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Looking to start forum

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  • 31-08-2011 12:59pm
    #1
    Jay D
    Registered Users Posts: 2,738 ✭✭✭


    I am looking to have a forum up and running in the next 2 weeks. I'm just wondering if there are any recommendations on reliable service providers I can go with? I'm looking to have it easy to use as well. I've experience in web design but last course I done was around 2003. So rusty and would like simple editing functions.

    Any pointers appreciated.


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    #2
    Beggared
    Closed Accounts Posts: 83 ✭✭Beggared


    Check out www.TheAdminZone.com you will find lots of advice on the various bulletin board software that is available and recommendations for hosting services.


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    #3
    ChRoMe
    Registered Users Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭ChRoMe


    http://xenforo.com/ is the best forum software I've ever used.


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    #4
    Beggared
    Closed Accounts Posts: 83 ✭✭Beggared


    Xenforo is good but there is a whole wealth of free add-ons and template modifications available for vBulletin. A lot of what you see here on Boards is not out of the box vB, the thanks system for instance is an add-on. Consider what your "must have" features are and see what software can provide them. Have a look here if you're interested in vBulletin. FWIW the software you see here is very old, the newer version has quite a different look and feel.


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    #5
    Groinshot
    Registered Users Posts: 1,042 ✭✭✭Groinshot


    Beggared wrote: »
    Xenforo is good but there is a whole wealth of free add-ons and template modifications available for vBulletin. A lot of what you see here on Boards is not out of the box vB, the thanks system for instance is an add-on. Consider what your "must have" features are and see what software can provide them. Have a look here if you're interested in vBulletin. FWIW the software you see here is very old, the newer version has quite a different look and feel.
    The software here also is not entirely vbulletin!


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    #6
    Beggared
    Closed Accounts Posts: 83 ✭✭Beggared


    No one said it was, it is vB based. Version 3.6 I think. A serious amount of customisation to the front page, the menu system and probably the behind the scenes utilities for forum bans etc. I'd guess at this stage it is so heavily cutomised that they could not go to version 4.x without serious investment in development.

    Unless you can afford a team like Boards you must have stick with out of the box stuff with well supported mods. Specifically ask any prospective host what the maximum number of concurrent users thay can handle. This is far more important than diskspace or bandwidth. They can be fixed by throwing a few more euros at it.


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    #7
    Groinshot
    Registered Users Posts: 1,042 ✭✭✭Groinshot


    Beggared wrote: »
    No one said it was, it is vB based. Version 3.6 I think. A serious amount of customisation to the front page, the menu system and probably the behind the scenes utilities for forum bans etc. I'd guess at this stage it is so heavily cutomised that they could not go to version 4.x without serious investment in development.

    Unless you can afford a team like Boards you must have stick with out of the box stuff with well supported mods. Specifically ask any prospective host what the maximum number of concurrent users thay can handle. This is far more important than diskspace or bandwidth. They can be fixed by throwing a few more euros at it.
    Not sure on the version number tbh... It will move away from vbulletin before going to four.

    And a team like boards, is 2 developers... :/


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    #8
    ChRoMe
    Registered Users Posts: 2,021 ✭✭✭ChRoMe


    Groinshot wrote: »
    Not sure on the version number tbh... It will move away from vbulletin before going to four.

    And a team like boards, is 2 developers... :/

    vBulletin really shows its age these days, I hope boards change away from it at some stage.


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    #9
    Beggared
    Closed Accounts Posts: 83 ✭✭Beggared


    Groinshot wrote: »
    Not sure on the version number tbh... It will move away from vbulletin before going to four.

    And a team like boards, is 2 developers... :/

    You're right about the version number, I just checked it to be sure. It's coming up as version 3.8.6
    Source code view of Forum Home wrote:
    <meta name="generator" content="vBulletin 3.8.6" />

    I wouldn't be dismissive of a team of two developers with the skills these guys have. They are seriously adept at what they do. Have you considered how much it costs to pay experienced software developers? The OP is unlikely to have access to resources like that. I admin several forums and I have a good idea what's involved in changing and maintaining php code etc.


