# Zcash community developed forum software **URL:** \ **Category:** Site Feedback\ **Created:** [March 29, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051 "2019-03-29T01:10:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![nathan-at-least](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/nathan-at-least/32/8_2.png) [@nathan-at-least](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/nathan-at-least)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/1 "2019-03-29T01:10:16Z")
Crazy idea: what if the version of the forum software deployed to this site was a source fork managed by the zcash community? Why? Because then we could create Zcash-specific customizations. What if we could register z-addrs for our users, send tips to users, send encrypted memos, etc…? I guess honestly it would make maintaining and deploying the site more of a headache as well as maintaining the software. I did see there was a plugin system, so maybe that could make software maintenance a bit simpler? Thoughts? What would it take to do this and would it be worth it? ---
**Author:** ![garethtdavies](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/garethtdavies/32/210_2.png) [@garethtdavies](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/garethtdavies)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 1:38am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/2 "2019-03-29T01:38:24Z")
Link to software: [https://www.discourse.org/](https://www.discourse.org/) and code is here: [GitHub - discourse/discourse: A platform for community discussion. Free, open, simple.](https://github.com/discourse/discourse) ---
**Author:** ![boxalex](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/boxalex/32/14872_2.png) [@boxalex](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/boxalex)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 8:42am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/3 "2019-03-29T08:42:54Z")
What would be the purpose of having that? ---
**Author:** ![malmost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ccd318/32.png) [@malmost](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/malmost)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 12:05pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/4 "2019-03-29T12:05:15Z")
boxalex - he wrote it, didn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![boxalex](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/boxalex/32/14872_2.png) [@boxalex](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/boxalex)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 3:51pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/5 "2019-03-29T15:51:09Z")
Really? Than just tell me what’s the purpose of having registering Z adresses on the forum? Or send a tip and encrypted messages on a forum? I just don’t understand the idea behind that? Maybe i’am way to stupid for it, hence asking for a more detailed explaination what the benefit and purpose would be… ---
**Author:** ![ChileBob](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/chilebob/32/26546_2.png) [@ChileBob](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/ChileBob)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 10:26pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/6 "2019-03-29T22:26:22Z")
Its a fun idea, the forum could become a showcase for ‘ZEC powered things’ & would encourage people to explore. The Lightning ‘tip-bot’ on r/bitcoin is a good example but these things work best when you have a large community. I’d be more excited with a messaging app based on zaddr memos… ---
**Author:** ![nathan-at-least](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/nathan-at-least/32/8_2.png) [@nathan-at-least](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/nathan-at-least)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2019, 10:50pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/7 "2019-03-29T22:50:13Z")
This is definitely a brainstormy experimental idea. I think z-addr registry could be fun to play with. For example, what if you want to start up a “memo”-based conversation with a forum user because you want really strong privacy? I’ve seen crypto-tipping on a variety of forums, like changetip on reddit (back in the day). I think it’s fun. I don’t necessarily thing it’s a killer app for a cryptocurrency. There are also other customizations we could potentially make that we know our community wants that the larger discourse community doesn’t need/want. Maybe integrate with the community chat better. Examples: single name/password/email registration for both systems, or make it easy to refer to forum posts inside the chat system. Another thought is integrating with more Zcash community and governance processes, like the ZF Grants site in various ways. All just brainstorms about how to tie together the various platforms this community is using in a way that _could_ make the whole experience easier or more enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![sonya](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/sonya/32/9518_2.png) [@sonya](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/sonya)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/8 "2019-04-02T00:10:44Z")
I like the idea! Open question: Is anyone interested in actually developing this? ---
**Author:** ![paige](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/paige/32/31152_2.png) [@paige](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/paige)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2019, 9:22pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/9 "2019-04-02T21:22:59Z")
Hmmm… does the hosted Discourse support installing community plugins? > **[Developing Discourse Plugins - Part 1 - Create a basic plugin](https://meta.discourse.org/t/developing-discourse-plugins-part-1-create-a-basic-plugin/30515)** > > Building a plugin in Discourse can be really simple, once you learn a couple of quirks. The goal of this post is to create a skeleton plugin and introduce you to the basics. Your development environment Make sure you have a development environment... If so, that would be much easier than switching over to self-hosted Discourse. Plugins seem like good candidates for ZFGrant projects too. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![root](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/root/32/4864_2.png) [@root](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/root)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 3:55pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/10 "2019-04-03T15:55:08Z")
It’s a really cool idea. Just make sure you take the conservative estimated time to maintain the fork and multiply it by 3. 😃 In the past I’ve written a challenge-signature based login system in node (by signing a random string chosen and authed by the forum (pm me if curious @nathan-at-least )). A password-less login system like that might be useful. Some of this can get into the messiness of Chrome extensions and security scope browser/issues. Let’s keep the ideas going. I still think this forum is extremely valuable and will be used considerably more in the future. ---
**Author:** ![sonya](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/zcash/user_avatar/forum.zcashcommunity.com/sonya/32/9518_2.png) [@sonya](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/u/sonya)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2019, 8:03pm UTC](https://forum.zcashcommunity.com/t/zcash-community-developed-forum-software/33051/11 "2019-04-03T20:03:29Z")
> [@root](#): > > I still think this forum is extremely valuable and will be used considerably more in the future. I concur. I was extremely impressed by the strong community here when I first entered the Zcash world. And I am still extremely impressed! Also, it’s been great getting to know the regulars better \<3