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AN EASY ONE - What's a good choice for a PHP forum package?

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 12:49 pm
by RacerX
I am looking to add a PHP forum to my website and hoped I could tap into some of talent & experience here. I am looking for something that is easy to setup & maintain. I already have a PHP website host. Any suugestions?

Your advice is greatly appreciated!

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 1:06 pm
by daven
The forum you are currently using. http://www.phpbb.com.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 6:23 pm
by Gen-ik
Yep I agree. phpBB seems to be the best one. It's a bit of a pain in the ass to customise though (graphic/layout wise) but if you know PHP fairly well you should be able to find your way around.

phpBB, but...

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 9:33 pm
by evilmonkey
I've added a lot of mods to my phpBB2 forum quite easily, even made some myself (graphics/text wise), but seeing it's code made my eyes crawl up forehead. :roll:

So if you want to spend hours modyfying a forum to fit your needs, go with phpBB (it is truly the best). If you want an alternative, I would reccommend vBulletin. My buddy has it on his site, it's a very good forum, a lot more function than the out-of -the-box phpBB. However, with a few hours of mods, phpBB can become just as (if not more) functional than vBulletin. The neggie about vBulletin is that it costs $150+.

Make your descision.

Posted: Wed Jul 16, 2003 11:15 pm
by mabufo
use invision board!
In my opinion it is the best php board there is. It's very easy to setup.

http://www.invisionboard.com

check it out!

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 8:05 am
by evilmonkey
I took a look at the invision website, and noticed a few things. First off, you have to pay for the "enhancements", which I dont really like. Secondly, it's almost identical to phpBB. So why pay for "enhancements", when you can them for free at the an almost ideantical forum package?

I'll tell you this, if you're willing to pay, vBulletin is your only choice. (http://www.jelsoft.com)

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 8:39 am
by RacerX
I think I am going to give PHPBB a try. I will probably try to setup/config it early next week, so you'll probably see posts from me asking for help 8O

I'll let ya know....


Thanks again.

Posted: Thu Jul 17, 2003 2:14 pm
by mabufo
http://www.invisionboard.com/download.cgi?subc=trial

you get the free version, then download skins and hacks from ibplanet.com

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:51 am
by m3mn0n
Latest version of phpBB is 2.0.5, enjoy.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/phpbb/

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:34 am
by phice
Make your own. :D

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 3:47 pm
by qartis
vBulletin has always had too many useless features (subscribe to this thread? email this page to a friend? calendar?)

My site had vBulletin for a few weeks, but nobody ever liked it. I'd recommend phpBB :)

...

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 6:22 pm
by kettle_drum
Check them all out and see which you like best.

You can use a demo of all the popular php forums at http://www.opensourcecms.com/

Just click on their links about half way down on the left. You will then be able to check out a demo of the forum and play about with the admin panels.

Have fun :)

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:20 pm
by phice
I actually really like vBulletin. No apperent reason, it just feels more stable than phpBB. Though, when installing, phpBB feels 100x more stable than vBulletin. :/

Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2003 11:21 pm
by qartis
Oh right, admin panels :)

$admin_panels['vBulletin'] > $admin_panels['phpBB']

Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2003 4:22 pm
by Vicious
i think phpbb sucks ass Invision board is easily the best. And the enhancments are Live chat. Go with invision board.