IP.Board Alternatives

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,526]

Excuse my relative newness to this community. as such my information is limited. I'm not new to forum solutions though. I'm curious as to why we even use IPB period. It's got a long history of being a failure and I can't think of anyone I know that's happy with it. Plus the security holes were/are loads of fun.

 

IP.Board is kind of lame from a developer's perspective, but I've been around the block with forum software, and on the whole, it's as good as it gets. I'm not aware of any history of IPB being a failure; IPS have been a trusted name in forum software for a very long time, even if they're a bit of an underdog. The security holes that are periodically found sometimes leave me scratching my head, but IPS are usually very quick to release critical patches, at least. IPS do get big points in my book for their addon apps such as IP.Content and IP.Nexus, which provide important functionality for us and are as fully supported as IP.Board itself.

 

It's been some time since the last time I evaluated the options, though, so things may have changed. What are your thoughts on the current state of forum software, GeneralDirection?

[King 5,625]

It's been some time since the last time I evaluated the options, though, so things may have changed. What are your thoughts on the current state of forum software, GeneralDirection Dawn♥Rider The Magnificent?

I wanna respond to this myself as well as GeneralDirection :3

 

Forum Software that release to large amount of clients usually focus on a "general use"

It's not designed to be perfect for each individual, but to provide a base plan for starting forums. It's good yes, but isn't designed to handle every need of every forum as it's pretty much impossible. My Personal belief is IP Board could be used to start a community, but if possible, a self built forum software should be looked at after a short while, that way you're able to do what you want when you want. You get full developer control over it...

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

IP.Board is kind of lame from a developer's perspective, but I've been around the block with forum software, and on the whole, it's as good as it gets. I'm not aware of any history of IPB being a failure; IPS have been a trusted name in forum software for a very long time, even if they're a bit of an underdog. The security holes that are periodically found sometimes leave me scratching my head, but IPS are usually very quick to release critical patches, at least. IPS do get big points in my book for their addon apps such as IP.Content and IP.Nexus, which provide important functionality for us and are as fully supported as IP.Board itself.

 

It's been some time since the last time I evaluated the options, though, so things may have changed. What are your thoughts on the current state of forum software, GeneralDirection?

Well, it all comes down to what you need. Maybe for you, IPB meets all your needs, and in that case, great. I personally have never run a community this big, so maybe that's where our opinions will vary. In my mind, phpBB, vBulletin, and XenForo have been the best options for forum software, and while phpBB is the one I've used the most, it probably won't fly here. I hear a lot of good things about XenForo. I personally do not have a copy though, as I have no use for it. Might be something for you to consider. vBulletin used to be one of the best but lately vb5 has placed it on the bottom of the barrel. I was never able to figure out just what it was exactly that made me and IPB not get along well.

 

I wanna respond to this myself as well as GeneralDirection :3

 

Forum Software that release to large amount of clients usually focus on a "general use"

It's not designed to be perfect for each individual, but to provide a base plan for starting forums. It's good yes, but isn't designed to handle every need of every forum as it's pretty much impossible. My Personal belief is IP Board could be used to start a community, but if possible, a self built forum software should be looked at after a short while, that way you're able to do what you want when you want. You get full developer control over it...

This is probably the best route to take, but (obviously) is by far the hardest. Back when I was doing web stuff one of my goals was to create a forum using XML, completely eliminating the need for MySQL databases. Never quite got there though. Anyway, if anyone here were to take on such a task, I would be elated to have some sort of part in it.

[Betez 1,734]

As long as this forum never uses Simple Machines, I will be happy.

[Jokuc 8,173]

I don't know what I think

I don't really know the differences.

I don't really know anything at all about these things

I don't feel that we need to change

 

However I do want to hear more about these alternatives. ...I'm curious...

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

I don't know what I think

I don't really know the differences.

I don't really know anything at all about these things

I don't feel that we need to change

 

However I do want to hear more about these alternatives. ...I'm curious...

Well, all these different forum software types are essentially different ways of doing the same thing: creating and managing a community, and enforcing its rules. What sets each apart from the other is the way in which it accomplishes these things. They will all look different, but most share the same functions. It's the unique features that set each board apart and provide reasons for choosing one over the other, plus the look and way the board is laid out. Some board software has 'exclusive' add-ons and that may be a reason why a site admin will choose a certain kinda of board. The way the admin control panel is organized and how easy it is to do things using it is also a very important aspect to consider. (Which is why I think XenForo is having success lately.)

