hello everyone, I'm thinking about starting a forum but kinda confused about which platform to use i've heard vbulletin is the best but wanted to take your opinions also in DP what do they use ? is it vbulletin?
Do you want to use a free or a paid forum software? I prefer using SMF from the free ones, as there are many free modpacks for SMF, and it can be customized easily. There are also many free themes for SMF, but I prefer making my own theme. You can reach mods for SMF here: http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/
Karim, vBulletin is THE best choice for the support and enhancements they provide. Their support is very helpful too. If you are looking out for moderators for the forum, do count me in.
Bonjour actualy i was thinking to do a forum about internet marketing but in french. If you can speak french then i would be more than happy to have you as a member
latest version of phpBB has improved a lot from previous versions. vBullettin, IPB , IPS have become bloated-ware. xenforo is currently a better forum system. MyBB & SMF are reliable freewares. MyBB is easy to customize.
If you are talking premium/paid software, then the top three for you to investigate and see which one provides you with what you want: VBulleting, InvisionPower (IPS), and XenForo.
vBulletin "was" the best, but since 2009 it's gone downhill and it looks like it'll keep going. I'd go with IPB or xenforo for paid options.
There is no "best" forum software. Each forum platform has their fan boys who will evangelize that its the best for everyone as it works for them. There is the "best" one for "you": What are your needs and requirements for the forum platform to do? Find the one that meets those needs and requirements.
I have experience with vBulletin, phpBB, xenforo, SMF, IPB, and some custom forum software on free hosted forum platforms. If I had to pick just one, it would either be IPB or vBulletin. I thoroughly dislike phpBB and xenforo. If you want to find what is good and what isn't.. essentially they are all the same in that they have strengths ans weak points, so the best one of them all is what works best for you personally.One thing that's useful is if they have a free demo where you can try things out and get a general feel of the software.
I dislike it for a number of reasons. It seems that I lose lots and lots of time trying to figure out how to handle the software, whereas vBulletin, IPB and SMF seem more user friendly and easier to handle. It literally took me 4 hours to figure out what to do after installing the xengallery, and googling for answers turned out to be useless. I've been around forums since 2003 and have never had problems figuring out how things work, but with xenforo, I don't feel that I have a good grip on it, even though I currently admin 3 different forums that use xenforo. To top it off, I've posted in their help forum twice, out of desperation. The first time I got half a reply and had to ask for the rest. The second time I was given a completely wrong reply by a staff member. Somehow the reply mysteriously disappeared a few hours later I'm sure that xenforo works for some, and that others are thrilled with it. It seems to be the new "best thing", but it doesn't work for me - at all.
.. and here you go I just received an email from a member who is banned, he is still receiving notifications of replies to threads he was subscribed to. It's been one thing after another.
One thing is for sure, vbulletin 5 is a train wreak.. stay far far away from it. I'd challenge anyone to tell me otherwise
Agreed, literally. But vBulletin 4 is still good in my idea and can be used for next years (like vB 3 after vB 4 came out). However, IP.Board 4 looks bad like vB 5. XenForo > vBulletin 4 > IP.Board > vBulletin 5.
vbulletin 4 is okay, I still wouldn't use it for a new forum since it'll hit EOL as soon as internet brands deems it dead. I wouldn't put vbulletin 5 in even as an option.. I'd rather go with phpbb or mybb at that point..