Whats the best forum software? [Archive]

jeremy

07-27-2006, 08:36 PM

constant updating? phpbb hasn't released an update in a while. and when they do, it's very easy to update.

i would stick with phpbb because phpbb 3 should be out relatively soon. and it's open source, so you know you can count on it to be there 10 years from now. all these smaller commercial forums... who knows when the company will just give up, and then you're screwed.

vanilla (http://getvanilla.com/) is another open source forum that is very unique. from a programming standpoint, it definitely is the best. forums (especially php forums) are notorious for being horrible, hackish code. vanilla's code is beautiful. it also has great usability, a clean layout, and unique features. it's a bit minimalistic for my tastes, but they have a very cool extension system to make up for it.

Andrew

07-30-2006, 11:10 AM

I agree with Jeremy, phpBB is a good forum (at least for free), and it would be a good idea to stick with it.

Vanilla is a great choice, I will actually be using that for my next forum instead of using vBulletin or some other big forum software. SMF is pretty good too.

http://www.getvanilla.com/
http://www.simplemachines.org/

Stan

07-30-2006, 02:11 PM

vbulletin is my choice and many others choice to the best forum software. So many mods/hacks for it that you can really do almost anything with it.

Andrew

07-30-2006, 07:57 PM

Stan:
Is there any better alternative without thrashing out loads of dollars in purchase and renewal fees.

:P

jeremy

07-30-2006, 09:20 PM

SMF isn't open source and is pretty similar to phpBB, so I'd stick with phpBB if possible.

Stan

07-30-2006, 11:02 PM

jeremy

07-31-2006, 12:19 AM

$160 isnt too large of an investment, it really is worth it in the end. I was skeptical at first and am now very glad I bought vb. I actually own 2 now. In the next month or so I will be buying another 2 lol.
Back when I started making websites, UBB was the forum script everyone had to have. In its time, nothing else came close to UBB. However, since around 2000, vB (and more recently IPB) have taken the lead. UBB has lost almost all its ground. I'm not even sure it's in active development now. How do you think the people who dropped hundreds of dollars on UBB in 2000 feel now?

It's not just forums. Look at all the proprietary software companies that have gone out of business and left their users stranded. With open source projects (particularly ones as big as phpBB), even if the original developers move on, there will always be someone there to continue programming.

I guess spending a few hundred dollars on a forum script every now and again isn't a huge expense. But, in general, proprietary software is bad news.

Tyler

07-31-2006, 01:59 AM

If vBulletin shut down their company tomorrow, there would be no problem. My forum still functions. Support may eventually die after a few years (it'd live on for quite some time through the vBulletin community such as vBulletin.org) but I don't see any real big problem.

Spending hundreds of dollars in 2000 on UBB was still fine, I'd imagine. So there are other forums out there now which are better which are free.. so what? That was 6+ years ago. At the time, UBB was the best and so investing a couple hundred on it gives you an edge over your competition.

I really do believe that no other forum can really compare with vBulletin. While it's true that other BB systems out there have progressed leaps and bounds due to all the competition, the fact still remains that vB is still the cadillac of message board systems.

And as Stan pointed out, it's only $160. That pays off in no time. The only rationale I can see for not using vB is if you're making a site you plan on selling or not planning to grow very big or successful, such as building a site to flip.

Andrew

07-31-2006, 10:59 AM

Yes, but for most people who want to start a forum (i.e. me), don't have that kind of money. Sadly, my PayPal balance has never gone over $30 along with my bank account. Right now, I am in a horrible position which allows me to have minimal money for anything in my life at home, which means even less for me to deal with on the web. This means that I can't buy vB or any other paid forum script, and this might be the case with many other people. This could be the reason for him posting asking for good free forum software as he may not even have the money to spend on vB, no matter how good it is.

L146705

07-31-2006, 02:23 PM

I don’t want to be dishing out £91($170) then another $30 per year, to obtain updates for an additional year. What happens after the 2 year period is up, do you have to re-buy?
Also you have to pay additional money for phone support.

