Forums - whats the best bet?

DoctorEdgeWild

Hey there,

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, please move if it's not, thanks.

We have had an invision powerboard for the last three years and it has been getting busier over the last year or so. Recently, we have been targeted by hackers and despite keeping it backed up and updated, the hacking continued so we have removed the existing forum and been thinking about changing host/server/whatever. I have been told VBulletin is the best bet. Anybody have any experience of this sort of thing and any advice - where to get it, how to do it etc?

Thanks.

ethernet

You're using it! It is a powerful solution and available [URL="ttp://www.vbulletin.com/"]here[/URL].

steve-hosting36

Once you reach a decent level of traffic, vbulletin is good. That said, people have good mileage with www.phpBB.com also (which has the benefit of being free).

axer

Without a shadow of a doubt Simple Machines Forum unless you are willing to pay for vBulletin. Stay away from phpBB.

CoNfOuNd

It depends on the size of your online community.

phpBB is always a good starting point for any forum, and you could migrate to vBulletin at a later date.

phpBB is completely free. vBulletin is more secure and has more features. vBulletin licenses cost €74 a year, or a one-off owners license of €139 can be a good investment for a large community forum.

SMF might also be worthwhile looking into. We have auto-installers in our hosting control panel for phpBB and SMF, so it's really easy to try them.

WeeDiddly

SMF is the best, and it's free, it's got good security, and the rest. VBulletin is truly the best if you're willing to pay, and it has the best security of all... probably cos' it's a commercial application.

axer wrote:

Stay away from phpBB.

Everyone says that, but I'm just wondering, why?
Is it because of the admin panel or lack of security

CoNfOuNd

In my opinion the admin panel is good enough for a free forum.

The problem is people tend to install phpBB and forget to keep it updated, so since its free and very popular, it's vulnerable to bugs and security issues.

mneylon

Vbulletin is excellent.

Vanilla is very nice too.

I have an aversion to phpbb

axer

WeeDiddly wrote:

Everyone says that, but I'm just wondering, why?
Is it because of the admin panel or lack of security

Why would someone choose a piece of software that has less features and is less secure than an alternative. The only thing phpBB has going for it is more hacks which make it a pain in the a$$ to upgrade whereas SMF has plenty of mods that are easily installed.

DoctorEdgeWild

Thanks for all the help guys, much appreciated - will look into all of those possibilities, just didn't really know where to start. Will probably go for VBulletin though, don't mind paying if it will end the nightmare of hacking! Thanks again.

WeeDiddly

axer wrote:

Why would someone choose a piece of software that has less features and is less secure than an alternative. The only thing phpBB has going for it is more hacks which make it a pain in the a$$ to upgrade whereas SMF has plenty of mods that are easily installed.

Yah, I never liked that software anyway. I think if Boards was running it, Boards would either be hacked, or the moderators would refuse to use the lacking Admin panel, which is a pain in the hole when you're using tractor-speed broadband.

It's just everyone says "Don't use phpBB, it's bad, I heard it's the anti-christ"(not literally ), but few people ever know what they're on about when they say it, and neither did I until I tried a demo of it, and it is one god damn ugly bit of software!

There are features that are in the works with the community that a few people have scampered to try and get a decent updating system for the next release, but I'd rather think security is a bigger problem.

I have found that SMF is the better option, and I also noticed that SMF can handle more traffic than vBulletin can, however SMF, has less features, but needless to say, you're getting a rock-solid platform whereever you go, SMF or vB.

macroman

vBulletin would be the safest bet, as the development is largely focused on the security issues - of which it has few. I have used both vBulletin and IP.Board, although IP.Board has a better ACP layout (easier to add forums, install mods etc...), it is very vulnerable. vBulletin has more security, and has a more stable setup.

vBulletin is also more lightweight (or so I believe) than IP.Board which can often take an eternity on crap broadband (not half as bad as it takes for it's ACP to load!).

wheres me jumpa

Ive used PHPBB, SMF and VBulletin. The latter is by far the best for me. However it does cost money. SMF is a fantastic piece of s/w, really enjoyed using it. PHPBB I used when I was younger and I had a lot of security problems. This may have been due to my inexperience however.

So really my advice would be to spend on VBulletin if you have the funds/traffic but not to overlook SMF.

nellyshark

axer wrote:

Without a shadow of a doubt Simple Machines Forum unless you are willing to pay for vBulletin. Stay away from phpBB.

Have to agree. My latest site is using SMF and is really simple, nothing worse than complicated Forum where the user hasnt got a clue how to post. PM me n ill will u the url because I dont think id be able to post another forum's address on here.;)

CuLT

phpBB3

Even the early betas of phpBB3 were a helluva lot better than phpBB2, I've been running it for nearly a year since the betas and can't complain.

I'd move to vBulletin, but for it looks like an awful lot of trouble to skin (I like to roll my own) and having a look through the admin panel was nightmarishly verbose with options.

The same-as-every-other-forum look, along with the price, has made me steer clear of vBulletin thusfar, but that could easily change.

axer

CuLT wrote:

Even the early betas of phpBB3 were a helluva lot better than phpBB2, I've been running it for nearly a year since the betas and can't complain.

But is it better than SMF? I think not.

CuLT

axer wrote:

But is it better than SMF? I think not.

I never liked SMF. I'd want to quantify "better" before making a generalisation like saying "I think phpBB3 is better" though.

axer

CuLT wrote:

I never liked SMF. I'd want to quantify "better" before making a generalisation like saying "I think phpBB3 is better" though.

What is it about SMF you do not like?

Zascar

phpbb3 is fantastic, 10 times better than v2. Apart from vbulletin I think its the best