Which MetaFilter clone (for a non-programmer)?

January 17, 2004 3:01 PM

Of all the free metafilter clones which one would you recommend as the best for someone who knows html, but not really any programming? What makes it good?

I'm comfortable with configuration files and server installation and things like that, but I can't really dive into any PHP code and say what's going on.

posted by rhyax to computers & internet (2 answers total)

Dunno about the ones that people have built -- when I last looked 'em for my long-delayed metalfilter.org project, the all seemed kinda weird. For what it's worth, a metafilter clone might be a good place to start with learning how to build your own. If you know html, then moving over to full blown php programming isn't really that evil. Any of the basic books can probably teach you what you need to know in a few hours. Once you learn the basics of mysql db access and session authentication, you can build it any way you want.
posted by ph00dz at 10:39 PM on January 17, 2004

I've toyed with Metaphilter and FreeFilter both. I thought MetaPhi was easier on the outset... I've since started playing with B2Evolution (a port of the GPL B2 blogging tool) and I think it could work for your purposes. Installation is really a cinch and I'm learning a lot about PHP just by trying to tweak the templates and output to my liking (though much is governed by CSS if you don't want to trudge thru code). You might also check out Open Source CMS which has default installations of dozens of blogging/community tools and see if any of those are to your liking.
posted by ao4047 at 8:45 AM on January 18, 2004