vBulletin Alternatives

I posted the phpBB vs. vBulletin thread not too far back. Those are really the two that I've used extensively. I've used phorum, but I don't know if I'd put it on a heavy traffic site.

What alternatives would you recommend? Or is vBulletin the one?

 

IPB.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again:
I don't feel like posting on vB forums unless they are really good, IPB just makes you want to post, want to participate.

Note, this is my opinion, also, IANAL.

 

Hadn't seen IPB. On the surface, looks similar to phpBB and vBulletin. What about it makes you want to post/participate? Not giving you a hard time, just don't see much of an end user difference right off the bat.

 

To be honest it is the same for me, I won't post on anything other than vBulletin unless they are really good.

However there is a free board which I may consider now IPB is paid. (I will never use PHPBB anymore, too many vulnerabilities.) That board is http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php and mainly because I've heard just good things about it. It appears to be the best free option around at the moment. I haven't tried it yet though, but I will when I get the time.

 

wowbb.com never used it but looks ok

 

I dont like vBuliten, same as others have said, it has to be a really good forum for me to want to post on it.

I far prefer phpBB.. the new 2.2 version thats going to be coming out soon is awesome.


Josh

 

ubb is also quite popular.

 

so what is it that you don't like about vBulletin? Slowness? Look and feel? Big giant vbulletin name? The format / layout?

UBB seems pretty fast from what I have seen. I've never really paid a lot of attention to what software a board uses before posting.

 

there is a new one.... ill find the link.. its really fricking nice but its opensource

 

Another promising free forum is http://ekinboard.com/ -- its still in its very early versions.. but it looks nice so far.


Josh

 

For those who aren't keen on vBulletin can you tell a bit more about the cause of your dissatisfaction? Is it the price? Is it the product? Is it the service? ...or is it something else?

 

haha.. That sounds like the fact that it's opensource is it's big drawback
Do we wan't to start open source vs. closed source flame war ??

 

I know the one thing that stops me using vBulletin on more sites than I do now is the license fee - I just can't afford (or justify) $85 for sites that aren't being run for a profit.

As for alternatives, there's miniBB, punBB, phpBB (although I avoid that based on its poor security record and arrogant developers) or even possibly bbPress. None of them seem to have any many features as vBulletin but I've never needed to use all the fancy extras anyway.

The one thing I will say in favour of vB is that it makes an admin's life a lot easier - the control panel is better than any other forum I've seen. It's not really worth the money though from my point of view.

 

Yeah, I don't like the price as well. I have a bunch of small sites that I have forums on just for general tech support about the site or whatever, and I don't want to spend $85 for that

Josh

 

No war at all.. its just a disclaimer.. I use tons of opensource. Its awesome and is great for learning how to code since you will have to fix most of the apps you get (cheap shot)

 

i use ipb, always have and am more than happy with it, does well under heavy traffic!

another one i've seen raved about is http://www.simplemachines.org/ haven't played with it for a while but when i did i wasn't overly impressed with it

 

Ultimately, I chose vBulletin. I really like it, though I haven't gotten mine to the point where it's ready to go. I have big plans, but I've been working very slow for a while now.

vB seems to offer the best set of features IMO, but what I discovered was that 90% of the decision is a matter of personal preference. phpBB scared me away for two reasons - Security History and upgradeability once you are customized. vB's new plugin system, coupled with AJAX I would say are the two features that really won me over.

 

Whatever you do stay away from phpbb2

Trust me on that one