Decision Coming

[TheAdmin]

This version of our forum software has been a pain the ass to maintain. It's got to go. Vbulletin is releasing a completely rewritten version of their forum software later on in the year. The question is do we move to Vbulletin 5.0 and hope that its a bit more stable, easier to modify and won't be a resource hog like 4.0 or should we move RCF over to something different?

There are several choices to go with, each have their own strengths and weaknesses. Money is not an issue, we will choose the best solution for the community regardless of price.

Xenforo is what vbulletin 5.0 will be like as it was written by the same guys who worked on vbulletin before quitting and starting their own company. However, they are being sued by vbulletin so they may lose everything.

PHPBB is the most used forum software on the planet. Lots of modifications and themes and its free but it looks a bit "clunky" to me.

[URL="http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php]SMF[/URL] looks like what we are using now. Its free and STABLE but not nearly as many cool modifications can be found for it.

Those are the top 4 choices but there may be more I just haven't seen yet. Thoughts?

 

[Surge]

I know very little about software engineering, maintenance, etc... So take it for what it's worth.

But of those choices, I like SMF, then Xenforo.

If PHPBB is the one use by many other sites, I don't want it. I agree that other are harder to navigate, and just generally more difficult to use. I like the look/feel of this site, which is mainly why I chose SMF.

 

[Huber.]

are you able to downgrade back to version 3 until version 5 comes out?

 

[TheAdmin]

are you able to downgrade back to version 3 until version 5 comes out?

It's really not an option. The logistics, at least for me, would be a nightmare.

 

[Pyro]

Invision, Invision, Invision, and one more time, INVISION. SMF is really a terrible software. TERRIBLE. Trust me when I say that if you change to SMF, you will change back within the hour.

If you don't do Invision, however, do phpBB.

http://www.invisionpower.com/

 

[Numbers Guy]

phpBB.. I used to do some coding back in the day.. even had a forum of my own for a bit which was using phpBB I believe... its not that bad IMO.. if vBulletin isn't working for this forum.. time to move on. I wouldn't wait for VB 5.. that will have its kinks as well.

 

[TheAdmin]

Invision, Invision, Invision, and one more time, INVISION. SMF is really a terrible software. TERRIBLE. Trust me when I say that if you change to SMF, you will change back within the hour.

If you don't do Invision, however, do phpBB.

http://www.invisionpower.com/

Liking the look of the board, not sold on the hook system but I do like that I'll never have to upgrade the software as its done by them...

 

[Stark]

I used to run a Minecraft server (badass eh?) and we used PhP forums.

Do NOT get them unless you are fully out of other options. They are easy to use (and overused as a matter of fact), but are extremely limited in capabilities unless you have some amazing modders.

 

[Soda]

Do what you need to do, but I personally love the look and feel of this site. The navigation and uniqueness of this site is a huge reason I'm here. Just don't go to that clunky option, I think it would be a bad mistake.

 

[Stark]

Oh, and if you can...

PLEASE keep the "Thanks" button, Notifications, Reputation, and stuff like that. One of my favorite things about this site is making a clever remark and coming on in the morning to see six or seven people giving me the Thumbs Up/Thanks thing.

 

[NtG]

I have been on multiple forums and vBulletin has always looked the best. I say stay the course.

 

[GreekMo]

I love this site the way it is now. But do what you think is the best for the forum and its community!

 

[Pyro]

Oh, and if you can...

PLEASE keep the "Thanks" button, Notifications, Reputation, and stuff like that. One of my favorite things about this site is making a clever remark and coming on in the morning to see six or seven people giving me the Thumbs Up/Thanks thing.

IPB has something similar built right in. You just hit a green "+" under the post, and it will show how many people liked it, then you can click on that number to see who hit the plus.

 

[Ohio]

I've had better experiences with VB than I have with any other alternative. I say stick to it.

 

[theSTEREO.]

When you finally choose one, can you stream it live and tell Jim Gray which one you picked?

(Are Decision jokes still funny?)