What do you recommend by way of forum software? - WickedFire - Affiliate Marketing Forum

Nathan · 07-01-2006, 11:56 AM

Someone comes up to you and says hey I'm going to start a forum on X. What forum software do you recommend?

I used to use phpBB once but since I discovered vbulletin a little while back, I would never look at another forum software package again.

What do you recommend?

JDA · 07-01-2006, 12:05 PM

I guess it'll depend on their budget, but if they can spend the money for a license I'm guessing the most popular answer here is going to be VBulletin.

Nathan · 07-01-2006, 12:10 PM

The leased license for VB is actually pretty reasonable. The owned license is a pricey especially if you are starting out.

I know that SMF is growing in popularity for free forums. Especially since phpBB had that serious security problem a little while back

JDA · 07-01-2006, 12:22 PM

What is the difference between leased and owned? Why would anyone ever buy the leased license?

Nathan · 07-01-2006, 12:32 PM

Leased and owned. Well leased is you lease the license from Jelsoft (the makers) for 12 months. You get all updates and patches during that 12 months for free. At the end of the 12 months you have to renew the lease. If you don't your forum stops working.

Owned is you own the license out right. You get access to updates and patches for 12 months but the license for the actual forum software never expires. However after 12 months you wont have access to updates any more s you will need to buy an maintenance pack if you want some updates down the track. If you dont want any updates though then you buy it once and it's yours for life

JDA · 07-01-2006, 12:34 PM

How much are the maintenance packs?

I guess leased might be a good option if you're not sure you can make the forum successful ...

Nathan · 07-01-2006, 12:41 PM

Yeah thats why I bought my leased one. That and the fact there is a quite a big price difference.

The updates pack is $30 for 12 months. Not too bad really.

Leased is $85 / year and Owned is $165 one off

reteep · 07-01-2006, 12:43 PM

1) vBulletin
2) Invision Power Board

everything else doesn't matter to me..

Nathan · 07-01-2006, 12:50 PM

Invision? That the one that used to be free but suddenly changed to a paid version only?

What do you like about it?

JDA · 07-01-2006, 12:55 PM

What about phpBB? Is that an option at all?

Nathan · 07-01-2006, 12:57 PM

There was a major security problem with phpBB a little while back. A lot of people ended up with hacked web sites through a phpBB exploit. It lost a lot of users after that. The problem is gone now, but I guess mud sticks

JDA · 07-01-2006, 12:59 PM

Yeah it does, I've heard that it has security problems, and I barely know anything about forum software.

Nathan · 07-01-2006, 01:36 PM

I still prefer forums over blogs. personal preference I suppose.

Still curious what others would recommend

reteep · 07-01-2006, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nathan

Invision? That the one that used to be free but suddenly changed to a paid version only?

What do you like about it?

It got a very good admin interface, free SEO hacks etc. but I like vBulletin more than IPB.

07-01-2006, 11:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 543	What do you recommend by way of forum software? Someone comes up to you and says hey I'm going to start a forum on X. What forum software do you recommend? I used to use phpBB once but since I discovered vbulletin a little while back, I would never look at another forum software package again. What do you recommend?

07-01-2006, 12:05 PM	#2 (permalink)
JDA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 722	I guess it'll depend on their budget, but if they can spend the money for a license I'm guessing the most popular answer here is going to be VBulletin. __________________

07-01-2006, 12:22 PM	#4 (permalink)
JDA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 722	What is the difference between leased and owned? Why would anyone ever buy the leased license? __________________

07-01-2006, 12:34 PM	#6 (permalink)
JDA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 722	How much are the maintenance packs? I guess leased might be a good option if you're not sure you can make the forum successful ... __________________

07-01-2006, 12:43 PM	#8 (permalink)
reteep Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Germany Posts: 140	1) vBulletin 2) Invision Power Board everything else doesn't matter to me.. __________________ Andreas Kraus on ASP.NET - SEO Marketing

07-01-2006, 12:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 543	The leased license for VB is actually pretty reasonable. The owned license is a pricey especially if you are starting out. I know that SMF is growing in popularity for free forums. Especially since phpBB had that serious security problem a little while back

07-01-2006, 12:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 543	Leased and owned. Well leased is you lease the license from Jelsoft (the makers) for 12 months. You get all updates and patches during that 12 months for free. At the end of the 12 months you have to renew the lease. If you don't your forum stops working. Owned is you own the license out right. You get access to updates and patches for 12 months but the license for the actual forum software never expires. However after 12 months you wont have access to updates any more s you will need to buy an maintenance pack if you want some updates down the track. If you dont want any updates though then you buy it once and it's yours for life

07-01-2006, 12:41 PM	#7 (permalink)
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 543	Yeah thats why I bought my leased one. That and the fact there is a quite a big price difference. The updates pack is $30 for 12 months. Not too bad really. Leased is $85 / year and Owned is $165 one off

07-01-2006, 12:50 PM	#9 (permalink)
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 543	Invision? That the one that used to be free but suddenly changed to a paid version only? What do you like about it?

07-01-2006, 12:55 PM	#10 (permalink)
JDA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 722	What about phpBB? Is that an option at all? __________________

07-01-2006, 12:57 PM	#11 (permalink)
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 543	There was a major security problem with phpBB a little while back. A lot of people ended up with hacked web sites through a phpBB exploit. It lost a lot of users after that. The problem is gone now, but I guess mud sticks

07-01-2006, 12:59 PM	#12 (permalink)
JDA Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Atlanta Posts: 722	Yeah it does, I've heard that it has security problems, and I barely know anything about forum software. __________________

07-01-2006, 01:36 PM	#13 (permalink)
Nathan Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 543	I still prefer forums over blogs. personal preference I suppose. Still curious what others would recommend

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