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What is your preferred forum software?

What is your preferred forum software?


  • Total voters
    32

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
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System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Which forum software do you prefer, either for using it like you do on TPU (XenForo) or hosting your own forum.

Before voting for vBulletin, check out this video about the tech support nightmare from them and see if you would still vote for it afterwards.


I'm currently setting up my own website and forum and have chosen XenForo from the big names of paid software, because it fits my needs best, although not perfectly. Unfortunately, none of the free forum software like phpBB or Simple Machines was right for my needs.
 
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Toothless

Tech, Games, and TPU!
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Display(s) Acer Nitro XZ342CK Pbmiiphx + 2x AOC 2425W
Case Fractal Design Meshify Lite 2
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Power Supply Corsair HX850
Mouse Corsair Nightsword
Keyboard Corsair K55
VR HMD HP Reverb G2
Software Windows 11 Professional
Benchmark Scores PEBCAK
Anything that's not hideous and easy to use.
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
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Messages
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XenForo is the most user friendly. But the latest version kind of sucky.
 
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vB had been dead for almost half a decade or something now, their last version's something between a meme and a bad joke.
That being said XF does have a bunch of Bad Ideas About Forums (their inferior ban system compared to vB, for instance), but yeah.

I've never cared about support - always figured it as kinda useless; I'm my own as sysadmin thank you very much.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
XenForo is the most user friendly. But the latest version kind of sucky.
I've never seen anything but the latest version, so I'm curious how you think it's inferior.

@Selaya In a few words, what bad ideas do you have in mind?

The vB admin CP is awesome for its featureset and I was sad to have to walk away from vB after trying out the demo. The software screwed up when I tried to set another tab as the default (just a simple setting) and so badly that I couldn't fix it. I actually needed tech support for software I didn't own! They sorta fixed it, but that really destroyed my confidence in it. What else could mess it up like that? Put that together and all the controversy I've heard about it, the lack of development of new versions and that tech support nightmare meant that I had to walk away from it. It also doesn't have some of the nifty features of XF, like question forums and the epic "discourager" for trolls.

I disagree about tech support. Some things cannot be fixed by yourself, because it's gone wrong at the backend system of the provider. What do you do if the computer running your VPS goes down and there's no failover? You'll need their support, right? Also, not everyone is an expert, so it's reasonable to have tech support to fall back on.
 
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The inferior ban system as mentioned (in vB banned users would be able to have access to specific ban-appeal [sub-]forums, a feature that is not possible in XF [without modding it]). Besides that, I remember that vB has or at the very least used to have the feature where posts would have unique IDs assigned to them (and linkable by that) instead of XFs default per-thread sequential. Way more useful imo, but YMMV.
I'm sure there's other stuff that I have completely forgot about by now, as I've said vB had been dead for half a decade now and my memory's faded by now.

That being said, I have never (really) admin'd an vB (but used it as an ordinary user quite extensively until it's demise) - my by far most extensive experience is with XF, followed by the FOSS stuff like phpBB and SMF.

As for the (tech) support again YMMV; of course I am aware that people who have less of a tech background may need to fall back on it. It is just that from my personal experience, short of the example(s) you've given that are not fixable as well user generally I have only ever met clueless, unhelpful supporters, and in general my own solutions I've figured in the end tend to be superior to theirs, if they had any at all.
In any case, should (one of) my VPSes (yes, I actually do own some) go down, I'd just patiently wait for them to fix it (or not); I can swap to a backup system in the meanwhile, and in the case of the worst case (it not coming back on), I'd just move on and order a new one from a different provider, and restore from backup.
But you probably shouldn't take me as a benchmark for all these things, I tend to be a loner whenever I can when it comes to that.
 
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Mouse Logitech M705 Marthon
Keyboard Logitech G410
Software Windows 10 Pro 22H2
From a user standpoint, XenForo is probably the best experience I've had. It's a significant reason I favor this forum over others.
 

Regeneration

NGOHQ.COM
Joined
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Messages
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I've never seen anything but the latest version, so I'm curious how you think it's inferior.

The WYSIWYG editor used to be better and easier to handle.

Don't know if its just TPU, or the default layout, but the new font isn't that great.
 

