If PhpBB Went Paid, Would You Still Use It?

[Ashley]

Okay, I saw this discussion on another forum and I thought it was a very interesting concept. As you all know, phpBB is a free software that anybody can use, whether they have money or not. But what if one of these years phpBB decides to go paid, like that of IPB? This can be with or without a license. Would you still stick with phpBB if it went paid, or would you stay with the last available free version they had? Or even still, would you go with another free software all together?

I think for me, as long as they don't include a fee with the previous software version, I'd probably stick with the last free version of PHPBB. Simply the fact of the matter being that I don't have money to use to buy things online like that, and even if the next release didn't have any bugs at all or anything, I still wouldn't go for it. But if we had to move to a more stable release, I'd probably switch to MyBB or SMF.

I think we are all aware that phpBB will always remain a free hosted option in the future, this is just one of those general "what if" topics that are kind of fun to talk about as if it were to happen. That doesn't mean it WILL happen, however. I just wanted to point that out point blank.

EDIT: When we did this discussion at my place, I accidentally said Vbulletin rather than IPB. Basically got my paid software mixed up lol. It's been a long week.

 

[Katrina]

I wouldn't pay for it. I am using it for Crafter Craze and it's a nice piece of software but I'm not married to it and would change in a heartbeat if I had to pay. I'm so disloyal like that 😉

 

[Jason76]

If you had tons of stuff on phpBB. you might not want to convert it to another software, especially if you didn't know how.

 

[meetdilip]

phpBB is one of the most reliable free forum options right now.

We are paying for a domain, hosting etc. So there is nothing wrong if phpBB asks for a fee.

 

[scooter]

Okay, I saw this discussion on another forum and I thought it was a very interesting concept. As you all know, phpBB is a free software that anybody can use, whether they have money or not. But what if one of these years phpBB decides to go paid, like that of Vbulletin. This can be with or without a license. Would you still stick with phpBB if it went paid, or would you stay with the last available free version they had? Or even still, would you go with another free software all together?

I think for me, as long as they don't include a fee with the previous software version, I'd probably stick with the last free version of PHPBB. Simply the fact of the matter being that I don't have money to use to buy things online like that, and even if the next release didn't have any bugs at all or anything, I still wouldn't go for it. But if we had to move to a more stable release, I'd probably switch to MyBB or SMF.

I think we are all aware that phpBB will always remain a free hosted option in the future, this is just one of those general "what if" topics that are kind of fun to talk about as if it were to happen. That doesn't mean it WILL happen, however. I just wanted to point that out point blank.

I'd likely jump ship. I've been considering doing so anyway, of late.

 

[Ashley]

I wouldn't pay for it. I am using it for Crafter Craze and it's a nice piece of software but I'm not married to it and would change in a heartbeat if I had to pay. I'm so disloyal like that 😉

Much as I love phpBB, I don't know if I'd stick around either. If I had to switch, I probably would, otherwise, sometimes paid software makes their last ever available version free, whilst charging for any updates, so in this case, I'd probably stay with the last available free version.

If you had tons of stuff on phpBB. you might not want to convert it to another software, especially if you didn't know how.

Well, should the software ever go paid, we have next to nothing in the way of extensions on Chatting Time, so if we absolutely had to convert, I don't think it would be very hard. I can see it being more time consuming than anything else really.

phpBB is one of the most reliable free forum options right now.

We are paying for a domain, hosting etc. So there is nothing wrong if phpBB asks for a fee.

Well, that's probably where the trouble would come in for me. I'm on a hosting plan via the help of an online friend, and as he's already paying for hosting, and helping me way more than I'll ever be able to thank him, I wouldn't feel comfortablewith throwing an extra expense like that on him.

I'd likely jump ship. I've been considering doing so anyway, of late.

This is just a what if it were to happen discussion, as far as I'm aware, it probably won't happen for many years, if it happens at all, that is.

 

[overcast]

Apart from IPS and Xenforo, I wont pay to any other software. PhpBB is pretty ancient and it's not something I'd choose even for free.

 

[Deleted member 4320]

I have a love hate relationship with phpBB. I’ve used it for years and it’s great at what it does, but it sure is outdated in terms of features and building on top of it is a nightmare. If something better came along that was free but did what phpBB does already with a good community I would considering switching.

 

[Cam]

I’ve got numerous XF licenses that I’m not using, so I’d definitely be using that before anything else.

Still, I think phpBB could have a place being a paid software. They couldn’t charge what XF/IPB/WoltLab charge, but if it was under $50, would that be so bad? In the end, they could potentially be making significant improvements to the software if they’re able to start monetizing it better.

 

[Nomad]

I have created demo forum with phpbb but have never run a real forum on phpbb. Since there are already a lot of good free forum scripts, I would not consider paying money.

 

[Ashley]

I have created demo forum with phpbb but have never run a real forum on phpbb. Since there are already a lot of good free forum scripts, I would not consider paying money.

Only thing I've never liked about phpBB is the permissions. They're a nightmare

 

[Nomad]

What about Mybb? Have you used it?

 

[Deleted member 4320]

Only thing I've never liked about phpBB is the permissions. They're a nightmare

The permissions in phpBB are arguably the best bit as they’re so granular and allow you to give people a mix of different permissions.

 

[Page]

Nope,

 

[Ashley]

What about Mybb? Have you used it?

I've used it as couple of times in the past. While I do like the permissions there better I prefer MyBB as a member more than an administrator.

 

[Nomad]

How do you compare Mybb with SMF. I am using SMF

 

[Ashley]

How do you compare Mybb with SMF. I am using SMF

I haven't used SMF in years, so I vaguely remember that one. I don't even know what version they're on anymore

 

[meetdilip]

I don't even know what version they're on anymore

The same version they were a decade before.

 

[Ashley]

The same version they were a decade before.

What!? They haven't updated at all? God, last I used them they were on 2.x something. I know it wasn't way up there.

 

[meetdilip]

They moved from alpha to beta to stable in 12 years. I hear that a minor bug fix release happened as well.