One of the biggest mistakes I see newbie webmasters making today is that they don't KNOW their chosen forum script before jumping in and starting a community. This leads to incorrect configurations and possible loss of users. I noticed that PHPBB is one of the biggest culprits for this, I can go to 1 in 20 PHPBB installations and it's run by a newbie webmaster who hasnt figured out the PHPBB permissions system, and their admin/staff forum is wide open. This is but one example. But the lesson is the same for all softwares, I'm not picking on PHPBB, it simply has the most complex permissions system that I've seen in a software is all, so that is why I feel some webmasters fall under it. Anyway, the point is, make sure you know your software before you launch your site, get to grips with it, spend time figuring out different softwares, decide whether you want to use a free script, such as MyBB, BBPress or SMF, or a paid script, such as vBulletin, Invision Power Board, or XenForo. There's also the matter of planning ahead, this comes as common sense to most people, but you have to anticipate that there will be a time when your chosen forum software feels outdated, isnt getting updates anymore, or simply something better has come along, in this case you need to make sure that your original forum software that you've chosen can be imported into another forum software just fine. An example is if you use MyBB, and want to convert to XenForo in future, make sure that this option exists. Currently it doesnt, so if you wanted to do this, you would not be able to use MyBB. Another thing you need to do when choosing a forum software is to make sure you don't choose a software simply because it has more features than another one, XenForo has less features than vBulletin and IP.Board for example, but still XenForo has been fast on the uptake. Why? Because it's quite common that no-one uses the extra features of vB and IPB such as blogs, albums, and social groups, and so webmasters feel it is bloat, and so switch to the faster, newer system. These are all things which come under choosing your software wisely, and as you can see, it's no small undertaking. Choose well!
I completely agree about knowing how to use your software. One should make themselves familiar with it before jumping head first into something. Also, I think the best thing to do is make you an account for every user group to check the permissions before you launch it. This always helps with open forum problems. Though, just as a side note I honestly do not feel vbulletin if bloated. And I saw what you did there
A great article - and wise words. A lot of people are just asking the two basic questions: can I get it for free and how do I get a lot of posts. Rather than really think it through, which is a shame. They're basically doomed from the start. This article helps them think twice.
Why would you want to? You site is just fine on MyBB. My reason for going with IPB was simple, it was all I was close to knowing having went from a Forumer 1.3 board to 3.0.5 The basics are all the same and I didn't want to learn anything new. Don't get me wrong I love IPB and wouldn't switch to anything else. As for you Lab-Lover, I've seen you post elsewhere about converting to a paid script and that's fine if you want to, I just hope it is for the right reasons as MyBB works for you, you have a load of time in it and I would only switch if you're looking for something MyBB doesn't offer.
I have thought about switching software, but the reality is i can't afford to go paid I'm working on a budget as it is, If i'd had the funds i probably would of gone with ipb, But like jaycess says i'm doing ok on mybb and it has all the features i need at present.
And, MyBB is only going to get better with the release of v2.0 coming at some point down the road (hopefully sooner rather than later).
