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Last poll for 2013 - Update our forum software
vanderaj - December 20th, 2013 at 10:43 AM

Hi there,

I want you to think about this a bit, go have a look at the various software that I point to and then come back, ask questions, and only when you feel you've got a good handle, please vote.

I'd like to upgrade the forum software to something off the shelf. I don't have a lot of time any more, but honestly, we have tons of features here on GaiaBB that aren't in any other forum software. There will be trade offs.

  • phpBB - Pros: free, open source, probably the most used forum. Cons: Doesn't have as many features as here, particularly around image handling. Still not mobile friendly.

  • XenForo: Pros: supported. Clean design. Simpler layout than here. Cons: $140 per year (no biggie), it definitely has fewer features by design, but that could be a good thing, and I'm not sure it looks okay on mobile.

  • GaiaBB - this software. Pros: You are using it, and so know it. Cons: I don't have the time to update the software any more.

    vanderaj - December 20th, 2013 at 10:44 AM

    Links:

    https://www.phpbb.com/community/ 
    http://xenforo.com/community/ 
    http://www.gaiabb.com/ 

    vanderaj - December 20th, 2013 at 10:47 AM

    Just tested XenForo on my iPhone, it's mobile support is pretty good compared to phpBB (not good) and GaiaBB (nothing).

    vlad01 - December 20th, 2013 at 11:04 AM

    will XenForo remeber passwords automatically?

    This current forum is the only online login that I use that doesn't remember the password. It remembers the username though.

    vanderaj - December 21st, 2013 at 04:40 PM

    Quick answer is that I can make it do whatever we want. I had put the autocomplete=off tag in there to protect users if they used shared computers.

    Out of the box, XenForo does not have autocomplete=off like here, so it's more like all the other forums.

    thanks
    Andrew

    Sides - December 25th, 2013 at 06:59 AM

    Reading up on 'em all XenForo looks a decent choice.

    Their support/faq does seem to be quite "buy a license and then we'll tell you how to do X"... which isn't very eval or community minded for a forum package aimed at building communities !!!

    Really tho sounds like deciding factor should be the conversion and ramp-up time that you need to put into it Andrew....

    vanderaj - December 29th, 2013 at 02:56 PM

    Looks like XenForo is a winner. I'll buy the software and get cracking on a convertor before my annual leave runs out.

    thanks
    Andrew

    vanderaj - December 29th, 2013 at 05:28 PM

    I've bought the base software using our Google AdSense money. I'll start work on the convertor. If I finish the convertor (let's hope!) I will buy the extended search functionality as we are a big board by any stretch of the imagination.

    thanks,
    Andrew

    vanderaj - December 29th, 2013 at 06:02 PM

    I'm installing OpenSUSE development playground on a virtual machine on my little MacBook Air. It has the fastest disk at home, and for testing conversions, almost certainly the best choice, even though it has slowish CPUs today!

    thanks
    Andrew