IdealBB and forums that use banner rotations scripts

Discussion of general topics related to the new version and its place in the world. Don't discuss new features, report bugs, ask for support, et cetera. Don't use this to spam for other boards or attack those boards!
Forum rules
Discussion of general topics related to the new release and its place in the world. Don't discuss new features, report bugs, ask for support, et cetera. Don't use this to spam for other boards or attack those boards!
Post Reply
bejocund
Registered User
Posts: 16
Joined: Tue Dec 06, 2005 6:15 am

IdealBB and forums that use banner rotations scripts

Post by bejocund »

Where does phpbb stand in the world of forums?

I have seen a few company names, but has anyone heard of idealBB?

Here is a link of their ADMIN screens as well as a tour of the product.

[spam]

idealBB lets you upload photos to add onto your post. It's great for case studies and most people don't know how to use the [img] tag nor do they understand HTML so a simple attach photo is pretty cool. IdealBB also has banner rotations. Maybe this is already in the works for phpbb 3.0 i can only guess.

Most phpbb sites that i go to have ads. but i guess they have to do some fancy html coding to put up their ads up. however, there's no way to track clicks, views, etc. I think a banner rotations feature would allow phpbb to join the game as idealBB has.

here is a link to a great banner rotations company, AdPeeps. And IRONICALLY, their message forum uses phpBB!

[spam]
Last edited by wGEric on Fri Dec 09, 2005 11:09 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: Removed spam.

code reader
Registered User
Posts: 653
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2005 3:01 pm

Re: IdealBB and forums that use banner rotations scripts

Post by code reader »

as the saying goes, there are two kinds of people:
those who split all people to two kinds, and those who don't.

there are many ways to classify all the available bbs packages: by technology (say, php/asp/perl), by distribution (say, more than 10,000,000 active boards, more than 1,000,000, etc.), by feature set, and so on and so forth.

many, myself included, classify the boards into the free and open-source boards, and the rest.

there are, of course, borderline cases (smf is free, and "sorta" open source, but it uses a propriatary license, so it is not clear to what extent do they commit to stay free and open source).

if you limit the discussion to gpl/lgpl open source boards, your choice of boards shrinks significantly, to the point where phpbb is prety much the only choice.
if you allow for strange licenses, then, (i am not 100% sure about that, not having looked at ALL the boards), but i think currently, the only two "serious" contenders are phpbb and smf.
imho, in this contest, phpbb wins on four items: license, default style, choice of available MODs, and choice of available languages.
smf wins on code quality, stability, (percieved) security and feature-set of base package (as features go, smf should be compared to olympus rather than phpbb. of course, smf is available, so in this regard it should NOT be compared with olympus).
maybe the most important feature smf sports and phpbb lacks is the built-in package-manager, which, next to easymod looks like an f-16 next to the wright brothers' airplane.

hopefully olympus, if and when released, will close the quality and features gap
(it will probably take at least another year to close the stability and perceived security gaps) but there is no guarantee.

afaik, other open-source systems are far behind, at least when you measure the distribution, which, in turn, reflects on available add-ons mods, styles, and languages.

when open-source packages like phpbb and smf are available, imho no open-source afficionado will even look at any closed-source commercial package, such as "idealBB".

just my 2c.

User avatar
DavidMJ
Registered User
Posts: 932
Joined: Thu Jun 16, 2005 1:14 am
Location: Great Neck, NY

Re: IdealBB and forums that use banner rotations scripts

Post by DavidMJ »

Code quality is totally off. Olympus destroys SMF in this regard. As far as features go, SMF is nothing special. Lets say I want to use another database other than mysql? Ain't happening. What if I want to use mysql 4.1+ ? Nope, ain't happening. Caching? Terrible. Template engine? No.

It is also very easy to code with their stuff. What is the difference between deleteAccount2() and deleteAccount()? Ambiguous and awful. SMF is nowhere near Olympus.
Freedom from fear

code reader
Registered User
Posts: 653
Joined: Wed Sep 21, 2005 3:01 pm

Re: IdealBB and forums that use banner rotations scripts

Post by code reader »

just to clarify: i use phpbb, not smf, and i absolutely do not wish to get into a "mine is bigger than yours" type of discussion.

that said, i think the "competetion" as i see it is not olympus vs. smf, but, if you will, phpbb vs. smf.
there are numerous production boards (thousands? milions?) using smf, and probably thousands more using smf 1.1 RC (very stable, even if it has "RC" in the name).
seeing that olympus is not even alpha, the correct comparison is with phpbb 2.

as to the question "how easy is it to program for smf", i would like to point that smf has an sdk of sorts, which makes it, imho, more "mod developer friendly" than either phpbb 2 or olympus. on top of that, as i mentioned in my previous post. the package manager of smf has no counterpart in phpbb 2 or 3, and the closest thing, namely easymod, is no match.

the most significant criticism i have of smf is the queer license.

the most valuable advantage phpbb has compared with any other boards, free or commercial, is, imho, not so much the product itself, but rather the fiercely loyal community that provides translations, styles, mods and, most importantly, support.

unfortunately, the community was not treated very kindly by the phpbb core team in the recent past. the violent, often abusive response to people asking about the development status of olympus, or to any criticism, is, imho, abusing the very thing that makes phpbb great, ie the community.

and just to make it perfectly clear: i use phpbb, and if i had to create one or dozen new boards next week or next month, i would choose phpbb again.
that doesnt mean i have to believe phpbb is infallible, or that other boards cant be better than phpbb in certain respects.

Post Reply