phpBB VS SMF VS MyBB

I have MyBB installed on my site, and I am happy with the software. But if you need help with something, then you are out of luck. The community is not that active and you may not get answers to all your questions.

I had tried, phpbb also for a few days. What I like about phpBB is their excellent support. If you have a question and know how to express it, then you will have your answer within hours.

 

I own MybbCentral.com and offer amazing mybb support. The mybboard community is active however there isn't many actual support team members that are very active. So in a sense you are right. There are a good amount of regular posters though that do answer questions and help resolve issues. It's rare that you don't get a solution to a problem. Since mybb is somewhat smaller it might take longer to get a reply vs more active forum communities. Example is that on phpbb or vb you would get a reply within 10 minutes from someone while at mybb it might be an hour. Not sure that's such a big deal really.

 

That's odd, go test out vBulletin and then go test out mybb and you'll notice some startling similarities.

I'm a fan of what's best. I've used all. And for 'secure' free stuff with the best options, SMF is the best.

The ACP or admin control panel has the most features out of ALL of them.

SMF have the best 'usable' plugins. Especially for a starting forum. i.e., notified emails for subscribed forum posts,,, an automatic welcome post for each new member that signs up.

MyBB doesn't have this, atleast not that I'm aware of.

phpBB3 doesn't have this, atleast not that I'm aware of.

You can find MODS so easily for SMF right on their mods page... whereas, phpbb mods are strung out all over cyberspace, which can take days to find, if you can find them at all.

MyBB has no 'standard' installed plugin that the above quoted poster claims, that's pure hogwash. Apparently this poster has no clue.

SMF have a lot of power in admin and it's much easier to use.

If I need support for SMF, I can go right to their official forum and within MINUTES, literally, minutes many techs post with detailed solutions. For FREE!

How can you beat that?

I don't know why SMF isn't at the top of EVERYBODY's charts, it is the best free forum hands down. How can it not be? hell, even search engines love it with their SEO mods. My year forum is ranking better than another niche vB SEO forum that's 10yrs old, a vB forum with 60k + members... and probably 4000-6000 logged on all the time.

Interesting!

I'm a strong fan of SMF because they are the best and free. If I wanted to pay for a forum (which I won't) I'd go vbulletin.

If mybb gets more support, mods, themes, and techs.... I might use them on one of my forums. But since SMF is the best, I doubt I'd need to.

 

You mean like usernames, posts, private messages? That sort of thing? Because I know the code of VB very well and the code of mybb even better. Asthetically you might THINK they are similar but in reality they are coded in two very different ways. The mybb approach to it's software is nowhere near the VB approach. The features of VB are obviously some of the best, most well-known, and requested features for a forum. So it's a great compliment that you believe a FREE project like Mybb is similar. Think about that...why pay for VB when you can get something similar in nature for free?

You mean like this:
http://mods.mybboard.net/view/post-on-registration-designed-for-14

Upload one file. Activate in admincp. That's it. About 3 minutes to setup.

As for thread subscriptions...even phpbb has that. Of course mybb has subscriptions. It even has forum subscriptions.

I am not sure what you mean or who you are referring to.

I guess that's important when the software isn't intuitive, requires lots of addons to be functional, and leaves it's users clueless.

By creating an intuitive interface that makes sense.

Have you bothered to test 1.4x? It's seriously right now without doubt the best free forum software. It just is.

SMF is fine software. I can't say it's pure crap. I can just say that mybb is better on a number of fronts. I am more versed in the software than anyone here. I think that qualifies me to make such a statement.

What's the url sir? Would like to take a peek at your successful SMF forum.

I seriously suggest you try it. You would not regret it.

Now I know you haven't spent any real time with mybb.

Here is the SMF admincp...it's underpowered.
http://www.opensourcecms.com/forum/smf/admin.html

Here is Mybb 1.4x admincp...it's intuitive and powerful.
http://www.opensourcecms.com/forum/mybb/admin.html

There are many more options in mybb and it's certainly more intuitive and asthetically pleasing I might add.

 

Rectangleman... you wiped the floor with Mrsandman lol

GOGOGO MYBB. Vote +1 that its the best free forum software

 

That's because Scott MacVicar of vB took legal action there, hoss. Do a little research before you spew off garbage. And yes, the other "sort of thing" is a copy too. And no, mybb isn't even a fraction as good as vB.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1308003&postcount=13

Thank you for proving my point about mybb having very few plugins. I didn't even look to see if there was a SEO plugin, but apparently google doesn't like mybb, I can find none that rank as good as vB and SMF in search engines.

