Yes, phpBB is :)

www.getvanilla.com

its going to revolutionize forum software =-o

PHPBB and myBB and Snitz there are alot of free softwares out there.

nah...i always go with invisionboard and invisionfree (a free version)

Don't know about the invisionfree stuff, but I think it's not allowing you FTP access (or does it?). You can go with phpBB and not have an issue (I am running 4 phpBB forums and I love them all), but you need to have full access to FTP and the phpmyadmin section. So that you can install a lot of nice mods and customize your skin beyond recognition :)

vBulletin is a paid forum script but it is the best one that there is out there (in my opinion at least).
If you can shed a couple of hundreds dollars, it is worthwhile getting.

$160 for the full license, actually :)

SMF (Simple Machines Forum) is another free one.

My thinking is like this:

If you're poor, or if you are a free software zealot (I am -- I want the ability to freely modify & use without restriction), then you should use phpBB. It's low-end, but you can apply mods to make it high-end.

If you're poor and NOT a free software zealot, you could try SMF. The license is too restrictive for my tastes, but it costs nothing, and it's better than phpBB out of the box.

For everything else, use VBulletin. In particular, if you can hold out for 3.6 and start with that, that would be best. 3.6 onwards looks nearly irresistible. But it costs $160, as Dani mentioned.

-Tony

I think phpBB is good for starting up, it is good and easy to use. It is easy to install.

phpBB is a very good free script. But you have to update it regularly as it is frequently targeted by hackers.

I'm excited to see how that Vanilla tableless full-CSS forum implementation fares in the long run. Simple is always the best IMO. When you really want to build community and focus on the actual discussions, everything else is just bloatware.

I have some vBulletin Licenses going at $40 and IPBs at $30, pm me for one.

I have some vBulletin Licenses going at $40 and IPBs at $30, pm me for one.

I didn't realize you could get bargain prices on vB licenses. Is this something you bought in bulk and got such a great deal on you can still make a profit by selling at 75% off the listed price? These are current version 3.5.4, right? And they will be fully supported at the vBulletin.com members area?

My preferences run toward vB too, but for a free software forum solution, I don't know as you can beat Simple Machines Forum. It is easily modified, more secure and has many more features than phpBB. Of course, I am not familiar with the latest version 3.x either. Wouldn't hurt to look into both.

R'gards,

Grump

Yeah, I bought a lot of licences, and now they can all go cheaper to other people. Although I did by them in march so I knocked the price down a bit because of sooner expiry.

I just looked at getvanilla ... I cannot use it at all. I had a forum I used to post at and now it's on vanilla and not on phpBB anymore. When I saw this awkward script (it's not as all the others we know), I just stopped posting. It's a pity since the topics were nice, but I just hate the way the script works ...

What about it don't you like? Is it just clumsy to navigate and use? The user interface looks elegant to me.

Yeh I think it's much simpler to use than other forum software. And the design is simply stunning even the default one.

I use phpBB for both my forums, and think it's wonderful. As PP said, you can add lots of scripts, so that it looks great, and not just like everyone elses :)

The problem with phpbb2 is the fact that novice users may find it hard to install these 'mods' as you actually have to into the code.
Now I'm not saying phpbb2 is rubbish because I myself have a community which runs phpbb. Vanilla allows the user to simply drop the mod file into a folder go to the admin control panel and activate it, simple as that.