Choosing forum software : Extended !

[Ricky]

This type of question have discussed so many times in various forums. But again I want to focus some lights on my specific needs so that I can choose right software.

I have been using phpBB from good time and rather expert in its every aspect. But I found it too limited in features and really want to avoid hacking as then upgrading, backup , skin change becomes headache, still I use it as I have done good SEO'd thing for that including mod_rewrite hack etc.

So thought of moving to other software but there are already moded php BB available like phpBB2 plus found at phpBB2.de . So what I am asking should I move to vbulletin ipb or something else or should stick to moded phpBB plus sort of thing. ?

btw vbulletin and ipb are paid once so are they good enough for being paid ? Where can I found the enhancement for them like static url etc?

[ups]

If you're gonna spend money on it, then go for vB. It is expensive, but really good. For whatever reason I never liked IPB... and prefer phpBB over it (from a usability point of view, as a user). vB feels comfortable too. IPB isnt worth the money IMHO.

There are a lot of mods/hacks available for vB too, though I think josue/frankie will know better and should be able to give u links.

As for phpBB, I guess u already know it's supposed to have a 3.0 release in the near future, and is also supposed to have all those features in it that people have been long demanding. you can preview the current test version at their site... but need to wait for the final version to come out.

[Jleagle]

how does modding your forums make backup and upgrading hard? and even when you have like 2-3 templates then it only adds a very small amount of extra code to add to each template when you want to mod it.

[Josue]

Normally upgrading means chaning all the files, thats the way it works in vb and most other scripts (mt, etc). But templates and stuff like that are actually saved invb, what is not saved are hacks done in the very php files that are replaced when you upgrade.

[GGlaaa]

phpBB is user-friendly, which counts most in a retired-expat community. People are used to it, can handle it easily. Apart from that, there are upgrades available which include more features by the time. phpBB3 for example seems to have just about all features. phpBB2 can be upgraded to it, when it is finally released. Members can get used to it slowly, no need to use all new features. It will not be completely different software.

New forums have the problem of attracting new members, if they use software not common to their target group. Building up your forum first with quality content does not depend upon the features but more upon people being familiar with the software.

Spam-robots are certainly a problem. The visual confirmation check is about useless, hopefully improved at phpBB3. But at MyBB it does not only keep Spam-robots away but also people who give up after a few unsuccessful attempts.

If you haven't got much time, and want to see what the new phpbb3 can offer, just try it out on this host :

Hope this can help!