Free / Open Source Bulletin Board PHP Scripts

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Looking to build a community forum / bulletin board / discussion board? Bulletin board is one of the most developed area of open source web scripts, with more than one of them getting recognition as best open source projects. So, the choice is aplenty. Of course getting script is only a small part of the equation. You gotta be building a lot of contents and activity into your bulletin board to be successful.

Below here, we list down the top 6 most popular bulletin board website software that are free, all written in php and run on mySQL database.

List of free/open source bulletin board software

1. phpBB
   http://www.phpbb.com/
   Clear leader in term of popularity, phpBB has multitude of features while maintaining ease of use and efficiency. Truly what you would expect from the most widely used open source bulletin board system in the world.

   With a large and highly customizable set of key features coupled with a standards compliant interface, phpBB will grow with, and complement your website. With millions of installations worldwide, it is no wonder phpBB is one of the most popular ways to create and support a community.

2. Simple Machines Forum (SMF)
   http://www.simplemachines.org/
   The devout users of SMF swear by this free yet powerful forum script. It is designed to provide you with all the features you need from a bulletin board while having an absolute minimal impact on the resources of the server.

   Simple Machines Forum — SMF in short — is a free, professional grade software package that allows you to set up your own online community within minutes.

3. Vanilla
   http://vanillaforums.org/
   If you are looking for bulletin board software rich with functions while maintain well-coding standard, Vanilla is the answer.

   Vanilla is an open-source, standards-compliant, multi-lingual, theme-able, pluggable discussion forum for the web.

4. MyBB
   http://www.mybboard.net/
   The main strength of MyBB lies in the easy to use user interface and that is also the main selling point.

   A lot of thought has gone into the MyBB interface to make it easy to use. MyBB uses a standard discussion board structure, so your visitors will feel familiar with the way MyBB works.

5. PunBB
   http://punbb.informer.com/
   Annoyed by all the bells and whistles that you never use? Just need a forum software that works? That sounds pretty much a good match to PunBB. The tagline? “Because less really is more.”
6. Phorum
   http://www.phorum.org/
   Started in 1998, Phorum was among the first open source bulletin board software. It is touted as a message board software that meet different needs of different web sites while not sacrificing performance or features.

   The group of developers of Phorum had very different needs. Some needed software that could run a single forum with over 2,000 new posts per day. Others hosted over 4,000 forums on one server. The end result is a versatile product that can serve anyone’s needs.

My personal favourite bulletin board script is phpBB. What’s yours?