Zeta/IF/Forumotion are they really so bad?

[death180]

I like Zetaboards but I don't like forumotion because of reasons stated millions of times in other threads.

 

[White Panda]

For me it isn't so much the software, though I am not a huge fan of either anyways, it is the fact that you are using their hosting. I know for most people it isn't a big deal, but it really irks me when I can't even view the files that run my forum.

 

[D]

I personally have nothing against them, I made my first forum in like 2002 using InvisionFree 🙂

It's a great starting point for any community though now I self I host I would never go back.

 

[Shahrier]

I don't like free forum softwares but I just don't get how Zetaboard board's get so popular and active.


Best free forum software imo is Jcink. Absolutely amazing ACP.

 

[CyberFreak]

Do you get a copy of your database? No

And why do you need it? ZB will restore if hacked and it is not needed for conversion:

http://www.simplemachines.org/community ... 188741.280

It just means more work for you having to backup your forum yourself.

What happens if they can't restore it? A popular forum host (freeforums.org) used to make backups of forums. One day they encountered a problem (can't remember what exactly) and had to restore all the forums from a backup however they backup that they could actually restore was quite old and all forums either lost alot of members/posts or lost the forum completely depending on when they started their forum. Some members here were affected including Theezy. I much prefer to rely on myself to make backups rather then hoping that the host is making backups as they claim and hoping they can be restored rather then sitting and being powerless waiting for the host to do something. You and your host having a backup is better then just your host having a backup.

Also if the host suddenly disappears, bye bye goes your forum also and you would have to start from scratch. Hosts come and go. Remember IPBfree?

We started on a free host... If we could not get a backup, we would not have been able to easily move away from the host. Also, I highly doubt Zetaboards would be able to restore a handful of topics if you need to. We had a staff members account compromised here in the past and had our boardwide guidelines topic deleted. While it wouldn't have been the end of the world if we had to re-write them, It was easier enough to just copy and paste them from a backup and repost it.

Backing up the forum doesn't have to mean more work for you if you are on a webhost rather then a free forum host. You can create backups automatically if you wish.

... or the ads(if you did then you would block them with an ad blocker) ...

That might block the ads for you but not for many users. Not all users have an adblocker. No ads for everybody will mean no potential members will see ads. Ads forced on your forum will put ads not always where you want them and they will still be visible to potential users without adblockers. Paying for ad removal is usually more expensive then it would be if you paid for hosting yourself for your forum.

 

[Shahrier]

Why I think Jcink is better than other free forum hosts:

There are Backups
Themes are VERY easy to edit
Many themes
Good support
Ability to remove the Jcink Copyright and Ads with $5
Domains
They have a feature where you can add different pages
Highly Customizable Portal
Easy to use ACP & MCP
Easy to edit Custom Profile Fields


I'd recommend Jcink for beginners or people looking for a free host...

I guess people use Free Forums and Forumotion for phpBB or something.. I don't know why people use Zetaboards tbh.

 

[Keizo]

Oh my god Forumotion......I hate it, let's just say they royally screwed me over. REALITY CHECK.



So, should I move my community to new free forum host temporailly?


How about Jcinks?

Or maybe IF.

 

[Nuke]

Forumotion is really bad. Zeta is actually a good forum I've used all of my forums on there. The customizations are easily done if you're a good coder.

While I wouldn't go back to ZB, I did like it while I used it.

 

[Fayz Nation]

Forumotion isn't that bad.

There are somethings lately that have annoyed me...It was a week or two ago when the site was really slow loading as well as the chatbox was messing up.

It happened for about 2-3 hours the first day and an hour the second day.

It's not perfect but I don't mind it. I do wish I would have researched other free host but when I typed free forum hosting in google, it was the first site to pop up.

Money is not an issue for me but I see nothing wrong with free hosting if offers features I want and need. The only thing is, customization is slightly limited but at the same time not really.....

When i see people bashing Forumotion or other free host similar to it, I personally think of it as an elitist behavior where they somehow believe their forums are better just because they pay for it or whatever and I don't necessarily agree with it.

 

[David]

When i see people bashing Forumotion or other free host similar to it, I personally think of it as an elitist behavior where they somehow believe their forums are better just because they pay for it or whatever and I don't necessarily agree with it.

I've given valid reasons which do not mention money at all; in fact, they reflect phpBB or MyBB more than vB or IPB etc. Just the basic essentials for a forum software aren't even present (or have taken up until last year to just be coded in due to user requests!!!) and the dictatorial nature of the software is very limiting.

 

[Deleted member 4320]

I've only used ZetaBoards and Forumotion from a users prospective and haven't used Invision Free at all but the fact that they are free and you cannot customize the board to the full extent that others using the proper phpBB can put off some.

My biggest issue is Forumotion and how insecure it is. Over time I've seen a fair few users on this forum complaining about having a forum hacked by someone and it turns out it's on Forumotion. For me personally I'd never use them because I have the option to use other methods.

Lastly the designs for free alternatives most often look dreadful, which if I'm going to want to use a forum, I want to like the appearance of it as well as the user base and content.

