My opinion on SMF

[[Unknown]]

I did not see the requirement it all be positive.

http://www.simplemachines.org/community/agreement.txt

It's not positive, and that's not what I said.  And if you can't stand being kind, you have been posting on your "debate" forum for far too long.

-[Unknown]

[SaltedWeb]

Sorry Unknown,

Didnt mean to cause a mess.


Guess I picked a bad time to say Thanks 


Cozmo

[Anguz]

Diamondcomputer, thanks for your comments, they are welcome. What happened was not caused by you .

CoreIssue, you have the right to not like SMF, thanks for trying it. If phpBB is good enough for you, then great, it's a good forum that's been around for quite a while and will most probably continue that way. I choose SMF for many reasons, and that's my personal preference, as is of many others that've tried it so far.

Next time you write your opinion on someone else's work, or a post of any kind for that matter, I suggest you read it assuming the viewpoint of the people you wrote it for, to see how they will get your communication. It really helps, specially with things that can be touchy .

[Burpee]

It's always easier to criticize than to do it yourself... 

[ExistenZ]

Anyway....back to topic. My board isn't that big...yet. But I have an alarming amount of posts in conjunction to the amount of active memebrs i have.

Am I the only one who seems to notice that most people who joins a forum just....stops being active or is never active in the first place??? It is REALLY irretating. I have like 200 members, 50 of which are actually active... 4 of which post more then is healthy. So, I just want to say to everyone: Don't join a form if you know by and by that you will never actually post there.

[Miraenda]

Some forums require you to join to be able to search them.  I joined cPanel forum for that reason and have likely posted on cPanel forum around 3 times total in over a year.

Other forums only show all their boards if you join them, so you join to see downloads, games, and so on.

I'm not saying your forum meets either of these criteria, but I think it is just a fact of life people join a forum for some reason and do intend to post, then leave the forum and never come back, forgetting they even joined it.  I have a lot of people who signed up to my writing forum, likely for my Tri-monthly writing contest, and they then never came back to submit any entry.  Really weird, but again they likely just forgot.

[ExistenZ]

But don't you just find that super irretating. I just want to purge all those users who never come back, but I can't because some people who are active say they joined because of the number of members I have....strange...

[kazuki]

I'm a PhpBB user for more than 2 years, it has very large community and user base. Since that time I've been confronted by problems runnng phpbb such as  a lot security issues. My forum was hacked last December (a script kiddie as I've heard). I lost all of the data.

When our webhost switch to php 5, my forum became useless, I looked for solutions in their support forum, but nothing seem to care about. 

and that is all why php5 is not supported. whether it works or not depends on too many variables. some server setups will work, some will work for a while and then quit, some will work partly, some won't work at all.

therefore, you are on your own if you use php5.

I now run smf, fixed most of the problems I had along with my members.

I hope that it will be free forever like Phpbb did.

[Skepticus]

I know that in this next link, not all the worlds forums are displayed, but it gives you an idea where SMF stands at this moment, if you want to skip the search, look at the 106 position (thought the position changes)

hxxp:www.big-boards.com/index.php?type=others [nonactive]

Wow !!    Now thats... um... um.... Thats the sorta thing you shouldn't give to people who are getting addicted to these discussion forums.   

Who cares where they are, it's up to us SMF users to make it big, just like users made phpbb big.

Us we know that SMF is good, we are in it, but people when making choices, they need examples.
To give you an example, I found out about SMF when I went on the Coppermine photo gallery forum, I liked the look, and clicked on the bottom SMF link, the rest is history...

Don't worry they'll find out where it's all happening or dwindle to a halt. I found this place actually on an invision board forum,  because there was an intensely animated thread discussing what features that forum software should have.  I was apart of that discussion and part of it diverged into concerns over members not being able to find replies to their own posts. I found a mod on one of the IPB support forums, that partly solved this problem, but implementing it was rejected out of hand. An acrimonious dispute ensued because of the reluctance to make needed changes. On the tail end of this one member mentioned a particular forum using SMF and even pasted in a replica of the section at the top of that boards pages, with the link for 'show new replies to your posts'.

This was exactly what we were needing. Since there seemed to be no way to convince the administrators to consider modifications placed in their lap, I decided to investigate setting up my own server and an alternative forum for this group. The group in question is hxxp:www.the-brights.net/forums/index.php?act=portal [nonactive]
and have briefly had SMF working on my localhost but I had problems with server configs and broke it. I am now downloading Mepis SoHoServer, as it should almost work out of the box.

Incidentally,  I did a search of the site mentioned above and found no entry for the brights, even though it is over 1000 members strong. It occurs to me that it would make very good sense for admins, to make sure that sites like Big Boards are informed about your forums. This would be good publicity for your forums and for SMF itself.

I would be very interested in reading any FAQs about publicizing one's own site and maximizing it's exposure. If such information is not posted here already, I will try to return with a summary of what I have learned and what resources I have found.

Regards Skepticus

[Oldiesmann]

Skepticus - you might be interested in Bloc's TinyPortal for SMF. While I am not familiar with the IPB portal, all of the stuff that's on the front page of the-brights.net can be done with TinyPortal, with the exception of collapsing individual blocks.

