I have used many forum scripts, and it might come across differently than I intended, but I have always loved SMF. Yet, if I had the money (I don't), I would have multiple sites running Invision Community. At one point, I had five active licenses. Three main sites, but this has dwindled down to one.

MyBB is a nice forum, but I have never been a fan of vBulletin, which MyBB originally looked a lot like, but with hints of Invision. There used to be third-party portals that would integrate with it, along with Subdreamer CMS, and I chose the forum based on what I attempted to kick-start. Most of my ideas are what I consider projects, and then they fizzle out.

My SMF site has transitioned to using Invision. It was on it all the way to something like 4.5, but it could have been 4.7. The site used to have over 1000 members, which averaged 150–220 active members. It was a great joy. I am really hoping to get that type of environment back, and with the cost being less, there is a lot less pressure to succeed.

I don't mean for this to come across as if, just because SMF is free, it means I can be casual, but I can invest easier. There are many great free forums, some of which I don't personally like, but that's the good thing about having options.

SMF is very simple to use, yet it does have a great community. It reminds me a lot of the earlier days on the internet, when people coded for fun and released mods as a passion. The extent to which people are down-to-earth and helpful is a big achievement of the SMF community. Some can be unhelpful, stuck-up, and even rude. There's one which I respect, but it's difficult to use, and its support community is a nightmare.

I also admire a lot of the talented theme designers for SMF. I have a custom theme designed by Diego, and it's awesome.

The fact that there are many free mods is also super useful, and I have made donations to devs who release free plugins because I think that if you get something of value, there comes a point when you need to pay it forward.

Whilst I love Invision, I have a similar admiration for SMF. I remember when I first used YaBB and became excited when I learned about SMF. I recall using earlier versions that featured some incredibly entertaining mods, allowing for a personalised touch in the post-bit area alongside the old karma system. It basically had four parts, which showed stats and looked super awesome. I don't think it was ever released as a mod; I recall it being an edit. SMF has always seemed the Linux version of forums, where you can customise it to your wishes. While many products appear to be standard and lack durability, often breaking with minimal use.

What about you?

I'm still working on trying to polish my SMF site. I really love TinyPortal and I don't really want to stress anyone out there with constantly asking for help.

I am not a coder, but I tinker.

Rjen helped me in the past to improve some blocks; I have been reading how to bring in the "Avatars Display Integration" mod. I have managed to get it to work, but I can't see what I am doing wrong that is causing random ">" to be shown underneath users who have no avatar image.

This is how it looks:


Here's a link: https://poetryartonline.com/forum/ (second from bottom block, just above the "Follow Us".

global $smcFunc, $scripturl, $modSettings, $settings, $txt;

// Style of avatar
$style = 'width:36px; height:36px; border-radius:100%; object-fit:cover; box-shadow:1px 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.4); display:block;';

// Number of top posters displayed
$topPoster = 6;

// Find the latest poster.
$request = $smcFunc['db_query']('', '
    SELECT mem.id_member, mem.real_name, mem.posts, mem.avatar, a.id_attach, a.attachment_type, a.filename
    FROM {db_prefix}members AS mem
    LEFT JOIN {db_prefix}attachments AS a ON (a.id_member = mem.id_member)
    WHERE mem.is_activated = 1
    ORDER BY posts DESC
    LIMIT {int:limit}',
    array('limit' => $topPoster)
);

$users = array();

while ($row = $smcFunc['db_fetch_assoc']($request)) {
    // Correctly initialize the avatar variable
    $avatar = '<span class="default-avatar" style="' . $style . '" data-adi-id="' . htmlspecialchars($row['id_member']) . '"></span>';
   
    if (!empty($row['avatar'])) {
        $avatar = '<img src="' . (stristr($row['avatar'], 'http://') || stristr($row['avatar'], 'https://') ? $row['avatar'] : $modSettings['avatar_url'] . '/' . htmlspecialchars($row['avatar'])) . '" alt="" style="' . $style . '" title="' . htmlspecialchars($row['real_name']) . '" />';
    } elseif ($row['id_attach'] > 0) {
        $avatar = '<img src="' . (empty($row['attachment_type']) ? $scripturl . '?action=dlattach;attach=' . $row['id_attach'] . ';type=avatar' : $modSettings['custom_avatar_url'] . '/' . $row['filename']) . '" alt="" style="' . $style . '" title="' . htmlspecialchars($row['real_name']) . '" />';
    }
   
    $users[$row['id_member']] = array(
        'id' => $row['id_member'],
        'name' => htmlspecialchars($row['real_name']),
        'href' => $scripturl . '?action=profile;u=' . $row['id_member'],
        'link' => '<a href="https://poetryartonline.com/' . $scripturl . '?action=profile;u=' . $row['id_member'] . '">' . htmlspecialchars($row['real_name']) . '</a>',
        'posts' => $row['posts'],
        'avatar' => $avatar
    );
}

$smcFunc['db_free_result']($request);

// Output our array of users with avatar, posts, and name
echo '<ul class="recent_topics" style="margin: 0; padding: 0; list-style: none;">';

foreach ($users as $user) {
    echo '<li style="display: flex; align-items: center; margin-bottom: 10px;">'
        . '<span class="tpavatar" style="margin-right: 10px;">' . $user['avatar'] . '</span>'
        . '<div>'
        . '<strong>' . $user['link'] . '</strong><br>'
        . '<span>' . $user['posts'] . ' ' . htmlspecialchars($txt['posts']) . '</span>'
        . '</div>'
        . '</li>';
}

echo '</ul>';
Link to mod: https://custom.simplemachines.org/index.php?mod=4246

PS. As silly as a stray ">" is, I go code-blind. 😟 If any of the wonderful, and far more knowledgable members here might be able to help me I would be grateful.

Ah! Thank you for clearing that up! I knew there had to be a reason for it. 

There are few reasons for the UK request. One is the exploitation of minors with drug gangs using children for cross county/country traveling.
The other is the almost constant threat of groups wanting to bomb the shit out of everyone.

For both issues if the data protection tool is not present the authorities can search for accomplices a lot easier when the check phones from police raids and shut down the rest of the gangs etc

Apple pulls data protection tool after UK government security row.

Apple is taking the unprecedented step of removing its highest level data security tool from customers in the UK, after the government demanded access to user data.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgj54eq4vejo 

Well, on the flip side, we all know that Apple and other big tech are selling/data brokering our private info. Makes me wonder if Apple doesn't want to do it either because the government isn't going to pay for it OR if they are afraid that the government might find something that they don't want them to find.

The article doesn't state why the government wants the data and neither side is giving up much info.

Sorry, but I've been too busy to even have a look. LOL

Too early to ask if anyone knows what 3.0 will look like?

I stopped using server email for anything other than server issues...meaning the mail that the server sends me. If something happens to the server or I can't afford it anymore then I don't lose anything.

Try splitting up your email between ZohoMail and Proton's free service and how it works out. You will also not have to worry about cPanel, etc. spying on your and you're users.

I suppose I could start using the email addresses that come with the website. The only problem with that is when the hosting comes up for renewal if I don't renew with them then I lose the email.

I'll find something eventually, being a pensioner I have to think about what and where I spend my meagre pittance   

I have the Mail Plus plan with Proton. So far, I'm happy with it and pay monthly...$4 isn't bad per month for me. They also keep updating it and adding more features.

I also have a free ZohoMail account for other things which works out very well. If you don't wish to pay then I suggest that you use both free services and split your email between as I did before I started paying for Proton.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that I also get free Proton alaises and Simple Login alaises since they've purchased Simple Login. I can also use a custom domain to further hide me information.