Looking for the best forum solution?
Question by Pyros: Looking for the best forum solution?
Our website is in active development, and in the end, the key component is going to be the forums. Given that, we’re trying to find the best solution we can.
First, it needs to be transparent. Not just in being able to copy the site’s theme, but in hooking into a content management system that maintains the rest of the site. Users shouldn’t feel like they’re leaving one part of the website and going to another (as seen in some CMS’s that allow a forum as an add-on).
Second, it must be customizeable. We’re going to want to be able to do things with user accounts that normal forums don’t care about. Assign points to topics, give rewards, let users mod other user’s post (outside the normal admin system). Any popular programming language is fine (realizing that popular is a subjective term, use your best judgment).
Third, it needs to scale. We can only dream of a day where usage requirements require subforums to be on separate servers. Even until then though, we’re going to have to ramp up as we go, moving servers, allocating more space, etc.
Fourth and finally, it has to support rich content. Images, music, videos, font styles, unicode. It also needs rules in place so we can limit them.
Is there an existing solution that already fits the bill? Do we need to contract our own? Is your proposal open source of closed?
If you want to copy your answers to our devblog so we can come back and rate it here sooner, feel free. It’s at http://flamewars.com/devblog/
Best answer:
Answer by UnknownFury
The best forum solution is definitely phpBB. It can do all those things you mentioned BUT…
Making it “transparent” is quite a mission on itself. It is obviously possible, but you’d have to spend ages tweaking with the code to get it fit just right. If you have the time, the go for it. If not then you’re probably going to have to employ someone to make it fit for you or make a forum for scratch.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!