Im looking to setup a forum, i see sooooo many different scripts out there, i have been rather partial to YaBBSE in the past, but i know there are many other scripts availiable.
Could people please post the forum software they feel is good?
Please just post the name of the script, and a link to the website ... no "oh but XXX sux, use this instead" kthx?
Can be in PHP, Perl, ASP, or ASP.Net
Full Version: Free Forum Software
You could always use PhpBB , this forum is using it and you should find the link below. It is free.
i dont like phbb myself, here are the forums ive seen/have links for which look good:
SMF (the new YaBB SE) - http://www.simplemachines.org/
Invision - www.invisionboard.com (still free??)
PHP BB - www.phpbb.com
Yet Another Forum.net (ipb ripoff
) - http://www.yetanotherforum.net/
SMF (the new YaBB SE) - http://www.simplemachines.org/
Invision - www.invisionboard.com (still free??)
PHP BB - www.phpbb.com
Yet Another Forum.net (ipb ripoff
) - http://www.yetanotherforum.net/
Confused, you said you don't like phpBB then listed it as a good one. Invision Board will be moving to more of a paid model in the near future from what I understand. YaBB is decent and Ikonboard is ok if you don't have a lot of traffic. To be honest phpBB is stable, fast and has more support than any other out there. It is easy to skin and easy to run also. Not only that it integrates into CMS like php-nuke, post-nuke and XOOPS. We run it for our forums, but they aren't a good example. Mostly me just talking to myself there.
Invision won't be moving to a paid version ( promised by the author of Invision ) I'd recommend Invision and if you need support for it there are countless sites that are starting to pop up all over the place that are offering support. Invision is making it harder to find it's free version but still it's going to continue to be free you just have to use all five senses to find the dumb download 
yeh, ive found the link getting more and more burried in the site, and then almost impossible to find. Support is no problem, i think the forum would have quite a few users.
the YaBB im talking about is the PHP version
not the perl version. I was a YaBBSE dev before work got busy hence my liking of it.
PHPBB is a good forum feature wise and stability wise but i still dont like it much. Other people may refer to this thread in the future, hence why ive got it listed there.
the YaBB im talking about is the PHP version
not the perl version. I was a YaBBSE dev before work got busy hence my liking of it.
PHPBB is a good forum feature wise and stability wise but i still dont like it much. Other people may refer to this thread in the future, hence why ive got it listed there.
I don't even bother downloading it from invision anymore as they keep moving the dumb link, I use auto-installers like The Source Matrix / or others to just install it for me, saves me time
I'll stand up for phpbb. I rather like it.
i cant find the free version at http://www.invisionboard.com
are they folling people to buy it and make it hard to download it right away ?
are they folling people to buy it and make it hard to download it right away ?
Invision board is moving more and more to a paid model. phpBB could never do this due to its licensing
QUOTE (Oxy)
Invision board is moving more and more to a paid model. phpBB could never do this due to its licensing
in case you're not aware, invision is the PHP version of Ikonboard. Both are free.
Dustin
Opensourcecms
I recommend the site if you want to try out a few.
Down the bottom they have a short list of some forums.
You can test drive them (both user side and admin)
I recommend the site if you want to try out a few.
Down the bottom they have a short list of some forums.
You can test drive them (both user side and admin)
Well, I've had some personal experience with a few message board softwares in the past... so let's see....
Invisionboard: The free trial option of invisionboard never expires, so yes, it's still free! IMHO invisionpowerboard (IPB) is the best free forum software out there. It's similar to phpBB and vbulletin in the user-side interface and concept as many of the default features are similar. But when you look at the adminCP, it just stuns me everytime on how many features and the powerful tools that are unique to invisionboard for the Admin-side. I've grown accustomed to relying on this tools. But if you're computer technology impaired or if you simply just want something simple, I would suggest you turn to vbulletin or phpbb, depending on whether you want to do a paid option. And with the ability to put loads of modifications, skins, and customize it, IPB is just as powerful as any other forum on the modification level, DESPITE some common belief among phpbb users that IPB can not be modified.
Vbulletin is probably the best option if you're going to be paying for your bulletin. To tell you the truth, I'd rank vbulletin just a tad above phpbb due to its unique user-interface that allows for threads to be organized or created in a different scheme than other forums do. In other words, they have a thread branching system that was a new feature in their their newest version that came out recently (2.3.4). Another big pro is that there are MANY premium vbulletin skins out there that look absolutely beautiful. However, other than that I can't say much about this. If you're tight on a budget, I would not recommend this option.
phpBB is a great message board. It's what the servermatrix forums is running off of right now. However, as an IPB user, I think phpbb is a little too limited on the admin side for me. I love how it's GPL licensed, meaning that it'll always be free. Another pro is that a lot of modiifications released are supported/created by the phpbb dev. team. And this is another free board option. If you want the same user-side power as invisionboard and vbulletin, but want a simple admin-side that'll get what you need done, then phpbb may be the option for you.
xmb: xmbforums is IMHO one of the simplier forums out of the ones I know. I know some people choose them because they are slightly technically impaired and need a relatively simple to use forum, but sometimes I think it's just because they havn't discovered invisionboard or phpbb yet And yes, this is another free forum, though much more limited on both the admin and client side than the other three mentioned above.
yaBB: I have no personal experience with yaBB, but from what I've browsed through and seen, the client side seems just as powerful as phpbb, though it may lack a few aspects. I havn't seen the admin-side recently, but I know that it's simplicity is similar to that of phpbb in terms of the admincp.
