What's the best software available?

[Shawn Gossman1]

In your opinion, what is the best forum software available and why do you feel that way?

 

[Dilip]

Do we actually have a choice like we had a decade before? The most natural choice is either XF or Invision.

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

I've wondered how good Invision is. Back when I used it, it was pretty good. But that was years ago.

 

[Dilip]

It is costly. But it has its own merits. The last time I checked, they had many interesting features.

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

It is costly. But it has its own merits. The last time I checked, they had many interesting features.

I might have to snag a license and try it out.

Of course that means I make another forum LOL

 

[Dilip]

Of course that means I make another forum LOL

You have a niche in mind then

 

[vortex]

Mine

But in all seriousness, I think XF works very well if you are looking for a well put together, efficient forum. I feel like Invision just has too many features and can be overwhelming for administrators.

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

I feel like Invision just has too many features and can be overwhelming for administrators.

I do remember it having a lot of features vs. other platforms.

I agree.

Sometimes a lot of features isn't a good thing.

 

[Elseb1]

Invision is very good, been extremely happy since I've moved my forum over. As stated previously, it's probably not the cheapest option out there but you do get a lot of features, plenty I haven't had time to look into yet!

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

What do you like most about Invision, @Elseb ?

 

[Dilip]

No Discourse fans?

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

No Discourse fans?

Discourse seems to be popular among the web 3.0 crypto crowds.

It's just a chat server right? Like Slack?

 

[Dilip]

That's Discord.

Discourse is a forum software written using Ruby on Rails. Very popular, free, open source and much more..

 

[vortex]

I'll go against popular opinion and say that I don't like Discourse. Not because of how it looks, what language it uses, or features, but more of how difficult it is for the layperson to install onto common (non-VPS) hosting.

Take for example XF, to install: (Installation and upgrades - XenForo 2 Manual)

1. Download the XF zip file
2. Extract on your PC
3. Upload to host
4. Run install

To install Discourse:
https://github.com/discourse/discourse/blob/main/docs/INSTALL-cloud.md
Now, it might just be me being an old fart, but for someone who is not technically inclined and just wants to start a forum, that is a lot of friction.

 

[Shawn Gossman1]

That's Discord.

Discourse is a forum software written using Ruby on Rails. Very popular, free, open source and much more..

Of course I'd get them confused lol

 

[Dilip]

Happens to a lot of people. Discord is a very useful platform.