So maybe just try to calm down some. I don't love the software, but I don't take it as a personal affront.
This is why I called infinite scrolling ideological earlier. Nobody's mind is being changed here. We're just digging deeper trenches and pretty soon we'll all be at each other's thro-- wait a minute, this was your master plan all along!
I will say this again, because for some reason morbs and I have to be the reasonable ones, while @ender curses up a storm and @Lorne_Kates sharpens his knives:
I liked CS, despite it's mind-blowing faults, because it did the basic stuff well, and had a few features that were nice when new and downright expected today. But it's clearly showing its age, and I'm all for an upgrade to something with new features.
To the people clamoring for phpBB: phpBB fucking sucks. It's hideous, it's annoying to use, every forum running on it is full of the sort of awful people that you'd cross the street to avoid. It's like the Mos Eisley Cantina of forum software: a wretched hive of scum and villainy. It offers the bare minimum, and nothing more. At that point, let's stick with CS. If we're going to change, I want to see real progress. I don't think phpBB offers that.
So, is Discourse the best way to go? I don't really know. I'm not up on all the cutting-edge forum software. But I do appreciate that they're trying to do something new. I think they're wrong on some key points, but I'm willing to be swayed.
I don't like endless scrolling. I've never seen it implemented in a way that I thought was effective or in keeping with the principle of least astonishment. Discourse is no different. It feels clunky, and buggy, and weird. But I can get around that one point if I must. If they offer good or better ways to do the major things I want to be able to do, I'm willing to give them a chance. And, though I don't think they're going to budge significantly, I appreciate that the developers are willing to engage with us.