phpBB3 Gold - 13th December 2007 - 17:00 GMT

[ManagerJosh]

I've gone over that list, they need to seriously update it .. a lot of the stuff there is set incorrect.

Like what Floris?

[dkon26]

I tried it before when it was an RC version. I think I might install it again on my personal server and just play around with it.. Seems like it came a long way but the security audits make me wonder...

EDIT: I guess its worth the amount I paid... I was able to bring it down with almost no effort, the admin panel stinks and the overall operation is just horrid.

*Deletes the phpbb files and database from server*

[Floris]

Like what Floris?

Just go over the list, you'll see.. I am sure you're a long term vb user and know the features/options/permissions.

[SSSlippy]

I went over that list awhile ago, its quite incorrect.

[steven s]

There is a place for phpBB and I hope they do well.
I always liked the support I got there.
I don't see phpBB and vB as competing forum software at all.
Each serve different needs.

It's good that there is a free forum for people to use.
Sometimes it's good to start off with phpBB to see if switching to vB is worth it. Sometimes phpBB will suit the needs of the community using it.

I switched to vB because I got tired of editing files each time to make mods and hacks work. If I needed a forum for a limited time, I may consider phpBB again.

[Distance]

I've gone over that list, they need to seriously update it .. a lot of the stuff there is set incorrect.

Yeah that's what I was thinking, If they haven't updated all correctly once 3.7 has been released then I think they need notifying of the incorrect information.

Anyway, glad for phpbb, I visit some sites that run this software, looking forward to the update although vBulletin prevails.

[Hossie]

I used to run a phpbb forum - the security exploits just did my head in!

I needed a professional product with support to match. I can post a thread asking almost anything on vb.com and I almost always get an answer - even if that's to say 'sorry that's not possible'.

It's the same reason why I am not keen on moving to Drupal for my community needs - I run my sites as professionally as I can, and for that I need support (and a product) I can rely on.

Good on them on v3 tho - it's good for us because it'll mean vB will be even better in vb4

Basically you're saying that all OSS sucks.

I applaud the phpBB team for releasing the gold 3rd version of what is essentially a free voluntary project.

No matter how do we think about phpBB, it's still one of the most popular software over the Internet, powering more than 42 million boards worldwide. Although many people think of it as a bad coded software, it's not at all. It does have a bad history of security vulnerabilities, but that IMO is only because there's not a fully dedicated team working on the project, which is one of the most devastating characteristics of open source software.

Free software enthusiasts always keep saying "free as in freedom, not as in price", but they always act as if it's sinful to make good profits out of open source projects, and tend to work on lousy business models like hosted solutions, affiliate programs, etc. It's just like a salesman in a grocery who gives away valuable goods for free but charges for the bags that carry them!

I'm 100% sure vBulletin would have never reached the level of professionalism & stability it's gaining now if it were still a free as in price software.

You know that the largest bulletin board in the world is still powered by phpBB?

And afaik all security related exploits in the last years for phpBB were all related to register_globals, if you turned it off, you'll be safe.

[dkon26]

Basically you're saying that all OSS sucks.

He might be onto something there!

I love your signature btw!

[simsim]

You know that the largest bulletin board in the world is still powered by phpBB?

You mean Gaia? I heard they had hacked it to death to the extent it barely has anything to do with phpBB's original codebase.

And afaik all security related exploits in the last years for phpBB were all related to register_globals, if you turned it off, you'll be safe.

Now that's exaggerating! No XSS or SQL injections vulnerabilities at all if register_globals is turned off? No script is that safe.

[Hossie]

Look at Gaia. vBulletin also can't offer what they are doing there. That is all custom stuff.

And most scripts are much safer without register_globals, because PHP itself is just totally unsafe, or at least "easy to exploit". I don't think phpBB itself is written as bad as you might think.

[AlexanderT]

Look at Gaia. vBulletin also can't offer what they are doing there. That is all custom stuff.

Hmmm. Like you said. It's all "custom stuff." What prevents you from doing "custom stuff" to vBulletin installations?

[xjuliox]

People are just atracted by the way gia looks.

[Hossie]

Hmmm. Like you said. It's all "custom stuff." What prevents you from doing "custom stuff" to vBulletin installations?

So why didn't they chose to use vBulletin?

[AlexanderT]

So why didn't they chose to use vBulletin?

How does that answer my question? Why did I pick a BMW rather than a Mercedes?

[Alfa1]

Over 10 million members