PhpBB

#1

Post by rpastuszak » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 11:00 AM UTC

PhpBB
phpbb.com

Re: PhpBB

#2

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 2:31 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: PhpBB

#3

Post by azangru » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 2:42 PM UTC

Oh yes, it brings happy memories.

Re: PhpBB

#4

Post by thiscatis » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 2:49 PM UTC

Modding phpBB and starting new forums using phpBB (and later Invision Community) got me into php dev and basically the job and career I now have.

Such a great product for building communities. It would be so good having this feeling again browsing forums on this software. The Subsilver theme was iconic and legendary.

Re: PhpBB

#5

Post by prox » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 3:00 PM UTC

thiscatis wrote: post #4

Modding phpBB and starting new forums using phpBB (and later Invision Community) got me into php dev and basically the job and career I now have. Such a great product for building communities. It would be so good having this feeling again browsing forums on this software. The Subsilver theme was iconic and legendary.

Templating was such a drag though as a designer. Don’t know how it is now. I don’t think I saw many exciting designs that veered away from the distinctive phpbb look. You could always tell.

Re: PhpBB

#6

Post by consultutah » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 3:03 PM UTC

That's awesome! My first memory of PhpBB was using it for a developer job board in Utah and adding a VoiceXML script to it so folks could call a number and have the jobs read out to them - circa 2001-2002?

Re: PhpBB

#7

Post by Macha » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 3:03 PM UTC

thiscatis wrote: post #4

Modding phpBB and starting new forums using phpBB (and later Invision Community) got me into php dev and basically the job and career I now have. Such a great product for building communities. It would be so good having this feeling again browsing forums on this software. The Subsilver theme was iconic and legendary.

The mods being distributed as manual diff application instructions and then auto mod installers became a thing. Also called all caps MODs to distinguish them from forum moderators.

Re: PhpBB

#8

Post by lockhouse » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 3:06 PM UTC

Honestly, at this point I think the post Reddit internet very well could be a return to lots of independent PhpBB powered forums and Discord groups.

Unlike when Digg destroyed itself there just really isn’t a single heir apparent.

Re: PhpBB

#9

Post by 65 » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 3:11 PM UTC

I miss PhpBB. So much more well organized than Reddit or Discord or Instagram or Twitter. It feels like we've lost user experience sensibilities from the mid 2000s and now rely on algorithms and feeds to give us things we may or may not want. Hashtags and flair never made any real sense compared to threads and topics.

Re: PhpBB

#10

Post by hombre_fatal » Fri, Jun 16, 2023, 3:12 PM UTC

lockhouse wrote: post #8

Honestly, at this point I think the post Reddit internet very well could be a return to lots of independent PhpBB powered forums and Discord groups. Unlike when Digg destroyed itself there just really isn’t a single heir apparent.

If a bunch of independent traditional forums was such a compelling experience, you have to ask yourself why Reddit was so successful despite them. The hay day of even large forums like Neogaf and SomethingAwful has also passed.

The reality is that registering to N forums to discuss M topics isn't very compelling. And even a large forum with a diverse off-topic section can't compete with the long tails of Reddit subreddits where people can come together to make a forum on any topic at any time with zero friction participation.

So traditional forums will keep losing to something like Reddit in the future just like they did in the past, though they still have their own niche.