Forum software - Feed The Geeks

GandalfTheGrey · #1 (**permalink**) 05-30-2007, 02:00 AM

Hi,

I was thinking of setting up a forum for one of web sites I am planning. And I have read some info regarding the different forum softwares available. I see this forum is running vBulletin.

I was wondering what software have worked with and which one you recommend?

macuser9214 · #2 (**permalink**) 05-30-2007, 02:10 AM

I use SMF on MacUser9214.com

It runs well and there are tons of mods and themes.

Home of SMF: Free PHP and MySQL forum software

cheater · #3 (**permalink**) 05-30-2007, 02:12 AM

Prior to vbulletin, feed the geeks used phpbb. Phpbb is a free forum (you have to buy vbulletin) that is very good. It has a plethora of mods available for it. Another alternative is Invision. I believe they offer a free version as well as one you have to pay for. You can try it out at InvisionFree (Free message board hosting).
vbulletin, phpbb, and invison are the big 3 in my opinion. If you are going for a free forum, I would recommend phpbb. If you are willing to pay, I would suggest vbulletin.

cheater · #4 (**permalink**) 05-31-2007, 12:36 AM

I just remembered another type of forum. It is called yabb. This forum is coded in perl rather than php. So depending on the type of server you have set up, this might be better for you.

10cents · #5 (**permalink**) 06-08-2007, 05:21 AM

I've read using PERL for forum CMSes is much better than using PHP (translates to YaBB is better to SMF, PhPBB) especially in security. Some even contends the PhP is not a real scripting language. ANy comments? I'm no expert on this but I'm in the market for a forum software...

cheater · #6 (**permalink**) 06-08-2007, 02:30 PM

I know perl, and I have seen YaBB forums. YaBB forums don't look as nice, and don't have as many features as phpBB and vbulletin. It would require many mods and custimizations to make it equal to an unmodified phpBB or vbulletin. As for php vs perl, both are pretty secure. It is all a matter of how you use them. For example, the forums are usually patched quickly against all new bugs. But if you make a custom mod for it, there might be a security risk in that.

In conclusion, I would only go with a perl forum if your host didn't support php/mysql.

As for php not being a scripting language "Series of programmed commands that designate how one computer communicates with another computer.". I think that defines php.

10cents · #7 (**permalink**) 06-09-2007, 09:53 AM

Thanks for clearing that up. YaBB did certainly looked like it could use a facelift. Maybe it is still not mature compared to those written in PHP.

BTW, the quick reply window resizes to about 3" wide by 2" high when I put the text in. A quirk? I'm using Opera right now...

Robert · #8 (**permalink**) 06-09-2007, 10:57 AM

That might be caused by Opera. I use Firefox and very rarely IE and never had that problem.

cheater · #9 (**permalink**) 06-09-2007, 11:41 AM

On my computer (FF on Ubuntu Linux), the quick reply box is about 5.75*1.5. It doesn't resize at all when I put in text. Try using a different browser.

macuser9214 · #10 (**permalink**) 06-22-2007, 01:21 AM

Get the Safari beta (resizable text boxes!) lol