What's the point of having a forum script if it ranks very poorly in serps?

That'd be you, hoss.

All forum scripts require a half of a brain cell. Sorry that you couldn't figure it out, sunshine.

And 'most' people like to make their forum 'unique' and by doing this, they would go into the code and switch things around. Sometimes people make mistakes. SMF team is right there to help anyone and everyone 24/7.

Don't tell me people don't make mistakes and need support. That's just illogical thinking there, sunny. Another hint, hoss, when you have an ACTIVE community (not sure if you ever had one of those), down time is a buger. SMF team gets you going within minutes.. can we say that about the mybb team? Nope.

As if SMF is not. I seem to have no problems... of course I was giften with a brain and logical thinking, so that may be where we differ, sunshine.

Yes I have sparky... and it's NOT the best free forum software. It can't be when SMF owns it. Your bias opinion sure does shine through, though. Are you getting paid?

I question this. You seem to be either misled, misinformed, or just straight up... not too bright.

How many would you like?

http://www.hogville.net/yabbse/ Forum Stats 3,043,237 Posts in 164,568 Topics by 25,216 Members

http://forum.treasurenet.com/ 1211133 Posts in 113234 Topics by 28219 Members

http://www.candymag.com/teentalk/ Forum Stats 973175 Posts in 6408 Topics by 126593 Members

How many do you want sparky? I can do this ALL day long. Lol.

You really should go buy a clue before you spurt off your nonesense. You're garbage is hurting others who could be using a great free board. Seriously. Shame on you!

For the 30th time, I have. It isn't serps friendly, the support is non-existent, the free themes are amature-ish and just down right unappealing to me, the mods are limited.

For the 31st time.. I have. I'm willing to wager that I spent more time with mybb than you have with ALL forum scripts combined.

See, this is why I question your (self proclaimed) "I am more versed in the software than anyone here. I think that qualifies me to make such a statement.", because you are downright clueless to the facts. You're misleading others could certainly take away a more positive experience. Mybb is an ok script, it's just not there yet. BTW, wait for the public release of SMF 2.0. Hopefully then, you'll have enough dignity to come back to this thread and publicly admit that you are wrong. And that you are feeding everyone garbage.

Why would I go test their demo when I tested it on my server with 700 active members?

Again, more hogwash. You sir, are full of it.

 

Lol you may want to add a poll

 

No legal "action" was taken. They just came to an agreement based a few discussions and a disagreement about code. There is no further information about the details of the agreement. I can tell you that no suit came of this.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286931

And of course McVicar would spew that crap. He wants to make sure Mybb doesn't muscle in on his income.

Less plugins does not mean "few". There are plenty. And my point was mybb doesn't require as many plugins since it has the most features built-in. What SMF and phpbb require as a plugin Mybb has it built in. Do you get it now?

Ugh...so you don't bother to look and then you dare to make an opinion? Based on what? Did you pray to god and he spoke directly to you? Get off your high horse for a minute. Oh and a search of "mybb seo plugin" pulls up the plugin for those that do want it. I personally have no need for it. I rank #1 for my terms just fine without it.

What does..."none that rank as good" mean? That's so damn cryptic. If you need ranking mybb forums you only need to search these keywords:

"hacker forum" #1 with special links I might add
"yugioh forum" #6
"ncaa forum" #5

The argument that any one forum software gets you ranked better is pure garbage. You can't back it up with facts. Every site has the potential to rank #1. Find me a site that has zero content and running VB as #1 for a good keyword and maybe I would believe you. You're just showing an amatuer mentality to SEO.

I asked for forums YOU OWN. If you can't speak from the perspective of a successful forum admin then I can defeat any argument you make immediately. Have you sold forums in the $xx,xxx range? I have. Mybb forums too.

Odd..that's exactly how I feel about you. Two sides of the same coin I guess.

I don't see how that's possible with mybb. As for other forum scripts..well I been doing forums for about 7-8 years now and been a webmaster for over a decade. I pretty much dealt with everything from Vanilla to VB and down to Matt's CGI script (do you need a reference link?). I am confident in my knowledge. If you say you're well versed then great. Heck for the sake of argument I will give up the point that you "know" forums.

So does this admit 1.4x mybb is better than current SMF? Hmm...that seems to be your argument. Mybb started in 2005 and SMF in 2003. One would assume given the size of the SMF project that their current release would be more feature rich than Mybb. However it's not and neither is phpbb one of the oldest php forum scripts out there. That should speak VOLUMES about Mybb and it's direction. VB should feel very threatened by Mybb and it's advances. You yourself state "it's not quite there yet" and to a point you are right. It's not yet at the level of VB but heck..it's free and it has easily surpased older more established forum software like SMF and phpbb like a breeze. Give Mybb time to attract more theme and plugin authors. In two years...will you be big enough to admit you were wrong?

