SMF - Key Features

General

  • Uses PHP and MySQL.
  • Comprehensive template system.
  • Advanced permission and user management.
  • Supports multiple languages at once.
  • Open and well-documented source code.
  • Tracking of new and old unread topics, not just from your last visit.
  • Designed for optimal performance and scalability.
  • Multi-media output. (XHTML, XML, RSS, WAP)
  • Multi-language support from a large community.
  • ackage manager that automatically installs or uninstalls mods.
  • Search

Security

  • All actions seamlessly require a session based authorization code.
  • Administrative actions require the user's password (and do not rely solely on cookies.)
  • Major actions are time and IP locked, preventing 'hammering'.
  • The number of login attempts from a certain IP can be limited and time locked.

Forum Settings

  • Ability to display page creation time and query count per page.
  • Put a board into maintenance mode, allowing only admins to login.
  • Word censoring, either full word or partial.
  • Ability to break up long words.

Boards and Categories

  • Group boards into collapsible categories.
  • Set categories as non-collapsible.
  • Reorder boards within categories, or reorder categories.
  • Create child boards under other boards. (sub boards)
  • Assign moderators to boards.
  • Allow certain membergroups to access a board, including guests only.
  • Configure permissions for each membergroup on the board level.
  • Ability to indicate new posts to child boards but nothing new in parent.

Member Registration

  • Require registration before forum entrance.
  • Require a user to agree to terms before they register.
  • Disable member registration completely (allowing only moderators to register people).
  • Require email authentication by sending an authentication link.
  • Require a moderator to approve registration.
  • Register new members from the admin center.

Member Navigation and Authentication

  • Several security checks during navigation.
  • Password reminder option, by email with confirmation. (doesn't automatically reset your password.)
  • Both cookie and session based authentication (works without cookies.)
  • Adjustable expiration time for authentication cookies.

Member Tracking and Tracing

  • Sortable and searchable public memberlist (accessible by a permission.)
  • Powerful sortable and searchable admin memberlist.
  • Show all (error) messages and IPs made by a member. (track user)
  • Show all (error) messages from an IP address or range. (track IP)
  • See who's doing what (accessible by permission.)

Statistics

  • Several board statistics (accessible by permission.)
  • Tracking of member's online time in seconds.
  • Tracking of topics, messages, new members, and hits per day.
  • Individual member statistics accessible from their profile.

News and Announcements

  • Ability to create announcement boards (members receive a notification of topics automatically.)
  • Member option to disable receiving announcements.
  • Email or private message your members by membergroup.
  • Show a news ticker or news fader.

Communication

  • Ability to choose sendmail or SMTP (with or without authentication.)
  • Ability to send a topic to a friend.
  • Ability to view a "printer friendly" version of topics.

Membergroups

  • Create membergroups to group members on permissions, access rights, and/or appearance.
  • Assign several membergroups to a single member, with one membergroup as the primary group.
  • Define membergroups that are auto-assigned based on the amount of posts a user has.
  • Determine the maximum number of personal messages a membergroup is allowed to have by group.
  • Assign graphical symbol(s) to a membergroup - by primary group.
  • Determine which membergroups are allowed to access a board.

Banning

  • Ban members based on their username, email address, IP address or hostname.
  • Support of wildcards for email address, IP address, and hostname.
  • Include a ban reason (viewable for the banned user).
  • Include a ban note (only viewable by the admins).
  • Chose between full ban, 'no post' ban, or registration ban.
  • Include an expiration time for bans.

External integration

  • Integrate parts of forum software directly into MODx websites.
  • Export forum data using XML/RSS

Wireless access

  • Support for WAP, WAP2 and I-mode protocols.
  • Browse through boards/topics/messages with reduced page size.
  • Ability to login and logout (not with WAP 1.)
  • Ability to see new topics/boards with new replies.
  • Ability to jump to first unread reply.
  • Ability to post new messages (not with WAP 1.)

Theming and Templating

  • Ability to allow or disallow your users to select their own theme.
  • Ability to reset all of your members to a certain theme.
  • Ability to install a new theme via your administration center.
  • Default templates are XHTML 1.0 Transitional and CSS 2.0 compliant.
  • Admin can add smileys and smiley sets.
  • Members can choose which smiley set they wish to use (or none.)
  • Themes can be installed by way of the "latest and greatest themes" panel.
  • SSI can have and show layers and the like from the template system.

Posting Features

  • Quick Reply (Also contains "Spell Check").
  • Vast number of "bulletin board codes" to use (including rtl, acronym, and others.)
  • Optional editing grace period before a post is shown as modified.
  • 'Insert Quote' feature on posting screen to quickly quote previous replies.

Polls

  • Can be added or removed to existing topics.
  • Ability to set expiration date.
  • Ability to hide results till expiration of poll.
  • Ability to hide results until after people have voted.
  • Ability to determine how many votes a user may cast.
  • Polls can have up to 256 options.

Attachments

  • Allowed on a per member group or board basis.
  • The filename can be encrypted to increase the security (so you can upload .php files, etc.)
  • Optional restriction on what filetypes may be uploaded.
  • Ability to restrict such that only registered members can view them (disables hotlinking, mostly.)
  • Images can be embedded into posts.

Calendar Support

  • Shows Birthdays, Events and Holidays.
  • Display calendar information on board index.
  • Link an existing topic to the calendar.
  • Allow only certain members/groups post events.
  • Event poster can edit event.
  • Events can span multiple days.

Moderation Tools

  • Ability to lock and unlock a topic.
  • Ability to allow members to use moderation on just topics they posted.
  • "Report to moderator" link.
  • Delete or modify posts.
  • Ability to Merge/Split/move and delete topics.
  • Sticky or unsticky topics.
  • Recycle bin/board for all deleted topics and posts.
  • Moderation log which shows moderation activity and disallows log removal outside of 1 day.
  • AJAX editing (Edit a post without page reloads).

User Profiles and User Options

  • Ability to hide your email address from the public.
  • Select their favorite theme among the activated forum themes.
  • Select their smiley set from the ones available.
  • Email notification
  • Login with 'invisible' mode.
  • Options to hide other members' avatars and signatures.
  • Ability to download and resize uploaded avatars.
  • Personal text, avatar, signature, and all the niceties of forums can be used and are kept up to date in all your posts.

User Resources

  • Icons for topics you've posted to.
  • Show new replies to your posts.
  • Collapsible 'Additional Options' on post screen.
  • Ability to view most recent messages.
  • List all topics that have new replies since your last visit.
  • See who is browsing the same boards or topics as you.
  • Topics that span multiple pages have the page numbers listed as well as an "all" link.