[X-Plosiv]

Honestly, Its easier to work on phpBB then on SMF. Just until you dont get familiar with SMF and then you see phpBB, Vbulletin and other forums mistakes.  I had phpBB forum with 400 members adn aproximetly 60k posts, and whenever i was changing mysql base i had much problems with it, and its clumpsy to work with. When i converted phpBB mysql base into SMF base, i was suprised, than in 2minutes i had my forum up and ready to go. I`m using SMF for like 1 months so far, and every day i`m working on it, learning new stuffs, and others things, and now i really love SMF, and if i need help, in 1hour i can get it off here.

There is just one thing i dont like at SMF, and that is thing with Stickies and Announcments. As you see when you make Sticky on phpBB or Vbulletin you can see clear its sticky, because it have some space beetween usual topics and stickies, and on SMF there are just some graphic changes at left side, but ...i hate it

So if anyone got some template like subsilver smf template that shows nice stickies and that things, could you please type it here?

All other things about this forum..well, SMF is great, and it dont use too much DLOAD on my host, so THUMBS UP!

[Ben_S]

Look in the tips and tricks board for a better method of showing stickies.

[Prasad007]

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]

Thats very modest of you,
but for your hard work and wonderful effort on this SMF project,
you inevitably deserve the hard cash that you must get!
I suggest shifting to paid!
Free isnt really benefiting you is it?
You have to think about your own profit sometimes
charge us, we'll pay, you deserve it!!

-Prasad007.

[JayBachatero]

Prasad sometimes its not about the money.  It's for the pasion you feel for coding and the experience you get.  Each and everyone of us on the team is a volunteer.  If you feel like you would like to give back to the community you can always become a charter member.

-JayBachatero

[Prasad007]

Prasad sometimes its not about the money.  It's for the pasion you feel for coding and the experience you get.  Each and everyone of us on the team is a volunteer.  If you feel like you would like to give back to the community you can always become a charter member.

-JayBachatero

hmmmm.....wise you are, young apprentice  lol kidding
anyways yes i know how it feels myself
i am a C/C++/Java programmer
me and my friend had developed a free open source encryption/decryption system
end result: I realised i had wasted time and resources, gaining nothing
the system was flawless and worked gr8 tho!

[bloc]

But then you can't have read [Unknown]'s post carefully enough.

He believes by creating a product for free, creates the possibility to get paid work in addition. There is both the satisfaction of creating something many can use - and also know that by that, people will trust you and pay you for other work. Its also a security for them that you indeed created this work - and maintaining for free. Its a balance, and its for us people that like to get things for free - and also give em back.

If we were thinking pure profit, sure, put a price on it. But then it will just another job. Nothing more, nothing less.

Examples can drawn everywhere, but think creators of php, Linux etc. they are free..but they also offer a whole range of paid products, and not letting the free stuff suffer either, quite contrary.

So going the vb or ipb route is possible..but its not the same. I will never get the same sensation or even interest to "tweak" those products, not because they are worse in any way - they aren't, well not much - but they cost something. You feel like just another "shopper" when using them. At least i do.

[Itch™]

^^^^
What Bloc said...

YM

[anunlike]

Skepticus - you might be interested in Bloc's TinyPortal for SMF. While I am not familiar with the IPB portal, all of the stuff that's on the front page of the-brights.net can be done with TinyPortal, with the exception of collapsing individual blocks.

Actually, you can collapse individual blocks now, or at least you can with the version running on http://www.tinyportal.net, which means when that's released, you'll be able to.

[Prasad007]

But then you can't have read [Unknown]'s post carefully enough.

He believes by creating a product for free, creates the possibility to get paid work in addition. There is both the satisfaction of creating something many can use - and also know that by that, people will trust you and pay you for other work. Its also a security for them that you indeed created this work - and maintaining for free. Its a balance, and its for us people that like to get things for free - and also give em back.

If we were thinking pure profit, sure, put a price on it. But then it will just another job. Nothing more, nothing less.

Examples can drawn everywhere, but think creators of php, Linux etc. they are free..but they also offer a whole range of paid products, and not letting the free stuff suffer either, quite contrary.

So going the vb or ipb route is possible..but its not the same. I will never get the same sensation or even interest to "tweak" those products, not because they are worse in any way - they aren't, well not much - but they cost something. You feel like just another "shopper" when using them. At least i do.

hmmmm... okay
that does make sense and appeal to me, also [unknown]'s post too!
Oh well, i was just trying to convince you guys to ask for what you deserve
But ultimately its your call!

[Bill_Reilly]

I didn't see this post yesterday, I would've posted here...

Yes, awesome stuff.
I put alot of work into my own site for free, I'm currently rebuilding the entire place again at the moment, but it's at least as rewarding as my business, if not more. I get a mountain of donations that I never ask for, and it's really worth all the work in the world when people send you money by choice.  If I average the donations, I make about a penny a day on it, but the "thank you" emails I get are priceless.

Emotions aside, I also have a blank check with most of the members - not money, but in car parts, tools, or whatever they have - they offer up anything they have access to, for free - I don't get paid much money, but if I need to borrow a $1500 measuring tool, someone will UPS it to me for free to use for as long as I need - do that 10 times a year and my $4 paycheck becomes $15004....

Make the circle bigger...