Wow – there sure is a lot of dust in here! *Cough*
It’s been almost six months, in fact, since we last posted a new reader poll here at CFD!, but that’s something we’re going to try to rectify from here on out… starting now!
It’s no secret that we want to build a community here at CFD! – we love seeing the same faces coming back and commenting on stories, listening to the podcast and generally just engaging with the site all around – but that’s definitely easier said than done.
Setting up forums are one good way for a budding community to grow and engage one another (not everybody likes commenting on posts, after all), but there’s also the trade-off of making sure there’s a desire to use said forums before going through the trouble of setting them up. After all, nothing is sadder than empty, unused forums.
After talking with a bunch of people on Twitter last night while we waited for the beta code giveaway to come to an end, I threw out a question regarding forums and community and got a pretty positive response overall. So, I figured it would be a good time to make an official poll on the site and gauge your interest out there.
So how about it, everyone? We want to know: “Do you think CFD! should set up forums/discussion boards?”
For those of you who are new to the site, you can find polls towards the bottom of the far right sidebar on the page under the header that says, funnily enough, “Polls”. Don’t be scared – they won’t bite. I don’t think we’re going to set any particular expiration date for this poll. We’ll leave it open until we get enough responses to see how the majority of you all feel.
Also, if you have any suggestions for features or particular versions of forum software you have a preference for, drop them in the comments below, okay?
But enough talking… GO VOTE!
forum, in a way of message boards i think would be great
Agreed. Message boards would be a great idea! I’m all for it. :D
Yay!
CFD!!!!!!!!
forums? well no duh.. :O
Well as you wanted I’ll post some ‘stats’ on forums..
Basically there are 3 main variants of forum software, these are vBulletin, Invision Powerboard and phpBB I’m not saying they are the only ones used but they certainly are the most popular. They all have their pros and cons in features and cost but to be honest they are all sufficient to use.
In my opinion the BEST forum software to use would be vBulletin (vB), I personally have worked with it for over 8 years as both a forum owner and a user and I can say it’s very easy to use and there are many modifications and themes to suit your preferences. At a price of $195 for a new license it’s pretty steep but well worth it. The only bad things are the constant updates and maintenance needed to be done for the forums and vBulletin is usually targeted by spammers.
phpBB Is another software which has ease of use and can become the basis for a good forum. It’s very easy to setup and the best thing is that IT IS FREE. The downside to this is that options are limited on what you can do and the features aren’t as wide as vBulletins.
The last major forum software I’m going to comment on is IPB, it pretty much has everything vBulletin has but it doesn’t look as great and modifications are limited. At $150 for a new license it’s pretty much the same as vB.
As a note, I have used all of these forum softwares in one point of time as a user and admin, but I have used vBulletin for alot longer as I find it much easier to use and to work with from an administrative standpoint.
So, in conclusion if you want a user-friendly forum, packed with features, skins and plugins to make the forum even better then go for vBulletin, aside from the price it’s a great thing to use.
Really it comes down to a personal choice on what you like, and all that was my opinion. You interpret as you like and make your own choice.
Also: YES FOR FORUMS :D
I like things similiar to destructoid, you have the comments section where everyone talks and then a community blog type thing. They have a thriving forum community too but i end to stay away fro them as some places I like to talk about whatever i’m looking at rather than floating through forums and sub forums.
Both are fine though.
@NZHaze
Thanks for the input! I do have a couple of questions though, if you happen to know the answers.
I heard that phpBB was vulnerable to a lot of hacking/exploiting. I’m still doing my research but was that mainly an issue with older versions of the software or is it still an ongoing issue?
Also, how easy (if it’s even possible, that is) would it be to migrate say, from one platform to another if say, I started with phpBB and migrated to something like vB down the road? Sadly, $200 extra isn’t something I have floating around at the moment.
Thanks again for the info though! I’m going to keep doing my research and see what I can figure out…
@NZHaze
I agree with you about VB. I’ve been running a forum for going on 5 years now, and we’ve had the least amount of problems with it. Everything in the admin panel is EXTREMELY self explanatory, and I had little to no guidance in working it.
So yea, I’m totally for the forums. :)
forums would be good, creates a sense of community as well as lets a lot of newer people see who some of the older members are etc (whereas comments only show what that person wrote…)
@Rob, to answer your questions:
1. phpBB has had the problem of exploits in the past and there are still exploits floating around, they are not as common as they were back in the older versions. They can all be fixed and avoided though.
2. Yes phpBB can be ‘upgraded’ to vBulletin with an official modification called Impex from vBulletin.com
But yeah, something cheaper or free would probably be a better option and once you get the forums up and running a bit you could possibly find a way to make some money (Ads, donations, etc.)
I say go for it. Forums are fun and give a better outlet for discussions than just the comments section.
@NZHaze
Thanks for the info! I’m seriously torn on this issue. From what you and Mest have said above, vB sounds like the better long-term solution, so I’m torn between going free now and dealing with the hassle of upgrading/porting over later vs. just biting the bullet and going with vB, but having to wait longer to have forums going.
*sigh*… decisions, decisions.
As an aside, do you have any experience with the vB4 publisher suite? I heard it allows for user blogs, which is pretty cool, but the screenshots I’ve seen of it make it look like it wouldn’t be well integrated into the site’s look. I’m sure all that can be tweaked with mods and such, but I really have zero experience with that and would prefer something that’s a little easier to integrate “out of the box”.