Should I Switch SMF To PhpBB?

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souljaa

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Hey guys, anyways, I have a quick question. I was thinking about switching my forum board which is currently SMF to PhpBB3, I just needed your guys quick opinion on wether or not I should convert it? I've been seeing plenty of PhpBB boards, and I happen to love the way they work.
I used to use Phpbb2 all the time, but then I found SMF and it seemed easier and better to use. Now I'm not sure..What do you guys think?
EDIT: Sorry, I'm not sure this goes in this board! I'm really sorry! You may move it!
 
Use PhpBB it has better features than SMF but if you can afford vBulletin get vBulletin. 😛
 
NO. SMF is easier to install, setup and add mods too with the pretty much automated mod install feature.

It also has a better SEO mod that is easier to install and setup.
 
Phpbb3 doesn't had automated mod install? It's still manually?

And thanks for the response guys! Appreciate it 🙂
 
Well yes and no, they've invented Blinky, which is an AutoMod installer, although most of the time it doesn't work and it's hard to get it working with custom styles also.

Id say stick to SMF, don't go with VB or IPB if you can't afford it, and don't go for the other way to get them like some people do.
 
Okay, maybe I'll stick to SMF then..Damn I always thought they finally put in the Automated Mod Installer now..Guess not, that sucks big time!
 
Definitely I would move to phpbb3, you can get someone here to install mods to phpbb3 for you 😉
 
Re:

dWhite said:
NO. SMF is easier to install, setup and add mods too with the pretty much automated mod install feature.

It also has a better SEO mod that is easier to install and setup.
Click to expand...

I agree. I was on PHPBB3 for less than a week and neither me or my co admin had a clue, and he's a techie!!

I say stick with SMF

And another thing. The amount of spam i got in a day was stupid!
 
Ah man I'm so confused now! Lol..Well I've used Phpbb2, that's how I started off, and learned how to use it pretty well, but then I moved to SMF. I guess I'll take it slowly, and decide 😀.
 
My suggestion is to download a copy of phpBB and get it set up the way you'd like. That way you can decide after using it first hand if it's worth the trouble to switch or not.

Personally I'd say don't bother with it now. From the looks of it you have a pretty nice style and such, moving to another free software at this point is just a waste of time. If you feel that your site is getting big enough to support a software change, move to paid software like IPB or vB, the move should go pretty easy and you'll get paid tech support with your purchase to help if you have trouble.

I support the saying "If it ain't broke don't fix it" - If you have no real need to transfer then don't 🙂
 
Re: Re:

Fenrir said:
I say stick with SMF

And another thing. The amount of spam i got in a day was stupid!
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All softwares get spammed... Even SMF (even though their die hard lovers hate to admit it). It is a fact of life. There are loads of phpBB3 forums out their using the dafault anti spam protection so of course spammers are going to target the software. All it takes is one mod and you can stop it. The same applies for all software. There are alot of SMF forums out there so of course SMF's CAPTCHA is going to be targeted and broken. All it takes again is a mod to fix it.

Don't forget in the next release of phpBB3 (ver. 3.0.6) there is going to be a plugin system for CAPTCHA's so it will be alot easier to add custom anti spam things to your registration field.
 
Although I would like to see it on phpBB3, I think you should stay with SMF.
1. It's easy to install MODs.
2. I don't think you could find a better skin on phpBB3 than what you are using now with SMF.
 
Stay with SMF... I love SMF and have really thought about using it once or twice over MyBB. I hate phpbb and think it fails in comparison to SMF and MyBB. I myself am a die hard MyBB fan but I like the looks that SMF have! STAY WITH SMF!
 
I currently like your SMF forum right now. I wouldn't change. Great style and logo with good setup of forums.

phpBB3 is nice but so is SMF. 😉
 
Here is my input.

Note I am still learning SMF and know more about phpbb.

With SMf I have noticed the mods are extremely easy to install.

The themes are very customizable.

The forum support board is great help with mods aswell.

Now the only downfalls I have seen is editing themes is a bit hard.

Now with phpbb, there are tons of mods with the price of no autoinstall.

The skins are easier to customize compared to smf.

There aren't as many good themes for phpbb compared to smf.(this though is due to my love of dark themes lmao)

Their forum is also good for support,but doesn't help with mods 🙁.

All in all i suggest smf,but if you don't mind doing alot of things manually phpbb3 for sure.


Oh and I do notice since there are alot more phpbb3 forums it would be easier to get help here or other places.
 
I've used both Phpbb and SMF.

Personally, I prefer phpbb. Yeah, SMF has generally better forum styles, I found that the installation system in SMF was pretty crappy for the mods I was trying to install besides themes.

Plus, having the admin control panel on the main forum rather than in a separate location (I think you'll know what I mean) is very inconvenient if you make a mistake, as you'll refresh and find nothing on the page, and backtracking'll be a little harder than in the Phpbb ACP (This is how my first ever forum got messed up).

Once you get the jist of it, installing the main mods for phpbb isn't too bad. Besides, there is more open support for phpbb than there is for SMF. It's more complex to use than SMF, as I'm still learning new things in the ACP and MCP, but I enjoy it more.

Just my take, but it's your forum. You do with it as you wish.
 
Yeah, SMF just feels horrible to me, PHPBB is ranked higher and has more stability
 
Re:

Jaosals said:
I've used both Phpbb and SMF.

Personally, I prefer phpbb. Yeah, SMF has generally better forum styles, I found that the installation system in SMF was pretty crappy for the mods I was trying to install besides themes.

Plus, having the admin control panel on the main forum rather than in a separate location (I think you'll know what I mean) is very inconvenient if you make a mistake, as you'll refresh and find nothing on the page, and backtracking'll be a little harder than in the Phpbb ACP (This is how my first ever forum got messed up).

Once you get the jist of it, installing the main mods for phpbb isn't too bad. Besides, there is more open support for phpbb than there is for SMF. It's more complex to use than SMF, as I'm still learning new things in the ACP and MCP, but I enjoy it more.

Just my take, but it's your forum. You do with it as you wish.
Click to expand...
Mind telling me how the SMF is crappy or even better then phpbb?

I think the smf installation system is as easy as 1-2-3.

phpbb3 on the other hand is a bit more complex 🙁.
 
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