Need opinions on the BEST and most POPULAR forum software?

Do your own. Always the best choice.

Though I can program, I really do not have any time. I don't mind buying a package. I have used phpbb, but not really happy with it. Looking for something very professional and nice format. Thoughts? Thanks again!

i use the albetron 5000

fast, ez, efficeint

and it has some vid fgeatures which are way cool

I've used phpBB, SimpleMachines, and myBB, and for now I like myBB best. But it depends on what your priorities are.

I have a friend who suggested vbulletin. The price isn't really an issue as it would be a partnership with some other people. I'm just basically trying to find something that is very professional looking. Phpbb is nice, and I have experience in it, but the skins/templates are not exactly "clean" professional looking in my opinion... any other suggestions? Thanks.

vbulletin hands down.

The looking is something you do. Master CSS and you're done.

If money is not an issue, vbulletin. You'll thank me later, whenever you find a small issue you can solve in 3 minutes or less in a secure, updated and very VERY professional forum platform.

Without a doubt, Vbulletin. But stick with VB4. The new VB sucks and isn't that stable. The amount of plugins you can get makes it a great solution for an online community.

Though I haven't used vBulletin, it has a good reputation for paid forum software. The free ones will never be as good.

As for rolling your own, yes, it's a lot of work, but maybe worth it if you enjoy coding.

and getting hacked...

What, custom code? Depends entirely on the skill and knowledge of the coder, and how close an eye they keep on the hosting server.

Or buy a nice template, these are amazing, I use them for other cms.

oh-the link
[link to www.rockettheme.com]

Hahahaha, it's not that i don't enjoy coding, I do. However, when the late nights start to kick in my sig other gets pissed... hell hath no fury as a pissed off woman... ;)

I've looked at those. I don't know for some reason it really does not "add" anything to phpbb... it still seems less than professional. I love phpbb, but I need to make a move to the next step and thats why I'm asking for some opinions in this area... thanks again...

So vbulletin 4?

Bump...

They have a Joomla bridge included, that may add anything you can imagine to your board. The Joomla templates are top banana, very advanced and well structured.

have you used phpbb at all in the past? Is it night and day compared to layout, professional appearance, skins, etc. of vbulletin? I heard that vb5 connect has some major issues, and to stick with vb4 if I go that route...

They do? Thanks! I experimented with merging phpbb and joomla through Jfusion, but it never worked out with the single login.

I never tried it but all things they release usually work well. You can extend Joomla nicely with FlexiContent, an amazing content construction kit, killer features, fast, works well with their framework, GPL.
[link to www.flexicontent.org]

Most serious (professional) foruns use vbulletin. That alone says it all.

I know a couple big forums who use it for YEARS and they have some serious reasons NOT TO CHANGE. And I mean BIG forums, with large thousands active users anytime of day, not a small community.

And you're not paying for the script, but for updates, security, vast community knowledge, etc etc. That alone is a pain saver.

Just go for vbulletin. You won't be disappointed.