Because I am the sort of guy that can admit faults I will say that version 1.2x would have choked in all likelihood on that size of a forum. Proudly I can say that 1.4x has vast database improvements including being the only free forum software that offers master/slave SQL.

http://www.mybboard.net/features/feature-tour/db-support

SMF or PHPBB doesn't support that at all.

I am full of it...full of laughter and joy. I can take pleasure and assurance knowing 100% that Mybb outclasses other forum software in it's field.

And I will ask one more time. Failure to answer will result in everyone here seeing how inexperienced you are as a forum admin. I can back up EVERYTHING I say..can you?

Thanks for discussion. I am thoroughly enjoying it.

EDIT: Upon investigation I think I you busted.

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=628580

That's a thread from less than a year ago bro. Jeez..sometimes I really wonder why people think they are bigger on the internet than they really are.

btw..Google me. Jesse LaBrocca. Gonna be hard for you to find anything like that from me anytime recent.

Here let me assist you:
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/member.php?u=3528 2001 account at WHT (when I started to sysadmin my own servers around that time instead of using dedicated rentals)

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/member.php?u=134906 (VB user/member since July 2006)

http://www.phpbb.com/community/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=92856 My phpbb account that's almost 5 years old. I used to write mods for phpbb.

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums (Threads: 164,969, Posts: 4,747,844, Registered CAGs: 174,177, Active Members: 37,720) I helped sysadmin that site for years. Including assisting with the transition to a new server and conversion from phpbb to vbulletin when phpbb couldn't deal with the size of the forum.

http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/member.php?u=1992 Joined and assisted since 2003.

I truly speak from experience.

EDIT #2: Realized I didn't really show you a mybb site ranking over VB or SMF. Just going to have to give you exact information so you don't make stuff up.

search term = "hackers forum"

#1 = mybb
#2 = vb
#3 = phpbb

Nuff said...I don't believe I need to edit this again (I hope).

 

Go test out Google and oh my god... a site called Yahoo has a search option and oh, look what I just found too... MSN.com also has one too... a conspiracy? 0_o

 

i got for SMF as it is most like Vbullitin

 

Oh retangleaman, enjoyment indeed.

You're bs has so many holes, even though taking the time to debate you costs me atleast $100 - $500 worth of my time, per post, I still enjoy it. You make this too easy, son.

Let me just touch on a few things since I pretty much debunked your claims already. A couple things you said really made me chuckle.

"hackers forum" would pull up any decent site with the keywords in the URL. SEO 101, sister.

We can play this game with "gear monkey forum", guess what, it pulled up my site as #1. Wow, isn't that amazing how that works?

SnowFlake or Softpuff or whatever her feminine DP alias is, said "... a conspiracy? 0_o"

EDIT: Her name is SnowCloud. She has it right.

Ooops, EDIT again... My bad that girls alias is "SoftCloud".

I'll tell you what reptangleman, if mybb is working for you and you are selling it for $xx,xxx.xx like you claim, then good for you. Since your opinion of mybb is better than all other programs, then good for you as well. I'm glad that you like the software. Use it.

SMF does everything + more than I could ever want or need. I'm building my forum for my users and my users are completely happy, SERPS is top notch, and the system is working like gold.

Our difference in opinion is just that, opinion. I think what irks me is that you are discouraging people to try out a top-notch software in SMF. Just like you and I, perhaps they should test all of them and use what's best for their needs and their community's needs.

 

The site domain is hackforums.net. As for your lesson 101 in SEO...it's a zero.

Search these terms:

"music forum"
"gaming forum" btw #3 results was a mybb site I sold now converted to VB...when it was mybb it was #1 for more terms
"webmaster forum"
"camera forum" (love this one because cameraforum.com is a dead non-ranking vb forums that shoots down your argument)


So yes..having the domain as the keyword is a plus but it's not the only factor. You still have to have a viable site with the other SEO factors involved.

Resorting to name calling is the last ditch effort of someone losing an argument. What happened to your dignity man?

This is what I often tell people...a forum software should be chosen based on your needs. As I posted yesterday. I am consistent in my messages.

http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=1073738

Of course it irks you. You are a SMF fan and you use it. You like to believe it's the best since it's what you have chosen. Forum software is like politics. Everyone wants to believe their candidate is the best. The difference here is that I am forming a well laid out argument while you are not.

