And the best forum is..

[GTAce]

The infamous 'been there, done that' posts show up at last. Just what I was waiting for.

I actually gave you a thorough review, the longest post in this thread...so don't act like I blew off your question because it is so jaded.

I think in both cases, trends can be spotted through an analysis of the stats.

• Firefox is rapidly gaining ground on IE, maybe because its the best.
• vB seems to run 80-90% of the biggest forums on the internet, maybe because its the best.

vB has been around for 6 years. IPB JUST went paid a year and a half ago. It's no wonder that vB runs the majority of the market (although definitely not 80-90%). IPB's software that can compete with vB's only came around a year or so ago with version 2.0. There is a reason vB dominates the market and it is because they have been around the longest by far.

Again, I am not saying that I prefer IPB, because I actually prefer vB...I am just saying that judging which software is better based on which one is more widely used is not an accurate assumption.

[mcsolas]

I actually gave you a thorough review, the longest post in this thread...so don't act like I blew off your question because it is so jaded.

Sorry I should have quoted the post you quoted .. not directly you.. whoop.s

[MetalAges]

Put simply, other forum software cannot compare with the stability, security and expandability that vBulletin offers.

What he said

[tke71709]

The best forum software is the one that meets your need and that you can afford on your budget.

[dionsiseire]

i switched from phpnuke(which uses phpbb as the forums) to joomla/vbulletin this week

i have to say my members have never been as complimentary about the user interface and ease of use

and if my users are happy it doesnt matter a damn what the rest of the forum software can do

[GTAce]

Sorry I should have quoted the post you quoted .. not directly you.. whoop.s

No worries, I understand...goofy quote system

[mcsolas]

and if my users are happy it doesnt matter a damn what the rest of the forum software can do

Their vote counts, ten to one.

[phpseeker]

Put simply, other forum software cannot compare with the stability, security and expandability that vBulletin offers.

Where are the facts that you are basing that comment on?

Does anyone know of a site that has done a comparative review of the current batch of forums? I'd really like to see some extensive testing/reviewing.

I believe feature wise ipb and vbulletin are fairly evenly matched. From what I've seen both are capable of supporting massive ammounts of users, reliably and in a stable manner. What I don't know about is the kind of hardware requirements each needs for varying amounts of activity. IPB has had some security issues but they are usually pretty quick with fixes. I don't know anything about vbulletin in this regard.

[GTAce]

Thank you, phpseeker. An un-biased opinion

*thumbs up*

[delman]

VB is the best but I do use SMF and I find it very nice for a free forum software. I like how with it you don't have to really install any mods with it unless you want special functionality. I have used PHPBB as well as SMF and SMF gets my vote very easily. Also SMF seems Much nicer on the admin side and user side in my opinion. I have never used a paid forum software before.

[Akela]

Sorry I should have quoted the post you quoted .. not directly you.. whoop.s

No really, what makes you think this thread will give you different answers than those you could have done a search for?
This is an eternal topic, forgive me for not being swept over by its uniqueness.

As for my personal opinion, I presently use phpBB - because it's free.
As soon as my forum gets up on its feet somewhat, I'll be switching over to vB - because it has fewer recorded hacking experiences (whether due to its security features or to being less common than phpBB)

The only forum I will not install is IPB - I highly dislike the way they entered the paid software market.

[GTAce]

The only forum I will not install is IPB - I highly dislike the way they entered the paid software market.

This is a valid argument. I can understand people being upset at IPS for going back on their word, but I do not blame IPS for charging for IPB. IPB is a great piece of software and is definitely something worth purchasing...but where IPS went wrong is when they said that it would always be free software and then lost sight of their promise.

[Akela]

VB is the best but I do use SMF and I find it very nice for a free forum software. I like how with it you don't have to really install any mods with it unless you want special functionality. I have used PHPBB as well as SMF and SMF gets my vote very easily. Also SMF seems Much nicer on the admin side and user side in my opinion. I have never used a paid forum software before.

