[Web4lib] phpBB Alternative

[Cary Gordon]

While we like the forum capabilities in Drupal, the leader in PHP  
forums is vBulletin. VBulletin is a commercial product, albeit not  
that expensive ($160 to purchase outright), easy to customize, and  
generally highly regarded.

You can see how it (and almost everything else) compares at http://www.forummatrix.org/ 
.

Cary Gordon, MLS
The Cherry Hill Company
http://www.chillco.com

I'm riding my bicycle 545 miles from June 1-7, 2008 to end AIDS.
Find out how you can help at http://www.aidslifecycle.org/5312
Please come to our Big Bike Bake Bash party and fundraiser
April 13th - http://judyandcary.com





On Apr 10, 2008, at 12:17 PM, Cloutman, David wrote:
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I have a need to set up a forum for my Library's summer reading. We  
> are
> hosting it internally on our Library's application server. I have
> installed phpBB, which seems to be the most popular tool for this. My
> problem is that I don't think phpBB is all that great. The more I use
> it, the more I hate it. I find the interface confusing, and I think  
> our
> users may have problems with it as well. I'm particularly concerned
> about the Librarians who will have to moderate the posts. I don't want
> to have to do a formal training session on what really needs to be a
> quick and dirty solution.
>
> I am looking for a forum tool that:
>
> 1. Runs on PHP / MySQL OR JSP / MySQL / Tomcat and is easy to install.
> 2. Has a really simple interface.
> 3. Has a obvious mechanism for changing the branding of the masthead.
> 4. Has enough granularity in the security sytem to allow for  
> registered
> users / moderators / administrators.
> 5. Permits the administrator to require approval of posts.
> 6. Has a really simple interface. (Yes, I said that twice.)
>
> Any recommendations or library success stories would be much
> appreciated.
>
> Thanks,
>
> - David
>
>
>
> ---
> David Cloutman <dcloutman at co.marin.ca.us>
> Electronic Services Librarian
> Marin County Free Library
>
> Email Disclaimer: http://www.co.marin.ca.us/nav/misc/EmailDisclaimer.cfm