A few potential options:
1) Stay on phpBB but upgrade.
This is the path of least resistance for the established community. It's the interface we are used to, the features we know, just redone for a new version. This is not to say it won't be a lot of work, it will. It's just the most seamless transition for the community at large. There are a lot of new features in phpBB 3.2 and it will require a lot of modifications to our system. Furthermore there is a new layout and may take some time getting used to it. 2) Swap to a modern forum alternative.
Alternative forum software can be boiled down into a few choices, once you remove the obviously inferior and solutions that require recurring payment. These are:- Discourse - The model for "modern" discussion software. Designed to make conversation as seamless as possible, it maintains the general atmosphere of a forum structure similar to phpBB when it comes to single threads but popularized the idea of subforums as "categories", essentially removing the rigid subforum structure in favor of a tagging style system. The concern with this alternative is the less rigid hierarchy provided by the category system may make it difficult to maintain the structured game system we have now. With a separate automated signup this may not be a problem though. A lot of emphasis on user engagement and interface.
https://www.discourse.org/features
https://try.discourse.org/categories (best example of our use case, this is as similar to what our forum home page would be as we can get for an example without having a chance to style it)
- VBulletin - Usually viewed as a premium forum, it sticks with the standard forum/subforum/thread hierarchy that phpBB has so the presentation would be similar to what we have now. It outperforms phpBB in SEO ability but from other comments it appears the admin panel (and possibly user experience) is geared to users already knowing how to navigate the forum and its features. Price of $250, plus additional payments for future upgrades.
- Xenforo - Another premium forum with the same structure as phpBB. Outperforms phpBB in SEO and bills itself as an "engaging" platform with a like system and trophies for milestones. One time price of $140 which includes 12 months of upgrades, $40 to extend upgrade time period for 12 more months.
https://xenforo.com/demo/
- Flarum - An new alternative, really only here for completion sake. Copies a lot of ideas from Discourse with its own flair. If you didn't like Discourse you won't like Flarum as it has the same principles.
Of these options, upgrading to phpBB 3.2 will probably be the easiest option. I value your feedback and I value your input in helping us make the decision to move forward.
PS: Do you know how to design or program and want to volunteer some time for mafiascum? Then consider joining Omertà. Omertà is the mafiascum's design and coding team. To apply to join, go to User Control Panel -> Usergroups -> Omertà -> Join. You will then get a PM from Kison and will get set up with the team.
