A better forum both for download and for use on the xoops.org website.
People that come to XOOPS to try it out before they download and install it are going to be a bit put off by the forum software and forum options currently available to us.

Either make NewBB 2 available to us in a working fashion or give us some module(s) that easily and fully integrate other forum software into the XOOPS software.

I love Xoops. I want to run Xoops. My users like it and have commented as much but the fact remains that they're not coming back as often as they used to and the ones that do visit aren't bothering with the forums at all any more. It's too difficult to find new posts and it lacks many features.

If we can't get a better solution, and fast, I'm going to have to scrap everything I've done to set up a nice XOOPS site and go with another CMS/Portal system. That sucks because the XOOPS system is by far the best I've tried of: MegaBBS (http://www.pd9soft.com), e107 (http://www.e107.org), Postnuke, php-nuke (nuke cops flavor).. I've also looked into Mambo, sphinx (early alpha or something), tot3 or whatever the hell it is.. basically I've seen and previewed/tried most of the popular CMS and Portals out there. XOOPS is the best for what I need. The forum software available to me in XOOPS is pathetic. :(

It's a GREAT start but why re-invent the wheel when a module to integrate an already established forum software would give us a great forum as a plug-in?

the current newbb2 is in production and is near a final release stage i believe.. which is the reason it isn't actually available to use on this site.. it makes sense to have an actual fuinal release version without bugs on a production site like this and i'm sure the XOOPS team will replace this current version with the new 1 once it has it's final stable release status..

there are other modules available..

invisionboard has been ported to XOOPS and also PHPbb. they are available at http://www.bbpixel.com at this current time bbpixel is offline but will be back soon..

in the meantime if you want to check out invisionboard you can download version 1.4d from my server at http://www.clubithard.co.uk/temp/IPB_module_1.4d_XPS.zip

please note: the above IPB module is for XOOPS 2.0.7 only.. if you require pre 2.0.7 version then let me know..

Thanks for the info but I'm not going to pay for IPB. My site is a free site.

As to the production/stable release, I know it's not ready. That's really my point. Get it done ;) Of course we don't want them to install a beta version on this site, I just want to bring up the fact that this forum software isn't working out for many of us.

I did happen across a module called NewBB Pro. I can't recall where I downloaded it from but it was one of the international (french I think) sites. I renamed my old newbb to newbb_bu and uploaded this new bb pro to modules. Ran the two upgrade files (newbb to pro 1.0 then pro 1 to pro 1.02) and it works like a charm. One language problem hardcoded in the index.php when clicking on mark all as read and one language problem with the new post button but other than that, HUGE improvement over newbb.

It looks almost exactly like newbb, same blocks etc., but has new thread links, attachments, and a few other nice things. It'll hold me until NewBB 2 or phpBB is ready.

who told you IPB wasn't free?

IPB is 100% free to use.. you only need to pay if you want to remove the copyright (powered by invisionboard) from the footer of the pages..

you can get the latest newbb2 from the dev.xoops.org site or click module dev forge in the left hand column under Development info..

Just a reminder that IPB is erm.. not necessarily chargable. The trial is UNLIMITED without strings, except there is NO SUPPORT.

It has a neat autologin function which means you can use it without a double login within a XOOPS site in an iframe.

Not a perfect solution , I know, but its a great forum. Check out my site forum link for an example.

On http://www.invisionboard.com/download.cgi
it shows prices. That's what leads me to believe it isn't free. The free trial download has restrictions.

carnuke: I looked at your site. What happens to the iframe when a post exceeds the length of the iframe?
I really don't like the "iframe" look though.
Not sure I like the other links it adds either:
· Forgotten Password Recovery
· Register a new account
· Our help documentation
· Contact the forums administrator

I'd rather have those link to the XOOPS version of the same.

@ChadK: There aren't extra services in the paid version except the support, spellchecker, and subscription manager.

However, there is no support for the hacked version of Koudanshi. You can however always ask questions on his site. May I remind you that the licence you are referring is an new one, and since koudanshi uses the older one your trail is unlimited without limitations.

And please try to remember this is an open-source community, this is for everybody a 'free-time' job.

If you want proper integration then you have to use koudanshi's conversion scripts. Then you will have all users and links as part of the XOOPS site. Be aware though the XOOPS IPB module (from Koudanshi) makes changes to core files, so you have to wait for HIS updates when XOOPS core changes. That said, its a good module.

On my site the iframe simply provides a scroll bar when the page exceeds the frame length, however, I have made forum posts/ per page quite small, so this may not occur.

The version I have is not limited, not timed. It's fully functional but not supported. (at least not by IPB official) There are however other third party sites that DO support IPB software ie IBPlanet, but I've not seen that around for a bit. Its very popular however and there are loads of usergroups around.

As I said, iframes are not a perferct solution, but I do want to preserve my XOOPS core files AND have the benefits of a flexible forum. It's a matter of personal choice, I think.

When The XOOPS forum gives me the moderation and other features that I want, then I will change my options.

Jan304: oh I know it's open-source.. I used to write modules for MegaBBS and other portals/cms in my own "free time" as well. I just think it's important that the forum gets some attention ASAP as it's one of the biggest XOOPS weaknesses to date.

This software is AMAZING. The forum should be also. ;)