Simple Machines Reviews & Product Details

In 2003 or so, when I installed it, Simple Machines Forum (SMF) seemed like a better option than PphBB, which I had previously used. PhpBB had security issues and SMF seemed to have fewer problems. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

SMF is an old PHP application. The software "design" is something out of the late 1990s, where view logic is intermingled with controller and business logic. This results in a massive amount of spaghetti code that is difficult to unravel. This unstructured design leads to problems when you want to customize the forum look and feel or use add-ons. The methodology for plug-ins is terrible. Instead of an API, a plug-in is a "mod," which short for modification. A plugin updates the SMF code in order to add functionality in various places. This can result in a system that cannot be rolled back and sometimes it cannot even be updated. Furthermore, updating SMF can break plugins and plugins can break SMF. It's terrible. The UI is old and antiquated and the last time I used it, it was not responsive for mobile devices. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I first tried using SMF several years ago when I needed to deploy a forum fast for demo purposes.

Trying SMF and some other solutions to choose the best one for intuitive administration, supporting all features they desired, I choose SMF. Everyone loved it!

SMF got awarded with "Best free forum award" in 2009. In my opinion, that should have been news to no one, as it was fully expected.

Installation and configuration are relatively fast and easy, with minimal server and client requirements. SMF has its own package manager for smooth administration. With all that said, it is worth noting that SMF supports the industry security standards.

The features supported are too many to list separately. What really got me at first were the overall smoothness, the language support and the interface.

SMF supports PHP and MySQL/PostgreSQL, Apache, ASpell, user ranking, smileys, email notifications, file upload, user karma, permission profiles, over 45 different languages, themes, mods and customizations, etc. Dedicated tools are available for easy conversion from other forum software to SMF for easy transition.

And the best part is that it is open-source! Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

There had been several twists around licensing through the years. Finally released under the BSD license, SMF is easier to distribute. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The best parts about SMF is that it is free and open source and very secure. It has many features like premium subscriptions, Access Control Lists (ACL), and great media features. Moderation and Administration is very easy. I use the development version because Its new theme is great Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The fact the latest stable version doesn't have Mobile support It would be nice to see the development version see the light of day Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.