W1zzard

Administrator
Staff member
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Processor Ryzen 7 5700X
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Display(s) 30" 2560x1600 + 19" 1280x1024
Software Windows 10 64-bit
XF is also VERY cleanly coded and extremely moddable - in a proper way, without hax. We're running around 40 addons here that I've coded myself, only one or two of them require a code change.

but the new font isn't that great.
we're using 'Segoe UI','Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Roboto,Oxygen,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Fira Sans','Droid Sans',sans-serif

So nothing special
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
XF is also VERY cleanly coded and extremely moddable - in a proper way, without hax. We're running around 40 addons here that I've coded myself, only one or two of them require a code change.


we're using 'Segoe UI','Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Roboto,Oxygen,Ubuntu,Cantarell,'Fira Sans','Droid Sans',sans-serif

So nothing special
And it works very cleanly and smoothly too, I must say, whether as a user like now, or in the admin CP on my copy.

Alas, I'm not a coder, so can't comment on that side of it. I have the raw skills to do it, I'm not new to programming, but it's a big learning curve now, more than I dedicate time to nowadays.

40 add-ons you made yourself... you mad bro :p It's not obvious either, as just all works nicely and integrated together. That's some mad skillz there. Respect.
 
Joined
Aug 15, 2016
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Processor Intel i7 4770k
Motherboard ASUS Sabertooth Z87
Cooling BeQuiet! Shadow Rock 3
Memory Patriot Viper 3 RedD 16 GB @ 1866 MHz
Video Card(s) XFX RX 480 GTR 8GB
Storage 1x SSD Samsung EVO 250 GB 1x HDD Seagate Barracuda 3 TB 1x HDD Seagate Barracuda 4 TB
Display(s) AOC Q27G2U QHD, Dell S2415H FHD
Case Cooler Master HAF XM
Audio Device(s) Magnat LZR 980, Razer BlackShark V2, Altec Lansing 251
Power Supply Corsair AX860
Mouse Razer DeathAdder V2
Keyboard Razer Huntsman Tournament Edition
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
Templateshares, not the best software ever, but... It wasn't all that bad. Voted for it because it brings back good memories from years ago.
 

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
People, I so want someone to vote for vBulletin just so that we can heckle the heck out of them. :p
 
Joined
Jan 1, 2019
Messages
403 (0.21/day)
I have used phpBB which has been around forever and day. Its free to use and lots of skills available.

One feature I see on phpBB is the users and bots, so I figured how hard can it be, now my footer has that and it shows it over a 30 minute moving average. Look at the bottom of the page for the widget. WordPress is slightly more modern.


 
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Processor 7800x3d
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Storage Adata SX8200 1tb with Windows, Samsung 990 Pro 2tb with games
Display(s) HP Omen 27q QHD 165hz
Case ThermalTake P3
Power Supply SuperFlower Leadex Titanium
Software Windows 11 64 Bit
Benchmark Scores CB23: 1811 / 19424 CB24: 1136 / 7687

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Actually, since you're the only one to have the guts to do it, I can't heckle you, but must praise you instead. Well done that man! :laugh:

I see that XF has won by a country mile, unsurprisingly.
 
Joined
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System Name Ryzen Monster
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Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix RX5700XT OC 8Gb
Storage WD Black 500GB NVMe 250Gb Samsung SSD, OCZ 500Gb SSD WD M.2 500Gb, plus three spinners up to 1.5Tb
Display(s) LG 32GK650F-B 32" UltraGear™ QHD
Case Cooler Master Storm Trooper
Audio Device(s) Supreme FX on board
Power Supply Corsair RM850X full modular
Mouse Corsair M65 Pro
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB Silent
VR HMD Headphones Logitech G533 wireless
Software Windows 11 Start 11
Benchmark Scores 3DMark Time Spy 4532 (9258 March 2021, 9399 July 2021)
I use WoltLab for my expats forum and have been since I moved from SMF in 2017. It's robust, has excellent plugins and themes, and is regularly updated.
At the time of switching from SMF, WoltLab had the best price for the forum software and I added Gallery too.
 

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator
Staff member
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Video Card(s) MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s) Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC
Case Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White
Audio Device(s) Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e
Power Supply Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w
Mouse Lamzu Atlantis mini (White)
Keyboard Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD Quest 3
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores I dont have time for that.
Xenforo by a mile.

VB has been dead since like 2008.

the only other popular software I see on really big sites (that aren’t out dated) is discourse.

which is hot garbage both from an admin and usability standpoint.

cannot STAND discourse.
 
