Joomla Forum Review
Last Version | 1.5.18 (May 28, 2010). | Released under | GPL License. |
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Company | Open Source Matters, Inc.. | ||
Price | Free. |
Last Version | 1.5.18 (May 28, 2010). | Released under | GPL License. |
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Resources |
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Company | Open Source Matters, Inc.. | ||
Price | Free. |
Joomla is a content management system, so it is not a forum only, but a full PHP stack ready for building and maintaining websites. It won several prizes since it was created, and is clearly one of the Top 10 open source web softwares.
Joomla is a basically a CMS system, but it could be really more than just this. Its pluggable components are really powerful if you wish to extend the capabilities of your website, and adding a forum software to an existing Joomla installation is nothing but easy. This review is not only based on the Agora component we have chosen, but is more general about what Joomla is able to support, with a plugin, or not.
Server Requirements | ||
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Programming Language
Required Architecture and Versions.
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Web Servers
How the forum is delivered to users.
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Databases
How Forum Data are Stored.
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Operating Systems
Systems Supporting this Software.
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Browser & Client Requirements | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Compatible Browsers
List of Compatible Browsers.
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Required Plugins/Technologies
Additional or Basic Requirements from Client Side.
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Javascript, AJAX. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Localization
Languages supported by Joomla Forum.
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Yes.
Supported Languages:
List of existing translation available on the Joomla Community website. |
Joomla is extremely simple and convenient to install. Just follow the wizard and your Joomla instance will be ready in a minute. A classic LAMP architecture is needed, but Joomla could be installed on more exotic platform, like Microsoft IIS + MS SQL or other well known web server, like Lighttpd.
Compatibility with Smartphones | |
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Compatible SmartPhones
Compatible Cellphone Brands and Manufacturers.
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No. |
Application Distribution / Type
How it is distributed / App Store Availability
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No. |
Forum Threads / Topics | |||
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Forum Style | Flat/Threaded | Forum Organization |
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Thread Icons | Yes | Topic Tags | No |
Hot Topics | - | Unread Topics | Yes |
Hidden Topics | Yes | Sticky Threads | Yes |
Related Threads | - | Detect Duplicate Threads | No |
Announcements | Yes |
Posting Messages / Answers | |||
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Message Editing Form
How to Post Messages.
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Post Editing Format
Supported Markup Language (HTML, Wiki, BBCode,...).
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Spell Checker
Checks typos on posts and topics.
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Plugin | ||
Image Attachment
How Images can be Attached and Displayed in Message Posts.
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Embedded Videos
Videos and Media Websites Supported in Message Posts.
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No. |
Posting Features | |||
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Quick Reply Box | Yes | Smileys | Yes |
Attachments | Yes | Syntax Highlighting | Plugin |
Message Rating
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Yes | Message Quoting | Yes |
Posts features are quite complete, even if it lacks, by default, a spell checker, this is the only thing you'll miss from Joomla. Indeed, the several editors available (by installing additional components, or by default) are very useful depending on your needs: HTML editor only, that provides just helper buttons, plain text, if you need a strong control on user input or, the classic and famous TinyMCE editor, that brings WYSIWYG capabilities to Joomla.
Additional Forum Features | |
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Poll Creation | Yes |
Private Messages
Users Can Communicate using an Internal Messaging System.
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Yes |
Instant Messaging
Discuss with Visitors and Members in a Chat Window.
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Plugin |
Calendar
Topic, Member Birthdays, Events are available from the perspective of a calendar.
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Plugin |
Online Users List
Connected User List (Often Found in the Forum Footer).
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Yes |
Members List
Search and Consult the List of Members.
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Yes |
Technical Features | |
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Bundled Software
Additional Software Available with the Forum.
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RSS/Atom Syndication
Posts and Threads Exported to Feeds Aggregators
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No. |
Friendly URLs
URLs are clear and contain information about the topic (title, message,...).
Highly recommended for SEO purposes.
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Yes |
Post by Email
Post Directly From your Email Box.
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No |
Remote Control
Remote Control from External Software/Websites.