To spend and commit yourself to spending in the future this sort of money for what is essentially software that has free alternatives such as smf, phpbb and seoboard before you have even started your venture (bulletin board) seems a bit unnecessary and risky for me as I haven’t got a lot of money spare. Maybe I will upgrade when I’m making money from the site.

constant updating? phpbb hasn't released an update in a while. and when they do, it's very easy to update.
I have a few mods installed which make it hard to update. I will take a look at vanilla but I have a feeling they could go paid (looks like a private company). I know that phpbb3 is on its way out but it has been this way for a long time.

jeremy

07-31-2006, 03:51 PM

if vanilla goes paid, someone will fork it. that's the beauty of open source.

L146705

08-01-2006, 01:29 AM

what do you mean by fork it?

Tyler

08-01-2006, 02:21 AM

I don’t want to be dishing out £91($170) then another $30 per year, to obtain updates for an additional year.

vB is only $160. It's even cheaper once you buy enough licenses - I'm only paying about $100 a license now.

Anyhow, the $30 a year is optional. It is if you want the latest up-to-date upgrades and versions. It is definitely not mandatory, and isn't needed unless you can really afford it. All of their versions now are stable - new versions are usually just minor bug fixes and new features.

What happens after the 2 year period is up, do you have to re-buy?

What 2-year-period? You only pay $160 once. You never have to pay another cent... if you want, you can pay I believe it's $30 as you said, a year for continued downloading of their latest software.

Also you have to pay additional money for phone support.

Well, you're getting phone support. phpBB and other free forum services don't offer free dedicated support phone service.

JustinG

08-02-2006, 03:57 PM

Tyler is right. Vb would continue on, and its honestly one of the best forum software companies on the market right now. IPB is good its just slowly getting more and more useless imo.

And other software just doesnt have the support of vb.

jeremy

08-02-2006, 09:07 PM

don't ever be too sure about the longevity of commercial software. for vb (vbulletin) may be here for a while, but another vb (visual basic) with many more users and much more financial backing has been depreciated. users were told to learn vb.net or go somewhere else.

Tyler

08-05-2006, 11:20 AM

Jeremey, what is vb (visual basic)? A forum? I know it's a win32 programming language/platform by Microsoft...

*confused*

jeremy

08-05-2006, 11:30 AM

i was just generalizing about what happens when you become too reliant on proprietary software and drawing a comparison between two proprietary products with the same initials (vb).

Tyler

08-05-2006, 11:40 AM

I really don't see any problem with relying on software. If you own it, aren't paying renewing licences or service charges, what is the problem? You own the software.. if the company goes ka-put, you still have the software which functions just fine...

The same could be said for open-source software. It could suddenly stop because of lack of community interest, and then your support is dead...

Anthony

08-05-2006, 11:42 AM

I'd be happy to still use version 2.x of vBulletin, because I believe strongly that it's the market leader of all other forum software brands.

Security, Support and Features are ahead of the competition, which says a lot when the price isn't much more either.

jeremy

08-05-2006, 02:06 PM

large open source projects don't die (feel free to provide counter examples, but i can't think of any). large proprietary projects do die from time to time, sometimes when you least expect it.

and if the company goes kaput, you can keep running it... complete with security holes that get uncovered later and incompatibilities with future software.

i just spent a couple hours installing a recent version of matlab on my fedora laptop, and i can assure you that it did not further endear me to proprietary software. i only had to do one nasty hack though (copying over an old library from an old version of fedora that matlab relied on).

this'll be my last post in this thread... i think i've sufficiently taken it off-topic. sorry guys.

Sam

08-06-2006, 01:30 AM

http://www.quezza.com/

I heard alot of good things about this one, and the best of all is that it's free!

Zane

08-06-2006, 03:56 AM

vbulletin all the way. Invision power board is preety good too.

If your looking for a free option Vanilla is now out of beta version 1.0 is out. www.getvanilla.com

kaizan

08-13-2006, 07:09 AM

PHPBB or vBulletin without a doubt.

L146705

08-17-2006, 04:08 AM

I have a feew forums with phpbb, I think i will change them over to vbulletin when I get more members/revenue. Do any of you have experiance of switching over?

Furcal15

01-06-2007, 02:06 AM

vBulletin is definately expensive, well in my case it is. I think it's the best software out there. Very professional and clean. It's also easy to navigate you just need to get the hang of it. It's more for the buisness type forums, professional. Alot of companies use it, and there are alot of HUGE forum's that run vBulletin. I also like IPB, the new IPB 2.2.1 is awesome. I recommend the both to you.

