I hadn’t any intention of replacing BuddyPress but I understand your point.
Thank you for your consideration and time.
Perhaps your idea would be simpler, more effective.
I just don’t see how the social dynamics BuddyPress encourages are present in Discourse.
If I’m not imposing, could you roughly sketch out how Discourse could be configured like the following,
The ability to “Friend” other members or just “Subscribe” to see their posts sort of like twitter.
A pre-formated, “Personal Profile” akin to a WP micro-blog/FB user profile. Control of who can see the user or content of the profile.
Groups of Affinity, “Stealth” completely invisible unless invited to join, “Closed” group description and membership visible with content unviewable until a request for membership is approved, and “Open” that can be joined without qualification.
A toggle that lets individuals and groups decide if their Profile or Groups they manage are visible offsite.
Something I don’t see available on any platform is the faculty for collaboration in a “Docu-centric” fashion like Google Drive. That is really a necessity, in my opinion, to make a scientific cooperative possible online. LibreOffice Suite Online is available as a FOSS alternative to Google Drive but I have yet to see it offered in Self-Hosting form. To branch, it so as to present more fluid movement and organization between document types would be my personal choice to focus on.
Is this a vision any of you feels attracted to?