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My opinion on SMF

Started by Golden_Helmet, September 21, 2004, 06:01:36 PM

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twinklewitch

I would just like to say that i'm extremely glad I came across SMF one day. I started with Yabb gold, but kicked that one off right away. I then used Phpbb for a short while, but hated it the first day I worked with it. I finally came across YaBBSE and used it for a while until I realised SMF was out there as well. I've upgrated two forums now. And I really enjoy it. SMF is by far my most favorite of all. So...keep up the good work! And thank you :)

[Unknown]

Thanks for the kind comments ;).

-[Unknown]

johnm

How did i find smf?

we had set up local server in work using an xp machine and we decided to install megabbs,
when that picked up we decided that we would get an external server (more reliable! than the machine we were using)

after searching for a few days i started to use e-blah wasn't bad but just didn't like it
next was phpbb installed it kept having trouble with logins and then some how i stumbled upon smf
which at the time was in RC1, and here i am today
when ever any one asks me, what forums i would recommend. i will always say go for smf just for some basic reasons.

1. Its the only one that i know i can recommend with out feeling guilty! i know it works and if by chance there is some kind of problem i know there is always people here that are more than willing to help any one out.
2. its the only thing i can install with just literally a few clicks and its working straight away.

I've been using smf since november, thinking about it thats not long at all, i had forgotten about the time when i had just installed smf and then a few days later i buggerd it up!
seems quite funny now, but my main site is doing pretty well running smf and mkportal,
considering i didnt even know what the hell php was!

I think this is a relationship that will go on for many many many years! :)

zelkstarre

This is open-source?  (please say yes, please say yes,)

What is GPL?  And if so, are you guys GPL?

Sorry if I sound kind of stupid.

[Unknown]

Quote from: zelkstarre on February 28, 2005, 11:58:14 PM
This is open-source?  (please say yes, please say yes,)

I'm afraid this depends on opinion.  Some consider it to be, others do not.  The limitation in the way is that, without express permission, we do not allow redistribution.

QuoteWhat is GPL?  And if so, are you guys GPL?

The GNU General Public License (GPL) is hefted as "the" open source license.  There are many other licenses that qualify as open source, but the GPL is the most popular of them.  SMF is not licensed under the GPL, for a number of reasons, but rather its own license, which you can find here:

http://www.simplemachines.org/about/license.php

One of the main reasons we don't use the GPL is simple: too many people don't understand it, and think that it means "public domain".  SMF is not public domain, nor is most open source software - it is, as phpBB is, copyrighted software.  However, people often fail to accept this, which is why we don't use the GPL, and also part of why we don't allow redistribution.

QuoteSorry if I sound kind of stupid.

Not at all.

-[Unknown]

Xakira

I though phpBB was great! But that's only because it's the first forum software I came across.  After the novelty wore off I stopped using it and didn't implement it anymore in my site.  It was a bit basic in some respects.  No file attachments for one thing.

Somehow, tonight I was lucky enough to find SMF ... it wasn't easy to find ... and now it's 3am because I just had to try it out.  Installed it on my development server and that was sooooooo easy to do.  I really needed to check out the file attachment part of the program, to see how it worked and have been really surprised that it's what I hoped for.  Uploading and storing files to the MySQL db ... exactly what I wanted.

Can't wait to test out the other features tomorrow and unleash it to my co-workers soon.

cjohn

I'm curious to find out that between phpbb, SMF, etc., which one has stronger security that will prevent malicious users to intrude and hack the SQL database by any chance?. In the past, I was using phpbb with a phpnuke CMS, and just when my board got bigger with a few thousand posts, it was hacked and completely destroyed. Such a pain!. So before I rebuild my website, I'm very careful about choosing the right board with higher security ... and I'm still searching, but I will probably use SMF since I've found out many users here having big communities with few hundred thousand posts without a problem on their forum ... Please give me your recommendation. Thanks.

[Unknown]

Quote from: Xakira on March 24, 2005, 03:38:44 PM
Somehow, tonight I was lucky enough to find SMF ... it wasn't easy to find ... and now it's 3am because I just had to try it out.  Installed it on my development server and that was sooooooo easy to do.  I really needed to check out the file attachment part of the program, to see how it worked and have been really surprised that it's what I hoped for.  Uploading and storing files to the MySQL db ... exactly what I wanted.

I'm glad to hear you like it - and thanks for the kind words.  I will warn you that the data for attachments is not, actually, for scalability reasons, stored within the database but rather in flat files.  You should, normally, put the attachments directory outside of public_html (or similar) for security reasons.

If you really want the files in the database, I can show you how to modify it to do that.

