For a new application, we would use server-side Java straight away. Unfortunately, The Java Ranch has been running for several years, and many of the important decisions were made when it was first set up. At the time, there were very few hosting companies offering servlet support - and effectively none at an affordable rate. Also there were no usable Java-based bulletin board systems.
The important thing was to get the Java Ranch (or the "Electric Pork Chop" as this part of the site was originally known) up and running as effectively as possible, as soon as possible. Which meant using the best CGI-based bulletin-board software the founder
Paul Wheaton could locate.
Along with all the other development projects which happen "behind the scenes" here is a project to evaluate and/or develop Java-based bulletin board software with the intention of replacing the software running the Big Moose Saloon some time. However, to do that we would have to be very sure that whatever we replace it with would preserve and carry over the huge body of existing messages and provide at least all the power, performance and flexibility of the current solution.
I hope you can see that this is not a trivial task, and especially it is not one that we want to get wrong!
