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Comparison of phpBB3 to other Popular Forum Solutions

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Here you can find a list of different points comparing phpbb3 to other forum software

Comparison of phpBB3 to other Popular Forum Solutions

FeaturephpBB3Invision Power Board (IPB)vBulletin (vB)Simple Machines Forum (SMF)

General
License: GPL Proprietary Proprietary Proprietary
License Price: Free US$149.99 License PriceIncludes support and updates for six months; US$25 renewal[?] US$160 License PriceIncludes one year of updates and lifetime support; US$30 renewal[?] Free
Programming Language: PHP PHP PHP PHP
Latest Version: 3.0.0 2.3.3 3.6.8-pl2 1.1.4
Release Date: 13, Dec 2007 05, Nov 2007 05, Nov 2007 27, Sep 2007

Security
Permanent Bans: Yes Permanent BansIncluding reason shown to user and Moderator comment[?] Yes Yes Yes
Temporary Bans (Suspension): Yes Temporary Bans (Suspension)Including Reason shown to user and Moderator comment[?] Yes Yes Yes
Permissions: Yes PermissionsAdvanced and Customisable Permissions System -- See below Permissions Section for additional details[?] Yes Yes Yes
Paid Security Code Audit: Yes Yes No No
Form Handling: Yes Form HandlingUser based forms[?] - - Yes
Type Aware Parameter Handling: Yes - Yes No
Type Aware Database Layer: Yes - - No
Password Hashing: Yes Password HashingMethod: Multiple Runs, Salted, and/or MD5[?] Yes Yes Yes

Anti-Spam
CAPTCHA Visual Confirmation: Yes CAPTCHA Visual ConfirmationCustomise Difficulty and CAPTCHA Noise[?] Yes Yes Yes
Flood Control: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Groups: Yes Yes Yes Yes
ACLs: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Word Censor: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Banning: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Suspensions: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Warnings: Yes Yes Yes No
User Logging: Yes No Yes Yes
User Post IP Logging: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Report Posts: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post Moderation: Yes Yes Yes No

Data Management
MySQL: Yes MySQLMySQL 3.23+, MySQLi[?] Yes MySQLMySQL 4.0+[?] Yes Yes
MSSQL Server: Yes Yes MSSQL ServerWith an additional driver, US$60[?] No No
MSSQL ODBC: Yes Yes MSSQL ODBCWith an additional driver, US$60[?] No No
PostgreSQL: Yes No No No
Oracle: Yes Yes OracleWith an additional driver, US$60[?] No No
Firebird: Yes No No No
SQLite: Yes No No No
Database (DBMS) Backups: Yes Yes Yes -
Database (DBMS) Restore: Yes - - -
Post/Topic Pruning: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Registration
COPPA Registrations: Yes COPPA RegistrationsToggle On/Off[?] Yes Yes Yes
Limit Registration Attempts: Yes - - No
Set min/max Username Length: Yes Yes Yes No
Set min/max Password Length: Yes - - Yes
Limit username Chars: Yes Yes Yes No
Set Password Complexity Requirements: Yes - - Yes
Force Password Change: Yes - - -
Allow/Disallow e-mail Address Re-usage: Yes Allow/Disallow e-mail Address Re-usageAllow or Disallow Duplicate E-Mail Addresses[?] - Yes No

Posting
Topic Display Method: Flat Flat or Threaded Flat or Threaded Flat
BBCode: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom BBCode Buttons: Yes Yes Yes No
WYSIWYG Editor: No Yes Yes No
HTML in posts: No Yes Yes Yes
Smilies/Emoticons: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Quoting: Yes QuotingNested, Configurable maximum nested depth[?] Yes Yes QuotingLimited to one level[?] Yes
Quote Multiple Posts: Yes Quote Multiple PostsMultiple post quoting through Topic Review[?] Yes Yes Yes
Formatting Toolbar: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Syntax Highlighting: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachments: Yes (Multiple) Yes Yes Yes
Post Drafts: Yes No Yes No
Polls: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Multiple Poll Option Voting: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User based Poll Tracking: Yes - Yes Yes
Allow/Disallow Vote Change: Yes - - Yes
Beaten-to-Posting Review: Yes - Yes Yes
Posting Preview: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Flood Control: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Attachments
Automatic Image Thumbnails: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachment Types: Yes Attachment TypesImages, Documents, Audio Streams, Video Streams, Archives[?] Yes Yes Yes
Multiple Attachments: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customisable Attachment Placement: Yes Customisable Attachment PlacementInline and/or standard[?] Yes No Yes

Profiles / Memberlist
Custom Profile Fields: Yes Yes Yes No
User Posting Stats: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Instant Messengers: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Profile details: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Memberlist Searching: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Rating: No Yes Yes No

Search System
Fulltext Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customised Topic Search: Yes Yes Yes No
Customised Forum Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Author Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Advanced Search: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Unread Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Active Topics: Yes Yes No Yes
Posts Since Last Visit: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Search Flood Control: Yes Yes - No

Forums
Categories: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Password Protected Forums: Yes Yes Yes No
Forum Specific Styles: Yes Yes Yes Yes
URL Link Redirect Forums: Yes URL Link Redirect ForumsToggle on/off Redirect Count[?] Yes Yes No
Forum Rules: Yes Yes No No
Subforums: Yes SubforumsUnlimited Nested Levels[?] Yes Yes Yes
Last Post: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Forum Pruning: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Display Active Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Subscribe to Forums: Yes Subscribe to ForumsE-mail, Jabber/XMPP Notifications[?] Yes Yes No
Subscribe to Topics: Yes Subscribe to TopicsE-mail, Jabber/XMPP Notifications[?] Yes Yes Yes
Bookmark Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Topic Sorting: Yes Topic SortingSort by Author, Selectable Post Time, Replies, Subject and Views in descending or ascending order[?] Yes Yes Yes
Post Sorting: Yes Post SortingSort by Author, Selectable Post Time, and Subject in descending or ascending order[?] No No No
Topic Participation Tracking: Yes No Yes Yes
Print Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
E-mail Topics: Yes E-mail TopicsE-mail Topic to friend with Language choice[?] Yes Yes Yes