 

The best way to experience other forum software is to try a demo. Google something like "phpBB demo" or "XenoForo" demo, depending on what you want to play around with. The major ones are phpBB, Simple Machines*, Proboards*, Invision Power Board (MLPForums uses this one), vBulletin, and XenForo. There are also a few other minor ones out there like MyBB but they tend to be mostly based off of the other more popular software. Wikipedia is also a good resource for finding out more info on forum software.

(*IMO these two are the worst, and Proboards is only available through their own hosting system, making it the worst of the worst.)

 

Hopefully this helps somewhat.

[Red Diamond 549]

If you use vBulletin, consider your forum dead.

Why? It has exploits.

I would say phpBB. It's a free forum software, and you can add features, such as reputation.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Red Diamond

[Zoop 8,384]

If you use vBulletin, consider your forum dead.

 

I agree, because I despise vBulletin and have no intention of ever using it as a member anywhere. :V

 

IP.Board isn't perfect, but it's better for what is done here than you'll find elsewhere, I think.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Zoop

[Betez 1,734]

If you use vBulletin, consider your forum dead.

Why? It has exploits.

I agree, because I despise vBulletin and have no intention of ever using it as a member anywhere. :V

Same. vBulletin does suck. Everytime I see a forum that uses it, I get deterred from joining it.

[Killian Jones 2,655]

I would say build your own forum, in a robust language. That is cool and stuff, and make it so you can have cool stuff in it. That's what I would do.

[Twilight Sparkle ✨ 8,526]

Thanks for the responses, everyone. I just want to make it clear that, while we're pretty heavily invested into IP.Board at this time, we have been running into enough brick walls with it lately that switching to a new solution is in the cards.

 

 

I wanna respond to this myself as well as GeneralDirection :3

Forum Software that release to large amount of clients usually focus on a "general use"

It's not designed to be perfect for each individual, but to provide a base plan for starting forums. It's good yes, but isn't designed to handle every need of every forum as it's pretty much impossible. My Personal belief is IP Board could be used to start a community, but if possible, a self built forum software should be looked at after a short while, that way you're able to do what you want when you want. You get full developer control over it...

 

Well, it all comes down to what you need. Maybe for you, IPB meets all your needs, and in that case, great. I personally have never run a community this big, so maybe that's where our opinions will vary. In my mind, phpBB, vBulletin, and XenForo have been the best options for forum software, and while phpBB is the one I've used the most, it probably won't fly here. I hear a lot of good things about XenForo. I personally do not have a copy though, as I have no use for it. Might be something for you to consider. vBulletin used to be one of the best but lately vb5 has placed it on the bottom of the barrel. I was never able to figure out just what it was exactly that made me and IPB not get along well.

 

This is probably the best route to take, but (obviously) is by far the hardest. Back when I was doing web stuff one of my goals was to create a forum using XML, completely eliminating the need for MySQL databases. Never quite got there though. Anyway, if anyone here were to take on such a task, I would be elated to have some sort of part in it.

 

I think you guys hit the nail on the head, and it largely reflects my personal experience with IP.Board as well. It's a fantastic way to start a community, because it comes with a lot of really rich and useful functionality right out of the box. Might I say, it also has my favourite AdminCP ever; I find vBulletin's rather horrible. XenForo's is organized a lot better than vB's, but IP.Board's still feels easier to navigate around and appears to have more settings and customizations available.

 

The issue with IP.Board is that its codebase is very antiquated, having originally been written for PHP 4 and MySQL 4.x and never properly refactored for modern systems (and IPS are the kind of company that supports the lowest common denominator of hosting environments). Coupled with lacking software development practices, the result is over half a million lines of PHP that gets less and less stable the more you try to do your own thing with it. MLP Forums is a helluva lot more than an "out-of-the-box" community, and what you see is a combination of over 100 addons and modifications to a base IP.Board. I could rant all day about the crazy things IPB does to avoid prepared statements, the nasty surprises its input filtering presented for connecting Pony.fm to it, and other architectural issues, but... suffice it to say that we're at the point where we're working around IP.Board moreso than working with it.

