free message board setups you can recommend

[goma]

I've used phpbb for a previous message board project and I've been asked to help in setting up a new one.

The guys who're asking for the community want something like Vbulletin. That say they can't afford it right now but and will move onto Vbulletin over the next few months.

They're particularly interested in running banner ads at the top of the page.

So what message board setup can you recommend that's reasonably easy to make the switch to Vbulletin and can also run banner ads?

[I, Brian]

I would imagine that any of the big ones should be capable of running banner ads, and vBulletin has converters for the major forum software out there.

Really, the best advice is that if you're going to go for it, just purchase a leased licence from vBulletin at around $80.

But if you insist on other software...well, phpbb ha a new release imminent, YaBB SE has a new release imminent, the new IPB release is apparently buggy, and...well, then there's vBulletin 3 imminent, which of course requires money.

A point to note is that if you plan to run a forum as a place of commercial activity, then it's highly recommended you actually have money to put behind it. So if you want vBulletin, you really should have the money for it put away. Setting yourself to have to convert in a couple of months is asking for trouble (or simply extra and unnecessary work), and if there's the possibility of not being able to convert anytime as soon as you'd like, then there's little point running forum software you have little respect for.

Install a forum because you like it, not because you want a cheap stop-gap measure.

Just 2c.

[Hartmann]

Your comment on IPB 1.2 bugs, can you expand a little?? I have been running 1.2 for about 3 wks. now and had no problems, only with new skins.

[DPC]

vBulletin 3 is far from stable and IPB is in a (nearly-bugless) release candidate stage. [img]images/smilies/confused.gif[/img]

I actually went from vB3 to IPB 1.2, if that helps -- don't discount it as bad because it's free... um, trial.

[hurtdidit]

You really cannot go wrong with phpBB2; there are tons of hacks and mods available at www.phpbbhacks.com (not to mention at www.phpbb.com itself), and I have yet to see a reason to go with vBulletin versus phpBB, honestly.

[StateDOG]

I just switched from phpBB2 to IPB 1.2, and have seen no issues of bugginess either. Maybe I'm not using it hard enough.

But I think that both IPB and phpBB are great products, but if your client wants vB, then why wait a few months to change it?