web forum software with subforums
March 5, 2008 7:39 PM Subscribe

Recommend a web forum software that allows for an arbitrarily large number of sub-forums.

I want to build a tree structured forum: let's say on the front page you can select from Cars and Trucks. You click on Cars and it takes you to a list of makes. Then you click on makes and find a list of models. You click on that and it takes you to a list of years. You click on that and you are in the forum. I only want to true discussions at the bottom of the 'tree'

posted by zorro astor to computers & internet (6 comments total) 2 users marked this as a favorite

I've used phpBB and I'm pretty sure it can do this. Invision can too, I think.

Careful though, you're going to drown yourself in details.
posted by TomMelee at 7:44 PM on March 5

SMF does this. But, is this really what you want? You need a lot of active posters to make this worthwhile. When there are too many folders, there is no serendipity, no chance browsing. I mean, hey, if metafilter was like this, the chances i would click on 'ask' then 'computers and internet' then 'forum software' and then your post, would be zero.
posted by kamelhoecker at 7:57 PM on March 5

SMF is free
posted by rhizome at 7:57 PM on March 5

Thanks. I plan of adding links to jump one level. That shouldn't be that hard.
posted by zorro astor at 8:13 PM on March 5

This is a feature of any worthwhile message board software. I run a community using SMF (linked above) and I really like it from an administrative standpoint. It's pretty ugly and cluttered and it's difficult to modify that, but it works and gives you lots of control over important things.

I used PHPBB for years and I hated it. Development is incredibly slow, and you have to install all sorts of third-party modifications to get it to do basic things. It's also had major security issues in the past. I have no idea why it's so popular.
posted by loiseau at 9:05 PM on March 5

Oh, but like kamelhoecker said, I think you are over-compartmentalizing things. It is very, very difficult to have a robust community when the subfora are so incredibly specific. I too recommend you reconsider what you're planning to do.
posted by loiseau at 9:07 PM on March 5

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web forum software with subforums March 5, 2008 7:39 PM Subscribe

web forum software with subforums
March 5, 2008 7:39 PM Subscribe