Bulletin boards / Forum softwares

**1800eshop** · Oct 19, 2000, 18:11

How do you compare these software for a Bulletin Board/ Forums ?

1) VBulletin (http://vbulletin.com)
2) Ultimate Bulletin(http://www.infopop.com)
and
3) BigTalker/ BoardPower (http://www.thewebmasterguide.com/software/software.shtml)

I have been doing a little bit of research on these softwares and Now I find myself a little confused to make a decision.

Could any one here help me make a decision please ?

Ofcourse I know, sitepointforums run on vBulletin

Thanks in advance !

**progbuc** · Oct 19, 2000, 20:06

i don't know much about the third one of the ones you mentioned, but vBulletin is the best of the other two. ubb uses cgi which slows down your server more than the php that vbulletin uses. ubb uses static html pages which is slower than the mysql database vbulletin uses, but ubb does have one advantage. since it uses static html pages, search engine spiders will be able to get to the pages inside a ubb bulletin board whereas it will skip over the vbulletin ones because they have a "?" in the url. for instance look at the url of this page. the "?" after the ".php" makes it so that spiders are programmed to avoid this page because it could cause circular links.

[Edited by progbuc on 10-19-2000 at 10:20 PM]

**James** · Oct 19, 2000, 23:08

Of the 3 you mentioned I think vBulletin is definitely the best.
They are PHP and mySQL based which means they are really fast, diskspace usage is very small, and the users tend to post a bit more using vB.
If you can afford the $160 price tag I think it is well worth it..

**James Smith** · Oct 20, 2000, 08:38

I have a years experience with UBB, and some experience using vBulleting lite.

I have now installed phpBB, and I am developing it myself, to make it good.

http://hiphopmusic.co.uk/phpbb/

I REALLY recommend it. If you can customise it a bit as i have, i believe it can be easily as good as vbulletin. AND ITS FREE !

get it here :

http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB

look around in their forums, they have released a BETA version

-james

**mjames** · Oct 20, 2000, 17:37

If I can install vBulletin, anyone can.

I tried setting up UBB months back and it was a mess. vBulletin is superior in features, speed, and cost. That's the way to go.

**RussellG** · Oct 20, 2000, 21:23

Have any of you checked out http://www.ikondiscussion.com/ikonboard ?

It is in my opinion, better then UBB, boardpower and Yabb.

Plus it is free.

[Edited by RussellG on 10-20-2000 at 11:26 PM]

**1800eshop** · Oct 20, 2000, 22:24

Thanks for all those who have replied with suggestions and directions.
Now I have a fair idea about the best one available.

I hope I can go ahead and buy one now.

Thanks again !

**reachmk** · Oct 21, 2000, 02:08

If your host suports PHP, then u definitely can go with vB.
And if only cgi, then go for UBB.

My host supports cgi and not php, so i went for UBB. It was fine and i modified it to suit my site, configuring the login scripts so that i can have a single login for my whole site, which has many restricted pages.

**Lorina** · Oct 21, 2000, 05:16

I'm the newest convert to the Cult of vBulletin. I used BoardPower, but on my old host, I kept having problems with it the host overriding the permissions. When I switched hosts to one that has php and mysql, I finally caved and bought vBulletin. I've only had it on the site a day (not even!), and I already love it.

**jrstark** · Oct 22, 2000, 17:27

My Unix host (Concentric) has a non-standard setup for CGI that is causing all kinds of problems getting custom scripts to run. They have PHP but no MySQL. I am looking for bulletin board, links (searchable) and classified ads programs, the cheaper the better ;-). Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Janine

**mad-onion** · Oct 22, 2000, 18:38

To run a bulletin board, or link index you really do need mySQl or else things re just going to be real slow.

If you are unable to move your entire site to another host like
http://www.hostrocket.com

then you might consider getting a few accounts at http://www.f2s.com to host your links pages and bulletin boards, etc.

I am currently working on a link managemet system that is mySQL driven i can give you the source for what i have done, it doesnt have an admin feature yet though.

If interested email me at webmaster@mad-onion.com

Thanks

**jumpthru** · Oct 22, 2000, 22:21

Originally posted by jrstark
My Unix host (Concentric) has a non-standard setup for CGI that is causing all kinds of problems getting custom scripts to run. They have PHP but no MySQL. I am looking for bulletin board, links (searchable) and classified ads programs, the cheaper the better ;-). Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Janine

I think its jst time for you to find a new host...

Also, for the orginal question, vBulletin is by far the best.

**hmahonen** · Oct 23, 2000, 05:58

progbuc:

I've always considered that serving pure HTML pages instead of dynamically created ones is a _lot_ of faster, since they are static, server doesn't need to create them on the fly every single time. It just doesn't fit to my imagination that a dynamically created page, which causes more strain to the server than static HTML pages could be faster?

Care to enlighten me a bit?

1800eshop:

I can't say much about bulletin boards from the administrators point of view, but as a user I see very little difference. UBB is definitely most used one - atleast on the boards I visit, but vBulletin could be easier to manage (it has a high price tag though).

It's hard to say, which one is better - perhaps the best solution _could_ be to install both of them and see, which one has better admin features and fits to your budget more nicely.

**Son Nguyen** · Oct 23, 2000, 07:26

Phorom at http://www.phorum.org is also a good php bulletin board/forum

It's open source and thread-style.

