MyBB

MyBB (MyBulletinBoard) is free, open-source forum software written in PHP and backed by a MySQL database. It lets you quickly launch an online community organised around thematic boards, threads and posts, with a rich system of permissions, moderation and appearance customisation.

How MyBB works

MyBB arranges discussion into a classic forum structure: categories contain boards, boards hold threads, and threads gather users' posts. The system provides full community-management tooling. Its key features:

• Permissions and user groups — precise assignment of access and moderation rights to different groups of users.
• Template engine — full control over the forum's appearance through editable themes and HTML templates.
• Plugins — extensions that add new features without modifying the core script.
• Reputation and profiles — points, badges and rich profiles that build community engagement.
• Private messages and notifications — user-to-user communication and alerts about replies in watched threads.
• Admin control panel — a clear interface for managing boards, users and forum settings.

MyBB in practice

MyBB fits anywhere a self-hosted discussion platform is needed:

1. Topical and hobby forums — communities built around games, technology or shared interests.
2. Support forums — a channel for technical help and knowledge sharing between a product's users.
3. Local communities — hubs of information exchange for clubs, associations and professional groups.

Running MyBB requires standard hosting with PHP support and a MySQL database. As the number of active users and concurrent connections grows, it's worth choosing a server with headroom so the forum stays responsive even at peak hours. Because popular forum scripts are common attack targets, it's equally important to keep MyBB and its plugins updated and to back up the database that holds the discussion content.