Simple Forum Software [closed]

Question

I've looked at quite a few different forum packages and they all look very similar and seem to compete by trying to add as many features as possible. These will not work for my user base (it's for a homeowners association). I need something very simple. Something that is closer to checking email than using one of these full featured forums like PhpBB.

Any suggestions? This will run in a hosted environment on Microsoft servers. I am a web developer by profession so I can handle a fairly complex install (though I would, of course, prefer a simple install if possible).

Answer 1

Have a look at bbPress. Easy to configure and easy for your users to figure out. Not overwhelmed with bells and whistles -- but it can be extended.

Answer 2

I am actually looking for the same thing. The first two I am going to review are

phpBB

SMF

These two are offered through my hosting company via an automated installation. Does your hosting company have any automated installations to offer?

Answer 3

I went to freshmeat.net and searched for "web forum". Among the hits I found a few possibles:

Freech

Mon Petit Site

Drupal

The first two have simplicity as stated goals.

Drupal is a very mature package, and it looks like it can do anything, so if you adopted it and made a simple site, you could later extend the site without limitations.

Also, just searching for "simple web forum" found

My Little Forum

CMS Made Simple

bbPress: http://bbpress.org/

bbPress was written by the WordPress folks, so that might be a good one to look at.

Good luck!

P.S. I apologize for only including one URL. Originally I had URLs for each of these recommendations, but serverfault.com says I am a new user and I am only permitted to have one URL per post.

Answer 4

One suggestion might be UserVoice... It is billed as a product forum but might work for your needs...