Quote from: cjohn on March 24, 2005, 05:01:08 PM
In the past, I was using phpbb with a phpnuke CMS, and just when my board got bigger with a few thousand posts, it was hacked and completely destroyed. Such a pain!. So before I rebuild my website, I'm very careful about choosing the right board with higher security ... and I'm still searching, but I will probably use SMF since I've found out many users here having big communities with few hundred thousand posts without a problem on their forum ... Please give me your recommendation. Thanks.

Comparisons in security are hard.  I mean, phpBB has been around for a long time; they've worked hard, but they also have a lot of people using their software.  Some say that the programmers don't know their stuff in security, but I disagree... thinking you're perfect is the worst way to do security, and you have to know people will make mistakes.

SMF uses preventative measures more than some others, though.  On the end user side, we have the news and detailed version information in the administration center.  If there's ever a critical security update, you'll know pretty soon...

Updates are also easier.  If you've added modifications to your forum, updating is still easy - just a few clicks through the package manager, for most people.  Even if that doesn't work for you, reapplying your mods is less trouble and many of the most common mods come standard.

As for the code, there's a lot put into making all user input baseline protected, no matter what your server's configuration.  All of SMF's code was done with this in mind.

But, that's not a comparison, really... that's just information about SMF.  Comparisons in security are hard to make.

-[Unknown]

Wizard2005

For many reasons... which would fill a forum, so I will shorten my opinion to one sentence

SMF is the dogs danglies...

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, Chardonnay in one hand - strawberries in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and screaming - "WOO---HOO! What a Ride!"

rmb

My english is reather poor, I hope that you'll understand me.

I found SMS a few days ago and decide to move form IPB 1.3 to SMF. SMF is fast enough, it's easy to change layout, so I'm very glad to find this script and this site.

I wanna ask you why is this script not rated on PHP resource index [nofollow] or on
Hot Scripts
[nofollow]. It's really dificult to find this script! I suggest that we change this.

Xakira

QuoteI'm glad to hear you like it - and thanks for the kind words.  I will warn you that the data for attachments is not, actually, for scalability reasons, stored within the database but rather in flat files.  You should, normally, put the attachments directory outside of public_html (or similar) for security reasons.

If you really want the files in the database, I can show you how to modify it to do that.

Sorry, just checked it with phpmyadmin and I can see clearly now after getting some sleep    :D

I don't "reeeeeally" need to have attachments in the db, the main thing is that SMF does attachments out of the box so to speak.  Just liked the thought of all the data to do with the forum to be in the db incase I move things around later.  I was just about to try add the attachment mod to phpBB, but it was about 10 file changes and about 20 script edits so decided to try one more time to find another free forum package.

.....  Luckily  :)

MrFlicks

Ive lost TVWorlds.com SMF sort of but I still want my host to upgrade their cpanel to include SMF
MrFlicks
Double T Teds ®™ 6028 Cartoon Characters www.doubletteds.com

www.tvworlds.com/forum (My SMF Forum)

www.HostTed.net www.AffiliatTed.com www.TransactTed.com www.Tted.co.uk

MaxD

Quote from: [Unknown] on September 22, 2004, 08:40:53 PM
The idea of open source is simple and sweet; it is not an idea of communism or socialism like its critics sometimes say.

You see, throughout commerce and money-making, there are a few important things people have found make them money:
   1. The customer being treated well, such that they will come back and recommend the product and/or services to their friends.
   2. More people knowing about the product (advertising) and being able to get use out of it.

Further, it has been concluded that the following contribute to those goals:
   1. Being able to modify the code such that you can change anything you don't like about the product, given motivation.
   2. Having the opportunity to receive the product and/or service for free or at the least possible cost.

Why are these two things important?  Because if the software is free, anyone can download it.  If anyone can download it, then anyone who could possibly get use out of the product has a chance to use it, however much money they may have.  These people then contribute by referring other people (who can also get it for free) and by:
   1. Creating and developing solutions to other peoples problems, such as modifications, which are also open source.
   2. Developing advocacy for the software because it is well written and well maintained.

So, in other words, by not charging for the software, and by even letting anyone download it... we increase the yield.  Marketting strategy.  We also develop advocacy much better and stronger (there are people who like paid products too, just not as strongly in most cases) than otherwise.  We're adding significant fuel to the fire that is the project.

Most small business that don't fail in their first few years operate on a net loss, as is commonly known.  If you want to make money, it's going to be in the long run not the short.  Open source is just a widening of this; if we have a million users (0.5% of which paid), and you have only 100 ones (who all paid, and more) we still got more money than you did.  100 * 100 < 5000 * 50.

