Jeff Atwood's Discourse BBS software

Discourse is a from-scratch reboot, an attempt to reimagine what a modern, sustainable, fully open-source Internet discussion platform should be today – both from a technology standpoint and a sociology standpoint.

We tried to build in all the lessons learned from the last ten years of Internet web forums, so that the community has a natural immune system to defend itself from trolls, bad actors, and spammers. There's also a trust system, so engaged community members can assist in the governance of their community.

The act of participating in a discussion should fundamentally feel good in a way that it currently does not on all existing forums and mailing lists. It should be fun to have discussions with other human beings, not a chore, or something that's barely tolerable.

http://try.discourse.org/

>>15
Your are better off asking why he wants to major in sociology, and how can he achieve said goal. If he can provide you a clear map, hopefully with backup plans, then you should urge no further. If there are flaws/inconsistencies, then you show them a proper map on programming, sealed and tested.

What you do not want him to mentally say is "no." But, "You are right, this plan is flawed, maybe I should make/adopt another one." Eventually he will end up following the correct path. And after years ahead, you can wisper to him: "I told you so." with glee.