Hey guys, i would like to add a "forum" to my site. Now the problem: Let's say my site is visited by 35+ yrs old people. Let's say most of them use their computer monthly and some of them don't even have their own e-mail address. Let's say they have difficulties navigating through the modern websites. I came to conclusion that most of us, who do use internet, have at least once used MS Outlook and that we know how to use it. The form to send an e-mail is easy to understand and most of online people have used it at least once. All the fields and information are on one page. So, PHPBB or vBulletin is not an option here, because before you can open a new topic you have to navigate through too many pages and on the way you get lost (if you haven't used a forum before). I came across Craigslist forum, and wow! That's it. All on one page: http://boston.craigslist.org/forums/?forumID=76 It really is easy to understand, navigate... All on one page. This is what i need. What do you guys think? What would you do in my situation? What are other solutions?
I think you should go back to the drawing board if you think that craigslist page is well maintained, easy to navigate and generally user friendly. It's far from it.
If you are concerned with the usability of your would be new forum, you should be aware of a important design tip. Users spend most of their time on other sites besides yours. What does that mean? It means users are used to what is commonly being used on the net today. PHPBB or vBulletin are the most common forum packages out there right now. That means most people who go on forums are already used to this method. Craigslist forum method is an extremely old format that very few use anymore. It's not nearly as powerful as vBulletin.