What kind of forums have you used with your Joomla site? What is your favorite for use with Joomla?

Is a forum considered a 'module' or a 'component'?

As you can tell by my questions...I am still a joomla newbie.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Hello. I really like SMF and a lot of Joomla users integrate SMF in their Joomla sites using the bridge. I had some problems getting the bridge to work on this site and after reading on the SMF forums that the maintainer for the official SMF Joomla Bridge is not going to be supporting that component with Joomla 1.5, I decided to look for another option.

I also had a look at the instructions for installing phpBB via the bridge and decided I didn't want to mess with it, too much hacking involved. You can search for the SMF and phpBB bridge components on the Joomla Extensions directory.

I had used the JoomlaBoard component on another site that is in production, but on the back burner for now (waiting for Jooomla 1.5 stable). I decided to revisit this one. It is a native Joomla component and integrates seamlessly with Joomla. I would think it is less resource intensive than the other stand-alone forums. It is a bit rough around the edges, but works quite well. That is what I am using for this forum. If you have some skill with coding and CSS you can theme the forums quite nicely. I recommend checking out JoomlaBoard for integrating a message board in Joomla.

Thank You ThemeBot!!! I have one more question.

The joomlaBoard was exceptionally easy to install. I have it installed and it looks great! From the back end that is. How do I find it on the front end so that I can add a link to my homepage so that it can be entered by registered users?

I found the installation and configuration process really easy. I love the control panel for admin.
I am still a newbie with the joomla and am still building my site. Remembering where things are listed is a challenge. But, I am sold on the joomla concept. I can see that it is going to be exceptional when I figure out the set up and back end terminology and application.

Thank You again for the suggestion and for this wonderful site. I found a template that I really like and will be adding your website and the information about the designer of the template has already been added automatically as part of the template. Thoughtful and smart designer!!!

GypsyOwl

It can be a bit confusing when you first start learning a CMS. You need to create a menu item that points to the JoomlaBoard component. Then it will be accessible from the frontend.

I do not like the Joomlaboard feature, not flashy enough for me I install joomlaboard, phpbb2/3 and SMF on my Joomla site. I believe that phpbb2 is the best. I find it has the increased number of services over joomlaboard but has an easier interface over SMF. Unfortunately, all the joomla-forum templates are for SMF but im sure if you felt strongly about it, make your own forum template.

phpbb FTW

Hi MuffinDCC. Would you mind sharing a link for the Joomla site with phpBB bridged, so we could check it out?

For sites that run the forum stand-alone, I think SMF and phpBB can't be beat. But if you want to integrate with a CMS, have the users automatically synced, and not have a lot of headaches when upgrades and patches are applied, I think it is better to run a forum that is specific to the CMS being used. Just my opinion.