Hi David,

I was wondering if you'd considered using the Discourse (not Discord) server software to host the forum on? I know you've put a ton of work into the Drupal instance here (sadly, that's par for the course with Drupal - I've had other friends who are professional web devs who can't stand it) but I'm a little concerned about the ongoing maintenance and reliability of the site in terms of effort you need to constantly put in to keep it working smoothly. Discourse seems to be pretty straightforward to set up, and I know a few admins of Discourse-based forums, they're all very very pleased with the experience. It also has all the features you're trying hard to add built in by default if I understand correctly, and it might be worth the switching effort if it pays off in long-term fewer headaches for you and better usability for the visitors. It's a fantastic user experience too.

Just a thought, and I mean absolutely nothing negative about all the hard work you've put into trying to get Drupal to work well for us here, but Drupal is mostly a CMS that happens to have a forum awkwardly bolted onto it whereas Discourse is a forum first and foremost. You might have more time and joy in your life long-term by not having to fight Drupal as a forum.

If this doesn't resonate with you, I won't be in the least offended if you chuck it out entirely. :)