I'm currently playing to develop a new forum/messageboard software and was wondering what features are you looking for in a forum/messageboard software. This will help when developing the software beacuse then I will know what features consumers want. I wondering what feature you want and don't want as well as what type of security would you like to see in a forum/message board software.

Well, developing a new forum system is quite a challenge, you've got some big competition! Obviously go for PHP and give support for SQL, SQlite and PostgreSQL to appeal to as many different users as possible.

Anyway, the main features I want are:
Speed: A lot of the main forums out there simply run too slow as they have thousands of images, lots of Javascript, confirmation pages and I hate that "You are being taken to..." box that you get with IPB. Speed is vital to keep people interested and less annoyed when you run a forum, so I look for a forum solution that is fast.
Simplicity: If a forum is too cluttered and confusing people will immediately turn away and avoid it, something you certainly don't want. It also makes it easier to post and use the other features of a board if they are easy to find. The admin panel must also be intuitive and simple to understand and navigate, yet contain the power to change advanced options. The admin panel on the new phpBB 3 is a good example.
Source: The source code must be well documented and commented throughout. This means people are able to develop mods to add extra features and make the forum their own. A templating system has also got to be used and that must also be easy to understand and edit. People won't use a forum that they cannot make their own.

Don't go overboard with features. You might think it's cool to implement or might be a nice idea, but are people really going to use it? Simplicity is far more important that 10 dozen features you will never use but 'look nice'.

As for security, it needs to be as secure as possible, yet still customisable. If someone doesn't want to require email validation for new members then give them the option to turn it off. Having fewer features means that there is less possibility of a security hack or another problem. For each feature you want to implement you need to think, would I really use that feature regularly? If you're half and half then put it in but give an option to turn it off.

Good luck developing your forum and if you want any help, I've done quite a bit of PHP and I am willing to help

Thanks for you input rvalkass!!! I will keep this in mind when developing the software. If you interested in viewing the information about the project visit: https://sourceforge.net/projects/boardzillabbs. Keep providing you suggestions and ideas.

1. PHP/MySQL -- I prefer these systems over other ones, as they're easier to edit and work with.
2. Simplicity/Speed -- They kind of go hand in hand. I like a sleek, fast forum, that isn't loaded with graphics and such, but still looks nice. Maybe some good CSS usage?
3. Source -- I agree with Rob, the source code should be well commented so users can edit it easily.
4. Shortcuts -- It's hard to explain this, but basically just a way to do things faster or in bulk, like adding 10 subforums to a forum category, or adding 5 member ranks at a time. Stuff like that saves a lot of time when you're setting up a forum.

One feature I'd love would be the announcement feature of IPB. I have a whole megillah on this over at http://www.simplemachines.org/community/in...p?topic=93320.0. I don't know how complicated it would be. Also, could you try to come up ith a credit sytem like the one here? I might consider using this forum package.

In a forum I look for the following features, mostly:

1. Usability:
No matter how good the forum is, in terms of security but if it is not so much user-friendly (common man friendly, meaning easy to understand how to make post, how to start new topic, how to delete, how to reply and general posting) it turn me off because those who eventually participate in the forum are those common people who just want simplicity.

2. Good security:
A forum must have high security measures in it. For example, from registration to hacking problems. I have seen hundreds of registrants made in my phpBB forum by spammers. Even though I switch on the catpcha* they continue to register, I couldn't understand how they manage to do that and links are entered enmass. I really hate that.

3. Template:
I also look for a good template. A forum must have template which is easy to modify or create on our own to suit the rest template used in the site.

4. Search Engine Friendly:
When we speak about search engine friendly, it could include the URL and Title of the page and search handling in the forum. Common man doesn't understand the importance of search engine friendly websites and forums but now everyone seems to have understood. When one search something on the internet, they must reach our forum as well if something related to the keyword they search is found in the forum.

5. Banning:
I want to include this as a huge topic because as the admin of the forum I must have this power so that I can exercise my power whenever necessary.

Thank you.

The project will developed in php and mySQL, but I never thought about using SQlite and PostgreSQL to appeal to as many different users as possible. Thanks the project will use all three SQL databases.


Thanks everyone!!! Thanks for your tips!! Keep 'em coming, so that I can develop a forum software that appeals to a wide range on users.

I think the four most imprtant things about forums are:

1. Speed
   It has got to be fast and efficient!
2. Stability
   It has to be able to keep itself together even at popular times.
3. Clean and Effective
   No matter how good a forum software may be, if it doesn't look good or act efficiently, people aren't gonna use it. Trust me, I know this too well!
4. Customizable
   But I say the most important thing is that it has to be easy to change and adapt to various websites. Not only in the sense of naming, styling, grouping and all that, but also in the sense of modifications. You gotta be able to add new stuff to it, and you gotta be able to do it easily!

Hope my opinions helped!

This post has been edited by NDPA: Jul 9 2006, 07:53 PM