So late 2014 i have stopped using IPB, now i use discourse.
Pros:
- FREE & OPEN SOURCE | Thanks for reminding me Phun :P - So no need to null it
- Looks beautiful than traditional forums
- Functions magically (no need to reload browser all real time)
- Better performance/faster than traditional forum
- Really responsive from get to go
Also more -> http://www.discourse.org/about/
Cons:
- You cannot delete a post permanently
- Discourse don't have full functionality of a forum software yet
- You have to know about a little about how ruby in rails works + postgresql (almost like mysql but better)
- Last of all, Hardware compatibility..... I could install IPB in any VPS/Dedicated servers (no openvz/kvm restriction/ no ram restriction) but Discourse needs at least (1 gb ram with swap- no matters to me) but KVM support with higher kernel version... The thing is almost all of the servers i own is openvz and KVM is rare almost but well nowadays with DO you can get one for cheap but this is where i got stuck and frustrated..
So i would like you guys to compare Discourse with IPB,
Discourse official website - http://www.discourse.org/
Their sandbox - http://try.discourse.org/