If Duncan wants a certain look to forum formatting he can control to HTML tools more tightly, like Morley's forum. Frankly, Royell seems a little quirky (good for him) and probably can't stand convention.
"More tightly"? In my experience you are comparing apples to oranges.
I have used this forum's software on several of my own websites, in several editions, just as Duncan has.
I hope we can agree that he prefers it, as an off the shelf solution, for at least 8 years on this (jfkassassinationforum.com) site.:
https://download.simplemachines.org/I have spent time, behind the curtain, on Morley's website. It is a lightly customized version of this.:
https://wordpress.org/download/From my own hands on experience with both of those comments platforms, Morley's jfkfacts.org is not limited in
the constraint he prefers of comments features and options, but by the secondary nature of the comments module in the
design of the package. It is a blog format. Those with privileged access to create articles have even richer features
than anyone participating here have.
The comments module is bare bones and cannot be enhanced, except as I did with edit privileged access, when I was
comments editor, there.
Example:
http://jfkfacts.org/who-was-the-only-man-to-ever-face-legal-charges-in-jfks-assassination/#comment-856847No admin would grant that level to commenters, and that level is still bare bones, compared to the
forum software we enjoy here.: