phpbb3

PhPBB is a free open source forum package.  PhPbb3 is regarded as the most used free forum software solution in the world as it grows more and more every day.  Today, in this blog post I am going to review the software and tell you what I think about it.

Installation Score: 10/10

I installed PHPbb3 very easily.  If you have fantastico installed on your server you can have your hob forum set up in 20 seconds.  All I had to enter was an admin username and password, the directory I would wish the software to be installed on and a description and forum name.  It was very easy and simple.  If you don’t have fantastico installed it is a little bit trickier to set up.  You have to go more in depth.

User Friendliness Score: 8/10

Phpbb3 out of the box seems very user friendly.  The log-in, register and FAQ links are straight in front of you when you first appear on the site.  There is no need to search all over the screen.  Once logged in the user control panel, it seems very easy to use.  Everything seems to be laid out nicely which makes everything easier to find.  The only faults I found with the user friendliness are that the admin panel log-in link is at the very bottom of the page, which is nowhere near the user cp and moderation cp link where I think it should be.  Also you have to resize your own image for it to be uploaded in to your avatar which is a slight inconvenience.

How Intimidating is the Admin Panel Score: 6/10

At first glance the forum software looks very neat and tidy.  Everything is organised under headings and sub headings.  Could be intimidating for new administrators but it looks very juicy for current administrators.

How Efficient is Moderation Score: 3/10

The moderation seemed very confusing.  Nothing compared to MyBB or VBulletin.  I found it very hard to infract/warn for particular posts.  I could only imagine what this would do to a new forum administrator who has never used PHPbb3 before.

Layout Score: 7/10

The layout is very bland, something you would expect with the default software.  It is defiantly better than other forum software layouts though.  You can great some great themes where you can spice up your forum.

Customer Support Score: 7/10

Customer support seems very good with PHPbb3.  There is a very active support forum where you can get help on modification and styles.  They also have an irc channel and a knowledge base to solve common problems.

Overall Overall Score: 7/10

PhPbb3 is a great piece of forum software.  It has excelled in many aspects of the forum world and it’s very easy to understand why it’s regarded as the most popular free forum software in the world.

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