Are you saying that SMF has more pre-installed features that in phpBB you'd need a mod for?

I've never used SMF, so I'd really like to know your experience

[scotty_b]

Put simply, other forum software cannot compare with the stability, security and expandability that vBulletin offers.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126331 Would suggest otherwise though.

[Akela]

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=126331 Would suggest otherwise though.

oops...

[mcsolas]

No really, what makes you think this thread will give you different answers than those you could have done a search for?
This is an eternal topic, forgive me for not being swept over by its uniqueness.

ahhh... Mr. 'been there, done that' speaks up.

I am working on an open source forum for the coldfusion language. Currently there is nothing even close available to us in the cf programming community. I have been doing a lot of research on the subject and did search for other useful threads before posting.

This discussion has been highly relevant and has pointed me in a few directions that I needed to research further.

----

As for feature comparisons,
heres a few pages I had been tagging on that subject:

IPB features, vB features, phpBB features

[Akela]

ahhh... Mr. 'been there, done that' speaks up.

Since you fail to deduce my gender from my avatar... my repeat thread comment wasn't applicable here.

[eldacar]

You cannot possibly compare forum software with browsers. We are talking about successful communities here, the vast majority of them use vBulletin.

vB works and is easy to use. It has good support, and a lot of publicity, both official and word of mouth. That does not logically mean that it is the best though. It logically means that they have chosen to use it.

Also, AFAIK, until version 3.5 vB required major ftp upgrades for security updates. SMF has always had one-click security updates. (prehaps 3-5 clicks if your server/browser forgot your details..)

[mcsolas]

Since we have a smf expert in the house, I was wondering if you could expand on the benefits of smf versus ipb / vb.

- Oh and by the way - You guys just updated that site right? If I remember correctly there was a black header on that one for a long time .. if thats the right forum - thank goodness its gone. Much better looking now!

[GTAce]

It has good support, and a lot of publicity, both official and word of mouth. That does not logically mean that it is the best though. It logically means that they have chosen to use it.

Agreed, a huge reason that vB is so widely used these days...but not necessarily indicative of it being the *best* software

[mcsolas]

If your setting up a forum, you do have to choose one. Often, especially from that big boards list all link - vB is the most widely used choice on a lost of the most active boards. Given thats a primary goal of most forums, as more posts/users = more monetary value. Of course, theres different ways to get valuate a forum but..

.. if your starting a forum to monetize it in any way, its hard to mount a case against vB as being the best return on your time/money invested.

[GTAce]

No, it's not hard to mount a case against vB. It's called IPB

I'm not sure how many times I'm going to have to say that the fact that vB is used more often does not mean it is better. IPB has just as many features, if not more, than vB.

[iTechno]

I'm not sure how many times I'm going to have to say that the fact that vB is used more often does not mean it is better. IPB has just as many features, if not more, than vB.

What features are they then GTAce?

[delman]

Are you saying that SMF has more pre-installed features that in phpBB you'd need a mod for?

I've never used SMF, so I'd really like to know your experience

With SMF it alows you to have child boards with it where the last version that I used of phpbb would not let you do it without installing a mod for it or you would have to use phpbb fullymodded or similar which came with a bunch of stuff that I did not need/use making the forums more advanced than I needed on the admin side. Also I think that SMF alows you to be more specific on the user permissions as well. Also it alows you to post news on every page if you want to and you can also use that section to display banners, ads, and other stuff. Also SMF has the calender included with it.

Note:This is what my opinions are based on the last version of phpbb I used was 2.0.13 and I currently use SMF 1.1 RC2

[GTAce]

What features are they then GTAce?

That IPB has that vB does not?

RSS Importing
Better navigation inside the ACP

I'm not saying that IPB is definitely more feature-packed that vB, because there are also some features that vB has that IPB does not...I'm just saying that vB does not have a huge upper-hand on IPB, if it even has one at all...

And again, I do actually prefer vB over IPB...I just don't like when people say that vB is so much better than IPB when they are essentially equal.