Ever used lesser known software to run your community?

[Nebulous]

Agreed, it was great back then, I created so many vBLite forums, but they were limited in what you could do, so when it was time to actually take a site seriously I bought a real copy and got the full feature set.

Which wasn't that much. I had a vB license back in the day (this forum used to be on vB when we started out).

 

[PGen98]

Which wasn't that much. I had a vB license back in the day (this forum used to be on vB when we started out).

Yeah it was $150-ish for a license and $30 to renew, pretty affordable for what you actually get. Or well...got.

 

[Nebulous]

Yeah it was $150-ish for a license and $30 to renew, pretty affordable for what you actually get. Or well...got.

I wasn't really too impressed. I felt like it I didn't get much more than what I could have gotten from phpBB or MyBB. I think I just wanted it because it was a status symbol back then. All the cool forums used vB.

 

[PGen98]

I wasn't really too impressed. I felt like it I didn't get much more than what I could have gotten from phpBB or MyBB. I think I just wanted it because it was a status symbol back then. All the cool forums used vB.

That's definitely a part of it, but you paid for the templating the system (light years ahead of freeware for the time), the 24/7 support that a freeware product just plain can't provide, the super quick bug fix and security releases, and the fact that most freeware tended to pull ideas directly from vB in those days, lol.

 

[Nebulous]

That's definitely a part of it, but you paid for the templating the system (light years ahead of freeware for the time), the 24/7 support that a freeware product just plain can't provide, the super quick bug fix and security releases, and the fact that most freeware tended to pull ideas directly from vB in those days, lol.

..and they still do!

I remember MyBB was working on a 2.0 version of their software a while back (which they scrapped for some reason) and I remember seeing previews and it looked like a clone of XF.

 

[PGen98]

..and they still do!

I remember MyBB was working on a 2.0 version of their software a while back (which they scrapped for some reason) and I remember seeing previews and it looked like a clone of XF.

Yeah, when it's all done by volunteers it's hard to innovate truly because they just plain don't have the time to get it all together, so they pick and choose from the industry leaders and build the best solution they can. I love freeware, I will always make use of freeware software, but there is no question that a premium product is typically a better overall product.

 

[Darth-Apple]

..and they still do!

I remember MyBB was working on a 2.0 version of their software a while back (which they scrapped for some reason) and I remember seeing previews and it looked like a clone of XF.

It was a bit too ambitious for them at the time, there were a lot of changes in the development team and changes in leadership that ended up causing them to eventually change direction.

1.9 has been in the works for quite a while. The hard work behind getting it ready has been complete for a while (responsive default theme, proper template engine based on Twig, etc), but they've still been trying to get it release ready and it's been unclear what the progress has been for years. The features are also a bit limited by today's standards, IIRC alerts still weren't on the 1.9 feature list (which is something almost every forum has nowadays). A responsive default design, however, will go a long way to modernizing it (and will help theme developers immensely, who will have less work to do to create modernized themes).

MyBB's saving grace, in my opinion, is that the plugin community is vibrant. There are a lot of very neat plugins that developers have made that help to overcome some of its shortcomings, and the software itself is extremely customizable. It might still be a little bare-bones out of the box, but it can be used to create some pretty creative and fully-featured forums for those willing to tinker with things a bit.

 

[Nebulous]

It was a bit too ambitious for them at the time, there were a lot of changes in the development team and changes in leadership that ended up causing them to eventually change direction.

1.9 has been in the works for quite a while. The hard work behind getting it ready has been complete for a while (responsive default theme, proper template engine based on Twig, etc), but they've still been trying to get it release ready and it's been unclear what the progress has been for years. The features are also a bit limited by today's standards, IIRC alerts still weren't on the 1.9 feature list (which is something almost every forum has nowadays). A responsive default design, however, will go a long way to modernizing it (and will help theme developers immensely, who will have less work to do to create modernized themes).

MyBB's saving grace, in my opinion, is that the plugin community is vibrant. There are a lot of very neat plugins that developers have made that help to overcome some of its shortcomings, and the software itself is extremely customizable. It might still be a little bare-bones out of the box, but it can be used to create some pretty creative and fully-featured forums for those willing to tinker with things a bit.