There's also the point of support.  As we do here, most open source projects charge for advanced support.  While this isn't for everyone, this is how they make money.  The idea is to grow the client base from which the few paid ones come; again my numbers above.

Another very important and often ignored point is education.  How hard is it to enter the programming market?  Not that easy in some cases.  Sure, you can go on google and learn some things... but you're still a yellow novice.  No one would hire you like that!  Open source is a way people who aren't quite experts yet can grow and expand their knowledge such that they can become attractive employees.  Yes, they're offering their software to you for free.... but you're offering to use and test it, and give them legitimacy for free too!  They're giving you products, and you're increasing their resume.

It's barter, and it's done everywhere on this planet.  Just because open source does it so well that it's starting to threaten "paid" companies like Microsoft only proves how good a strategy it is.  If it weren't, if it weren't a gain to people... it wouldn't happen.

We're not crazy hippies, us open source people... we're programmers and I at least am a big fan of the free market.

-[Unknown]
Hooray for free stuff! :D

Personally, there is no way that i would be using SMF today if it wasnt free, just thought i would put in my figurative 2 cents

And one day, I hope to give back to SMF by becoming a charter member. Thats not in the near future, but if SMF is around in two years, then there is a good chance. :)

b0b

A friend recommended phpbb installed saw the admin cp and threw it out then I replaced it with smf. As the saying goes "Once your with SMF you'll never Go back". High praise for this wonderful piece of forum software. The only thing it lacks is the wide variety of themes that you can get phpbb.   

bloc

Quote from: b0b on March 30, 2005, 12:25:53 AM
A friend recommended phpbb installed saw the admin cp and threw it out then I replaced it with smf. As the saying goes "Once your with SMF you'll never Go back". High praise for this wonderful piece of forum software. The only thing it lacks is the wide variety of themes that you can get phpbb.   

Agreed totally on "never go back". As for themes its beginning to be quite a few. Some sorting could be done perhaps, to really see the diversity among them... ;)

Ben_S

As for the themes issue, they are fairly easy to create so have a go at creating on yourself, it's always nice to have your own custom theme thats only on your forum.
Liverpool FC Forum with 14 million+ posts.

OvermindDL1

What this place needs is a central repository for all themes, would be interesting if they could be downloaded and installed through the package manager as well...

b0b

Quote from: Ben_S on March 30, 2005, 08:04:38 AM
As for the themes issue, they are fairly easy to create so have a go at creating on yourself, it's always nice to have your own custom theme thats only on your forum.

I'll look into that when I get my own website.

X-Ception

I like most have used most forums systems out there as well as the CMS systems which come with forums such as phpnuke, xoops etc

Although i no longer use phpBB i was/am a big fan of there project and do totally agree with someones post earlier saying that there is room for more than one forum system out there, the recent security issues haven't helped it much but thats where i think the likes of SMF will overcome ( in user terms ) projects like phpBB with the charter members doing the testing etc, also the license of SMF really Ive seen some posts about it on here and really did think about it for a while until i read [Unknown]'s post here

i like the idea of knowing my package I'm downloading is not going to modified in some way to "own" my or my site so thats another idea i like and also i love the package manager - phpBB easymod has come along way .. but still the SMF package manager make it look bad I'm afraid

Another thing i have seen while browsing the forums is there is little to no egotistical or pointless moderation for the simplest error by a user, Which sadly does happen with some projects. Its also good to see the developers reply to the "underlings" such as myself on such simple things which i guess could quite easy be answered if i had read the help file  :-X

As a whole although I'm new to the SMF community I'm very much impressed and feeling quite welcome already and I'm also glad to see such an "alive" development too

Another thing i like is that some of the other free forums out there don't have many features as the paid ones ( from a vanilla install ) such as:

  • sub forums
( i believe SMF calls them child forums/boards (?) )
  • a full maintenance system
  • Calendar
  • Attachments
This is priceless :P
  • SSI.php
makes like so so so much easier - and makes me look that little smarter  :P
  • Karma System
i like this but i do prefer the HP/MP/EXP system  :P[/li]
[/list]

and a lot lot lot lot etc etc ..

Ive lost what i was trying to say now... its late and i need coffee so il just say thank you for a great free product and keep up the excellent work  :)

p.s
To anyone whom did actually read the entirety of this dribble many apologies  ::)
Joolo.net social community and irc network / Yowzar - random subject forum

Burpee

Quote from: X-Ception on April 03, 2005, 05:26:11 PM
p.s
To anyone whom did actually read the entirety of this dribble many apologies  ::)

You're cool :P

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