**cisites** · Oct 23, 2000, 08:26

Besides a few things their already working on, I really like YaBB.org

**mad-onion** · Oct 23, 2000, 11:08

In reply to hmahonen...

If you can build a model for a straight html bulletin board that uses less system resources than a mysql one, i will build a fan site for you...enough said

NB: i dont build fan sites

**jumpthru** · Oct 23, 2000, 22:12

Originally posted by hmahonen
progbuc:

I've always considered that serving pure HTML pages instead of dynamically created ones is a _lot_ of faster, since they are static, server doesn't need to create them on the fly every single time. It just doesn't fit to my imagination that a dynamically created page, which causes more strain to the server than static HTML pages could be faster?

Care to enlighten me a bit?

1800eshop:

I can't say much about bulletin boards from the administrators point of view, but as a user I see very little difference. UBB is definitely most used one - atleast on the boards I visit, but vBulletin could be easier to manage (it has a high price tag though).

It's hard to say, which one is better - perhaps the best solution _could_ be to install both of them and see, which one has better admin features and fits to your budget more nicely.

Because, you have to store every single html page in static form and update it every singe time someone posts. With dynamic its much cleaner and better. Plus you can update stuff like you signature and it gets updated everywhere. I am sure someone else with more knowledge can explain why dynamic is better, but i can guratee you that it is.

vBulletin is much easier to manage from i have heard. i like vbBulletin from a user point of view. Also, I think vBulletin may have surpassed UBB in terms of how many in use.

Also, in reply to your comment about how it has a high price tag...well, actually UBB is now MORE expensive ($200) than vBulletin ($160).

Unfourtnaly, you cant install both (besides the light version, which doesn't tell you anything) without buything them both first, which doesn't help you see which one better fits your budget.

**James** · Oct 23, 2000, 23:54

I have experience with both UBB and vB as a user and a mod/admin and I have to agree that vB is by far the best.
vB offers a better and more poweful control panel, better features for moderators (eg Moderator Queue, which is used here in the Reviews forum).
The reason UBB is more widely used is because its been around much longer...UBB has been around for a few years and is on version 5.46, vB has been around for about 9 months and version 2 is about to be released.

**dhtmlshock** · Oct 24, 2000, 08:09

Check out Snitz forums at http://www.snitz.com. They have a fantastic (and free forum) and a large support group. You can see an example of their forums at http://www.dhtmlshock.com/forum and http://www.spider-food.net/forum

**psalzer** · Oct 24, 2000, 11:46

Anyone know of a free forum with fewer features? What I'd really like is something like a guestbook with some forum features. I want it to be easy to post without registering. That it be easy for people who really aren't familiar with these things is one of the main concerns. When you spend a lot of time on the web it's easy to forget how confusing something as basic as a message board can be to someone who hasn't seen one before. I can't see the site in question having a really busy forum - maybe 10 posts a day tops for the first few months, but I would like people to be able to reply directly to each other and I'd like those posts to be in a flat mode. And I would like to be able to set the number of posts to a page.

Oh, and easy installation is essential (or at least instructions that assume you know nothing), cause I'm an idiot with these things.

**mad-onion** · Oct 24, 2000, 11:57

psalzer, you might consider phorum. It is one of those classic old message boards with threaded discussions.

Take a look at it at phorum.org

I couldnt gage from your post whether you have db support or not...

**psalzer** · Oct 24, 2000, 12:03

I do..have db support, that is, but I really don't want threads. The site is not at all technically oriented and I've noticed that non-tech type folks really hate threads. Although Phorum's threads are very nicely organized, I still think that my users won't like them. I really don't think there is such a thing as I'm asking about, but I figured while everyone was talking about boards, I'd give it a shot. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

**1800eshop** · Oct 24, 2000, 12:48

Hello Friends,

I just saw another thread started here named "Arghh, I MUST upgrade my message board (so says my host)"

Does that sound like VBulletin is the best to rely on?

I guess so, thanks for your help !

**Hierophant** · Oct 24, 2000, 15:08

Originally posted by psalzer
Anyone know of a free forum with fewer features? What I'd really like is something like a guestbook with some forum features. I want it to be easy to post without registering. That it be easy for people who really aren't familiar with these things is one of the main concerns. When you spend a lot of time on the web it's easy to forget how confusing something as basic as a message board can be to someone who hasn't seen one before. I can't see the site in question having a really busy forum - maybe 10 posts a day tops for the first few months, but I would like people to be able to reply directly to each other and I'd like those posts to be in a flat mode. And I would like to be able to set the number of posts to a page.

Oh, and easy installation is essential (or at least instructions that assume you know nothing), cause I'm an idiot with these things.

Check out vBulletin Lite... It has no registration period. Look and feel similar to this. Only slighter harder to modify because it lacks templates. Certainly worth a look though.

**psalzer** · Oct 24, 2000, 16:57

It does sound like it might work for me. Thanks. I'm looking at it now. Not sure how I'll do on installation, but it might be worth a shot.

Ironically I stopped at scriptkeeper.com for the first time in about a year, and found that someone is working one the Ultimate Guestbook, and if it ever gets done might be just what I'd like: Something in between a guestbook and a message board. The catch is that it doesn't sound like it's going to get done for a long, long time.

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