Which forum software to use?

Hi All,

I want to open a forum but am confused between so many options like vbulletein, phpbb,bbpress etc . My forum would be for Software Techies.

I need suggestions from you all, which forum software should I use and if possible the pros and cons of each?

 

Also would like to know what software is used by DP forums?

 

vbulletin is the best imho.

DP is using vbulletin.

 

Thanks Avatar and Wisdom Tool,

Well, yes for the beginning I would like to go for the free software forum.

To elaborate, I want my design like,

Forum A
Sub Forum A1
Sub Forum A2
Sub Forum A3
Forum B
Sub Forum B1
Sub Forum B2
Sub Forum B3
Forum C
Sub Forum C1
Sub Forum C2
Sub Forum C3
so on and so forth...

And then I want to integrate adsense also in them,

So what you people think which forum software, out of the "free" options available would be best in my scenario?

 

If you are looking for a paid one then VB rockz else SMF is also a good one

 

ok, I have nearly zeroed on SMF here is a nice explanation.

One more thing, In your opinion how easy/difficult is it to customize this forum software, (for example if I would like to have an additional right sidebar where I want to show links to my related sites) and the ease of Adsense integration.?

 

If you are looking for forum for software processionals, then it is best to go with vBulletin. Since most of them would be used to vBulletin script and it does look more professional than rest of the scripts out there.

 

have a look at:
http://www.forummatrix.org/
i would strongly recommend mybb, you can do a lot with mybb it has a lot of similarities of vb however it newer, so mods are a little on the scarce side but there are people that will make custom mods for you on their community site. Ive run many site including financegurus.net, aclubbersguide.net plus others. Ive implamented adsense into the code on my clubbing website, i put the code into the php but their are mods avaialble to do it also

 

@Yogesh: As of now I am looking for a free forum software.

@tony84: I compared SMF and mybb on the link provided by you here .Atleast the comparison shows SMF has more features than mybb.
Can I know why do u suggest mybb over SMF?

more suggestions welcome from others.

 

I didnt like the feel of smf, it seems to be quie slow and i prefer te control panel with mybb. Also adding mods and changing themes on mybb is so simple its untrue (compared to mybb and smf) there are NEVER any problems (and i know no php what so ever)

Personal preferance i suppose but i was an smf follower until i bought a site whch ran on mybb it took me about 2 weeks to get used to the changes but once i did, i would never go back to smf, Mybb is so much more proffesional the support forums are excellent.

 

am getting more confused as the thread is progressing ... there is a divided opinion on the net on these two (mybb and SMF)

 

Also here is a small discussion on both.

One point I particularly liked in favor of SMF More options for news feeds (see this topic (http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php?topic=25009.0) for more info)
SSI.php - lots of functions to make integrating your forum with your website a whole lot easier

 

yea that was 1 big pro i had with smf, but then when i tried to edit it to something else i couldnt.

Both are good i wouldnt go back to smf personally. All i would say is to install them both have a play around, install some mods just set them both up as though you would it being a live forum then see which you preferred, try registering and see which your users would find easiest. also try editing a skin to o see which you find easiest to do then rate them after that

 

well Tony84 Thanks! seeing your confidence in mybb, I will try mybb first and let you know the progress...

 

The 2 paid ones are Invision Power Board and vbulletin. Both are ok in their own ways, but vBulletin is more proffessional while Invision is more eye-candy right out of the box.

The 2 free ones I've used are SMF and PhpBB, both are excellent, but I find SMF to be far more powerful.

 

I also give mybb a thumbs up over smf. I find the templates/theme for SMF to be rather poor. I know some big SMF sites exist but the ones I see have normally very heavily modified templates. SMF doesn't look clean imho..it's cluttered. Also mybb 1.4 will be released soon with some amazing added features that will have it surpass SMF by a couple years. I have the priviledge of being a 1.4 beta tester and it's great. I also make themes and plugins for mybb so yes...my opinion is probably considered a biased source.

One thing most will probably agree on..stay clear of phpbb. Either SMF, mybb, or VB (paid). Some like IPB but imho if you are going to pay you might as well get VB.

 

I agree with RectangleMan, SMF is very poor looking, I am still looking forward the upcoming release of myBB, I have heard about in on several forums and seems like it is going to be a great release, so I would rather recommend phpBB or myBB for a free forum platform.

If you are looking for a paid platform, with top support, with tons of modifications and styles, vBulletin is defintely something to look into, however play it wise and give it a thought and consider do you need the features offered in vBulletin, or are you looking for a basic platform?

Meti

 

One truth is that conversion to VB is very easy. They have a built in tool to import forums and convert from just about every major software. I believe in starting simple and free. You can ALWAYS go to VB if you want in the future if your ideas turn out to work. Watchout...yer a sexy poster.