm pretty sure I would want to see more than or to chat messages once things get going​
• In less than 3 hours I have a fully functioning site! It took a while to do my screenshots and work on other things, eat lunch, do laundry, etc, so I'm pretty sure the time was less than 2 hours)​
• A Directory is being created to see how other forums have built theirs​
• I just noticed some default items at the bottom such as Today's Active Topics, Today's top posters, All time top posters​
• Absolutely NO lag​
• There is the option of exporting your forum when you need it​
• Always free for what is available now. FREE. Always.​

CONS:

• Finding the spot to put my logo wasn't intuitive, but I did find it after some short searching
• My account couldn't be used for the Support Forum
• Images won't use png and had to use svg
• Changing the look of the site would take more knowledge than what the everyday non-tech person like me can handle
• Had a brief issue where I was going to edit a Reaction and got kicked back to the Index twice, but the third time it didn't happen

Last minute comments:

I expected an advertisement at the bottom of my forum, and maybe that will happen in the future, but for now, it's a clean look. Some of the mistakes on setting it up were my problem and not the software. I'm pretty sure that someone who has done this before can crank it out in an hour or less! It's that simple. And FREE.

I chatted on Discord with Cedric who revealed some of his plans for the future. I'm not sure if I can talk about any of that, but I'm sure he'll be happy to let you all know when he's ready!! There is some excitement surrounding Forum Spark and if you need to get a forum going fast and easy, this is a spot you should check out first.

Check out Drama Llama!!

Home - Drama Llama

That place where you can talk about drama online, no holds barred.

dramallama.forumspark.net

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[Cedric]

Thanks Katrina, appreciate this honest review.

I can’t take all the credit. Jamie laid the foundation for ForumSpark and made it as spotless and UI-friendly as it is today. My mission is to continue improving FS and honour the legacy he built.

Through our small chat, you actually inspired something new, we’ll be introducing Single Sign-On (SSO) to ForumSpark. This will be a major improvement for the platform.

We’ll also be systematically updating the documentation. We’re a little behind at the moment, but that’s being addressed.

And just to clarify - PNG uploads are supported. It’s not restricted to SVG only.

We have a lot planned. The best thing to do is keep us in your thoughts and check in on us regularly. 🙂

And lastly, here’s a never-expiring Discord invite if you’d like to join us there:
https://discord.gg/BQM4jRHpGr

 

[Katrina]

There's one other thing I wanted to add that I just noticed on Drama Llama moments ago. The text is nice for older eyes. I remember on Christianity Haven that our older members complained quite often that the text was just too small to read. The font on ForumSpark is a very readable one!

 

[Gizmo]

 

[Page]

Made it so easy and free to set up sites/forums for those starting!

I might also consider doing one up,

 

[Katrina]

Made it so easy and free to set up sites/forums for those starting!

I might also consider doing one up,

Do it!!!

 

[Page]

Do it!!!

I have one idea... But I do not expect it to be a very large outcome LOL

It would be differnt that one other people has done Mhahahahhahahaha

 

[Ravenfreak]

This was a nice guide Kat! I recently made a forum over on Forum Spark too, and I definitely agree that it was very easy to get set up. Cedric does have a global login system planned that he talked about earlier, so it'll be cool to see another free forum host do this. The only other one that has a global login system is Proboards.

 

[Katrina]

This was a nice guide Kat! I recently made a forum over on Forum Spark too, and I definitely agree that it was very easy to get set up. Cedric does have a global login system planned that he talked about earlier, so it'll be cool to see another free forum host do this. The only other one that has a global login system is Proboards.

That would be so convenient along with using the Directory to hop around and just poke your head in to a few forums.

 

[Page]

Do it!!!

Snick peak 🙂

Home - Empirekicking

The official community forum for Empirekicking, a Twitch streamer and content creator specialising in flight simulation, aviation and gaming. A place to discuss streams, share experiences and connect...

empirekicking.forumspark.net

 

[Katrina]

Snick peak 🙂

Home - Empirekicking

The official community forum for Empirekicking, a Twitch streamer and content creator specialising in flight simulation, aviation and gaming. A place to discuss streams, share experiences and connect...

empirekicking.forumspark.net

Woo Hoo! Can't wait to see what you do with it.

 

[Cedric]

That would be so convenient along with using the Directory to hop around and just poke your head in to a few forums.

Spoiler alert: almost ready to launch SSO. 👀

 

[Katrina]

Spoiler alert: almost ready to launch SSO. 👀

That will make it easy to visit @Gizmo's 35 forums he's going to build there on Forum Spark! And @Page said he was going to make a bunch too! I'm waiting, guys!

 

[Gizmo]

That will make it easy to visit @Gizmo's 35 forums he's going to build there on Forum Spark! And @Page said he was going to make a bunch too! I'm waiting, guys!

Surprised @PGen98 hasn't made one yet. She's just as bad as me at starting forums 😂

 

[Ghost]

I really love the logo!

 

[Katrina]

I've been playing around with the new Theme Editor with real time color changes for Drama Llama.

 

[Allenafaith]

I've been playing around with the new Theme Editor with real time color changes for Drama Llama.

That looks really good!

 

[Cedric]

I've been playing around with the new Theme Editor with real time color changes for Drama Llama.

How are you liking the theme and widget editor? Is it easy enough ?