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    #10
    Groinshot
    Registered Users Posts: 1,042 ✭✭✭Groinshot


    Beggared wrote: »
    I wouldn't be dismissive of a team of two developers with the skills these guys have. They are seriously adept at what they do. Have you considered how much it costs to pay experienced software developers? The OP is unlikely to have access to resources like that. I admin several forums and I have a good idea what's involved in changing and maintaining php code etc.
    I'm not being dismissive of the developers, I know the skills they have, I was just pointing out that there's only two of them. I know what it's like to attempt to alter that code too, and I know how much it costs to pay developers!


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    #11
    Scotty #
    Registered Users Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭Scotty #


    Jay D wrote: »
    I am looking to have a forum up and running in the next 2 weeks. I'm just wondering if there are any recommendations on reliable service providers I can go with? I'm looking to have it easy to use as well. I've experience in web design but last course I done was around 2003. So rusty and would like simple editing functions.

    Any pointers appreciated.
    http://www.phpbb.com/ FTW TBH!

    Thousands of free mods and add-ons and massive support community. Very hard to beat even from many commercial options.


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    #12
    Beggared
    Closed Accounts Posts: 83 ✭✭Beggared


    Scotty # wrote: »
    http://www.phpbb.com/ FTW TBH!
    "It's good software but not great software" - Eamonn Dunphy

    You get what you pay for.


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    #13
    Scotty #
    Registered Users Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭Scotty #


    Beggared wrote: »
    "It's good software but not great software" - Eamonn Dunphy

    You get what you pay for.

    Are you saying that because something is commercial it's automatically better than an Open Source alternative? Sorry, but that's tripe!

    phpBB is used by some (if not most) of the biggest and best online communities on the net, some with hundreds of thousands of members.

    It's extremely stable, easily customisable, has a massive support base, and it's free. It's not just good, it IS great!


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    #14
    Beggared
    Closed Accounts Posts: 83 ✭✭Beggared


    I've used phpBB and found it ok but not as good as the commercial packages. Much as I would have preferred not to hand out lots of €€€s for vB licences I felt that the commercial packages were better for my needs. This may not be true for everyone. I'm only trying to share what I know to help the OP. By all means share your experience too but don't dismiss mine as "tripe". Thanks.


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    #15
    Scotty #
    Registered Users Posts: 3,767 ✭✭✭Scotty #


    I'm dismissing your "you get what you pay for" statement. Nothing more.
    Beggared wrote: »
    I felt that the commercial packages were better for my needs.
    What could the commercial package do that phpBB could'nt? I'm not trying to pick holes, I'm genuinely curious.


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    #16
    Conor
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,479 ✭✭✭Conor


    Beggared wrote: »
    No one said it was, it is vB based. Version 3.6 I think. A serious amount of customisation to the front page, the menu system and probably the behind the scenes utilities for forum bans etc.

    The diff between our install and stock vBulletin 3.8.7 is somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 lines depending on how you count it.
    > diff -rubw vb387/upload www.boards.ie/vbulletin | wc -l
   42158

    That's excluding templates, the front page code, touch.boards.ie and the API. I can't diff the templates easily, but there's been an awful lot of bodging done there.
    Beggared wrote: »
    I'd guess at this stage it is so heavily cutomised that they could not go to version 4.x without serious investment in development.

    We're not going to vB 4.x. Even if we were running stock vBulletin the upgrade script would cause more than 24 hours of downtime based on anecdotal reports from other sites. The features added by vB 4.x are not worth 24 hours of downtime.



    OP: Pick one of {vBulletin, PHPBB, XenForo, Invision PowerBoard} according to your needs. Don't listen to anyone who tells you that X is better than Y. Unless a) your forum is going to be big or b) you have very unusual needs any of those will work for you and the differences are fairly minor. Just keep up to date with the vendor-supplied security patches and you'll be fine.


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