Which forum software do you run and why?

[huwnet]

Haven't seen anything like this here before so I thought I would start it.

Which type of forum (e.g. IPB, vBulletin, SMF, phpBB do you use) and why?

I use SMF (simple machines forum) because it is free.

It has all the features of phpBB and most of the features from IPB and VB. It is also fast and secure.

[Casethejoint]

DiscusWare Pro v4 - because it's very simple for end users to grasp, allows posting by email, and (touch wood) has been up for over 2 years without a glitch. Excellent customer support too.

[Marketing Guy]

Started with Snitz forums because I used them while working for a former employer and it was simple (for me!) to install and use - good way for the non-tech to start out.

Moved onto PhPbb for my next site because I wanted some of the advanced functionality, but didn't want to pay for forum software - ended up using PhPbb on a few sites - always liked it, but takes a little bit too much work to modify initially to get some useful extra features.

Haven't used Vbulletin / Invision on my own sites but have moderated / administrated on some other sites and do like the ease of use.

TBH, I'm a creature of habit these days and will no doubt continue to use PhPbb for future ventures. :) When you establish a collection of mods you want to use on the forums, it's a fairly simple process to update / install.

[huwnet]

Thanks for the replies.

I would be interested in seeing some skinned DiscusWare forums as certainly the offical DiscusWare support forum looks really ugly

[Casethejoint]

re: DiscusWare default skin - I don't particularly like it either but I'm rubbish at skinning so we stuck with it (with a few mods). There is a showcase thread on the support forums though. Well worth a look.

[huwnet]

I had a look through 20+ Discussware forums from the showcase thread.

Although it may be good from a user / admin perspective I don't think it ranks that welling in term of skinning and user interface

[Casethejoint]

Yeah, I think you're right - endearing though DiscusWare is, I do wish there were a more active theming/skinning community for it. V.5 is out soon, which will include a raft of quite handy new features.

[anand84]

I use YaBB forums..They are neat with easy. Good default skin, and most importantly free..

[Brett_Tabke]

If not for bestbbs, I would be probably be running YaBB. It is fairly system respectful and very customizable.

[tmoldovan]

I use simpleforum pro. There's a free version as well, but doesn't have as many options, and pro is still extremely affordable. It is completely CGI and sets up in under 2 minutes (on OS X anyways).

[Casethejoint]

Brett, is there an ETA on BestBBS as a product? I see "Coming soon, the culmination of two decades BBS experience" on the holding page.

[percentages]

>Brett, is there an ETA on BestBBS as a product?

Next Year.....always next year!

I'm sure Brett makes too much money to want to diddle with BestBBS.....I know I wouldn't waste time on it!

BestBBS is now probably Brett's greatest love, and hate at the same time?

Go on Brett, tell us all how it will be real in the next 6 months ;)!

[mlduclos]

I use DiscusWare product for 5 years and now finally convert from discus to SMF. My first try was phpBB, but the convertor didnt work and another install that I have are a vulnerable version, and this make me investigate the security track for the forum. Discus have a excelent security track but the development seems to be estagnated, its all based in a one-person work. With the help of SMF support forum, I could convert my users and messages. Im still exploring the possibilities of the software, seems to be very powerfull. I dont know YaBB but I visited the page and looks very nice and friendly.

The BestBBS of this forum here dont have a fancy design but appears as very robust, much more faster and have various nice options.

[wheel]

I moved from phpBB to vbulletin. phpBB was nice for the price, but vb was far less server intensive, has less frequent security updates, and both the users and the mods prefer it over phpBB.

Prior to switching I compared vBulletin and IPB, vB came out slightly ahead mostly based on comments I read from others.

[Booington]

I use vbulletin as it seems to be the most popular and user-friendly one to use. Reasonable prices too.

[Oldiesmann]

SMF - because it's free and has tons of great features (plus I'm one of the leaders of the support team, although I've been following development of SMF since it started).

[rogerd]

Mainly vBulletin, though I've run a high volume Discusware board (800K posts on 3.1x - don't try that at home!) and smaller phpBB forums. Bringing up a small phpBB forum soon. (Naturally, as soon as I installed .18 they released .19.)

I find the vBulletin control panel to be the most powerful and feature-rich.

[cerebrum]

If you are serious of your forum building use vbulletin as it has lot of features and is a administrator dream. phpBB is also a good software and lacks couple of features like sub forums. I would suggest to start a forum with phpbb and when you get some 1000+ memebrs and 30 posts every day...move to vb.

Rogerd am I right?

[mlduclos]

I created an admin demo in vBulletin site and Im exploring the options. Its really incredible the number of features. SMF have good options in administration, but not really complete and have this bunch of options. The design is very well optimized. But vBulletin isnt free, and SMF is free.

The phpBB lack of sub foruns is a real problem, indeed. Poor options in administration, too.

Discusware have a well planed admin interface, with good options to administrate and move, too. Maybe is they finally release the next version can catch these top foruns of today.

[netchicken1]

I use XMB, it seems to be the most search engine freindly. (although I can't mod it for custom urls)

[tsheridan]

I tried 9 free forums, snitz and phpbb, while I saved my pennies to buy a vBulletin, and I will never go back. The vbulletin administration control panel is easy to work, the instructions are easy to understand for a non-tech newbie like me, and it has options that I hadn't expected even with all my research, mostly for the end-users, who on my forum are not usually very experienced with computers at all and get confused. Anything that helps them feel more at home in my community, is worth every penny as far as I'm concerned.
I also have had to ask for help at first, being so new to administering a forum, and Steve Machol from vBulletin was very quick to get back to me, every time, and never treated me like just another tkt number or like an idiot, which unfortunately some support people do.....I understand that they get the same questions a lot, but that comes with the job.

[maccas]

Use phpbb on one and vbulletin on another. I must say that after using vbulletin for the last few months it really is a class above phpbb.

[maccas]

Oh didn't bestBBS start off as discusware? Or did I dream that?

[rogerd]

I think you dreamed that. They both use Perl, though. :)

[Casethejoint]

I think the two share a 'feel', for sure. Perhaps I'm wrong... simple, uncluttered, useable.

[petra]

Invision Power Board. Probably the best Board in the World!

[celgins]

Even though ASP-based forums aren't as robost as PHP-based ones, I'm testing one called, "ASPBB".

It was developed by a group of guys in Sweden.

A little buggy, but seems to work okay. Not sure how it will handle 2000+ members though.

[bcolflesh]

I switched from phpBB to punBB - I haven't looked back.

[gazraa]

I'm considering changing from phpbb. There's just too many updates and patches going on all the time.

SMF has been recommended to me by several people, but vbulletin seems very popular.

So, is the cost of vbulletin worth it over the free SMF? My forum has just over 200 members, is growing steadily (very niche theme) and getting 2 or 3 posts day (not bad for 200 members I reckon).

[viggen]

I agree with petra,
Invisionboard all the way! :)

imo it is very powerful, it has an active skinning/mod community and invision offers many extension that i can use (gallery,blog,portal, paid subscription,email management etc..)

cheers
viggen