Some Questions...

[iowamf]

Great review of the boards - I've been looking for something like that.

It is really difficult to find this kind of pro/con information.

It is understandable why this is the case - but it is also a disservice to the user community to only focus on the "pros" of their favorite and the "cons" of everybody else ... especially when board operators know the "cons" of their own system better than anybody.

FWIW, I tried phpBB and the security issues are just too prevalent and the promise of v3 is slipping worse than Windows Vista.

I also tried Drupal and their native forums - their forums still have training wheels on and the support community will bite your head off if you say that or even suggest bridging in a 3rd party forum.

I worked with Joomla/Mambo too - the bridge to use SMF is pretty good ... but the admin controls for Joomla/Mambo are an airplane cockpit compared to TinyPortal/SMFs controls which are more like the dashboard of a car.

[TwinsX2Dad]

I am glad to have been able to shed some light on them. I am a message board junkie - I probably have at least two copies of each available message board on my file server. I have a personal site where my long time members (they're all long time - we've not accepted a new member in 2 years) are always wondering, "OH NO - WHAT CHANGES IS HI SPRINGING ON US THIS WEEK?" Or even what will he do today.

For that site, sometimes I change platforms more often than I change my socks.   

I'll finish up with the rest in a bit.

[iowamf]

No ... really? 

I am a message board junkie -

Actually, you'd be perfect to do a wrap-up on feature comparison.

Unfortunately, your post would probably be forwarded and cross-posted to every top-level board and the cheerleaders would come out of the woodwork to rip you.

Somehow, I doubt if you'd care - which I respect.

It is sad people take message board feature sets so personal.

I've got a great BBQ grill - but if somebody says my BBQ makes a rotten bread toaster I'm not going to go bonkers (at least publicly, I'll privately go figure out a way to make my BBQ a better toaster).

It is all about the problem to solve - and too many lose sight of that.

[TwinsX2Dad]

Very true - you know, each one of the free offerings has some compelling benefits and some definite cons to having them. Yet if I go to a phpBB forum and say something it won't or can't do, they would go nuts on me. I've done this on the vB support forum and been told I was an idiot. In that instance, I was discussing IPB's recent inclusion of selectable view modes - the vB people said no one would ever want such a stupid thing, that IPB was stupid for offering it. Then, what does vB come out with? Selectable view modes.

No matter what the facts are, there will be those who don't want to hear they don't have the best, even though what they have may be perfect for them. Of course, I've also seen someone hack the snot out of a board just to get the features another board has. I know of several people who have twisted and contorted their phpBB boards to get some of the features IPB has, even going so far as using IPB-type themes, just so they didn't have to spend the money for IPB. These are people who make $30+ per hour and can afford to buy the thing, but they spend 25 hours hacking their phpBB, crashing it along the way and cursing phpBB with every breath.

They then pay a cleaning lady because they say their time is worth more than the $12 per hour they pay her.

Oh well - the others would be pretty much a similar tale as the first ones. When I talk about message boards, I really do try to be completely objective about them. Currently, about the only one I would strongly recommend against would be phpBB, even though I know it best. I could hack it in my sleep - of course, so can hackers.   

An interesting side thought would probably be best saved for another topic and maybe even another board - but one thing most people mention as a top reason for selecting any message board is security. When you get right down to it, the security of your host is far more important, as is keeping good backups. All of the major offerings are very secure. I would feel comfortable with the security of just about any of the applications I described previously.

[bloc]

A interesting read..personally I am not so experienced in other systems. But its always personal preference that will count the most I think. So while you may be tempted by these new guys or use one of the established and big ones...if the shoe doesn't fit, well....  I for one like simplicity, and making those few features one have, the best as possible.

I have a vb license, not used live, but have tested the script locally for some time, and its a complex package. In many ways its the "supercar". But I don't like the "super-car", I like the car that suits me, and that one is called SMF.

[Crip]

Same shoe fits me also Mr. Bloc.

[Moocat]

wow we must all have very similarly sized feet!

[TwinsX2Dad]

I have many different sizes of feet.

[Losingall]

i will recommend you to use phpBB 3 .... coz its the best free bulletin board software on the internet....
This new version is now more secure and reliable.
Just try it out on this host : Link Removed - TP is not a FREE advertising space. ~ Staff

[Dragooon]

i will recommend you to use phpBB 3 .... coz its the best free bulletin board software on the internet....
This new version is now more secure and reliable.
Just try it out on this host :

Thank you for your totally stupid and non-sense post but All of us here believe that SMF is far better than phpBB.