So, which of the new forum scripts would be best for a new site?

Out of the likes of Wedge, Elkarte, Vanilla, Discourse, etc, which would be best for an experimental new site I'm starting about the Wario series?

Yes, I know most are still in beta. But come on, the WarioWare sub series is already basically a Nintendo tech demo franchise. So why not make the forum as experimental and wacky as the games?


View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87sCDkT6xPM



View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNAVDNrfiNA


Above: What 'wacky' means here

So which one should I try? I've got a download of:

Vanilla
Elkarte
Wedge
And a few others

So what's a wacky and experimental forum script recommendation? I asked on TAZ, but no one recommendation kept coming up, and it seems many people refuse to recommend anything other than scripts that have been around for years or paid software.

Just keep in mind it can't be hosted. I have no idea how big the audience for this series is (other than it probably exists), and I also don't really have the money for any more monthly fees.

 

See I am a bit of the opposite. I've seen a few vanilla forums and played around with vanilla and it's entire layout just rubbed me the wrong way and I honestly have a hard time seeing the appeal.

But you're making me want to actually give it another look, perhaps because it is different from the likes of the more popular/old school softwares is why i have a hard time adapting to it.

Will be giving it another look!

In regards to the OP, i have no experience or knowledge of these software but i always encourage people to go against the norm and try something a bit different and a software like vanilla could be a good idea for you or any of these software you listed. In the end it matters which is the best software that YOU as the administrator can utilize to its full extent without much of a learning curve.

 

I am opposite too I guess. I have never seen a Vanilla site that I liked. They always seem to be feature lacking and cumbersome. Personally I don't think you can go wrong with XenForo.

 

There's nothing wackier than going with vB5. :p

 

I just took a small gander at burning board 4, I have to say its very very fast and slick.

 

This is something I've really struggled with over the past few years. If you want a forum, there are a dozen viable choices that will probably be good enough. If you want a community platform, and one that won't shoot you in the foot as you try and grow, then that's a real battle. Your choice will also depend if you prefer configuration or if you prefer programmability. Pick one.

vBulletin is a horrible platform to develop on, but it has the maturity on the community management and tools side. The ecosystem is still the best, IMO. You can probably get by if you're willing to spend an enormous amount of time maintaining it and subsidizing its age with better styles and add-ons. Shelf life is looking bad... I'm not sure how much longer people will support it.

XenForo is a bit more modern, but not as mature. The ecosystem is still pretty new, so it's hard to find things, and it's even harder to find the right way to do things. As a developer, it makes a pretty good platform (technology is a few years outdated, but that beats vBulletin by a landslide). The tooling is very far behind though, so it's still not entirely developer friendly. However, as an admin, there is a pretty good array of add-ons and styles. Oddly enough, the XF community has taken kindly the professional services much more than vBulletin.

Discourse is the newest technology, and arguably the best forum experience. However, it'll take a lot more work to host and maintain, and you'll need to have more modern development skills to have a chance at modifying it yourself. The architecture is great for software developers, but much harder to go in and add a full-stack feature (front-end, back-end, etc.) all by yourself. I can't speak to its configuration and ecosystem, but I'm guessing it's pretty weak and immature at this point. If you want just a forum, and you're more technically inclined, this is probably a good bet.

I can't comment much on IBP. The new version looks promising, but regrettably I haven't had much experience with it over the years.

I personally wouldn't consider any other forums for serious projects, but that's just due to my own bias hovering around vBulletin and its surrounding community too closely.