Forum software question

[RovingCalypso]

I am planning to start a community but I am confused about the software to use.

I have phpBB in mind, although I can afford vBulletin, but I am not convinced if vB is worth the money.

So what do you guys think? or do you have any third alternative in mind?

[Neil]

You can always start off with phpBB and then later on transfer to vBulletin. Sometimes this can bring forth some problems, such as mod incompatibility and in general, mods/hacks you've installed with phpBB not working with vBulletin.

When I first thought of starting this forum, I was contemplating whether I should just start it off using a free solution, but eventually decided on buying a vBulletin license.

I guess it really depends on how serious you are with your forum.

[13th]

When I first thought of starting this forum, I was contemplating whether I should just start it off using a free solution, but eventually decided on buying a vBulletin license.

the only thing i find with free forum software is that bugs and exploits are not fixed quickly enough. I've been unlucky enough to be hacked due to exploits in the free forum software i was using, granted it was smf, but that was consided fairly secure, or so i thought.

i guess the old saying you get what you pay for is true, but at 85 usd for a year license, im not sure whether it would be worth it for a smaller forum.

as neil said, it depends on how serious you are in your forum, if its not going to be a fully blown project, i wouldnt consider it to be worth paying for a license

[teen_ss]

I am planning to start a community but I am confused about the software to use.

I have phpBB in mind, although I can afford vBulletin, but I am not convinced if vB is worth the money.

So what do you guys think? or do you have any third alternative in mind?
I think it is better to get a licence version og vBulletin as I personally fill there are some bugs in phpBB.

[rldowling03]

Trust me, vBulletin is worth it, vBulletin is really flexible and easy to mod etc, I bought my license a few weeks ago right before my site was shut down by my old host and I couldnt be happier. I may have a site nobody visits but its ok, it will pick up soon.

[GTL]

I think you should definately get vBulletin. It comes with so many more features built in than phpBB, and you can get much better Mods and styles for it. Also, in vBulletin to install a Mod you don't have to edit loads of files like you do in phpBB.

You could just start off with phpBB but it will end up being more of a hassle having to end up converting to vBulletin down the line.

:)

[Demetris]

Another alternative that you may want to try is myBB its free and has alot of the same features that vBulletin has without the bloat.

[Oliver]

Things like YaBB and myBB are really cool because they're really easy to edit. Although I tend to build my own forum software so I have complete control over it.

[fundoobuddy]

in my opinion you MUST try phpBB Fully Modded. It has more features than paid vbulletin.Comes with more than 440 Mods. you can also get its skins free. phpbbFm can be found here ::
http://phpbbfm.net/

[mikey]

VB is great but if you are not sure on how will you monetize the forum or if you are not very experienced on promoting sites then go with a free one first like phpBB and when $$ starts coming in you can switch to VB , but yea VB is worthed the money =]

[moneyballs2]

vBulletin - Once you go VB you won't go back to anything else.

vBulletin really easy to use, simple to set-up, And mods are installed in seconds using XML files.

Start off with PhpBB if you can't afford and then upgrade. But with PhpBB be prepared for lots of spam bots if you do not install mods that improve the captcha.

[newhen]

I would do VB too :)

[Alex]

You know, starting a forum is a really hard proccess. I guess, that the best decision for you would be to stick with phpbb for now. Get your forum established, then think about the soft.

I know many people who bought a vb license, but then their project failed and they have no plans regarding the license now.

[asapcorp]

It depends upon your spending limit. As you are just starting the new forum, you can go with phpBB initially and later you can use vBulletin.

[Lucid_Seeker]

Definately use vBulletin, its worth it, the forums look professional, you may even save some money, go for it, good luck though

[Stroh]

vB is definitely worth every cent invested into it.

[dpsubi1]

I am using vBulletin on one of my forum. It is my favorite forum software. but it is worth for the money you pay.

thanks.

[hachi]

i'd say you pay for what it worth for. vb surely worth it. see this forum for example. do you like it's interface, function ability , posting style and design ? by far , the only free board that can fight with vb is smf and mybb. mybb is a new free open source board that's similar with vb and ipb. worth looking on too..

[temi]

VB is the best if you have the money, if not there are other free good alternatives like http://www.mybboard.net/