 

[Fayz Nation]

When i see people bashing Forumotion or other free host similar to it, I personally think of it as an elitist behavior where they somehow believe their forums are better just because they pay for it or whatever and I don't necessarily agree with it.

I've given valid reasons which do not mention money at all; in fact, they reflect phpBB or MyBB more than vB or IPB etc. Just the basic essentials for a forum software aren't even present (or have taken up until last year to just be coded in due to user requests!!!) and the dictatorial nature of the software is very limiting.

I never said anyone person specifically or anything like that. I just joined here yesterday and did some searching around the forums and I saw so many posts bashing FM that it was disheartening. I mean I can only imagine up and coming forum admins using Forumotion to be discouraged from seeing their posts.

FM is not bad and I am for the most part happy with him. I do wish I could move my forum to another site however......My members probably won't leave the current forum on FM so i am sort of stuck.

 

[Bluezone777]

The host or software you use should really just be based on what you need out of it and who bests serves your needs. A lot of people like to project their dislike of a particular host on the people who use it which is rather unfair. Judge them based on their abilities and what their community has to offer and not on the host/software they use. If you don't then just remember that the idea of looking down upon a forum based on its choice of host/software can be used against you so think before you go down that route with any forum you come across. It's why I personally don't hold any prejudice against the users of any particular forum host or software. I don't even get why so many hate a certain software or host from a member's perspective. I can understand from an admin's perspective but form my experience the member side is mostly the same from host to host and software to software.

 

[Fayz Nation]

The host or software you use should really just be based on what you need out of it and who bests serves your needs. A lot of people like to project their dislike of a particular host on the people who use it which is rather unfair. Judge them based on their abilities and what their community has to offer and not on the host/software they use. If you don't then just remember that the idea of looking down upon a forum based on its choice of host/software can be used against you so think before you go down that route with any forum you come across. It's why I personally don't hold any prejudice against the users of any particular forum host or software. I don't even get why so many hate a certain software or host from a member's perspective. I can understand from an admin's perspective but form my experience the member side is mostly the same from host to host and software to software.

Exactly. If your members are happy on Forumotion or IF or ZB, then that is most of all that truly matters I believe.

If they are happy on paid hosting then that is good as well.

Be happy with your choice and as admins of our own sites I believe instead of outright bashing this host or that host that we offer support and be respectful while at the same time pointing out cons instead of just saying "Oh my god, they are horrible."

 

[Geoffrey]

Anyone that says ZB is crap obviously hasn't used it very much. It's very easy to manage and as hissae has pointed out, anything you want done can be done if you just put a little time into it and don't expect instant results at your command.

 

[Connor L]

Anyone that says ZB is crap obviously hasn't used it very much. It's very easy to manage and as hissae has pointed out, anything you want done can be done if you just put a little time into it and don't expect instant results at your command.

GAK, just because you don't 'know' how to use anything else, and have never ventured off of ZB doesn't mean it's good. It is crap, move on bro, ZB is childish.

 

[Geoffrey]

Anyone that says ZB is crap obviously hasn't used it very much. It's very easy to manage and as hissae has pointed out, anything you want done can be done if you just put a little time into it and don't expect instant results at your command.

GAK, just because you don't 'know' how to use anything else, and have never ventured off of ZB doesn't mean it's good. It is crap, move on bro, ZB is childish.

I have used other software, I've tried nearly every free forum software (and experiment with some paid) out there that are worth trying at all. Get your facts straight and realize that your opinion does not equal gospel.

 

[Bluezone777]

Anyone that says ZB is crap obviously hasn't used it very much. It's very easy to manage and as hissae has pointed out, anything you want done can be done if you just put a little time into it and don't expect instant results at your command.

GAK, just because you don't 'know' how to use anything else, and have never ventured off of ZB doesn't mean it's good. It is crap, move on bro, ZB is childish.

your opinion =/= fact

Have you even considered that people's needs are different and what you need out of a forum is different from someone else? Or course not because if you did then you would not be making such ridiculous comments. Speaking of which, why is someone thinking ZB is good enough for them is such a problem for you?

 

[CyberFreak]

...anything you want done can be done if you just put a little time into it...

Can you integrate a ZB forum with wordpress for example? Not everything can be done and if someone does want to do anything major then they can't on ZB. That is where not being on a free forum host is beneficial as you can add/change features as you please and expand you site much more then you can on ZB. If you want to just run a forum then it may work well but you can't go far beyond that. On a forum host like ZB you are still very restricted.

If you do just want a simple forum and ZB matches your needs then go for it but I personally would never use a free host even for a simple forum as I would much rather have full control of what features there are and being able to develop the site in the future how I want it. That is just my feelings anyway. The problem I see is people insisting on using a free host and then later on wanting to move away from that host and wanting to keep all their content which is not always easy to do. That is why I think some people try to push people away from forum hosts as either they have been in that situation before and/or don't want to see somebody else getting into a situation where you are stuck with a forum host.

 

[GAF]

Kind of agree with Fergal here. I like ZB and have no problems with it, and I do work on it and sometimes design for it. it has some awesome theme but any software that is self hosted is better for freedom and professionalism.