I'm looking for any advice on what message board software to use on an upcoming project. I'm looking for something that is easy for the admins to use but won't require either expensive hosting nor weeks of customization. I've looked at vBulletin and it appears to have what I'm looking for but a license runs at $100 and in the days of open source software I'm sure there is something else out there that is just as good. Any recommendations?? Other than the usual, one requirement (absolutely essential) is that users can upload images (into a gallery) then other users can post comments on those images. The client also wants a blog but I'm sure I can do that separately with a wordpress install (but if any message boards had this functionality off the bat that would be a bonus). I'm going to do more research before I start but would like to hear any thoughts / experiences you might have.

If you want easy blog/forum integration then have a look at ExpressionEngine as it has a Forum module available.

 

vB is excellent as is InvisionBoard and both well worth the relatively small sum you pay for a licence. Certainly if the forum is mission critical for a business site I would look at one of these purely for developer support.

 

If you want a free forum phpBB is popular but widely targetted by hackers (as is Wordpress) so you have to keep up to date with security. SMF is another solid forum. PunBB is a very good alternative - PunBB differes from most other forums as the base install gives you a very simple forum but you install modules to get the functionality you want.

Thanks for taking the time to reply, I think I'm just going to implement the "blog" as a dedicated thread with permission for only one poster to post there (I don't need much more advanced than that, I think expression engine would be over kill and I have no experience with it). I've had a look at phpBB and It looks good, I like the look of the underlying code and it seems pretty easy (a la wordpress codex) to modify the underlying php. When you say widely target by hacker what are we talking about here? And is it only vulnerable when using insecure mods (I assume the core is pretty secure??). I believe that is the case with wordpress (pretty secure core, but vulnerable due to 3rd party mods). I had a look at your other recommendations but phpBB looks to have a large community and looks best out the box (IMO)

 

This is not a business site, an therefore there is not really much mission critical although having it as secure as possible would be a bonus. The forum is looking to poach users from somewhere else so I may have a few disgruntled people (although I would be very surprised if any of them could hack anything)

I do love vBulletin, but if you want open source, I think SMF is the way to go. I definitely prefer it over phpBB, but that is just a matter of personal preference. Good lucki!

http://www.opensourcecms.com/

 

That might be a useful site for you, it lets you test out different forum softwares and see it from a user and admin point of view. Its quite useful when picking out something like this as it saves on you having to download a lot of them yourself just to see if they are right for you

I do love vBulletin, but if you want open source, I think SMF is the way to go. I definitely prefer it over phpBB, but that is just a matter of personal preference. Good lucki!

 

Just had a look, seems good but I can't see a gallery feature or module, do you know if this is available? This is an essential part of the board.

http://www.opensourcecms.com/

 

That might be a useful site for you, it lets you test out different forum softwares and see it from a user and admin point of view. Its quite useful when picking out something like this as it saves on you having to download a lot of them yourself just to see if they are right for you

 

Thanks for the tip Dizi, Ill have a look and let you know how I get on.

SMF is cool and I think a bit better than phpBB just at the moment I'm looking for some forum software and was looking at Vanilla - it seems pretty cool.

Again Vanilla looks good (quite simple, not a criticism, simple is sometimes good) but it does not appear to have a gallery module and unfortunately that makes it useless for me at the moment.

 

 

EDIT: Have found a gallery mod for SMF http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=473 and after reading the reviews on the site Dizi mentions above http://www.opensourcecms.com/ have decided to plump for that instead of PhpBB. Another useful site for thos who want to compare features between boards is http://www.forummatrix.org/

 

Have added a Poll at the top of the thread for future use so that people can record what they think is best. Thanks All.

Just had a look, seems good but I can't see a gallery feature or module, do you know if this is available? This is an essential part of the board.

 

It can be integrated or "bridged" with Coppermine (also open source), but the visual integration has to be done manually, so you have to style both scripts. If you want an easy integration, vBulletin and Photopost are the way to go, but neither are free. I've just finished a SMF/Coppermine integration and can tell you that the integration is simple and the styling isn't too tough, either, but I don't like Coppermine nearly as well as Photopost when it comes to gallery scripts.

It can be integrated or "bridged" with Coppermine (also open source), but the visual integration has to be done manually, so you have to style both scripts. If you want an easy integration, vBulletin and Photopost are the way to go, but neither are free. I've just finished a SMF/Coppermine integration and can tell you that the integration is simple and the styling isn't too tough, either, but I don't like Coppermine nearly as well as Photopost when it comes to gallery scripts.

 

What about SMF Gallery? is it no good?? I don't need much functionality beyond allowing users to upload pictures and then others to leave comments. What made you decide to go for coppermine? If I have to merge two systems together I can do it, but I would rather not (styling two systems can be a pain in the arse as I'm sure you'll know If you have done it before)

 

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=473

When you say widely target by hacker what are we talking about here? And is it only vulnerable when using insecure mods (I assume the core is pretty secure??). I believe that is the case with wordpress (pretty secure core, but vulnerable due to 3rd party mods). I had a look at your other recommendations but phpBB looks to have a large community and looks best out the box (IMO)

 

Out of the box all the popular forums scripts are generally ok security wise so long as you take sensible precautions like using proper file/folder permissions, and "hard to guess" admin passwords. Some mods can be vunerable but that's the chance you take with anything that's not written by the forum developers. Of course it stands to reason to keep up to date with security patches as well!

 

All of the forums mentioned in this thread are fine and widely used, it's really a case of finding the right one to work with your sites needs.

What about SMF Gallery? is it no good?? I don't need much functionality beyond allowing users to upload pictures and then others to leave comments. What made you decide to go for coppermine? If I have to merge two systems together I can do it, but I would rather not (styling two systems can be a pain in the arse as I'm sure you'll know If you have done it before)

 

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=473

 

Um, well...I've never SEEN the mod . I'll have to go take a look at it...I agree, styling only one would be much easier!

I'm quite surprised at not seeing MyBBoard up there, it's some great forum software. http://www.mybboard.com. Chris Boulton is a great developer and it's really come a long way . It's so simple, I prefer it to Invision.

 

For a good example of how customisable it is, look at the Messenger Plus! Live Forums.