bbpress vs. phpbb

If intergation is what you need the most, bbPress would likely be the best for you as it is developed by the same people as WordPress.

I don’t mind if the forum is not fully integrated, and from what i understand bbPress is not yet compatible with WP 2.6.

What difference does it make whether or not the forum is integrated? Users might have to login separately to use a non-integrated forum? Are there any other differences?

Is there another free forum that you might suggest?

It depends on the actual forum and what you actually want to do with it. Most major forum software at least as a mod to intergate the userbase with the forum and WordPress.

phpBB
phpBB is known to have quite a few bugs and sadly is quite known to get cracked every other week but updates do roll out pretty quickly. If you want to use phpBB and want to intergate the users, follow this link.

MyBB
MyBB is another free forum software (Not opensource, just free) that is much like the older versions of vB. MyBB support is okay and helpful and someone has made a bridge to intergate the two (Still in Beta, so be careful) and that can be located here.

bbPress
Now I ain’t used bbPress alot but it the feel of bbPress is much like WordPress and offers a bridge to intergate both WordPress and bbPress together.

If I recall correctly, bbPress only works with 2.5.1 correctly right now and an update to bbPress to work with 2.6 however it is still being developed and it is unknown when it is be ready for the public. However, a good point is that it is developed by the same team as WordPress and it is likely they will keep developing it for as long as WordPress lives.

If you want to read the blog post about WordPress 2.6 and bbPress, click here

Plugins
Now, you can also get a forum software that works as a WordPress plugin and the one I would say for you to get is known as Simple:Press. It intergate the userbase so your members do not need to sign up again to access your forum, with some minor editting and look exactly like your site and it can also sync blog posts and forum topics.

I personally would go with Simple:Press as it patches are made quickly, looks lovely and Andy is a nice guy like the support. However, it would to try them all and see which one you like the best.

Just remember, once you have choosen the one you want that it is often hard to then move to another one without alot of hassle. There are many others however this was posted quickly with the free ones I personally use.

I really appreciate it. I will take a look at Simple:Press. That might be the easiest thing to try first and see how it goes. Thanks!!

I use SimplePress as well – I love it, no headaches at all, and the fellas at Yellow Swordfish give this plugin excellent support.

Hi there, yes I agree with RoseCitySister
I use bbpress with 2.5.1 and its great with integration, have just started with simple press on my new 2.6 site and its very impressive, make sure you read the instructions though, its a slightly different install to your average plugin.
good luck.
mike.

I wouldn’t recommend bbPress to anyone since it does not work with anything past 2.5.1. The alpha versions will sometimes install and sometimes partially work. I regret having tried to use it since 9.02. I kept thinking maybe next week it will get fixed and the seasons just keep changing.

There was a talk on a WordPress podcast (i think it was WordPress weekly or wordcast) about bridging WordPress and PHPBB. it would be interesting.

I personally keep WP and phpbb seperate on my site.