Forum Software & Customization

[Sage 289]

I've been using jcink exclusively for all my forum needs for many years now. It has decent software and a great community, but I'm finally looking into other options for forum software. It's daunting - there's so much out there! But I've come to realize there are a lot of better options available.

 

What I'm concerned with right now is customization. I've been coding for jcink for so long, and with the introduction of html templates, everything is very easy to customize exactly how I want it. I know the ins and outs of just about every feature on jcink. But are other forum software, like myBB or SMF or phpbb as widely customizable? All the themes I've seen for them are...not very aesthetic, with only a few exceptions. So are they easy to code for if you're experienced with jcink? Or should I just stick to what I know?

[Arceus 1,082]

I hear good things about coding themes on MyBB. I can't speak for PHPBB.

 

The level of customisation you can get and how easy it is to get it are actually two different things, more often than not. I'll be blunt about SMF: it's hard. But it is extremely customisable, and if you put in the time and effort, it is very rewarding.

 

But here's the thing. If you're coming from Jcink, which, by necessity, only allows very bare minimum customisation to begin with (John cannot allow more because people can tank the entire server by messing up something "simple"), you're going to be confused. I'm pretty sure nothing really works like Jcink, not even IPS and IPS' free version is what Jcink is based on. There's gonna be a whole other world opened up and it can be impressively confusing. So this is really a personal decision. Because the real question here is, are you alright with being confused for a while, and able to truck through it anyway. Are you willing to learn a new thing. Because you're not gonna find anything really like Jcink, and there will be a learning curve no matter what software you choose.

 

Gonna end this with what I always end these with; look up some demo installations of software you're curious about, or get a hosting package with The Initiative just to play with stuff. And play with stuff. Find something that you're comfortable with and like before committing. Because you, as the admin, need to be happy with it. I love SMF. I use it for everything. But that's me. I am absolutely happy that way, but you may not be. And if it turns out you'd rather stay with Jcink, that's fine too!

[Sage 289]

Thanks @Arceus that’s super helpful. I dont know what im getting into yet for skinning other software AT ALL so it’s good to know it’s extremely different and ok to be confused. I hadn’t through about install demos, so Ill do that next

[Morrigan 1,826]

Let me show you something about IPS (current) and theming (mind you Jcink runs on a version that was released in 2003):

 

 

That's just the Global template and on the left are individual templates per part of the site. Fully customizable.

 

Example themes:

The Initiative itself.

https://realmofroleplays.com

https://thenet.work/

https://www.rpg-connect.com

https://rp-architects.net/

 

Is it super easy to get there? Not if you've never coded with IPS but we have a coterie and it's my day to day job to do things like this. You can create/include special CSS and templates and everything. I won't go too deep into it but things like our Directories etc are built with IPS Pages application. It's more expensive to cloud host with IPS than Jcink but totally worth it in my opinion but self hosting is an option. It's a larger up front investment but then you can host here if you want.

 

You didn't say it specifically had to be free so I figured I'd throw it out there. For the most part if it's self hosted you can change just about everything about it top to bottom. Does that make upgrading easy? Maybe not so much but overall super customizable no matter the platform outside of hosts like Jcink.

 

@Sage

[Sage 289]

Thanks @Morrigan! I haven't really looked at IPS yet - but it's a high priority on my radar. I know it's what we use here (and i absolutely love it) but I want to explore the free options first before i probably ultimately decide to invest in IPS lbr

Edited October 25, 2018 by Sage

[Morrigan 1,826]

I know the free options are great but I've never stuck with a software as long as I have IPS. It's a company I believe in and not just that it's actively developed. We released 4.3 last year and are releasing 4.4 I think late this year or early next year. Compared to most other softwares, development is no where near as fast or amazing. Plus, as an added bonus, you have me here as an added resource and I work for them. ❤️

[Kit the Human 759]

13 hours ago, Arceus said:

If you're coming from Jcink, which, by necessity, only allows very bare minimum customisation to begin with (John cannot allow more because people can tank the entire server by messing up something "simple")

 

Spork managed it with icyboards  template wise anyway. When it comes to customisation, jcink is is very thin on the ground.

 

Jcink, you can edit 11 templates (if I counted correctly.)

 

myBB, I can't fit all the templates in my window, even with all the categories collapsed.

 

One category expanded:

 

If you know how to code and understand it, the only real learning curve you will experience on myBB is variables (along with the usual getting used to it's layout.) You can make your theme as "aesthetic" as you want, as you can alter every single element you see on your forum.

 

So - mybb aside!

 

I really really love IPS and will not go back to free forum software. IPS does everything I want with very little intervention on my behalf. Rather than go with cloud hosting, I bought the software outright and am hosted on the Initiative. This means that whilst my initial outlay was hefty, I have no essential recurrent costs.

 

IPS is a forum software that I wholeheartedly recommend, but I do appreciate that the cost is daunting. If that is an issue (and fair enough if so!) then I recommend my second preference. myBB.

 

Whether you go for myBB, SMF or IPS however, you'll find plenty of support here. I also strongly concur with Arc, when you have hosting, install all of the software and tinker with it. You'll learn which one is your preference.

[c.widow 123]

@Sage

If you would like to take a look at the ACP of a MyBB forum and play around with things/ask some questions I’d be very happy to give you access to a testing board of mine. 🙂 Id also be available on discord for any questions you may ask.

 

As far as software goes customization wise I LOVE MyBB because you can customize to any extent you wish to and there is a lot of different things that can be done with it. I plan to write a guide in the future for what templates do what, when it comes to variables or whatever you are trying to achieve a quick google search will almost always certainly bring something to the table to help you and if not you can always ask for help here in the Coding board.

 

MyBB also has a lot of new things coming with their future development which I am excited for (such as a fully mobile ready default theme and so on). However I may be just a little biased because I love free software so this is my choice on free software. If you’re willing to pay for software from my research and understanding IPS is awesome.