I am currently running a system with a security enhanced version of PHPNuke. Aside from the fact that the "owner" of PHPNuke basically decides everything for himself, I am looking for reasons why I should switch to another portal system. A co-worker has setup a number of systems using XOOPS and suggested I look into it. Since he has never used any other system, he is not very much in a position to say why I should use one over the other. So, I am turning to this forum looking for information about just why I should switch.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

I had previously used Drupal, Mambo, phpwebsite I think, and php-nuke, and found the modular approach to XOOPS just so easy to install and maintain.

There is a site dedicated to comparisons between CMS's, take a look here:

http://www.cmsmatrix.org/matrix

(Looks like the information for XOOPS is seriously out of date on that site, it has much more functionality/features than are listed there).

Bare in mind that the XOOPS version on cmsmatrix is 2.06, so it's quite out of date.

http://www.opensourcecms.com is also a good site, and you can try out all the major cms's without installing them.

I think the major ones, as mentioned above are all quite similar, and it really boils down to what you are most comfortable administrating. Best to try them out and see how they feel to you.

I ran phpnuke sites for several years. I left during one of the many forking sessions it has. The straw in my proverbial camel's back was when nuke deleted the support forums and shortly after went pay for updates including security fixes even though most of the fixes were provided by the public, not the developer. I don't know if things have changed since (and quite frankly, I don't care since I am a very happy XOOPS user). That decision split the nuke community (again) and made everyone angry at everyone else. In short, it wasn't fun to run a nuke site anymore.

I researched the options and settled on Xoops. It has several active developers, a supportive community, a main website where I can get information and ideas. And most importantly, it's secure and constantly monitored for holes which are patched quickly. Yes XOOPS has it's share of drama, but it's actually productive most of the time and the participants normally mean well even if they get heated -- that's a lot different from the Nuke dev tantrums....

Over the years, I've found the XOOPS php code to be easily mod'able even for a complete novice like myself. The themes are laid out clearly and are moving toward all css-based for layout.

Xoops has an upgrade path and a plan. I've never had any issues updating a site. I can update my sites remotely, adding and removing modules with a few clicks. I can almost taste the ability to easily run multiple sites from a single database.

I've tried several options. Anyone choosing a CMS should do so too. XOOPS works for ME. You need to decide if it works for you.

Good review Speed, you should join the marketing team

I just finished writing a fairly long reply. I clicked on submit and got the message I was not authorized to reply. If I was not authorized to reply (although logged in) why did I even get to the pages to write a reply? Maybe I timed out, which I couldn't tell. However, why was my post trashed, never to be found again?

Not a good start....

jimmo42, it's a pity!

The original reason was that your session had expired after a long time of writing.
Your input could be restored if the forum used the up-to-date XOOPS module.

Hope you will find out the real XOOPS.

The timeouts for posts is a good/bad thing. :)

You've just run across one of the things that makes XOOPS more secure. It closes sessions within reasonable amounts of time which are adjustable by the administrator. I presume it prevents session hijacking. I presume it also helps it to recover resources.

I frequently spend an hour or so writing responses on my own site. I like to be able to write in between other tasks and give myself some time to (re)consider what I've written. As a result, I've gotten into the habit of highlighting and copying my text before submitting. If I've timed out, I re-login and paste my text. Problem solved.

I've found that many very busy sites have short timeouts regardless of the forum or CMS software they use. This habit has helped me keep my sanity....

You will very likely find that XOOPS has a number of minor annoyances like this. They result in a more secure CMS with the cost being some inconvenience. Some of them have hacks to work-around them for those that don't mind a little less security. Use the search function here. And don't be afraid to ask whether something is possible/changeable/hackable to better suit your needs.

Hi
I am a complete newbe with xoops. but so far i like it much more then the systems i used bevor.
Which were phpnuke, mambo, joomla and i tested various others.

The reason why i like XOOPS is that it is very straight forward, it seems to be easy to learn and for me most important: There is quality behind it! Everything seems to be working and testet bevor it apears on the website for download. even the templates are of good qualitiy.

On other systems i found lot of problems ones you go a little bit deeper into configuration, or changing templates...

xoops just seems to work, thats all i need and i hope it stayes that way.

Xoops is the best cms in my opinion, basically it is one of the most popular and advanced systems, it is easy to use to but complicated in some way, it provides a system for anyone to everyone.