What's everyone's opinion on ProBoards?

[Bryn]

Amongst the different forum softwares anyone can use, whether free or paid, there's ProBoards, and I've seen plenty of forums made with it. However, I read somewhere that anybody that owns a forum using it won't be taken seriously as an admin, which gives me the impression that there is some sort of stigma relating to it (probably the fact that ProBoards is not seen as "professional" enough than others). Although, there is one ProBoards forum I know of that's still going strong after over 20 years. I even considering launching a forum with it before in 2015/16 and even this year but thought against it (but I did create a test board with it in 2019).

Just want everyone's opinion of it, and know that it's not just me that believes in what others had said about it...

 

[Yoda]

Proboards is where I first started out on forums - the very first forum I ever joined in fact.

I had many a different attempt at making a forum on Proboards, none of which were a success, the issue being I was young and didn’t want to put the effort in to make it a success. At the time the software was easy to use and it was easy to make a highly customised forum.

I think any ‘free’ hosted forum software just isn’t taken all that seriously these days and I guess some see it as the admin not willing to put the time/money/effort into making something successful?

There was nothing wrong with Proboards per se but I moved away from it once I discovered other free forum types I could self host.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I don't have a issue with anyone using Proboards, it's a nice free host. The only downfall is you can never get your database, so you can never move to self hosting if you ever wanted to go down that route. I know a few big forums that are using Proboards as their host, The Lost Media Wiki forum uses them and so does the Sonic 3 Angel Island Revisited community.

 

[Bryn]

The only downfall is you can never get your database

Yes, I happened to have seen that in regards to @AussiePaul's forum (in the event if ever ProBoards shuts down).

Also, while some ProBoards forums are indeed successful including his, others are just faceless general community forums run by middle-aged/elderly women, and have the tendency to shut them down regularly just because they're going on holiday... at least from what I've seen anyway.

 

[Cam]

This hobby started for me on ProBoards, and that goes back 15 years ago now. There are tons of ProBoards forums that have stood the test of time, but I personally wouldn’t recommend starting a forum with them today. The business decisions they’ve made the last couple years make me question the future of it.

 

[Katrina]

Yes, I happened to have seen that in regards to @AussiePaul's forum (in the event if ever ProBoards shuts down).

Also, while some ProBoards forums are indeed successful including his, others are just faceless general community forums run by middle-aged/elderly women, and have the tendency to shut them down regularly just because they're going on holiday... at least from what I've seen anyway.

I think that they might have shut down their sites because they didn't trust anyone to take over while they were gone, and they were afraid of the site getting out of control.

I don't think to go to proboards when I'm searching for a forum in certain niches...but it doesn't really deter me from joining. I doubt I would ever create one there myself.

 

[Bryn]

I doubt I would ever create one there myself.

Don't bother, like what @Cam said earlier.

You'd better off creating one with Jcink although that's not saying much...

 

[Katrina]

Don't bother, like what @Cam said earlier.

You'd better off creating one with Jcink although that's not saying much...

I've really only been on a couple of Jcink boards, mostly I'm registered at the proboards, but that's through FP folks.

 

[zappaDPJ]

The only downfall is you can never get your database, so you can never move to self hosting if you ever wanted to go down that route.

This presents a huge red flag for me. If you're serious about building a community you should be serious about having complete control over your community's content which should include the ability to make off-site backups.

Nothing lasts forever including free services, Photobucket being a prime example of what can go wrong if you lose control.

Photobucket Breaks Image Links Across the Internet

Want embedded Photobucket images to continue loading in forums or on your website? Be prepared to pay $399 per year.

www.pcmag.com

 

[Ravenfreak]

You'd better off creating one with Jcink although that's not saying much...

Jcink isn't bad, it's way better than proboards for sure! You get access to database backups, so you can move to self hosting. Though you will need to convert to older software and then upgrade to the latest version. I moved a Jcink forum to SMF recently, though I had to download old scripts to convert to phpBB2, then to a version of phpBB3, then to an older version of SMF and finally to the latest version. Yes it's a lot, but if you don't feel comfortable doing that there's always people willing to help out!

 

[Baw$e]

Proboards are okay, but if you get a big member base I think it'd be difficult/impossible to transfer your members to another software if you started a site on Proboards.

 

[Bryn]

but if you get a big member base I think it'd be difficult/impossible to transfer your members to another software if you started a site on Proboards.

As big as Funjoint that is... imagine losing 20+ years of history just because ProBoards can't let you export the database (and ZetaBoards was guilty of that as well, made worse regarding the whole Tapatalk fiasco years ago).

 

[cpvr]

ProBoards is a popular, easy-to-use forum software, especially for beginners, but some people feel it lacks the professionalism of paid options. The stigma likely comes from its free version, which can have limitations in customization and features. However, as you pointed out, some forums have thrived for years on ProBoards, showing it can work long-term. Ultimately, it depends on your goals—if you're just starting or testing ideas, ProBoards can be a solid choice, but for a more polished, customizable forum, you might want to look into other options.

The main issue with Proboards is once you have a board with them, you’re unable to transfer your data elsewhere.

This is in fact an issue.
Forum owners should be able to transfer their data to another software if they’d like to do so.

 

[Smokey]

For a free software, i prefer Jcink.

 

[Bryn]

For a free software, i prefer Jcink.

Even if it isn't up to modern standards like ProBoards and Forumotion... honestly, it feels like it's stuck in 2006 (and yet I use it) 🫤 At least however it's probably more secure than it...

 

[Allan]

I also used PB for a long time when I first started getting into forums. This is going back to PB Version 2 I believe. I still go on forums that use them, brings back some great memories.

 

[Smokey]

Even if it isn't up to modern standards like ProBoards and Forumotion... honestly, it feels like it's stuck in 2006 (and yet I use it) 🫤 At least however it's probably more secure than it...

I dunno, i like the idea they now offer 'extensions', which is cool, I wouldn't mind using them if they didn't hammer you with ads all over the place.

At least the ads on Jcink aren't intrusive.

 

[Bryn]

At least the ads on Jcink aren't intrusive.

That I can agree with, especially at times their ads are at least relevant to your forum's niche (well at least from my experience, and only saw the ads when browsing my forum occasionally with my tablet).

 

[Nomad]

Free version is useless. Even the pro version is useless, for the price you pay, you can easily set up a self hosted community with open source software.