Submerge

01-06-2007, 10:59 AM

I would definitely say vBulletin as the community support is definitely there. The only downside is the cost of keeping the license. But vBulletin is by far the best choice.

Pred4tor

01-06-2007, 01:15 PM

Invision Power Board is if you want the most modifications and skins. I use it and I think its much more organized than vBulletin. The ACP is so confusing in it.

boron

01-20-2007, 05:17 AM

If someone need a comparison of about 30 forums scripts (http://www.forummatrix.org/)from some reason, the list provides features of all of them - pretty detailed description.

aterr
bbPress
bttlxeForum
BurningBoard
Community Server
DeluxeBB
E-Blah
Elite Bulletin Board
EvilBoard
FusionBB
IceBB
idealBB
Invision Power Board
JForum
Jive Forums
MercuryBoard
MetaForum
miniBB
Monkey Boards
MyBB
MyProBB
NextBBS
OvBB
Phorum
phpBB
punBB
Quicksilver Forums
SMF
UBB.threads
Unclassified NewsBoard
UseBB
Vanilla
vBulletin
Vikingboard
Viscacha
XennoBB
Yazd

Mystic

02-16-2007, 11:29 PM

Another free software you can try is XMB (http://download.xmbforum.com/).
My favourite forum software is IPB.

bdude

02-17-2007, 09:47 PM

A forum I visit regularly just put up a forum demo (http://adminfusion.com/demos.php) system which is quite cool.

Submerge

02-19-2007, 05:04 PM

Wow, I didn't know so many people use myBB. It looks extremely nice though, thanks for the link.

Plouplou

10-17-2007, 11:29 AM

My preference goes to phpbb.

The most simple and efficient to create a forum, imho ;)
If you haven't got much time, and want to see what the new phpbb3 can offer, just try it out on this host : free forums (http://www.forumotion.com)

Hope you will enjoy it :)

Konvict Aftermath

10-23-2007, 03:52 AM

PhpBB is the best if you have no money to spend on Forum Software.

If you have some money I would look at getting VBulletin or IPB!

I prefer IPB, as I have always used it and Invision Power Board is so much easier to navigate and use in my opinion!

CyberBoy

10-23-2007, 06:26 AM

Out of all the forums out there, my top 3 would have to be...

1. phpBB
2. VB
3. IPB

phpBB is however the best one I think is out there since it's free!

Konvict Aftermath

10-24-2007, 08:14 AM

Out of all the forums out there, my top 3 would have to be...

1. phpBB
2. VB
3. IPB

phpBB is however the best one I think is out there since it's free!

Spend a bit of money for a return!

With phpBB 3 it is fine now, but 2 is harder to use and navigate so I would prefer to get vB or defienatly IPB, which is really for everyone, beginners or advanced members!

Of course my opinions will differ with other members.

Jamie Harrop

10-24-2007, 08:31 AM

My preference has always been vB. phpBB has always had its security problems (which is to be expected with free software). I've had the chance to moderate and administrate on many different forum software and I've always found vB was the best for me.

I've also used Phorum (http://www.phorum.org/) in the past. It's a much more simple piece of software and allows for a bulletin board style layout as seen here (http://www.luddendeninbloom.com/forum/list.php?1).

CyberBoy

10-24-2007, 08:20 PM

Trusttec

10-24-2007, 08:30 PM

I used to be a big PhpBB fan back in the day but latley I seem to like IPB its very easy to skin and members find it easy to use. I havent really tested out PhpBB3 very much but once its finally released bug free I will test it out.

VB is a nice piece of software but I personally think its not as easy to use as IPB.

ebittner

11-08-2007, 04:39 PM

I am going to have to say that vB is the best out there if you are serious about making a good community you need to be ready to lay out some money. phpbb is decent if you want to go free but it has a lot of security flaws. You can go with SMF which is another very good free software.

iwatchia

09-01-2008, 07:45 AM

PhpBB, hands down!
I was die-hard punBB when I first started out in the www and then found SMF.
Now i've found PhpBB! It's the greatest forum software i've used.
It's light & fast & easy to install. It's also the most customizable and easy to use one i've seen.
I'd recommend it to all of you!
if you want a hosted PhpBB3 forum: free forum (http://www.phpbb3now.com)