Does forum software matter?

[Smokey]

Does the software that powers the community matter or make a difference within whether the forum is successful or not? What do you think?

Personally, I don't think the software being used makes a difference. I've been on forums that haven't been updated in decades but are still rather active and flourishing in terms of success. However, others may feel differently, so I'm curious, do you think the software matters?

 

[Xyphien]

I think it has an impact personally. There's a ton of things that make the difference between a successful website and one that isn't. Software plays a little role in this. For example, I personally don't go to any VB forums. I've never liked how they're designed, laid out, etc. nor will I put myself in the position where I have to go and struggle just to edit my profile (idk if they've updated this, but that's been my opinion for years). Some software are better at specific things, and some people might have bias over others.

When it comes down to it though, the software itself doesn't play as much in the success rate of your site as the amount of effort, time, and money you've put into your site does.

 

[TheJason]

It depends on how good you are at customization - or if you even want to bother with that. However, if you're simply comparing paid forum solutions - you might look at what comes with the most ready-made features.

For example, I personally don't go to any VB forums. I've never liked how they're designed, laid out, etc. nor will I put myself in the position where I have to go and struggle just to edit my profile (idk if they've updated this, but that's been my opinion for years). Some software are better at specific things, and some people might have bias over others.

As I mentioned in some other forums, I encountered too much spam and bad graphics. However, though, as also mentioned, I felt like the owners may have been to blame due to negligence/ignorance (lack of updating, other up-keep, bad ways of fighting spam).

 

[dojo]

Yes, it does matter. From how members view the community, to how stable it is and how easy is to run.

phpBB - used it back in the day. Webmaster forums. Heavily modded, with an unique design made by me. No, they didn't like it, we purchased VB. It grew faster.
MyBB - another webmaster forum. Worked beautifully until we reached a bigger community. Database crashes, server errors.
xenforo - moved a huge half-million posts forum of a client, who used VBulletin. From horrible crashes and timeouts, the new xenforo worked beautifully from day one. The forum is still up and running smoothly.