Author Topic: Switching from phpBB2 to SMF (Read 16735 times)

Laurent · « **on:** August 28, 2010, 12:43:21 am »

Hi

I've finally decided to replace this good (?) old phpBB2 with a more recent forum.

I was thinking about using SMF (Simple Machines Forum), but I don't know it very well. Maybe some of you can give me more feedback about it? The thing I'm most worried about, is the fact that SMF 1 seems to be pretty old and SMF 2 is not officially released yet; however there are usable release candidates (current is RC3, RC4 is supposed to be released soon).

Note that I tried it on my computer, and it successfully installed and imported the phpBB2 database with no error in just a few clicks

Of course, you can also tell me that phpBB3 and SMF are both bad, and that I should rather use some other forum

Spidyy · « **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2010, 01:19:00 am »

Until it offer light file hosting (images, sources, ...) with quota for each account and more text format option, anything will do the job. :]

Nihilustic · « **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2010, 02:55:56 am »

I've used SMF 2 RC3 on a small server that I use, and have had no problems so far. I like really like it, although I admit I haven't used it extensively.

Nexus · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2010, 03:17:21 pm »

Quote from: "Laurent"

I've finally decided to replace this good (?) old phpBB2 with a more recent forum.

May I ask why? In my opinion, the current phpBB is quite useful and not really lacking of important features. Also, I like if it's not too fancy and overloaded.

Or do problems rather arise from development/configuration side?

Laurent · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2010, 06:39:09 pm »

The main problems of phpBB2:
- I get tons of robots/spams that I have to remove manually
- it doesn't apply the maximum image size in avatar/signature, I have to moderate it manually too
- activating rewrite rules to get nice URLs is nearly impossible, and...
- ... installing plug-ins in general is nearly impossible
- it's heavy for the database (for which I have to pay!)
- it's old and ugly, but this is more a personal opinion

Spodi · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2010, 08:43:52 pm »

Just curious, why not phpBB3? Seems like the logical step up from phpBB2. Though I personally don't mind either way as long as the contents are preserved. I also have very little experience with SMF. Its just when phpBB3 is highly popular and stable, but SMF is in a state where your choice is "outdated" or "beta", seems like phpBB3 would make more sense.

panithadrum · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2010, 09:16:57 pm »

I am happy you decided to change the forum. I don't know anything about this stuff, so I can't help. I just wanted to give my support :-)

Laurent · « **Reply #7 on:** August 29, 2010, 10:29:57 pm »

phpBB 3 looks good but it doesn't solve all the problems that phpBB 2 has, especially the plug-ins stuff and the database usage. I don't know much more about it, but I have the feeling that phpBB has become a huge thing that is too limited, and I think that more recent / lighter forums can perform much better.

Mindiell · « **Reply #8 on:** August 30, 2010, 02:21:27 pm »

Maybe you can have a look at punBB. I used it once and it was a light and simple forum engine. But I'm not sure that it could solve your problems, I don't remember its features exactly.

Spodi · « **Reply #9 on:** August 30, 2010, 06:48:39 pm »

I say just pick one, put it up, and give it a shot. It won't take more than an hour to set it up fully. If you like it, then good. If not, try another.

Laurent · « **Reply #10 on:** August 30, 2010, 07:09:21 pm »

I don't think it is possible to know everything about a forum in one hour, it probably requires a couple of weeks/months, and many users, to find potential drawbacks.

Anyway, most forums have a demo on their websites, so I can test them in even less than one hour

Balder · « **Reply #11 on:** August 30, 2010, 08:07:18 pm »

Certainly, the current board software (althought functional) is lacking important features, specially when it comes to security. It'd be a good idea to install a new software and migrate the DB, not only for users sake, but, as you said, to save you from doing boring-repetitive tasks.

Someone previously said that fancyness is not the main virtue and I agree with that. A fast, functional, intuitive one is preferred and then it's great if it offers options to customize etc

Having tried many cms and forum softwares I sum up to the ones recommending SMF. At first you'll find configuration options a bit overwhelming, as if you were managing a commercial product like vbulletin, but at the end you're provided with much more power.

On the other hand, PHPBB3 can be configured steadily as it doesn't have even half of smf's options. I also think smf is more efficient consulting the DB.

Said that I'd conclude that SMF is the best open source solution, specially for the long run. Maybe wait for the stable 2.0 branch? That's what I'm doing, I think

Laurent · « **Reply #12 on:** August 30, 2010, 08:10:53 pm »

Thanks for your feedback

Quote

Maybe wait for the stable 2.0 branch?

From what I've seen, SMF 2 has been in development for a long time and the first public release may happen in a long time.
Maybe you have more detailed information about the development status?

Spodi · « **Reply #13 on:** August 30, 2010, 10:47:17 pm »

Quote from: "Laurent"

Anyway, most forums have a demo on their websites, so I can test them in even less than one hour

Sorry, that is what I meant. Get it set up and running within an hour. What I was trying to say was that if you use a forum system that you end up not liking, its not that big of a deal since its not like it takes long to set it up.

Balder · « **Reply #14 on:** August 31, 2010, 05:46:07 pm »

Unfortunately, SMF does not set release dates for updates, as it relies in many factors. However, I think we'll see an RC4 very soon, as the bug list is being made smaller every further day:

http://dev.simplemachines.org/mantis/view_all_bug_page.php

There you can see what is pending to do for the next release, which is the most similar to a roadmap that you'll find on smf foundation.

Questions about release dates for the stable 2.0 branch have been made in a few trheads on smf official forums, you can google them pretty fast, but as I said, no developer has unveiled any relevant info.

Anyway it's very easy to update the soft from the cpanel, so it is not as risky to use at this time as it was.

If you haven't tried the soft I reccomend you to install it in another DB and hack around with it, then you'll if it suits your needs. Online demos are good for this also, but I find them messed up many times :roll: