Best forum software?

[Michael Guilfoyle-m6.net]

Hi guys,
Out of the following,which forum software is most popular and what features makes it popular?
1.vBulletin
2.SMF
3.Invision Power Board
4.phpBB
Apart from above, are there any other good forum softwares?

[12noon]

Lots of others, but these that you've posted might be the ones with the most support and modifications available.

It would be hard trying to pick one from another though, but saying that i use vBulletin & IPB myself.

One of the good things about SMF (this kind of board) is that it is very easy to add modifications. With the other boards software you have to edit the PHP code yourself, but with SMF you just click to install.

[SensoVision]

I've always prefer YaBB and now SMF, mostly because it's made by community and not some company The only thing is good in other distos is that they had more modifications (just like Graham metioned).

[Andy]

I guess you become used to administering your favourite script. I started with phpbb, then moved to yabbse then they changed to SMF (Simple Machines Forum). You probably wouldn't be disappointed with any of the top open-source (free) scripts since they are very mature and you can compare them easily by looking around existing forums.

My forum for example uses the same script as this but looks very different. Example SFI forum.

The phplist support forum demonstrates the ageing look of phpbb.

[12noon]

Another good forum software would be FuseTalk. I've been a member of a board that uses FuseTalk and find it to be very good software. The only thing wrong with FuseTalk would be the price.

FuseTalk Basic Edition = $129.00
FuseTalk Standard Edition = $2,998.00
FuseTalk Enterprise Edition = $4,599.00

It's not cheap is it ?

[SensoVision]

wow, where this price come from? if I'm not wrong they are offering forums for hughe communities but I wonder how many such communities really exist and is this software has so clever code inside? 

[12noon]

G4 TV use it in America and i got the price from the FuseTalk website.

[SensoVision]

never heard of G4 before

[12noon]

G4 is a TV channel all about computer games. It's only on in the USA and Canada though.

forums.g4tv.com

I'm sure others must use the same software though.

[CoastPC]

Anyone looking for a basic php forum, try http://www.hot-things.net
They have a basic forum that does the job. Nothing fancy but its ok.
See it in action here>http://www.coastpc.info/forum/index.php

Chris

[SensoVision]

congratulaiton with a new forum, Chris! going to register now, maybe I'll post there from time to time

[Andy]

Simple forum scripts like Chris's are ideal where you don't want too many administration headaches. I find the big powerful scripts attractive but understanding how to customize them is usually difficult and they involve huge amounts of code to upload to your site.

Currently, I'm trying to understand one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) called mambo. The results with the pre-designed templates are amazing but it's really tough to fully understand all the new concepts and make your own templates when you are an html coder. I realized today that with CMS, you need to start with your content and then decide how you want to present it. It reminds me of the time I first tackled windows programming from a dos (inline-code) background. I think mambo has a way to let visitors interact with your site and post their comments on your articles. I think it's the next generation of web site software combining forums, blogs and static pages.

Once I work out how, I want to post a really simple mambo template that anyone can use for a basic website but with built-in content management so they can easily edit existing pages and create new ones. Most of the templates I see are too complicated and have graphics that dominate the page so making it harder to customize for your own identity.

One problem with engine-driven websites is that the urls for the pages are not best for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Mambo puts the keywords into the Title which is most important but doesn't include them in the url. This is a downside to using this system.

[Michael Guilfoyle-m6.net]

One problem with engine-driven websites is that the urls for the pages are not best for SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Mambo puts the keywords into the Title which is most important but doesn't include them in the url. This is a downside to using this system.

That's a  major drawback.

[Andy]

Once I work out how, I want to post a really simple mambo template that anyone can use for a basic website but with built-in content management so they can easily edit existing pages and create new ones. Most of the templates I see are too complicated and have graphics that dominate the page so making it harder to customize for your own identity.

Given the problem with non-seo friendly urls i decided to go back to my own page coding and use php includes to insert the common elements. The web is too competitive to compromize on search engine optimization these days.

[dojo]

Since I have used phpBB for almost all the time I have been a web developer, I can say it's the best for me. I would chose vbulletin if you are willing to pay,though