WHich is the best FREE forum software?

I am in love with SMF. It is really very good for my purposes...

I have made a similar forum here: http://joomla.medspan.info/forum/index.php

Would love your comments on the ad placements

 

easymod also helps to install the PHPBB updates in modded boards??

 

I would vote for phpbb because of the great support, free styles and mods available. But there are certainly other great choices available.

 

when phpbb 3 comes out it'll be able to compete with some of the paid ones (assuming the paid ones don't jump too far ahead)

 

Yes, for all but the last update (2.0.18) - for previous updates they released the changes as approved MODs in the MODs database and these were EasyMod compatible. As of the last time I looked, they had not done this for 2.0.18 and that's probably because the upgrade breaks many MODs (which is why many people haven't installed it).

 

I have made many changes to my forum. Please review the ad placements. Also, what do you feel about the "integration" of Joomla, SMF and Gallery2?

Mediscuss

 

I'm just getting into SMF now but i very much like what I've seen to date and I will be definitely converting some of my phpBB forums to SMF.

One observation about http://joomla.medspan.info/forum/index.php :

You need to look at this at 800 x 600 in a non-maximized browser window -- the "Get adsense" banner overlaps your forum name/logo slightly. It positions correctly in a maximized browser window.

However, the rest of the page then requires side-scrolling at 800 x 600, which gets annoying in a hurry. If you must have the ads in that vertical column, try at least placing it to the left of the forum index so that part can be read without sidescrolling.

 

Minstrel, as you know I use SMF but I am getting sick of the lack of support of the developers of SMF. I have a problem getting SMF indexed, I think it's great if you want to add a forum to a site but I am considering buying Vbulletin and start things more proffesionally for another domain.

 

I had no problem with getting SMF indexed on several boards, though it still has a way to go to be more search engine and indexing friendly.

Anyway, at the moment I prefer other software (MyBB), second being SMF, and minibb for certain purposes.

 

The thing is, FV, the support forum posts are correct. You definitely have a problem with session IDs but this is not a Simple Machines issue. I have now installed SMF for one forum and there aree NO session IDs. I helped someone elsed install SMF and there are no session IDs on her installation either. Two different servers/hosts. In fact, with further investigation of other SMF forums, yours is the only one I have seen to date that is having that problem.

I wish I could tell you what is causing it but it has to be something with your hosting or PHP configuration. It isn't a problem that's caused by SMF itself.

That being the case, if it's a PHP problem, how do you know it won't recur with vBulletin or any other PHP based forum software?

By the way, are you on a Windows server or Linux/Unix/Apache?

 

Yeah it's a weird situation, but I received some emails from members who weren't satisfied either. The thing is that I like the features of SMF and using this open source software means a lot more functions will be added quickly.

Operating systes: Linux
Machine Type: i686
Apache: 1.3.34 (Unix)

Anyway my host tells me it's SMF, SMF tells me it's my host haha.

 

I have trouble believing your host. Of course, it's possible that the problem is an interaction between a glitch in SMF and the way your host has configured PHP... but the question you have to ask is why the forum works as described on so many other servers and not on yours. The two I have personal experience with are also both on Linux/Apache servers - they installed, converted from phpBB, and are working flawlessly with no session IDs.

 

With simplemachines what hosting do any of you use? I just started reading up on this and was going to get the Economy Plan with Godaddy. This will be a brand new site for me so I don't have any traffic yet. Its going to be on medical billing. Do you think the Economy plan is suitable for me?

 

lack of support? at any given time there are always several team members online at smf, and another 100 or so members with enough knowledge to answer even the most simplest inquiries. the supprt there is fine. maybe its you.

try making more then 8 posts before you start saying there is no support.

 

What has the number of posts got to do with anything?

 

take into consideration the number as well as the quality of posts.
you can ask intelligent questions, or you can piss and moan and complain and you will be somewhat ignored.

not too mention FlashVictim hasn't posted there since last February, so they don't know what their talking about.

 

Good Lord! lol

Anyways, I need a forum as well, I am new to php, but I want the best I can get for free and with ease of use, lack of glitches and best mods etc....what is (without me doing a search on it) the Cashmod all about?

I will be using 110mb free hosting (I think) and want to place ads by google among a few others.

What would you suggest to try first? I would hate to make a big mistake by installing something that's not right for my purposes only to have to start all over again later.


P.S. no one would know the maximum file size for any of these aps would they?

With 110mb I have a limit of 10mb which should be fine I would think, but only 500kb for my other free hoting service

 

Start with Simple Machines (1) if you're a novice to coding or customizing and (2) require ease of upgrading and installing packages (addons, plugins, modifications, hacks).

 

Alright, thanks..i'll try it before the phpbb then.

Appreciate it!

charlie (goitalone)

 

IkonBoard at IkonBoard.com is best free forum. Fast and secure. It written in Perl