Ikonboard: Ikonboard is a beautiful forum. However, the reason why it would be last on my ranking system is because it's a cgi-based message board. And for those of you who aren't aware, cgi-based message boards will hog up your CPU and server resources like a fat pig after a diet when the board is "fairly" active. I personally know this for a fact as I've had to remove cgi-based message boards from the server before. But as Dustin (Escaped) mentioned, ikonboard is relatively the cgi version of invisionboard, though ikonboard has been here longer.
Well, that's all I can remember for now. Cheers.
Invisionboard: The free trial option of invisionboard never expires, so yes, it's still free!
IMHO invisionpowerboard (IPB) is the best free forum software out there. It's similar to phpBB and vbulletin in the user-side interface and concept as many of the default features are similar. But when you look at the adminCP, it just stuns me everytime on how many features and the powerful tools that are unique to invisionboard for the Admin-side. I've grown accustomed to relying on this tools. But if you're computer technology impaired or if you simply just want something simple, I would suggest you turn to vbulletin or phpbb, depending on whether you want to do a paid option. And with the ability to put loads of modifications, skins, and customize it, IPB is just as powerful as any other forum on the modification level, DESPITE some common belief among phpbb users that IPB can not be modified.
Vbulletin is probably the best option if you're going to be paying for your bulletin. To tell you the truth, I'd rank vbulletin just a tad above phpbb due to its unique user-interface that allows for threads to be organized or created in a different scheme than other forums do. In other words, they have a thread branching system that was a new feature in their their newest version that came out recently (2.3.4). Another big pro is that there are MANY premium vbulletin skins out there that look absolutely beautiful. However, other than that I can't say much about this. If you're tight on a budget, I would not recommend this option.
phpBB is a great message board. It's what the servermatrix forums is running off of right now. However, as an IPB user, I think phpbb is a little too limited on the admin side for me. I love how it's GPL licensed, meaning that it'll always be free. Another pro is that a lot of modiifications released are supported/created by the phpbb dev. team. And this is another free board option. If you want the same user-side power as invisionboard and vbulletin, but want a simple admin-side that'll get what you need done, then phpbb may be the option for you.
xmb: xmbforums is IMHO one of the simplier forums out of the ones I know. I know some people choose them because they are slightly technically impaired and need a relatively simple to use forum, but sometimes I think it's just because they havn't discovered invisionboard or phpbb yet
And yes, this is another free forum, though much more limited on both the admin and client side than the other three mentioned above.
yaBB: I have no personal experience with yaBB, but from what I've browsed through and seen, the client side seems just as powerful as phpbb, though it may lack a few aspects. I havn't seen the admin-side recently, but I know that it's simplicity is similar to that of phpbb in terms of the admincp.
Ikonboard: Ikonboard is a beautiful forum. However, the reason why it would be last on my ranking system is because it's a cgi-based message board. And for those of you who aren't aware, cgi-based message boards will hog up your CPU and server resources like a fat pig after a diet when the board is "fairly" active. I personally know this for a fact as I've had to remove cgi-based message boards from the server before. But as Dustin (Escaped) mentioned, ikonboard is relatively the cgi version of invisionboard, though ikonboard has been here longer.
Well, that's all I can remember for now. Cheers.
Argious, thanks for the great comparison ^__^
I always wanted to try Invision, however as I am working on my own forums in my spare time I do not want to get in some kind of licencing trouble down the road if they feel I'm copying their functionality.
Perhaps I'm just paranoid like that.
I would pay for Vbullitin however if I look at replacing the forums eventualy, I might not want to bother.
I always wanted to try Invision, however as I am working on my own forums in my spare time I do not want to get in some kind of licencing trouble down the road if they feel I'm copying their functionality.
Perhaps I'm just paranoid like that.
I would pay for Vbullitin however if I look at replacing the forums eventualy, I might not want to bother.
very nice post, thanks alot for that
I quite like invision myself as a forum, its very powerfull. I dunno, but depending on my poll in the other thread i might go invsion then convert to vB when (if) it gets popular.
Thanks for all the info!
I quite like invision myself as a forum, its very powerfull. I dunno, but depending on my poll in the other thread i might go invsion then convert to vB when (if) it gets popular.
Thanks for all the info!
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