I have an ipb license, but I was looking into other forum softwares just for the heck of it. I went and got a vbulliten demo to see the features. They seemed impressive, but I continued looking around. Somehow, I saw a link to Mybb a free forum software that was available via fantastico. I went and downloaded it and uploaded it to my ifastnet account which I use for testing (I then saw that it was available on their version of fatanatisco )

Anyway, Mybb had identical features to Vbulliten. Seriously, it seemed like something you'd pay for 130 dollars for free. I began to wonder, that many people go out and get Vbulliten and Ipb without knowing that there are better free versions available. No I'm upset I didnt know about Mybb before because if I did I would have never gotten an Ipb license and wasted a good 140 dollars. So really people need to know, just because something costs money, it doesn't mean its better. Now Im not saying IPB and Vbulliten are bad, they do have more features than free forum software but you do not need to go and buy any software to make you site "good" or professional. The other downside to Mybb is the lack of templates and mods, but mybb homepage do have a mod databse, and some cool templates.

So fact of the matter, look around before you buy. I wish I found it beforehand. Oh well, you learn from your mistakes and move on

 

 

 

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The main problem with freeware is there usually isn't any support that goes along with it. Sure, email them. But how long does it take, and do they really go deep into solving your problem? Probably not. When I had problems with IPB, which were my fault, they actually made an account on my site, and I set it up with admin rights. In less then a day from when I submitted a ticket, they had replaced the bad file via ftp, and even tested everything for me. I can almost guarantee you won't get that with free software.

Paid software has a lot more features, mods, templates, updates, everything. If you know how to USE it, it's much better then free stuff.

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I do agree support wise that IPB does have good support, mainly because they have a whole customer area while free forum sites do not. Also, since you pay for it, they do have the burden of trying to satisfy you with their product. But, I've been to Mybb support forums, and see it is a friendly place with friendly members. Don't know how good their support is, but we'll see. Also, Vbulliten doesn't have a support ticket like IPB and do everything through email and forums, something that MYbb does as well.

The good thing about free software is that if something goes wrong, I don't feel worried or frustrated because I know it's free and I don't have to worry of losing my money or anything.

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Well if you think about it this way, why do you think free forums set up there support with-in their own forum? Simple because then if the people have the same problem, members, mods and admin can point them in the right direction. Instead of going through the the very long process of 500 emails trying to figure what went wrong. Now mind you IPB has such a good customer support is due to the the fact that a million different things can go wrong especially when it comes to setting up mod's for that forum and so if they want a returning customer they have to give the best possible support. Of course with te popularity of forum software quite a few people are at the expert level because they been using them for the longest, and so you have to find the right place and then post your question. Of course I have seen quite a few sites that help customize your forums and all that stuff, which I would say is wasting more money, because if you spend a few weeks seeing how everything works, then you get a better experience then have someone else do it for you and not tell you how it works and all that stuff.

I would agree that you don't need to drop $200 for a piece of software when you got free versions out there and all you want is simplicity itself. Which is just a place for people to communicate and talk about stuff and that it, of course some websites get ridiculous and like upload all the worse mods because they think it's cool and what not. More ot less if you want to try and get for forum software you basically have to force the creator to do it because if they just create something and expect you to figure out your own problem then it's not worth using, especially if its buggy.

IMO I would say these forums have the best support in terms of finding quick answers to common problems:

IPB
SMF
phpbb

 

 

 

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I’m one person who doesn’t anticipate ever buying forum software. I’m happy with the open source packages around. I have tried a few, including phpBB and SMF. I’m currently running MyBB. Indeed this is a great piece of software with many features.

As for support, I’m not really worried. I know my way around PHP and can sort out errors by myself. But the forums are always there for those who don’t. Many times, the problems that people encounter are not unique to them. A few experienced users can always come to you rescue if you ask in the right forum.

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I feel teh same way. I dont ever really plan on buying a license if i can get just the same from opens source programs, yeah the support thing might be an issue but the thing is look how many other people are using what you are using... There is always help out there if you need it you just have to know where to go and ask the right questions.. dont just go in there my site isnt working tand expect to get help.. be specific..

on the other hand, I also believe that you dont need to have the expensive forums and softwares to runa succesfull and professional sites.. Some say well no one will take you serious, and your business wont gain much,, but that is garbage.. i say pure garbage..

my site.. estudio9designs is and has always been a free opensource running site.. ive gone thru invisonfree, joomla now and a few others, and i feel that it is one of the most succesfull sites around. atleast for me it is.. so keep a search out there for those OS items, cause there is a lot to gain from

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I personally use MyBB, I find it much easier to use than other forum software, and that is has more features than PhpBB for example. I suppose one of the reasons why people buy forum software would be because of the modifications that are avaliable and for their forum to look more professional.

I would have to disagree about not as much support avaliable. Many people help out on the support forums of MyBB, and you can get help normally in about a day.

I'm perfectly fine with MyBB and I don't think I'll be changing to a "paid" forum very soon.

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I've never encountered a finer bulletin board than IPB 2.x. At times you are paying for quality, others, it can be a ripoff, but at times it's just a matter of opinion - phpBB w.x is still used even though the board itself is substandard to other free bulleting boards.

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thats true its a matter of opinion.. its pretty much just what the person would like to use..and I do also agree the paid versions of IPB are great and look very professional.. and if you take it further you can pay even more for a custom template design.. or just buy a pre fab one.. but if thats the case InvisionFree is just as good.. tho the version has no support from its manufactuer.. the community itself offers alot of suppoert, plus there are many skins avaialble for it and customising is alot easier...and you can still achieve the sma eprofessionalism with that or phbb or any other board

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there is another great Forum Software http://www.woltlab.de/products/burning_board/index_en.php

the wBB is available in both Commercial paid version and also a Free version.

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