I just recently started a forum using the vanilla software, and I must admit it is a little... unconventional. I learned about PhpBB later, but I am reluctant to switch without a comparison. Would anybody be willing to tell me what advantages Vanilla has over PhpBB. I'd like to get some opinions on both, but I don't really want to start a flame war. Are there any rabid Vanilla fanboys lurking out there...?
When you install Vanilla, you also get to choose the features you want with it. PhpBB as well to an extent I suppose. But as stated in other threads (links escape me atm) many of the features that other forum systems supply are rarely/never used.
Vanilla offers a more correct (IMO) method of displaying information; with add-ons to take it even further (like Discussion Overview).
With the help of add-ons, there's (almost) nothing that other forum systems can do that Vanilla can't.
I'm a little biased though because I was never satisfied with the way other Forums handle their information. Once I discovered how to really use Vanilla all other systems seemed cumbersome and uncomfortable.
vanilla is really cool you can do a lot of stuff especially with the extensions and you can do a lot of stuff especially with the nugget extension
i have used phpbb before about 2 or 3 years ago of coarse i used a free forum thing back then (armbell.com) but i am pretty sure it was phpbb i have used it recently too, but not a whole lot, just a little i personally like vanilla more but i dunno don't have any specific thing to say i don't like about phpbb
i just like vanilla especially the whispering feature
Vanilla is very very extensible. For example Nuggets and Page Manager turn vanilla in to a super customizable cms. Any addon that you can think of is (most likely) possible, and may have already been done, or may be done by one of the many addon developers at your control at the Lussumo Community.
phpBB tries to be all things to all people. It's big and it's complicated, which makes it hard to secure. Hosting companies hate the crap out of it.
phpBB doesn't have extensions, it has Modifications (MODs). As the name implies, MODs make changes to the phpBB code itself. Installing MODs is inherently risky and patching a MODed forum is a huge pain in the ass. Writing your own MOD is no picnic either.
When I ran phpBB it felt like I was constantly fighting to make it do what I wanted. Being a Vanilla admin is ten times easier.
I appreciate the input guys; it looks like I've found the silver bullet I needed. Now that you've show me nuggets, I can start customizing the forum as I'd like to.
As a side note, if somebody has a list of 'standard' add-ons most vanilla users install, I could really use a link to it.
Some of them are a bit buggy in the newest vanilla, and Attachments has a new (better) version (2) that's not on the most downloaded list, while Attachments 1 is. A goos indicator of whether you should download it is the latest comments on the addon. If they're all errors, and no updated versions, then you'd better shy away from them (at least in 1.1.4).