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apathy

apathy

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I don't see this talked about too much here, so I figured I'd go ahead and start a topic. 😀

Who here has experience with SMF? Do you like it? How would you compare it to other forum software?

I'm a big fan of SMF and have been using it since I was 13. I find it's open-source nature makes it super easy to modify every last bit of it, so long as you know what you're doing. However, it feels a bit out-dated in some ways. Avatar uploads come to mind, things like Xenforo have very nice javascript uploaders that let you resize & crop the final upload, but SMF has nothing like this.

I've considered purchasing a Xenforo license to upgrade my forum to, however I'm unsure how much of my custom work there can easily be carried over.
 
My favorite part about SMF is the security and open source nature! I honestly came back to SMF with one of my recent new forums(link in sig). I am using 2.1 RC3 and love it! its also responsive. Will probly upgrade to XF if I get a lot members and the community would like something more up to date and better features. For now I am loving how everything is flowing.
 
SMF is antique. It is a decade old. Only god knows how many serious bugs are there.
 
SMF just released 2.1 RC3 so it's going slow but the software it self is great. I believe it has the easiest package manager out there free or paid, as well as upgrading the software. It has taken a long time to get to this point though.
 
2.1 is been in works from 2011. Half the code might be 5 years old, if not more. The first working version of 2.1 came out years ago. Whatever they are giving now is built on that, not a rewrite.
 
I would probably use ElkArte before SMF, even though I just converted my Xenforo to smf and have been thinking about going to ElkArte.
 
If they released updates more frequently, I would probably use it over phpBB if I were going the free route of creating a forum. They would need to do a major overhaul and get everything current, if I were to ever run it for myself again.
 
Joshua Farrell said:
If they released updates more frequently, I would probably use it over phpBB if I were going the free route of creating a forum. They would need to do a major overhaul and get everything current, if I were to ever run it for myself again.
Click to expand...
Oh I completely agree, it is good software but the lack of updates is what is killing it. As I mentioned above the sheer ease of installing packages, updates and themes is great.
 
It feels like SMF is on their way out. You see less and less forums using the software, and it seems to look more and more outdated as time has gone. They’re definitely behind on the times, even in the spectrum of free forum software.

Still, I’ve seen some fantastic looking forums on SMF in the last couple of years. There’s potential to create something great, but it’s definitely difficult to see that when you’re setting up the default install. It’s not something that anyone would use right out of the box.
 
They have long stopped hearing anything from their users. The current alpha/beta/whatever they call it - version is being built on 2011-12 code. I don't know what to say to users who rely on such a code base. I really feel bad repeating this truth on multiple occasions. Because someone finally found a suitable free software.
 
I have just opened a forum with the SM software and tbh it's alright but needs huge improvement. Once I get money together I am going to get an XF licence or maybe something else.
 
apathy said:
I don't see this talked about too much here, so I figured I'd go ahead and start a topic. 😀

Who here has experience with SMF? Do you like it? How would you compare it to other forum software?

I'm a big fan of SMF and have been using it since I was 13. I find it's open-source nature makes it super easy to modify every last bit of it, so long as you know what you're doing. However, it feels a bit out-dated in some ways. Avatar uploads come to mind, things like Xenforo have very nice javascript uploaders that let you resize & crop the final upload, but SMF has nothing like this.

I've considered purchasing a Xenforo license to upgrade my forum to, however I'm unsure how much of my custom work there can easily be carried over.
Click to expand...
I love SMF. Grew up with it.

I started a new forum on SMF this week using TinyPortal with it. I'm happy with it! 🙂
 
I don't follow the software, are they doing any sort of updates at all?
 
SMF 2.1.1 came out on 2/12/22 I believe.

It was a while before there was updates tho i think.

I'm happy with the latest version!
 
lol hahaha

I personally like it. It does what I need it to do.
 
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