Since the transition to the new forum software, I’ve noticed that performance feels slower compared to other platforms like Invision, phpBB, or Fora. Improving page load times would really enhance the user experience.
The search functionality could also benefit from some enhancements. For example, sorting results by date is a basic feature that’s missing, and adding options like searching by author, restricting searches to subject lines, or searching within topics would make it much more useful.
On the top-level forum front pages, a clearer categorical breakdown (such as subforums) would help navigation. I saw mention of plans to condense the hierarchy, but this might not be necessary if categories were displayed in a more structured way—something other forum software (see above) handles well.
Community features like the ability to follow or subscribe to other users would also be great. If someone consistently shares valuable insights, it would be helpful to get notified when they post new content. For a platform promoted as a “community” space, these features would really strengthen engagement.
Lastly, Dark Mode would be a welcome addition. It’s widely supported across most modern platforms, including many Microsoft services, and would make the forum more comfortable to use.
I’d love to participate more actively here, but the current experience falls short of what’s common in other forum software I’ve used over the years. Investing in these improvements and bringing the Power Platform community forum software up to parity with other competing forum packages could make a big difference in building a vibrant, user-friendly community.
Thank you!