To those of us who are still here...

[MrShanks2U]

I'm going to try to work on the site over the holidays. This is going to involve installing new forum software. I'm just curious as to which forum software everyone here prefers. I'm partial to SMF (Simple Machines Forum). The others I am including as options are PHPBB (what we use now), and Vanilla Forum. I believe that the hosting on this site is Linux so those are the only ones that are compatible.

Here are links so you can see what each looks like:
SMF (Simple Machines Forum): http://www.simplemachines.org/community/index.php
phpBB (What we use now, but here is the link for the newest version): http://www.phpbb.com/community/
Vanilla Forum: http://vanillaforums.org/discussions

One thing we have to keep in mind is that when the forum software is switched, everything will be lost (usernames, post counts, profiles, etc.). I know this is a pain in the 4$$, but this board needs to be cleaned up and reorganized if we ever have hopes of getting people back, or getting new people, or just improving the site in general.

Here is what I can do: Everyone that would like to keep their usernames, I can register those names once the new software is set up and you will get your same username on the new boards. If you would like to keep your current username, send me an email indicating that you would like to do so. I will register your username on the new board and send you an email with a temporary password once everything is up and running. My email is MrShanks2U@yahoo.com

[Seven]

Most forums I frequent use phpBB.
Simple Machines is good. Probably the most "user friendly" especially for non-computer people to post on.
Never heard of Vanilla.

[Seven]

IMO vBulletin is the simplest to use for all parties.
I assume it doesn't work with Linux.

[MrShanks2U]

VBulletin is simple to use...but I don't think it's free. Also, with the hosting for this site being done through GoDaddy, they have a few forums set up so that they are "one click" install. This means we select the forum we want, click install, and GoDaddy installs everything for free. All we have to do is log in, and create the boards. It's pretty simple. Only thing is, they only have a few...phpBB, simple machines, vanilla, and yaBB. I think the first three are the only ones that work with our linux hosting. I'll keep looking into phpBB and simple machines. I think they are going to be the best options for our site. I'll keep everyone posted.