You can always view our latest code at
https://github.com/epochtalk/epochtalk.
We work on this daily and you can track our progress. And if you really want, you can run this yourself on your own computer. All you need is node, postgres, and redis.
Also, to those that say that they can write a forum in a few months. We could probably do a basic forum in a few days. The part that takes the longest is all the feature requests on top of a basic forum that the moderators need to deal with the massive amount of reports, trolls, scammers, etc.
We are building custom tools on top of a not too basic forum and these tools are being built with the help and input of the moderators and admins here. We're also building in many features that you wouldn't find in many open source forums at the request of people in this board. Although some of our features are found in some of the more recent forums (Discourse, nodeBB, etc).
So while yes, someone capable could build a forum in a few months. We're not here to bang out a job and call it a day. We're here to build something that will last and can deal with the problems the moderators face on a daily basis.
Lastly I'll leave with this: software follows the 80/20 rule, 80% of the work/time/effort is usually concentrated in that last 20%, or the last mile.