You have yet to speak of your experience as a forum admin. You made claims about knowing software yet just 11 months ago you made posts about how new you were to all this. Do you expect people to honestly believe your 11 months worth of experience is more valuable than my many years and literally dozens of forums I have created? Where is your test site with 700 logged in members that you tested mybb with?

I don't claim to know it all. But without doubt..I know more than you sir. Don't let that fact bother you. There are people that know more than me and I just accept their wisdom.

For those that are not participating in this discussion keep in mind that SMF is a decent forum software. If it fits what you need then by all means use it. It's excellent imho that we do have choice in the forum software space. The choice is ultimately yours and I highly recommend you stop reading arguments by fans and instead try demos of the software yourself. It's not important who uses what but it's important what you choose is what you need.

Thank you for reading.

 

RectangleMan is right in his argument, so sorry...

---- BUUTTTTT --------

MyBB just sucks.
MyBB needs to be run by idiots to release a package that gives errors to so many people in installation.
No one can find an answer as to why a bunch of people are getting a "blank page" when they enter the correct database information (wrong information causes an error message inside layout), but when you enter correct db info, it gives a blank page and nothing, it won't install.

So, considering I am able to install every single forum online easily, but this I cannot, and have received no help in the forums for it. I think it's safe to say MyBB is the worst managed forums, even if it has nice features.

 

Out of the thousands that have installed without problem there are always a few with issues and of course they are the ones most vocal.

Hmm...you are right..

http://community.mybboard.net/thread-39112.html

Realize that's not everyone though and staff is having a hard time duplicating the problem. I myself haven't had the issue on my fresh installs on 3 servers. I just made a post telling people to contact me for help on fixing this. Sorry you had this problem Tarkan. I have admitted openly here that Mybb is currently having a problem with support team. It's a weakness for sure.

In the future feel free to ask me for mybb help (if you decide to use it). I would probably be on the support team myself but I have reservations about committing myself in that way. I don't like being obligated.

 

Yes that happens.

I could find the problem myself if it was JUST an error. But I have no idea what would cause a blank page.

Actually one developer responded to some post saying that this problem was FIXED in their "internal repository" would have been great if they explained where the bug is.

http://community.mybboard.net/thread-37723-post-252107.html?highlight=blank+page#pid252107

 

I don't know but as lover of MyBB since I found it, got to say go Labrocca(or RectangleMan here).

MyBB became my best friend fast after trying just about everything.

SMF - Horrible menu system and their plugin system is retarted. Why have plugins if you still have to do template edits(kind of defeats the purpose in my eyes). Not to mention I've been waiting to see 2.0 for awhile now to give it a second chance but development is horribly slow.

phpbb - Only thing it has going for it is it's large community which provides mods and themes. But without those it's horrible and should just die.

Then finally the winner; MyBB!

Simple and easy to use. Not bloated as it mainly only has the features most forums need and a few nice little extras. The plugin system is amazing especially thanks to people like Labrocca, Nickman, and many others.

Sure it lacks in these things but in all honesty I think most of my forums use like 3 plugins. And guess what they are all added within a click. I would also like to add no forum has these features by default so MyBB shouldn't be expected to.

Themes, yes I agree it lacks. But we have FireFoxWiz and Audentio(sorry if I spelt it wrong). FireFox does a lot of very nice looking themes for free. Audentino(?) does more paid stuff now but still makes quality themes for free too. Plus it's probably the easiest forum in the world to modify themes and templates for. Since all of it can actually be done through the admincp .

Now I would even choose AEF over SMF and phpBB. They are just gaints who haven't hit the bottom yet.

 

First post tells of the fix. It was a simple typo that caused the blank page along with a mysql 4 intallation.

 

If I can get it to work, I would be sort of happy. Maybe I need like 1.4.1 or something.

But the guy said later it wasn't working or something, rectangle.

I tried the update... changed $this_link to $this->link same results.

 

If you want..PM me FTP and phpmyadmin access (create temp login if you feel more comfortable).

1.4.2 has a lot of bugs fixed and also it's the result of an external security audit. 1.4.3 should be the best though as bug reports have slowed down tremendously for 1.4.2. I keep track of these things. I am assuming 1.4.3 will be out within 10 days. I still think you should install though.

 

Odd how someone claims that I lost this argument, yet here you are losing time while trying to make the (so called) "best" forum work... while having no luck and no support from the mybb site.

SMF would be up and running and tweaked to your liking in 30 minutes or less.

Here is what rectangleman just said today about SMF:

Guess I didn't lose this "debate" after all...

http://xtrememusic.net (now I'm testing phpBB3)

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