User Control Panel
User Signatures: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Avatars: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Ranks: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Users Online List: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Preferences: Yes Yes Yes Yes
User Profile Settings: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Saved PM/Post Drafts: Yes Yes No No
Manage Bookmarks: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Attachments: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Subscribed Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom Profile Fields: Yes Yes Yes No
Friends/Foe List: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Private Messaging
Additional PM Folders: Yes Yes Yes Yes Additional PM FoldersLabels[?]
Customisable PM Filter Rules: Yes No No No
Send to Multiple Recipients: Yes Send to Multiple RecipientsGroups and/or Users[?] Yes Yes Yes
Send Blind Carbon Copies: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Send to Groups: Yes No No No
Forward Messages: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Address Book: Yes Address BookUsing Friends list[?] Yes No No
Message Drafts: Yes Yes No No
Export Messages: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Attachments for Messages: Yes Yes No No
Conversation View: Yes - No No
Custom Message Handling Rules: Yes No No No

Usergroups
Group Types: Yes Group TypesHidden, Closed, Open, Request[?] Yes - Yes
UCP Group Management: Yes - Yes No
UCP Manage Group Memberships: Yes - No No
Multiple Group Leaders: Yes Multiple Group LeadersMultiple Group Leaders[?] - Yes No
Custom Group Colours: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Group Ranks: Yes Yes Yes -
Group Avatars: Yes Yes - -
Group-based Memberlist Display: Yes Yes Yes No

Moderation Control Panel
Global Moderators: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Forum Moderators: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post Moderation Queue: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Reported Topics/Posts: Yes Yes Yes No
Topic History: Yes Yes - -
Forum/Topic Logs: Yes - - No
Localised Moderator Logs: Yes - Yes No
Post Editing: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Post Locking: Yes Post LockingPost Locking prevents user from editing post[?] Yes - No
Post Details: Yes - - No
Change Post Author: Yes - - No
Quick-Mod Tools: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Moving Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Move Multiple Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Merging Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Merging Posts: Yes Yes - -
Merging Multiple Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Split Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Locking Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Deleting Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Copying Topics: Yes No - No
Global Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Announcement Topics: Yes Yes Yes No
Sticky Topics: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Bans: Yes Manage BansManage Suspensions (Temporary Bans), Permanent Bans, plus reason for ban[?] Yes - No
Manage User Warnings: Yes Yes - No
Banning by Username: Yes Yes Yes No
Banning by E-mail Address: Yes No No No
Banning by IP Address: Yes Yes Yes No
User Notes: Yes No - No

Administration Control Panel
Founder Status/Board Creator: Yes Yes No No
Load Settings: Yes - - Yes
Automatic MOD Installer: No Yes Yes Yes
Prune Inactive Users: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Ranks: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Groups: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage Group Memberships: Yes - No Yes
Manage Attachments and Settings: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage User Attachments: Yes Yes Yes -
User Editing: Yes User EditingAdvanced Interface -- Complete User Administration: Overview, profile, preferences, permissions, groups, avatar, signature, and settings[?] Yes Yes Yes
Topic Icons: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mass e-mail: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Manage report/denial Reasons: Yes Yes - No
Module Management: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Custom BBCodes: Yes Yes Yes -
Custom Profile Fields: Yes Yes Yes No
Manage Bans: Yes Manage BansManage Suspensions (Temporary Bans), Permanent Bans, plus reason for ban[?] Yes Yes Yes
Banning by Username: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Banning by E-mail Address: Yes Yes No Yes
Banning by IP Address: Yes Yes Yes Yes

Styles
User Selectable Styles: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Install/Manage Custom Styles: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customise/Edit Templates: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customise/Edit Themes: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Customise/Edit Imagesets: Yes Yes No No

Notifications
E-mail: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Instant Messaging: Yes Instant MessagingJabber Support[?] No - No
Bookmarks: Yes Yes Yes No
RSS/Syndication: No Yes Yes Yes

Localisation
Support for Multiple Language Packs: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Number of Translations: 61 - 4 (officially) 37
Right to Left Support: Yes - - -
Language Pack Web-Editor: Yes Yes Yes No

Installation / Upgrade
Installation Wizard: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Update Wizard: Yes Yes Yes Yes
Convertor Wizard: Yes Yes Convertor WizardConvertors from some boards are at additional charge[?] Yes -
File Merge Diff Update Engine: Yes No - Yes

Technical Features
CMS Software Integration: Yes CMS Software IntegrationThird Party Bridge with Joomla! auth plug-in[?] Yes CMS Software IntegrationTo at-extra-charge IPS products[?] Yes CMS Software IntegrationWith at-extra-charge Jelsoft products.[?] Yes CMS Software IntegrationMambo[?]
XHTML Compliant: Yes XHTML CompliantXHTML 1.0 Strict Compliant[?] No Yes XHTML CompliantXHTML 1.0 Transitional Compliant[?] Yes XHTML CompliantXHTML 1.0 Transitional Compliant[?]

phpBB3 is a widely supported and highly customizable online bulletin board script, perfect for building an online community with your AUSWEB Hosting.
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