Re: Plone vs. phpBB

I have no experience with using Plone for a bulletin board, but I would
imagine the level of compliance with WAI is rather dependant on the add-on
specifically used for this purpose (and not just dependant on Plone itself).

phpBB I can recommend, as it is very easy to install and maintain, is more
or less single A already and can be fairly easy adapted to be more compliant
(although "skinning", or templating phpBB to conform is probably trickier
than doing templates for most CMSes; personally, I'd prefer skinning phpBB
over Plone add-ons though). It's basically the standard for bulletin board
functionality (not that I would claim it has the widest use, but in general
its interface feels rather intuitive for its purpose). Probably the only
very useful feature it lacks "out-of-the-box" is the ability to upload files
as attachments to posts (but there are modules to add that functionality, as
well, and many systems administrators are quite critical of allowing unknown
visitors to upload files to a server, anyway).

The only worry I have with phpBB installs is that although they're easy to
maintain (install, upgrade), maintenance is also critical. There have been
several (sometimes automated) hacks for previous versions (some very nasty
SQL-injects, either wiping the forum, or granting full admin rights to the
hacker, etcetera). Not just because the basic architecture wasn't that
secure, but also because as phpBB is hugely popular, finding a hack is
really worthwhile to a hacker ;) So it's imperative to keep up with upgrades
(even more so than the fact that this is good practice in general) and to
have a good backup procedure in place.

Adriaan M. Bloem
__

Project Manager
ICS Web Communication / Infra,
Leiden University

Visiting address: Rapenburg 70, room E0.05
Postal address: P.O. Box 9500, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands
Telephone: +31 71 527 7897


> -----Oorspronkelijk bericht-----
> Van: [email protected] 
> [mailto:[email protected]] Namens Olli Aro
> Verzonden: dinsdag 19 september 2006 23:27
> Aan: [email protected]
> Onderwerp: Re: [CMS] Plone vs. phpBB
> 
> While with Plone you would get out of box W3C single A, it is 
> a CMS with add-on products for bulletin board functionality 
> (such as http://plone.org/products/plonegossip), so lacks 
> some more sophisticated features that dedicated bulleting 
> board might offer such as phpBB. phpBB on the other hand ,as 
> far as I know, does not support W3C single A out of box and I 
> have no idea how much work it would be to modify the code accordingly.
> 
> In my opinion maintenance and configuration wise both are 
> quite easy and mature.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Olli 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [email protected]
> [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Dan Harrison
> Sent: 19 September 2006 20:51
> To: [email protected]
> Subject: [CMS] Plone vs. phpBB
> 
> I'm wondering if anyone can help.  We're looking to implement 
> a bulletin board, and were wondering whether anyone had 
> experience of either Plone or phpBB, and whether anyone can 
> recommend either.
> 
> In particular, it would be useful if anyone has any views on 
> the following:
> 
> - We need to make the system W3C single A compliant.  Is 
> there anything specific we need to bear in mind with respect 
> to either product?
> - How easy/difficult is either system to maintain?: 
> moderation, upgrade, configuration etc.
> - Is there any out-of-the-box functionality that comes in the 
> area of MIS?
> 
> Any help you can provide would be hugely appreciated.  Thanks!
> 
> Dan.
> 
> Dan Harrison
> w: www.osirra.com
> 
> _______________________________________________
> cms mailing list
> [email protected]
> Subscription controls:
> http://lists.cms-forum.org/mailman/listinfo/cms
> Netiquette FAQ and related CMS lists - [cms-forum], [cms-pr], 
> [contentmanagers], [cmpros] 
> http://www.cmsreview.com/NetiquetteFAQ.html
> http://www.cms-lists.org
> 
> --
> No virus found in this incoming message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.5/450 - Release 
> Date: 18/09/2006
>  
> 
> -- 
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG Free Edition.
> Version: 7.1.405 / Virus Database: 268.12.5/450 - Release 
> Date: 18/09/2006
>  
> 
> 
> 		
> ___________________________________________________________ 
> Inbox full of spam? Get leading spam protection and 1GB 
> storage with All New Yahoo! Mail. 
> http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html
> _______________________________________________
> cms mailing list
> [email protected]
> Subscription controls:
> http://lists.cms-forum.org/mailman/listinfo/cms
> Netiquette FAQ and related CMS lists - [cms-forum], [cms-pr], 
> [contentmanagers], [cmpros]
> http://www.cmsreview.com/NetiquetteFAQ.html
> http://www.cms-lists.org