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No. |
Cache System
Cache pages to optimize bandwidth and load times.
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Yes |
Template Engine
It is easier to theme a forum using a known template engine (more docs & examples,...).
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Joomla is a really complete CMS... when some additional components are embedded with it. So you'll have to install complementary modules to benefit of additional features, like a calendar. About bundled softwares, the primary goal of Joomla is being a CMS, so publishing a website or a blog is, of course, provided by default by Joomla.
Member Options & Features | |
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Bookmark Threads
User Profiles Keep a List of Followed Posts and Topics.
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Yes |
Email Notifications
Receive Emails When New Messages are Posted in Followed Threads.
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Yes |
Export private messages
Private Messages can be Downloaded by Users.
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Payment Subscriptions
Paying Membership Subscription.
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User Profiles | |
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User Profile
User Information and Settings.
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Yes |
Avatars
Pictures of Members, Useful to Easily Identify their Posts.
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Yes |
Signature
Signatures Added at the Bottom of Each Message.
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Yes |
Ranks
Tags and Labels Identifying the Members, based on specific criteria (Total Posts Count, Credits, Moderation Level...)
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Yes |
Moderation & Threads Management | ||
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Moderation |
Pre-Moderation
In pre-moderation, every post needs to be validated by a moderator before being published.
Post-Moderation
The moderation is done afterwards, if an administrator notices a problem or if a member reports something wrong. Each message is therefore directly published.
Reactive Moderation
By reporting any problems, members are reactive against moderation problems.
Moderators' main objective is to regularly check user reports, without having to follow each threads.
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Moderator per section | Yes | |
Global Moderator | Yes | |
Move Threads
Move Threads from Topics
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Yes | |
Shadow Topics
When a thread is moved, the previous position is kept in order to inform users of this modification.
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Yes | |
Close/Lock Threads
Close/Lock Problematic Threads
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Yes |
Users Management | |
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User Groups
Organize and define groups of users, and apply different actions and settings on them.
Common Groups: Guests, Members, Moderators, Administrators,... |
Yes |
User Registration |
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Limit Features For New Users
Features are limited if a user has created a small number of posts.
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No |
Guest Posting | Yes |
Multiple Administrators | Yes |
Send Warnings to Users
Inform users by email or PM that they infringe the board rules, and could be excluded for such behavior.
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Plugin |
Forum/Section Restricted Access
ACL could be use to determine if a user or a group of users can access (in read only, post message) to some sections
and topics.
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Yes |
User Banishment | Yes |
Administrating Joomla is really easy and powerful. Its menu-based layout is clear and simple to use. Once your Agora (or other forum components) is installed, directly go to the Components menu, and open the related entry to customize your forum installation.
Database Management | |
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Backup Database
Backup forum datas that you could store somewhere else.
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Yes |
Prune Database
Remove old and unused datas from your forum.
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Yes |
Restore Database
Restore a backup of your database if the previous install crashed.
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Administration Tools | |||
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Statistics
Statistics about posts count, users, traffic...
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Yes |
Error/Notice Log Viewer
Forum Logs could be consulted.
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Plugin |
Tasks Scheduler
Maintenance tasks are regularly launched and could be scheduled.
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Plugin |
Mass Mailing
Send an email (newsletters, advertisements, information,...) to all users.
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Plugin |
Installation & Upgrading | |
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Installation Method
How this forum software could be installed.
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Installation Wizard |
Upgrading Method
How this forum software could be upgraded.
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Upgrade Wizard |
Updates Notifications
The Admin Panel informs you when a new version is released.
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Yes |
Forum Migration
Convert an existing forum to Joomla Forum.
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Yes. |
It is possible to migrate datas to Joomla, but unfortunately, no other forum softwares are supported yet. More information...
Of course, in the Joomla ecosystem, the most famous forum component, Agora, is able to convert existing forum competitors:
Security & Spam Protection | ||
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CAPTCHA
Captcha protects your forum against spam bots.
e.g.,
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Yes
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Abnormal Behavior Detection
Detect users or request strange behaviors, and try to process proactive actions.
