We all think one type of forum software is better than all the others... Lets pool the stats in this poll so that us newbies can finally know what the forum community really thinks. Numbers don't lie!
For a free forum software, I'd say Vanilla just because it's simple. IMO, it's fairly easy to customize, and I just like the uniqueness of it.
I would say phpBB3. I use it on my webmaster forum, and it has all the features I need. It can also be modified to do most things.
MyBB is the most secure, it has all the features, but maybe not as old as SMF or phpbb so smaller community.
everyone really has their own opinion... it is hard to get a handle on which is actually the best - maybe that means that when all things are considered - they are equal... to each their own i guess. Tarkan - I like that turkish musical artist... hah -pk
Yes he is a great artist. Judging the best forum is subjective, but I tried them all, and I found MyBB to be the best, I didn't go in there with a bias.
i personally like Wbb. not hte new one i like the old Wbb with the old hacks and mods. the new one is crap
I still like SMF. I just hate how there is no branding free option, and you're forced to show the version number in the footer (and if you tamper with it, the site shuts down).
You're not forced to show the version number in the footer. http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=1046 Why do you want a branding free option?
Nice, never saw that. I just wanted a way to buy a license and remove the SMF link at the bottom of the forum. I personally don't want it there.
Over the years I have seen scripts come and go. What might be secure and popular today, may be only a memory tomorrow. Even though SMF is good right now, I also see MYBB as a serious contender. Because projects can fade away and be forgotten about, I vote for "other."
I think that, as you put it, there will never be a final say for this topic. From my side, I will have to say SMF with MyBB coming up very closely too..
I've used SMF for 2 years and can easily vouch for it ... It was my first forum software as an Admin who knew nothing about forums and got me more than 1000 members and 8000 posts in the first year. Pretty good for a newbie I guess.
For free software, I would pick phpBB without looking twice. For paid software, vBulletin is my forum of choice. I had an Invision license back in the 2.0x days and I liked the administrative panel a lot but the end-user interface just didn't match vBulletin. If I were to start a new forum today and buy a license for paid forum software, I would go with vBulletin just for the amazing interface. All the forums I frequent use vBulletin.
I've used PHPBB, MYBB both. I think MYBB is better than PHPBB. The main reason for my choise is PHPBB is porn to bugs. I don't know about their new version PHPBB3 but MYBB is very stable.