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What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ? Started by meetdilip · · Read 12480 times 0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic. previous topic - next topic

What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

I am not trying to be negative. But we all know one day someone will ask this question. I agree that we are up to date. But if someone ask why should I use ElkArte, what will be your answer(s) ?

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #1 –

Antlers. :)
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #2 –

Wombats!! :D

 emanuele runs
Bugs creator.
Features destroyer.
Template killer.

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #3 –

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about the wombats. So that's two unique (and very cool) features.
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #4 –

Serious answers:

Elkarte has a large capacity for addons, mods, themes and other things that extend the basic functionality of the core forum. It is easily extensible, and addons are easy to install. Because Elkarte has a shared history with SMF, it shares its strength in this respect, and it's entirely possible to take a forum like Elkarte and turn it into a full site with an e-shop, games and other draws for visitors, all without even utilizing the forum aspect.

Elkarte is also modern and up to date, making it competitive with the latest versions of vBulletin and IPB, or phpBB 3 and the like. It's a useful, open source choice for someone who wants to build a simple discussion board, and powerful enough for someone who wants to build an entire community, without having to pay a single cent for the core software.

I hope that helps.

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #5 –

Short version: competitive with the high cost solutions, but without the high cost.
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #6 –

Not sure but I think PbE (Post by E-Mail) is a unique feature. Haven't seen it in other boards before..
Thorsten "TE" Eurich
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Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #7 –

Mirai Gaia actually has had post by email for a long time.  (Well, assuming it didn't go missing in the latest incarnation like some other features.)

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #8 –

Indeed...
http://www.dannychoo.com/en/post/25399/Upload+via+email.html
That was in 2010. Dunno about later. But that's not really a forum system, is it..?
Also there is github of course but they're not a forum system either. :P

Anyway, post by email is the one feature Elk has that Wedge doesn't have and that I want it to have, too. So if I were you guys, I'd make it very prominent in my marketing. ;) neither SMF nor Wedge will have this anytime soon. Personally, I'm too worried about potential spam. (Eg user gets a virus that starts spamming user's contact list.)

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #9 –

MG is pretty close to a forum system.  Look at figure.fm.  A series of categories.  Users make posts.  Others comment on those posts.  It just has a front page that lists most recent topics rather than the category list (that's a drop down) and the comments are threaded instead of flat.

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #10 –

I am pretty realistic (and from time to time pessimistic), so don't be scared if I don't say Elk is the best forum script ever.
I don't say it for two reasons:
1) I'm realistic,
2) not being means to me we have to improve. This is true even if Elk was the best, but believing Elk is not the best makes it easier for me to have goals and expectations).

Well, saying "other scripts" to me means "what does ElkArte have that is not yet available anywhere else?".
Well, I kind of think that at the moment the real answer (apart from marketing) is: nothing.

I'm pretty sure that anything Elk has is available *somewhere*.
If I'm not wrong, Discourse has post-by-email.
Xenforo has a responsive theme.
Likes are available for sure in some script.
Mentions as well.
And so on.

Does any other script have all of them together in a single package?
Some may have, dunno.

There are several features. I don't think there is anywhere a complete list of features ElkArte has[1], TBH I'm not even sure myself... lol

Regarding the code: Elk derives from SMF, we (those that worked on it until now) have changed it quite a bit making it hopefully easier to use. The refactoring and changes are "just started", take a look at @groundups's work and ideas (even though I'm doing my best to make him angry :P I hope you won't give up just for my stubbornness in understand things ;D).
1 And create such a list would be a wonderful task for anyone that wants to contribute but doesn't have coding skills! ;D Here in a topic or at github wiki (probably better here <-- hint :P)↵
Bugs creator.
Features destroyer.
Template killer.

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #11 –

Yup. TBH this sort of thing is like arguing over best football team or best car. There may be some basis in fact, but the selection thereof is often highly subjective. If someone tells me they like vB more than Elk I'll probably think they're as bonkers as if they claimed Chevrolets were better cars than Mercedes Benz, but they're entitled to their opinion.
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #12 –

 Unfortunately, to most people, it boils down to whether or not they like the default look.
If elk's default theme is not their cup of tea, they won't even bother that it has plenty of great features -- or other themes for that matter! First impressions are crucial. XenForo was successful because it had a nice default theme. People didn't care that it only had a tenth of vB's feature set. (Not that I like VB...)

Sad but true.

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #13 –

Makes sense. I remember back when 2.0.x was in development. Aaron showed me a demo of the upcoming IPB release and we were both blown away by the contrast with SMF. Even if the two had been the same price (IPB is far from free) and with the same feature set (IPB was more advanced) I wouldn't blame the average mug for going with IPB over SMF. It's a good argument for not using bargain basement looks on the default (assuming you want increased market share).
Master of Expletives: Now with improved family f@&king friendliness! :D

Sources code: making easy front end changes difficult since 1873. :P

Re: What does ElkArte have that others scripts don't give ?

Reply #14 –

True.
The main reason I never tried MyBB is because I don't like the theme of the home page of their site.

 emanuele runs
Bugs creator.
Features destroyer.
Template killer.