Forum scripts ?

[spanishproperty]

Has anyone had any experience with web forum scripts before ?

I have just bought a new domain for a forum last week and have looked at vbulletin, has anyone seen a good free script that is secure, good with spam and easy to set up and install ?

Need something easy to run as time is not on my side for work.

[fsbo-man]

phpbb
vbulletinvery simple

[spanishproperty]

I have now set up the forum now using vbulletin which was really simple to follow and to set up. I definately recommend vbulletin for those of you that are looking to start a forum, ok buying the script is a bit of a bummer and there are scripts out there for free but you are paying for a lifetime script with the up dates (again which you have to pay for).

Great buy though.

I was also told by a friend of mine that has a football forum (soccer to you Yanks) that he started a forum using an open source script which was prone to hackers and easily hacked. He transfered to vbulletin and ever since he has received hardly any spam and people trying to hack the system which is also reassuring.

[tarheit]

I've used SMF. Free an pretty simple as well. Integrates into Joomla and Community Builder which is a plus.

-Tim

[Krazza]

I've used SMF. Free an pretty simple as well. Integrates into Joomla and Community Builder which is a plus.

-Tim


There is also a new forum script out called Fireboard , it plugs into a Joomla site like any component. I have it running on several sites and although it has a few bugs still its a big improvement on some others.

As for phpbb I found it was hacked relentlessly and too much hassle. Never used vbulliten so cant comment there.

[HMR-Ohio]

I use fireboard also. So far it has been really good for me.

[sabian1982]

Id suggest either phpBB or vBulletin...

phpBB is free however lacks some more advanced features - it is ideal if you're starting out though!

vBulletin is paid (per year) and has a lot more features, excellent support is also included. Additional features such as restricting areas to special user groups are also better integrated. If you're serious id go with this one other wise you'll be kicking yourself in a few months time when you have to transfer from phpBB (or similar) because you want the features of vBulletin.

[JuniperAvenue]

I vote for fireboard as well

[MarriedToRealEstate]

I would say vBulletin, I think that PHPBB is a little lacking in the administration. But both of them do what they do. You are going to have learn PHP if you want to stop spammers though.