Hi there!

I am sorry if someone else has already created a post on this.

I have a website (powered by wordpress) that has a bunch of how-to windows tech articles. I need to get a forum for my site users. Which one would be better? My users will need the capability of uploading files, pasting code and images. Which forum program would put less pressure on my servers and hopefully keep the running a little faster?

Thank you ahead of time for any help.

[@ganzuelo Participant 16 years ago]

Well from my past experience with phpbb and bbpress I have to say bbpress would be quicker for you and there are plugins that will allow you to do so.

[@moealza1 Member 16 years ago]

phpbb is much much much more powerful and has dozens of features.

[@wmnasef Member 16 years ago]

it depends on your needs, if you need a forum that has too many features, then its phpbb for sure.

but if you are looking for a simple forum that has basic functionality, then it’s bbpress.

personally i like bbpress, i like how simple/basic it is, which allows me to add only the features that i want on my own via plugins, while phpbb has too much features, more than i ever wanted, which of course makes it heavier.

[@enfotoad Member 16 years ago]

Would it be easier to convert a WordPress theme into a bbPress theme?

If you guys where in my shoes… which one would you pick for a windows technical support forum?

[@nightgunner5 Member 16 years ago]

WordPress themes are more closely related to bbPress themes. phpBB themes use a completely different system.

[@enfotoad Member 16 years ago]

Ok… so far I am on the bbPress side.

Will bbPress be able to handle large forums?

[@chrishajer Participant 16 years ago]

Yes

https://bbpress.org/forums/topic/get-latest-topics-performance-problem-and-solution#post-22403

https://bbpress.org/forums/topic/get-latest-topics-performance-problem-and-solution#post-22424

https://wordpress.org/support/

[@eclipsenow Member 15 years, 12 months ago]

Personally, I want most of the functionality of phpbb3! If bbpress only had a “phpbb3 emulator and converter pack” I’d be won over. I just can’t be bothered installing bbpress only to have to turn around and add 20 plug ins to give it the essential features I need, like email notification on reply to post, and a million other basics. Also, WYSIWYG formatting, smilies, etc… it’s all just basic configuration stuff that users expect from a forum and I don’t know why BBpress hasn’t made a core version that automatically installs all. Could have bbpress “lite” and bbpress “full”. That’s what I’d do if I ran bbpress.

[@johnhiler Member 15 years, 12 months ago]

@eclipsenow – For now, the bbPress philosophy is to keep those 20 features in plugins and out of the core. But judging from how WordPress has grown in features over time, I’m sure bbPress 2.0 will have all 20 features in the core!

[@chrishajer Participant 15 years, 12 months ago]

@eclipsenow – why not just use phpBB3 then?

[@eclipsenow Member 15 years, 11 months ago]

Hi,

I am using phpbb3 for now, but I’m not really good at database stuff and admin stuff. I love all open source projects, especially phpbb3, bbpress, wordpress, Joomla, Drupal, etc… even though I’m not very “Geeky” yet and am only just beginning to learn the basics of CSS (let alone php etc).

So… I am speaking from the perspective of a non-technical forum administrator frustrated by various interactions of various software. I don’t mind doing the grunt work of setting things up IN the software, but don’t know the code to work ON software. EG: Once phpbb3 is installed, I can easily set up forums, permissions, etc. It’s just easy point and click stuff. But messing around in mysql and database stuff still terrifies me, I’m afraid of breaking something. It’s all too big. I just want to install it and have it work.

I appreciate that there are various philosophies behind each style of software, but here goes…

MY ULTIMATE WISH LIST

1. Nothing to do with you guys, but number 1 on my list is to have Fantastico (or something equivalent) that can make installation of WordPress / Joomla / Whatever EASY! (My client is a volunteer campaigning group that just happened to choose Brinkster which don’t use Cpanel, let alone have Fantastico).

2. After EASY fantastico installation, I install WordPress.

3. Then within WordPress I browse across to the various add-ons pages in the WordPress Control Panel (A VERY cool new feature of WordPress that Drupal and Joomla should add to their systems!) and then click “INSTALL FORUM?” and WordPress suddenly installs a completely compatible forum, just like that, with all the power of phpbb3 built-in.

4. I then choose 1 of say 20 or 30 “looks” (templates, themes, whatever) that are already pre-configured to allow sign-in of users on all pages, especially the forum page. If I want to change the colour of a background element or use a new image in the header, I just point and click to template editing and do it ala Blogger. (No CSS required).

This sort of software is on the way. Joomla now has “Agora” which is already fairly advanced. Once Joomla is installed through the 50 second Fantastico installation, Agora only takes about 50 seconds to install as well. EVEN I CAN DO IT! But the Joomla / Agora combination does not yet have Step 4, which is killing me… I have to muck around with all sorts of plug-ins and extra bits to get a horizontal log-in menu I can put up just under my header (so it’s in the same place no matter what template I’m in).

I saw the video of how to integrate WP and BBpress, and ran a mile screaming! It just looked very intimidating.

So anyway, the Joomla / Agora combination is hardly perfect, but as you know these things keep on developing and Hazzaa over at Agora is MANIC in the rate he’s developing his product. Version 3 is nearly out, and it’s only been 10 months.

Just thought I should give you guys the heads up. The competition is great, because it forces us all to evolve.

EG: I LOVE the sound of WordPress’s new one click upgrade function, and hope Joomla gets that soon! (It’s just me and database stuff again… eeerrgh!) Combine that with easy forum upgrades, backups, etc, and software that’s Mac-like in that it “just works”, and I’m a happy camper.

PS: I forgot to check this thread in case there were replies, because I automatically get an email from every other forum I belong to. Old habits die hard. Agora has an automatic emailing function built in, it’s not a plug in.

[@tepelstreel Member 13 years, 10 months ago]

‘PS: I forgot to check this thread in case there were replies, because I automatically get an email from every other forum I belong to. Old habits die hard. Agora has an automatic emailing function built in, it’s not a plug in. ‘

What’s so bad about installing that plugin? I am also used to phpbb and I once tried o work with joomla. I have to say, that I like WP more as a CMS (alhough it is none) because I’m simply too stupid for the Joomla stuff, and I have difficulties setting up phpbb. I will definitely give bbpress a try, if having to set up my next forum.

[@trusktr Member 13 years, 8 months ago]

bbPress is pretty awesome it seems!!

[@daaaaaave Member 13 years, 8 months ago]

My main problem was getting my worpdress to look like my phpbb. After spending about a month on my phpbb i scraped it and went to bbpress as users find your forum alot more legit if it fits into your whole websites theme

[@natalee32 Member 13 years, 8 months ago]

I think bbpress better

[@fartlek Member 13 years, 7 months ago]

I love bbpress, very configurable and it really doesn’t get a fair shake on the adminzoneforums, just barely mentioned there.

Yet I understand where eclipsenow is coming from with

I just can’t be bothered installing bbpress only to have to turn around and add 20 plug ins to give it the essential features I need

.