Which Forum Script Will You Recommend?

Hey everyone, I have been quite inactive for a past few days and I guess I must have missed a lot of things. Well, I was planning to start a new forum, but I can't afford vb script, so I was looking for your suggestions.

Please suggest me the best script from these 3 - MyBB, phpBB, SMF?

Please consider the following things :-

- I am looking for a script which has got SEO related mods.
- I don't wanna waste a lot of time on adding modules, so adding modules should be easy.
- The forum should have a mod for spam prevention.

Thats all I guess, so please share your suggestions here.

Thanx.

 

You say you can't afford vBulletin, can you stretch to IPB? If you can I would suggest that.

If you need a free script then I would recommend either MyBB or phpbb. MyBB is the closet you'll get to vBulletin.

 

I would recommend MyBB as there is a great SEO plugin available for it, and it is really easy to add any other modules you may find beneficial for your community. Overall, I enjoy using MyBB a lot.

 

I would suggest SMF. Out-of-the-box, it has a few features not immediately available in other boards, like a marquee feature for posts and a moderate-you-own-thread option. SMF has got a lot of themes and mods, too. The only problem I have is installing the mods. There is some manual editing to do which I still cannot understand. So if you can find someone to help you install the mods, SMF is the way to go.

Hope that is useful.

 

There is an ultimate solution for your problem. Just see the following comparision.
http://www.forum-software.org/forum-comparator/mybb-vs-phpbb3-vs-simple-machines-2
This website can compare any forums softwares and provides each and every detials of free and paid forum softwares.
5*****

 

I remember using that site 3 years ago when I setup my first forum. It was immense help to me.

 

Thanx for the replies everyone. I guess I'll be choosing Mybb. But I could change my mood to SMF in the last moment

 

And after trying both you will most probably settle with phpBB
It is my experience.
60% plus Share in the indusry is phpBB ( cant remember the source )

 

Yes because what you want to do is look exactly like every other forum.

Since when is having the the exact same forum as the majority of the internet a good thing?

 

It does not mean that if you are using phpBB your forum will look like all other's forum!

If it is so, then why do 90% people prefer Wordpress than any other Blogging CMS ?

 

Update:

I have solved the problem of installing mods to SMF. I changed to SMF2 RC3. Now I can recommend using SMF.

 

I wouldn't recommend using a Release Candidate on a live site. It's safest to wait until a stable version.

 

I am using SMF2RC3 now. It is a WIP but then again, which software isn't. What it actually means is that there are developers actively working on correcting problems as and when they crop up. A stable version just means one that is tested. And old. Meaning you can't get to do the latest things with it. The latest mods are all written for SMF2RC3.

I am recommending SMF for two simple reasons:
1. It has moderate own thread feature out-of-the-box. This is something like a forum user's dream come true. Imagine being able to delete spam posts or flame posts from a thread you have started. Without waiting for the mods.
2. It has got a marquee bbc. I can have a string of characters running continuously across the page. Very handy for ad-type posts.

Hope that is useful.

 

That does sound useful but at the same time be careful, you'll probably end up with users deleting others post just because they don't agree or something like.

 

You can only moderate your own thread if you are permitted. So you can only delete posts in threads which you started. Any way, the deleted posts can be assigned to the trash can instead of being removed permanently and can be reviewed by the mods.

 

That's not so bad then.

 

That's one of the things which got me to have an in-depth look at SMF. btw there is also a shop mod where you can trade posts for items like change display name. The more I play with SMF, the more interesting it gets. Maybe you should give it a try, too. Remember to install SMF2RC3.

 

It's actually more like 77%, according to this.

http://www.qualityposts.com/ForumMarketShare.php

But who cares? Basing a forum software purely on market share is like saying Internet Explorer is the best browser out there. phpBB is still loaded with a lot of redundant features both in the frontend and the backend.

 

The best thing I ever done was change from phpbb.

 

Just curious. What did you change to?