 

XenForo honestly looks like the only real alternative at this time. Zend wouldn't be my first choice of framework to build a forum system on, but it gives me more confidence in the stability of the software than IPS's in-house attempt at a framework. What's there seems to be very well built, but XF seems a bit barebones in community features, and especially the management side; I'm not a fan of its ACP. That said, perhaps it's time to take a demo for a spin again and see what's changed in the past couple of years.

 

 

However, I have noticed a few annoying things about IPB.

 

What, specifically, would those be, Glaceon? We're at a point where re-evaluating our forum backend makes sense to do, so knowing what you find annoying in our current software as a user would be useful for us to keep in mind with other options we look at.

 

 

 

I would say build your own forum, in a robust language. That is cool and stuff, and make it so you can have cool stuff in it. That's what I would do.

 

This is an option we've done quite a bit of research and consideration into. It's too early to make any promises, but we have enough developer talent on Poniverse to make it happen. Having complete control over the entire experience and featureset is very tempting...

[Justin ZW 396]

I would recommend avoiding vBulletin. Yeah, it's neat and all, but you're really paying out the wazoo for a name, and there's much less customization. I've worked with phpBB, Simple Machines, and vBulletin, and I have to say that none of them really compared to the IPB software I see here.

 

Simple Machines, while highly customizable, is quite prone to security holes. It's also very... blocky. It can be hard to keep track of stuff with it.

 

phpBB is an interesting one, although it doesn't really offer much. It may have changed in the years since I've last used it, but I wouldn't recommend it over what you've got.

 

vBulletin? See above. Don't waste your money.

 

As for xenforo... I'm not sure. I believe this site uses xenforo: http://forums.zeldainformer.com

It looks blocky and ugly, IMO. Although, I generally think everything about that site is ugly.

 

And there's my two cents.

[GeneralDirection 1,050]

 

 

I think you guys hit the nail on the head, and it largely reflects my personal experience with IP.Board as well. It's a fantastic way to start a community, because it comes with a lot of really rich and useful functionality right out of the box. Might I say, it also has my favourite AdminCP ever; I find vBulletin's rather horrible. XenForo's is organized a lot better than vB's, but IP.Board's still feels easier to navigate around and appears to have more settings and customizations available. The issue with IP.Board is that its codebase is very antiquated, having originally been written for PHP 4 and MySQL 4.x and never properly refactored for modern systems (and IPS are the kind of company that supports the lowest common denominator of hosting environments). Coupled with lacking software development practices, the result is over half a million lines of PHP that gets less and less stable the more you try to do your own thing with it. MLP Forums is a helluva lot more than an "out-of-the-box" community, and what you see is a combination of over 100 addons and modifications to a base IP.Board. I could rant all day about the crazy things IPB does to avoid prepared statements, the nasty surprises its input filtering presented for connecting Pony.fm to it, and other architectural issues, but... suffice it to say that we're at the point where we're working around IP.Board moreso than working with it. XenForo honestly looks like the only real alternative at this time. Zend wouldn't be my first choice of framework to build a forum system on, but it gives me more confidence in the stability of the software than IPS's in-house attempt at a framework. What's there seems to be very well built, but XF seems a bit barebones in community features, and especially the management side; I'm not a fan of its ACP. That said, perhaps it's time to take a demo for a spin again and see what's changed in the past couple of years.

I'm honoured that you'd be considering other systems, and I wish you best of luck in your research, hopefully you guys can figure out something that works better for you. Again, if you guys choose to go the custom-coded forum route, I would like if there was some way I could be a part of that process.

[Nohbdy 4,108]

vBulletin's main appeal is that it's been around for a long time, and so has a huge amount of extensions. Aside from that, it's woefully outdated. Not only is it ugly, but it can't support larger forums (if I recall correctly, this was why a site I was a member of switched to XenForo). XenForo's fast and efficient, but it doesn't appear to be very customizable, especially considering its relatively young age.
 
From my experience around here, IPB seems pretty restrictive. For example, the status system is disorganized, annoying, and simplistic. You can't unfollow statuses or choose which statuses to follow; you can't add hyperlinks; you can't go past a char limit; and you can't hide an ignored user's statuses. The response to these suggestions was that the software was too limited. While some of these suggestions are quite old, the situation doesn't appear to have changed. 
 
A quick look at the first page of the Feedback & Suggestions board gives a good idea of what else is wrong. These include an uncustomizable sidebar, quoting the wrong user, and probably a few more. I wouldn't be surprised if the Site Questions & Tech Support board reveals a few bugs in the software.