Yeah they do have some neat add-ons. Some things XF doesn't even have (like an Arcade). Some MyBB forums look great and have good functionality. Yours is great. @Moonface has a really nice one too.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Yep, it was a decent CMS for it's time. Could have been a great one to this day if they'd kept on working on it. Ah well.

I so wish they would had!

It could had evolved into something allowing you to add more forum software integrations, too.

It really had everything a webmaster needed for that time.

 

[SpookyZalost]

idk about forum software... but I did run a BBS for a bit using synchronet. since BBS's are the predecessors to modern forums.

 

[PGen98]

I so wish they would had!

It could had evolved into something allowing you to add more forum software integrations, too.

It really had everything a webmaster needed for that time.

It did, imagine if they'd kept up with the times, it would have been the complete package. Like Joomla or Drupal, but more usable

idk about forum software... but I did run a BBS for a bit using synchronet. since BBS's are the predecessors to modern forums.

BBS's were a lot of fun!

 

[Darth-Apple]

It did, imagine if they'd kept up with the times, it would have been the complete package. Like Joomla or Drupal, but more usable

BBS's were a lot of fun!

Wordpress kinda took the crown with CMS stuff, and as great of a CMS as it is, I kinda miss the Drupal way of doing things. Drupal has been less popular lately because of how resource intensive it is. I've always wondered if something will replace it, it feels like the CMS world is still lacking in a few areas.

 

[PGen98]

Wordpress kinda took the crown with CMS stuff, and as great of a CMS as it is, I kinda miss the Drupal way of doing things. Drupal has been less popular lately because of how resource intensive it is. I've always wondered if something will replace it, it feels like the CMS world is still lacking in a few areas.

Yeah, Wordpress is great for a lot of things, but it isn't a true CMS, IMO. It needs extension after extension to make it do what it needs to do, it's customizable, but also extremely unforgiving if you do things wrong, and while it's nice and lightweight overall...it's...boring. It isn't nice to use, even though it's streamlined and works as well as it needs to, I would rather post article after article on something like XF than ever touch Wordpress again, honestly.

We need something new, I completely agree. Something innovative, lightweight and all-encompassing. Big, big ask, but hopefully doable one of these days.

 

[Kale]

I think I just wanted it because it was a status symbol back then. All the cool forums used vB.

Yep, me too. I just wanted a vB forum because of these reasons. Glad I never had been able to do a vB forum back then.

We need something new, I completely agree. Something innovative, lightweight and all-encompassing. Big, big ask, but hopefully doable one of these days.

Indeed we do. I like XenForo so far as an admin and even as a mod.

 

[PGen98]

Indeed we do. I like XenForo so far as an admin and even as a mod.

It's the perfect forum software, needing some touches here and there to keep it modern, but it works well. Now we need something to pair it with, a full-bodied CMS

 

[Nebulous]

It's the perfect forum software, needing some touches here and there to keep it modern, but it works well. Now we need something to pair it with, a full-bodied CMS

Well you can pair it with:
Resource Manager
Media Gallery

 

[Shawn Gossman]

Well you can pair it with:
Resource Manager
Media Gallery

In all honesty, I say try to avoid using those features if you can.

If you can make it with the forum core features, use them instead.

I say that because I feel like addons take away from the main forum. Resources can be created with sub-boards, prefixes, and custom fields which are all out of box features.

The media gallery might be needed if you niche depends on gallery requirements.

But the more you can keep members on the actual forum, IMO, the better!

 

[Nebulous]

In all honesty, I say try to avoid using those features if you can.

If you can make it with the forum core features, use them instead.

I say that because I feel like addons take away from the main forum. Resources can be created with sub-boards, prefixes, and custom fields which are all out of box features.

The media gallery might be needed if you niche depends on gallery requirements.

But the more you can keep members on the actual forum, IMO, the better!

I don't think either of those add-ons will take away from forum activity, they serve a specific purpose which people will use and then go back to to the forum.

 

[PGen98]

Depends on the site in question. not every site needs a media gallery or a resource manager, but maybe they need other aspects. XenForo can do a lot, but it can't quite do everything...yet!

 

[Nebulous]

Depends on the site in question. not every site needs a media gallery or a resource manager

Thats true, most forums I've seen with media galleries, resource managers or articles seem pointless and barely used. Its rare to see a forum with these add-ons being heavily or usefully used.