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No | |
Words Filtering
Offensing Words are automatically replaced.
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Yes | |
User Blacklist
Prevent specific user accounts to register (based on email address, name,...) and disable potentially harmful members.
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Yes | |
IP Blocking
Prevent access to spam robots and other scripts that could attempt
DDOS or Brute Force attacks on your forum.
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Yes |
Security is really well implemented, and you can rely on the Joomla expertise to support your forum software. Anti-spam features like Captcha pictures and IP blocking are here to prevent your forum to be flooded by third-parties attacks.
Secunia Advisories severity affecting Joomla Forum.
Secunia Advisories impact affecting Joomla Forum.
Customization | |||
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Plugins
Add new features to your forum installation.
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Yes.
~5116 Available Plugins.
More info »
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Themes
Modify the style of your forum easily.
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Yes.
~250 Available Themes. |
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Custom BBCodes | Yes | Smiley Packs | Yes |
Custom Thread Icons |
Yes |
Additional User Profile Fields
Ask more about your members with custom fields.
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Plugin |
Integration with Applications, Social Networks, Intranet... | |
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Social Networks
Users can share information from their social network account...
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CMS / Blog Bridges
Integration with existing Web publishing tools.
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User Accounts Integration
Do users be able to log in with their corporate, Google, Facebook,... accounts?
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Content Aggregation
Forum allows to integrate news and content from other website,
using an aggregation protocol (RSS, RDF, Atom,...).
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No. |
If you prefer not using a specific forum extension but instead use a pure installation of an existing forum software, Joomla provides forum bridges for the following forum products:
More information on the Forum Bridges Extensions page.
Norms & Accessibility | |
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HTML / XHTML Markup
See W3C HTML Definition.
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XHTML 1.0 Transitional.
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Click to see if it respects HTML norms.
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CSS Stylesheets
See W3C CSS Definition.
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CSS 2. ![]()
Click to see if it respects CSS norms.
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Accessibility (WAI)
Web Accessibility ensures that the forum is usable by people of all abilities and disabilities.
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Conformance to AA level.
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UTF-8 Support
Default encoding used to support all locales and countries.
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Yes |
Conformance to W3C Norms
Does Joomla Forum correctly follow (X)HTML and CSS norms?
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Yes. |
Key points and major differences that make Joomla Forum unique:
Joomla is, without any doubt, a really good Content Management System. Its ability to support big websites and its configurability makes it a must have in the CMS world, as Drupal. It's therefore not a surprise if, by just adding a additional forum component, that this forum will benefit of all of these advantages.
Of course, it'll require more time and it is a little bit more complex than a simple MyBB installation, but if you plan to not just create a forum, then you have to think straight away about what will support your news, blog,... modules. And of course, the idea of using a CMS is really good, because all your website architecture will be centralized with a robust system (think about user accounts, antispam features,...), that is simply not true if you look at more simple forum software.
About our recommendations, we advice you to use the Agora component, that is one of the most complement Forum component in the Joomla world (even if others are good as well - Kunena). If you are more looking to a classic forum bridge, then we advice you the PhpBB 3 + Mehdi's Phpbb THREE bridge couple.
Comments (9)
Great review thanks for the
Great review thanks for the information about Joomla
Hell? ?t's me, I am also
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I have visited your website
I have visited your website and found here Great reviews , Thanks a lot for given this information ,
many thanks
many thanks
Great Review, Joomla has got
Great Review, Joomla has got to be one of the best open source CMS softwares around.
I used to work with sites
I used to work with sites created on Joomla! and I must say it is the most clear and understandable platform I ever worked with. Respect to its creators. Great job, guys, and thank you!
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No offense guys, but from my
No offense guys, but from my personal experience, I think the developer of Joomla could have done a beeter job at simplifying things. Why wordpress was developed to be so easy to use while Joomla developers seems like made it for software developers only who know all the stuff! The Joomla forum is also not easy to use. I am sorry!
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Joomla is a good content
Joomla is a good content management system. It has a simple user interface. Features are nice and easy to use. The plugins are making our work more easy.
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