Forum Software 2024

Ardeon · May 7th 2024

We are halfway into 2024 and there is little excitement in the forum world when it comes to forum software. It is right that most paid software are working on new versions. But where is the dramatic change that used to happen every now and then with forums.

Among free forums, Discourse is doing great and is bagging wide spread adoption. Xenforo, Invision Power, Woltlab etc are doing their part of staying alive. MyBB, phpBB are surviving.

Are there any big announcements in forum world that changes the game drastically? I think I missed that one for sure.

dilip · May 8th 2024

I know this is true to some extent. With mobile phones taking over and free forums taking a break, things are not great in the forums scene since a while.

I won't blame anyone for that though. It is a natural phenomena where the internet got faster and people changed. The kind of crowd that used to hangout on forums are a minority now. Millennial kids and later like Discord, FB groups, YouTube channels and more.

It is 100% based up on demand. There is no big role for forums now.

Forums in 2024, you got almost the same options we had in 2023. Nothing new, nothing revolutionary and nothing exciting that brings new users.

The fact that forums ignored the mobile users and gave them nothing more than a responsive theme is the root cause for all this.

I am glad that MyBB and phpBB are still around. It helps old forums to keep going as security updates are available now and then.

neon · May 10th 2024

I am starting to believe forums are gone for good. It is not easy to start one without a lot of hassle.

You are up and running in a few minutes with Discord and Facebook.

I am waiting to see what X is offering.

Ardeon · May 10th 2024

I kind of like what Discourse is doing. From AI to social, they are adding every feature before others even ask for it.

dilip · May 11th 2024

Discourse is the most happening open source forum software now. Open source projects are opting for it without doubt. They might be doing something right.

Ardeon · May 13th 2024

Quote from dilip

Open source projects are opting for it without doubt

Yes, it was previously phpBB. A lot of forum software still uses it.

I really though that phpBB will pickup at some point. Their default theme and UI is too outdated for 2024.

There is a Bootstrap based theme that is as different as possible. But the plugins will break because there are a few template changes.

dilip · May 13th 2024

Not sure what 2024 will offer for forum fans. I do not see any active plans that will be available before this year is over.

Discourse is RubyonRails. I really would love something that is PHP.

Ardeon · May 13th 2024

I can definitely say that there is no " I am looking forward to the release of .. " feeling the forum world.

dilip · May 14th 2024

I was searching for something on Google and landed on a forum related to OpenAI. Did you know that it was using Discourse?

I don't know whether they are using it for the fact that it is open source or because there is any feature that they badly need for their community.

nomad · Aug 8th 2024

I am not aware about any kind of new announcements regarding forum software. What I am aware of is forums are a dying breed. People do not search for "forums" or forum software like Xenforo, phpbb etc. on search engines. Forums might be completely wiped out in the near future.

Forum Software 2024

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