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WHich is the best FREE forum software?

Discussion in 'Forum Management' started by medusa, Sep 18, 2005.

  1. minstrel

    minstrel Illustrious Member

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    #101
    It's even easier with the built-in Package Manager in SMF (and doubly easy with the plug-in and products manager in vBulletin if you want to go commercial).

    How long have they been "working" on that? Since like 2003-2004? It was certainly before vBulletin 3.0 was released and we're now at 3.6. It was also before SMF 1.1 was released.

    Don't hold your breath.
     
    minstrel, Feb 17, 2007 IP
  2. dojo

    dojo Peon

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    #102
    I use SMF now on a board (mainly so that I can brag I use all the big 5 scripts and get people pay for skins) but I am not pleased. I am not talking about the features, it's filled with it. But that's not what I look for in a script. I want easy skinning and hacks (I can install my features, it relaxes me :D). But I worked for 5 hours I think to port an already made theme to SMF. I had few tables and buttons and couldn't make it. I deleted the forum and in few hours I started again (because I didn't find a decent converter for myBB since that's a less pain to skin). After other 5-7 hours of working ON ANOTHER theme than the default I kinda made it. I still have some problems and it's not perfect, but it's kinda OK. That's the first and last time I use SMF that's for sure. For people who don't like to mod the theme it's OK. but for a skin designer it's even worse than VB (and I am getting my share of issues with that too). I got sick of all those parse errors and the css that seems to not work as I want. And this comes from a person who kinda worked some on the forums and considers herself to be an advanced skinner and admin. I wonder how nice it is for beginners to mod those themes.
     
    dojo, Feb 20, 2007 IP
  3. minstrel

    minstrel Illustrious Member

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    #103
    I see your point, dojo, but from the viewpoint of most forum owners, the issue is how easy it is to update, install already-created themes, and install mods. And among the free choices, SMF does all that pretty well.
     
    minstrel, Feb 20, 2007 IP
  4. james_85

    james_85 Peon

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    #104
    I found this:

    http://www.forums-free.com/

    1GB, phpBB3, Unlimited Access.
    40+ Themes, 30+ Languages, Personalization... and more.
     
    james_85, May 21, 2008 IP
  5. Sir Rusty

    Sir Rusty Guest

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    #105
    phpBB and MyBB. SMF is the 3rd best.

    XtremeBB is coming out soon! I can't wait.
     
    Sir Rusty, May 22, 2008 IP
  6. gabbar77

    gabbar77 Peon

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    #106
    i am still confused,which one - phpbb or smf is better??
     
    gabbar77, Jun 2, 2008 IP
  7. olti

    olti Well-Known Member

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    #107
    SMF is the best :)
     
    olti, Jun 19, 2008 IP
  8. Ben-AceofTech

    Ben-AceofTech Active Member

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    #108
    PHPBB3 is the best... it has so many mods available for it its practically a V-Bulletin for free.
     
    Ben-AceofTech, Jun 19, 2008 IP
  9. mihawk

    mihawk Peon

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    #109
    A few days back, a friend of mine introduced me a new forum website , www.forumity.com. I tried creating a testing forum to see its functionality and i feel its quite easy to use with some powerfull features for mods.

    Here are some god point i would like to share about this forum.

    1) phpBB

    2) has unlimited bandwidth

    3) alot of templetes to choose from

    4) supports multi language

    5) phpBB SEO mod installed

    6) supports sub domain

    7) top domain support

    8) unlimited attachments

    Although the site is quite new but i believe given time it will grow to be a big community.

    Try visiting www.forumity.com
     
    mihawk, Jul 1, 2008 IP
  10. bluebrain

    bluebrain Peon

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    #110
    I think SMF and PHP bb is the best free forum script ;)
     
    bluebrain, Nov 21, 2008 IP
  11. conorod

    conorod Active Member

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    #111
    phpBB is the best, and you can configure it to do most things that vBulletin can do by using mods.
     
    conorod, Nov 21, 2008 IP
  12. MechPoint

    MechPoint Banned

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    #112
    Agreed.

    I personally think SMF is the best free forum software.
     
    MechPoint, Nov 26, 2008 IP
  13. thomenoble

    thomenoble Peon

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    #113
    Phpbb is the best available free forum software... also check punbb
     
    thomenoble, Nov 26, 2008 IP
  14. AdamKane

    AdamKane Peon

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    #114
    In my opinion, Invision Power Board and Proboards are the two best free forum software and hosting forms.
     
    AdamKane, Dec 3, 2008 IP
  15. Oldiesmann

    Oldiesmann Well-Known Member

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    #115
    Invision Power Board isn't free. Proboards doesn't count because it's hosted software.
     
    Oldiesmann, Dec 3, 2008 IP
  16. AdamKane

    AdamKane Peon

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    #116
    Invision Power Board offers two free services. Go here: invisionfree.com and here: ipbfree.com
    PHPBB is also hosted software, I used to have a PHPBB forum.
    Most websites are not hosted by their owners.
     
    AdamKane, Dec 3, 2008 IP
  17. Oldiesmann

    Oldiesmann Well-Known Member

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    #117
    First off, those are third-party services and are not affiliated with IPS.

    By "hosted software", I mean that you cannot download and install that particular forum script on your own server. phpBB does not count as "hosted software" because you can download and install it on your own server.
     
    Oldiesmann, Dec 4, 2008 IP
  18. AdamKane

    AdamKane Peon

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    #118
    Does one have to pay for their domain name when using a VBulletin forum?
    IPS developed invisionfree.com.
     
    AdamKane, Dec 4, 2008 IP
  19. miksy123

    miksy123 Peon

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    #119
    I am using SMF 1.1.8 and I think it's a good alternative...especially if you want an AdSense revenue sharing functionality :)
     
    miksy123, Mar 22, 2010 IP
  20. anildesi

    anildesi Peon

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    #120
    SMF is the best
     
    anildesi, Apr 1, 2010 IP