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Best Forum Software

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by misohoni, Mar 30, 2004.

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  1. #1
    I lost a link on this site to the best forum software.

    I know you spoke about Vbulletin etc., and how bad PHPBB is - however, I think it's great..

    You can customise it - look at http://www.phpbbhacks.com and have the same options as Vbulletin - and of course it's all free!

    My Forum site uses it and I'd recommend it anytime. There are also fixes to make sure it's spidered ok also...
     
    misohoni, Mar 30, 2004 IP
  2. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #2
    I've run phpBB before, and it's nice but it doesn't really compare to vB3 in my opinion...

    - Shawn
     
    digitalpoint, Mar 30, 2004 IP
  3. misohoni

    misohoni Notable Member

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    #3
    Ok we agree to disagree. I've used both but the PHPHacks addons make to be the same thing as VB3. But hey, you've already got VB3 - so you don't need it!

    Really like your tools! So useful!
     
    misohoni, Mar 30, 2004 IP
  4. TampaDave

    TampaDave Peon

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    #4
    For Windows/ASP users I suggest Snitz Forum2000. I've got it running on several of my sites - Free as long as you keep the attribution.

    Dave
     
    TampaDave, Mar 31, 2004 IP
  5. flyingpylon

    flyingpylon Peon

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    #5
    For Windows/ASP users that need a highly-scalable, high-performance solution, I would recommend ASP Playground, though it's not free.

    http://www.aspplayground.net
     
    flyingpylon, Mar 31, 2004 IP
  6. t2dman

    t2dman Peon

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    #6
    Interesting! I searched for "Best Forum Software" and found this thread. $USD160 v free. Hmmm. I do like my experience with vBulletin/digitalpoint though!

    The most interesting part is how useful is having a forum? You need to start with a good website with lotsa visitors - like digital point. Then the discussion can happen and prove worthwhile. Otherwise there is no-one posting, no community.

    Then there is the question do you allow sigs -
    • but then that encourages posting, gives "payment" for posting,
    • encourages interesting forum topics that can publicise the main website - like being high for "Best form software".
    Interesting thoughts.

    So why vBulletin? - any list of pros and cons comparing say phpbb and vBulletin?
     
    t2dman, Apr 7, 2004 IP
  7. misohoni

    misohoni Notable Member

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    #7
    PHPBB is free for a start and if you look at the long list of hacks and mods then it's better!

    ..and that was a quick summary, haha
     
    misohoni, Apr 7, 2004 IP
  8. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #8
    T2DMan - I agree... unless you have a large user base to draw from, most forums will fail, or just sit idle. I would have never attempted to start one without an existing user base.

    As far as what is better, the price is better on phpBB, everything else is better in vBulletin IMO (I've run phpBB before). There probably are less hacks for vBulletin, because you don't need to hack it (it pretty much does everything out of the box). And hacking vBulletin is much easier than phpBB.

    - Shawn
     
    digitalpoint, Apr 8, 2004 IP
  9. NewComputer

    NewComputer Well-Known Member

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    #9
    If you do not have access to MySql on your server, another good alternative for free forums is PBLang. It is strictly PHP based and works very well.
     
    NewComputer, May 26, 2004 IP
    yfs1 likes this.
  10. Bernard

    Bernard Well-Known Member

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    #10
    From a user perspective, I enjoy vBulletin much better than phpBB. My biggest beef with phpBB is that it does not clearly mark which threads you have posted in when searching a listing of new posts. I really like that feature in vBulletin. vB3 has a much nicer look and feel IMO. Better usability.
     
    Bernard, May 26, 2004 IP
  11. disgust

    disgust Guest

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    #11
    www.vbulletin.org is a great vb hacking resource for those that don't know about it

    I actually think I prefer VB2 over VB3 so far, but I'm leaning more towards VB3 as time goes on..
     
    disgust, Jun 1, 2004 IP
  12. GuyFromChicago

    GuyFromChicago Permanent Peon

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    #12
    I "fell in love" with vBulletin as user and have continued to be impressed as an Admin. I purchased VB for two forums I run & have been very impressed.
     
    GuyFromChicago, Jun 3, 2004 IP
  13. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #13
    Yeah, the backend is pretty bad ass (I've said it a million times now). It's actually given me some good ideas from a general coding design standpoint for some unrelated things.
     
    digitalpoint, Jun 3, 2004 IP
  14. misohoni

    misohoni Notable Member

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    #14
    I'm still not convienced sorry. The forums for Phpbb seem more comprehensive. New modifications/hacks are coming out daily...the problems you've mentioned about Phpbb have been solved with contributions. Also all the pages spider well.
     
    misohoni, Jun 4, 2004 IP
  15. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #15
    I've run both phpBB and vBulletin as an administrator, and yes, phpBB can be hacked to do most things. But it's nice that vBulletin does out of the box, most of the things people hack phpBB to do.

    But the real advantage is the backend of vBulletin. Most hacks can be done to vBulletin without touching the source/PHP files. Which makes it nice because your modifications carry over on an upgrade without needing to redo them. A perfect example of this is the revenue sharing system here. It's completely done without touching the PHP files, so nothing will need to be redone on an upgrade.
     
    digitalpoint, Jun 4, 2004 IP
  16. misohoni

    misohoni Notable Member

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    #16
    Ack, I'm sure someone at PHPBB HQ could create a revenue sharing system...

    Seems like you copied and pasted what you wrote before about vBulletin haha. How come no one is backing me up on PhpBB? oh lala
     
    misohoni, Jun 4, 2004 IP
  17. digitalpoint

    digitalpoint Overlord of no one Staff

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    #17
    No doubt... the revenue sharing thing could be replicated in phpBB. My point is that it was done in vBulletin without touching any PHP files. (You don't need to rehack anything when you upgrade)
     
    digitalpoint, Jun 4, 2004 IP
  18. wbcentral.netfirms.com

    wbcentral.netfirms.com Guest

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    #18
    I am trying phpbb and it looks good with heaps of mods available
     
    wbcentral.netfirms.com, Jun 12, 2004 IP
  19. misohoni

    misohoni Notable Member

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    #19
    Let me know if you need any help with it
     
    misohoni, Jun 12, 2004 IP
  20. Shoemoney

    Shoemoney $

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    #20
    I started and am currently stuck with phpbb. It seemed like a good idea when starting out but now with 15k unique visitors a day and 2 million total hits per day it is quite the resource hog.

    I have been simulating vbuliten over the same load and it appears to handle it MUCH better.

    now to switch over 150k users =(
     
    Shoemoney, Jan 17, 2005 IP
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