 

Wikipedia also has a comparison of board software, but it's limited to major features. There's a more comprehensive one here (though still a bit limited). 

[Red Diamond 549]

vBulletin's main appeal is that it's been around for a long time, and so has a huge amount of extensions. Aside from that, it's woefully outdated. Not only is it ugly, but it can't support larger forums (if I recall correctly, this was why a site I was a member of switched to XenForo). XenForo's fast and efficient, but it doesn't appear to be very customizable, especially considering its relatively young age.

 

From my experience around here, IPB seems pretty restrictive. For example, the status system is disorganized, annoying, and simplistic. You can't unfollow statuses or choose which statuses to follow; you can't add hyperlinks; you can't go past a char limit; and you can't hide an ignored user's statuses. The response to these suggestions was that the software was too limited. While some of these suggestions are quite old, the situation doesn't appear to have changed. 

 

A quick look at the first page of the Feedback & Suggestions board gives a good idea of what else is wrong. These include an uncustomizable sidebar, quoting the wrong user, and probably a few more. I wouldn't be surprised if the Site Questions & Tech Support board reveals a few bugs in the software.

 

Wikipedia also has a comparison of board software, but it's limited to major features. There's a more comprehensive one here (though still a bit limited). 

vBulletin is one of the worst forum softwares of all time, due to all the security holes, and exploits it contains. It's that terrible. Also, appearance doesn't matter, it's the stability. I couldn't care less about the appearance.

 

 

I have been with IPB since 2012, and I say it's one of the best forum softwares out there, with phpBB winning the battle. People come out with plug-ins, or favicons to improve the software, like unfollowing stuff, etc.

 

phpBB people!!

Edited June 4, 2013 by Red Diamond

[Dark Qiviut 22,396]

If you use vBulletin, consider your forum dead.

Why? It has exploits.

And I know how terrible vBulletin's security is secondhand. One of the forums I paticipate in, the NYC Transit Forums, was a vBulletin board, but sometime last year, Anonymous vandalized it for over a month, hacking into various accounts (including the Webmaster's) and even the system itself. The Webmaster relocated the entire forum to IP.B as a result.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Dark Qiviut

[Shiki 5,855]

I love IP board as a user, I know that much. It's very pretty, and I've never had any troubles using it. Everything is where it should be, imo.

 

The only other kind of forum that I like is one running off XenForo. I've only been on one forum using that software, but I sure do like it. The forum that does use it is very slow in activity, though. Perhaps I would like it even more if the place was more active. 

 

I'm sure with a bit of skinning and whatnot, XenForo would look act like a perfect alternative. It feels pretty similar from my POV. 

 

I don't know how things are for developers, though. That much, y'all n00bz (aka f3ld0) b on ur own.

Edited June 4, 2013 by Kirino

[-Nobody- 519]

I love IPB. It actually appeals to me more than any other forum software, from a user standpoint. It looks good, and runs smooth.

And I hate vBulletin, so please don't change. d=

[Lavo 785]

 

 

The issue with IP.Board is that its codebase is very antiquated, having originally been written for PHP 4 and MySQL 4.x and never properly refactored for modern systems

 

I really have to disagree with that, it was. The entire thing is practically OOP, so if you want to stick a version on it then 5.1 with sprinkles of 5.2 .

 

Back to the point, IPB serves very well from a user's perspective. The hardships that come from working with IPBoard is that we confine ourselves to the hooks/application system and vow not to touch the core code. If we broke free of those vows we could start modifying the forum software to how we see fit. The only problem is that we're used to some of the niceties other frameworks provide, which is why from a developers point we see them as behind the time.

 

As for moving forum software, I am all for waiting until IPB 4 is released, so we can then make a choice based on the direction IPB moves if we should continue using it.

[Akemi Homura 7,680]

I find IP Board to be very user-friendly which I think is the most critical thing when you want your website to harbour newer members. A few members above brought up vBulletin and how (bluntly, yet accurately enough) bad it is, and I'm inclined to agree - it looks ugly and appears intimidating to move around from my experiences.

 

Part of what makes your forum so good is that it looks simple and fun to be on. Forget the community; for the sake of argument, when I think of MLP Forums I think of a site that looks good (not superficially good) because it's that easy to get around town. In fact, whenever I see a forum licensed by IPB I think of joining it because of how attractive it is.