Joined
Feb 13, 2016
Messages
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System Name Ryzen Monster
Processor Ryzen 5 5600X
Motherboard Asus ROG Crosshair Hero VII WiFi
Cooling Corsair H100i RGB Platinum
Memory Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB (4x8GB) 3200Mhz CMW16GX4M2C3200C16
Video Card(s) Asus ROG Strix RX5700XT OC 8Gb
Storage WD Black 500GB NVMe 250Gb Samsung SSD, OCZ 500Gb SSD WD M.2 500Gb, plus three spinners up to 1.5Tb
Display(s) LG 32GK650F-B 32" UltraGear™ QHD
Case Cooler Master Storm Trooper
Audio Device(s) Supreme FX on board
Power Supply Corsair RM850X full modular
Mouse Corsair M65 Pro
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB Silent
VR HMD Headphones Logitech G533 wireless
Software Windows 11 Start 11
Benchmark Scores 3DMark Time Spy 4532 (9258 March 2021, 9399 July 2021)
Actually, I'm quite literally in the midst of migrating all my websites/forums from GoDaddy to ProStack in the UK. (at least, the engineers are anyway)
I simply got tired of banging my head against a brick wall with GoDaddy's out of date servers and software, not to mention their call-centre support which leaves a lot to be desired..
 
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Messages
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From a user perspective, I like the usability and the general clean appearance of Xenforo.(Edit: I'm aware that the UI is customizable and themeable, I'm just saying as a general rule)
From a site staff perspective, Xenforo as well. I love the tools and internal mechanisms. They're easy to use, generally easy to configure and rarely crash.

Been trying to get the owner at one of my sites to switch over for years as Xenforo would be a MUCH better fit for what we do there. He just doesn't want to pay for it...

Before voting for vBulletin, check out this video about the tech support nightmare from them and see if you would still vote for it afterwards.
vBulletin is a waste. Don't use it.
 
Last edited:

qubit

Overclocked quantum bit
Joined
Dec 6, 2007
Messages
17,866 (3.00/day)
Location
Quantum Well UK
System Name Quantumville™
Processor Intel Core i7-2700K @ 4GHz
Motherboard Asus P8Z68-V PRO/GEN3
Cooling Noctua NH-D14
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB Corsair Vengeance Black DDR3 PC3-12800 C9 1600MHz)
Video Card(s) MSI RTX 2080 SUPER Gaming X Trio
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB | WD Black 4TB | WD Blue 6TB
Display(s) ASUS ROG Strix XG27UQR (4K, 144Hz, G-SYNC compatible) | Asus MG28UQ (4K, 60Hz, FreeSync compatible)
Case Cooler Master HAF 922
Audio Device(s) Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Fatal1ty PCIe
Power Supply Corsair AX1600i
Mouse Microsoft Intellimouse Pro - Black Shadow
Keyboard Yes
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
vBulletin is a waste. Don't use it.
Don't worry, I'm using XF as per my OP. :) It's glorious!

Now that we're talking about forum software, I also have an Invision Community license that I bought cheaply years ago off a friend who gave up on forums at the time.

This product looks really good too and has a clear edge when it comes to articles, but it's really expensive as the renewal twice a year costs more than XF cost to buy! This, the support eco system, add-ins especially and general popularity of XF are what caused me to go for it.

However, now that I've got much more experience with managing forum software since my site has been up and running for some time now, I might give IC another go. But, before I spend any money on it, I've already tried the two week demo which gives one a generous two weeks to play with it which I could try again, I'll try installing my really old version from 2014 on my home PC to have a play with it without time limits and really get familiar with it. It's got a clear edge on articles which are important to me. In the end though, each product has got features and niceties that the other hasn't, so it's not a slam-dunk for either one.
 
Last edited:
Joined
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Oh. I just remembered what I. Fucking. Hate. About. XF. (Since this got necro'd)
The. Fucking. Focus. On. (Mandatory.) Avatards.

Like, seriously how hard is it to have an option to turn it off and assign [none] as default? If the user so chooses they may upload one, but otherwise they just have ... none. Instead of the totally ugly and asinine default ones. I understand that this'd require a rework of parts of the UI, but that's the fundamental problem to begin with, tbh
 
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1,567 (1.18/day)
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