Is phpBB outdated?

As I look around at other software I seem to think the phpbb3 is becoming outdated?

 

It is for me, I only visit one phpbb site and it just sold, I'm hoping they change to an easier to use script.

 

I agree I only goto one phpbb site. But just the look and feel is outdated and yes the scripting needs to be a lot easier.

 

Yeah, I think it is outdated. Lacks most features found in other software, has a very basic style that's been outdone by most competitors and just doesn't look modern any more.

 

It does seem to be falling a long way behind now. Still use it on one site but may change.

 

I was thinking this as well. But I had a look around and there are some really nice-looking themes that are available at sites like Rocket Theme (http://www.rockettheme.com/phpbb3).

I think with the right theme, a phpbb3 forum could easily be upgraded to have a less dated feel to it.

 

I agree there are some nice themes, but if you look deeper into phpbb there isn't much there.

 

Same thing happened with phpBB2.

 

I can't argue with that. You can overcome a lot of things with mods, but that takes time and you run the risk of creating problems with conflicting mods.

 

Not to mention that most useful mods for the software are to add features that really should be the core product but aren't.

 

Like what? I have my doubts that they "should be."

 

Its been a while since I've used phpbb so they may have been added. But I think the following would have been good:

A quick reply
A wysiwyg editor
a mod system that's not a nightmare
a way to theme the site that doesn't take 6 months. I themed vbulletin in like 8 hours the first time. granted it was fairly basic and not like I have now which took a bit longer even though I started with a different theme and made it unique.
A notification systems
An activity stream

 

A wysiwyg editor would be terrible. I hope that wasn't a response to me.

 

Anyone who's not a tech person wants a wysiwyg editor. and they all have a source view for those that want it.

 

I see nothing wrong with a WYSIWYG editor. Not everyone is technically minded and wants to use BB code, and even I like seeing my post as it'll actually appear in the editor.

 

I restarted with phpBB3 after so may years. But hey, definitely, this is broken and trending towards its death. The Captcha and other spam countermeasures have been cracked and most of the add ons in this segment fail. Then, though the themes have been revamped and there are many options, still, the basic functioning of the phpBB is nowhere near to the better ones - say for instance the XenForo or even the SMF (though I have read stories about SMF). Now, I am thinking about changing and migrating my phpBB based forum to anything else as otherwise I have turned out into a spam registration pruner...

 

I think it's obvious that phpBB is showing its age, but my question is, is there a version 4 in the works?

 

Apparently so:

http://area51.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=96

Progress seems to be slow however. And the last people using it seem seriously deluded about how well it stacks up to its competition.

 

At least they're planning on a plugin system to replace the mods. That is a big improvement.

 

Yeah it is. Pity by the time they got to it, all their competitors had implemented the same feature long ago.