Which forum software is best?

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rambo6376

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vBulletin seems to be the most popular among high traffic sites, but among the free software available, which one would you say is the best? With respect to how many concurrent users it can handle that is. Is it phpBB? invisionBoard? some other board?
 
1. vBulletin
2. phpBB and Invision board. Seems like they share the top rank among free boards. Its just a matter of taste from here. I personally like phpBB because there seems to be more hacks and themes available for it.

Best,
 
thanks for the suggestions. is it possible with either phpBB or invision to install the board in the root directory so the home page of the site itself goes to the forum?
 
So if I wanted to install it in root directory so the homepage of the site goes to it, would i just leave the box blank when in fantastico it asks for a folder name?
 
I think you will have to install it manually. I don't think you can install it to the root directory with Fantastico or Cpanel.
Let me know if you need help on a manual install for either Invision or PhpBB.
 
Yes, that's what I would suggest. It's not tough to install it manually. Just upload the files to the server and run the install.php file. You'll get some install directions with the package when you download it off the website and just follow those, you'll be OK.
 
Thanks Blue. Ive done an install using the script install file once before for invisionBoard on a pc at work here so I think i'll be able to figure it out.
 
As far as usability and flexibility goes, PHPbb is the best that way. vBulletin is a bit more secure but very difficult to modify...codewise, I always choose PHPbb...but for looks : vBulletin!

Regards,
~Equinox
 
PHPbb is definitely the best free software, in my opinion.

vBulletin is the best pay software and what I use for all my forums. There don't seem to be as many customization options but you'd be surprised. Check out vbulletin.org to see some of the stuff they've got for customization.

-Jonathan
 
Vb is great because there are so many options from an admin side to limit the usage on the server. I think there are 25 or so options that allow you to limit the strain it takes on the server. PhpBB is good as well, but it is not even in the same city as Vbulletin.
 
I've also been very impressed by the support for vB, both the included license support which is usually VERY fast, and the incredible community support. Definitely a strong thing to consider :).

-Jonathan
 
I don't have too much experience with forum software but I have come to find through a few friends that PHPBB has some serious security issues that can enable others to work over the entire board and change your access priviledges.

I am sure this has either been fixed or is in the works of being fixed, but if you choose PHPBB , just make sure you inquiry about such issues.
 
I had a close friend lose an entire board with thousands and thousands of members to a phpBB security vulnerability.. they went to vBulletin and haven't looked back since. All forums have their issues and a lot of it falls to the end user to ensure security.. I've just found that vB does a good job of making sure they stay on top of all that :).

-Jonathan
 
PHPBB is constantly releasing patches because of security flaws. If you are going to be getting a forum you should definatly go for vBulletin. I am changeing over soon for my site <<EDITED>>. i am changing from IPB to vBulletin :D
 
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