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I want to create an online forum. From my server settings I have two option of smf and phpbb. I hate both of them!. Is there any solution to turn the wordpress to a full blown online forum?

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3 Answers

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Simple:Press is what you are looking for. According to their Web site, they are "the number one forum plugin that integrates seamlessly into your WordPress website."

bbPress is another good one.

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up vote 1 down vote

bbPress might be what you're after. It's a forum plugin written by the creators of WordPress. You can learn more about the plugin at its site, or look at the plugin page at WordPress.org to learn more. I've used it for simple forum purposes, and its worked quite well.

I would recommend it over Simple:Press if you're looking for something easy to use, theme, and change. The name aside, Simple:Press is quite large and even had its own plugin system (you have plugins for a plugin, which is weird). Also, as far as I could tell, you needed to pay to read the Simple:Press documentation, where the bbPress docs are available freely.

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Actually, bbPress isn't an Automattic product, they just take the time to contribute to the project. It's open source and run by the community, just like WordPress. – EAMann♦ May 25 '12 at 22:08
@EAMann Are you sure? I agree that bbPress is open source and in that way not "owned" by anyone in particular, but I think I'm correct in saying that it was created by Automattic. From the site: "bbPress is forum software with a twist from the creators of WordPress." Also, on the plugin page, Matt Mullenweg is listed as one of the authors. – Gavin Anderegg May 25 '12 at 22:36
Matt is one of the authors, yes. He's also one of the authors of WP. But WP was not "created" by Automattic, and neither was bbPress. – EAMann♦ May 25 '12 at 22:40
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@EAMann Ok, I think I understand your point. I've updated my answer to fit. – Gavin Anderegg May 25 '12 at 22:44
up vote -2 down vote

The most widely used forum(ish) solution for WP is http://buddypress.org/

If you just want them to look a like, you could use a custom theme and build key elements so they can be included in each application. I have seen plugins for bridging WP with other forums, but don't know how well they work. If you just want the look to be similar, I wouldn't worry about bridging it.

There are also other forum plugins for WordPress, though none of them really come close to the functionality of SMB or PHPBB. It will boil down to your exact needs. I would try to stick with something as "supported" by WP as possible.

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BuddyPress is a social networking plug-in, not a forum. It can be integrated with a forum plug such as SimplePress. – Joseph May 25 '12 at 20:08
@Joseph - Still, a lot of people use it to serve as a forum. – user1337 May 25 '12 at 20:22

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