OK these are what I have found so far but I don't know which one to go with. I like PHPBB3 the more I look at it and it's free but it doesn't have the mods that Vbulletin has

- PHPBB3
- SMF
- vbulletin

I would like to here your pro's and con's of each as well as personal experience if you have any.

Thanks

I may be able to help with this one because this forum is running PHPBB3. First I am using the version of PHPBB3 from http://www.phpbb-seo.com/. It comes with all the SEO mods already installed which is a must in my opinion. You have a lot of options to choose from in the Admin panel to control how the URL's redirect and so on.

Editing the template can be tricky at first because it can be edited directly from inside the admin panel. I now realize this is the wrong way to edit this script and that function really shouldn't be available. To edit the template you should only work on the actual .CSS and .PHP files.

Creating forums from the Admin panel was a little confusing at first because of the permissions but after about 20 minutes I had it down.

There are a lot of mods being developed for PHPBB3 and a lot of bugs to go with them. I had a hard time with the "quick reply" box you see at the bottom of each post page. I actually had to have someone create a custom mod so it would work on all browsers.

After your click the "post reply" button on the standard version of PHPBB3 you are not automatically redirected to the post you created. You are taken to a page that asks you where you would like to go now. So once again I installed a mod that was supposed to redirect you to the post you just created but it didn't work. Again I had to have someone create a custom mod.

URL's that are in the post body are followed by default and don't open in a new window. There is a mod that can be used like the one here to open all URL's in new windows. I still haven't found a way to make the URL's in the post body nofollow. On a side note all signatures ARE followed.

The quick login that's at the top of the page is not a standard feature on PHPBB3 which it should be. The good thing is that it only takes about 2 minutes to add the necessary code.

One other thing I just noticed is if you click on the symbol of the world under someone's user name their website doesn't not open in a new window so that's something else to fix.

I have spent about 400.00 dollars on a free forum script so far which is pretty crazy. A lot of the money went towards dumb coders that did a half ass job so I had to get it fixed. I also am on my 3rd template for this forum/website and I paid a couple bucks for the first two - I made this one.

Overall I am happy with the script and I can say the search bots are ALL over this forum and them seem to like it. I would even go as far as saying they like it better than Vbulletin scripts I have had on other forums.

What is you best chose as a Forum Script ? PHPBB3. or Vbulletin

Will any one tell me which one I should try for may next technology related forum? also give some reason for choosing a particular Forum Script.

I began with IPB and tested most of the forum scripts available out there. IPB and vBulletin are great but I still prefer the first over this last one due to additional features and large number of free mods and skins.

PHPBB free edition seems to be hacking-vulnerable but I have heard phpBB3 is the improved and secure option to give it a go. I have not tested this script yet on my own but I can see here at GuruCreation.

Among many others tested, my best option is MyBB forum, this is a freeware script that seems to offer the best featues of both IPB and vBulletin into a single script

on your choices, i prefer vbulletin, powerful and lots of advantages over the other, but since its not free i switch over to mybb, they are good like vb.

Trusted Writer wrote:I began with IPB and tested most of the forum scripts available out there. IPB and vBulletin are great but I still prefer the first over this last one due to additional features and large number of free mods and skins.

PHPBB free edition seems to be hacking-vulnerable but I have heard phpBB3 is the improved and secure option to give it a go. I have not tested this script yet on my own but I can see here at GuruCreation.

Among many others tested, my best option is MyBB forum, this is a freeware script that seems to offer the best featues of both IPB and vBulletin into a single script

Agreed. I also like the IPB pretty much.

Admin can you tell me more about this SEO mod? What is the mod all about? I am not very into forum systems. Thanks.

I haven't used IPB, but I know a bunch of people love vBulliten, but I prefer phpbb, both as a user and as a forum owner. Vbulliten is nice, and has tons of mods and such, but it's just expensive... but the old adage, you have to spend money to make money.

LinkBuildingBible wrote:I haven't used IPB, but I know a bunch of people love vBulliten, but I prefer phpbb, both as a user and as a forum owner. Vbulliten is nice, and has tons of mods and such, but it's just expensive... but the old adage, you have to spend money to make money.

The leased licence is not that expensive. The difference between the owned and leased licence is not big but the prices are way different. The owned licence costs almost twice as the leased.