Is there any REAL advantage of super costly social network cms scripts?

Does any member here uses social netwoking php scripts for large userbase ?

Now that vbb, invisionboard and even phpbb have very good snw modules, and also now that free boonex dolphin or xoomla yogurt are there with good snw features is there any REAL advantage of super costly scripts like dzoic or phpfox based on one or two developers, compared to the community participation nature of development of the others ?

Any extra feature that is NOT provided by vbb, invision OR boonex, xoomla but is provided by phpfox or dzoic?

PS :
i.I know about Drupal but latest 6.2 has only half working modules for a full SNW
ii.Certain components of boonex are purchase-only but even then price is 1/4th or even less than phpfox/dzoic

 

I've only seen the Drupal Drigg module, I've never heard of the others. With that said, if your site sole purpose is to function as a social network, than a addon module wouldn't suffice. If you want to start a social networking site, than use a social networking application, not a addon to some exisiting software that servers a different purpose.

But to be honest with you, the only social networking script I've seen, that remotely interests me is dzoic, but I still wouldn't use any of the current, "cookie-cutter" scripts for a social network.

 

Hi, thanks for your feedback.

I have tested Dzoic in details but it really lacks
many features and at the same time very costly, with difficult
customizations. Actually both phpfox and dzoic have developed a lot
from what they were, but scripts like boonex and xoomla yogurt has
also developed amazinlgy to great heights.

So I was wondering whether $400 scripts ( more probably if you want brandname removal ) offer any REAL distinct advantage.

 

Would you like to review Dzoic for www.mytestbox.com ? Let me know if you want...

 

Yes sure, I can do that, it will take a bit of time.

 

indeedly doodly

 

No problem...I'm not in a rush...I would really like to have Dzoic reviewed by somebody who already tried it (and I mean not just the demo they have but tried from scratch: installation on their computer, problems encountered, the support they gave you, etc,etc - full instructions on how to write the review can be seen here: http://www.mytestbox.com/send-your-reviews/ ).

So let me know on PM if you are still interested and how much time it will take...

 

I like the Topic.

Can we add http://www.ning.com/ to the question?

I like the idea of having the software hosted for upgrades and support. And I don't mind paying for that support. Ning would be more costly in the long term as the monthly fees add up.

What bothers me is what happens if they go under or sell out? I don't like the idea of all my work going down the toilet. They have an option to use your own domain name, but I believe this is just a redirect.

I looked at a lot of CMS scripts, and I can afford to purchase them, but I still chose Wordpress and Joomla, not because they are free - because there were so many available good looking templates.

For me the Look of the Site is important as well as the back end (which must be easy to learn and administer).

 

I don't like the idea of someone else having control of my sites content and software. I would be at the mercy of Ning for any new features I wanted (or didn't want). I would imagine a site like Ning would only be beneficial if you are planning on staying small. But I wouldn't dream of using it for anything else.

Again, you would have another cookie-cutter social network.

 

@internetmarketingiq - No, ning is not a script which you can see and add/edit like boonex/phpfox/xoops etc.
And wordpress do not have any social networking module, have they ??

@mg1313 - one quick note, dzoic does not have scrapping or profile commenting. This makes it pretty useless, at least to me, as a social script. And like socialengine its price is exorbitant.

 

Some more quick notes in fact :

For me two very important things are
profile, with profile comments also known as scraps or wall writings
and
ability of users to form groups also known as communities or clubs

The profile comments part is very shabby or insufficiently designed by almost all scripts
when you compare it to real sites like orkut or facebook. For example, almost none allow you to reply
to a poster without leaving your page. VBB has added a conversation or 1:1 filtered view but no one else has this.

The Group feature need that you as Group creator/admin is able to edit/delete any content in your Group.
Strangely, phpfox does not allow this. Socialengine does allow but imagine they charge $300 for basic script and goes like $50 for forum, $50 for gallery, $50 again for Groups ( sheer madly priced, and just becoz users are unaware of the option of other scripts they are not getting abandoned I guess )

 

VBB prices will go up but still then it will be cheaper than dzoic or phpfox or social engine.
IBB is also cheap compared to dzoic or phpfox or socialengine. And perhaps VBB or IBB are massively better coded and more robust than others.

Dzoic blogs are too convoluted for any sensible use, and phpfox blogs seems so shabby and featureless BUT IBB does a brilliant job for user blogs and once you take a look at it you will not like any other blog ( in a social network scenario ) - its guaranted. VBB has been very very stubborn about the blog and had they developed IBB like blog ( and had Groups like socialengine ) probably we would not have needed this threaD.

On the free field, latest Boonex is amazing - one can download and test it for free, and Drupal 5.7 has so many modules for a social network that its unsurpassable ( problem is latest version 6.2 is not so ), and xoops yogurt makes the profile page closest to ideal.


It is worth taking a look at out-of-box user profiles at
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/member.php?u=202938
http://forums.invisionpower.com/index.php?s=a69df45913630768048fadbc04c2...
or the free community php scripts like
xoops yogurt http://www.marcellobrandao.eti.br/modules/yogurt/

I am not saying about phpizabi, as its new developments are rare and load handling is not good, and elgg or barnraiser though good cant be tested on localhost xamp ( thus customization tests are not possible )

 

Wordpress Multiuser (MU) has Buddypress (a plugin for social networking)...

I'm surprised Dzoic doesn't have profile comments...and now I can't look because they are resetting the demo to default...

But always will be specific demands which maybe no software will provide...so you have to mess with the code yourself (or hire somebody)...or hire somebody to build the stuff for you from scratch...which way would be cheaper?

 

@mg1313 ... Hi thanks

Resetting demo to default does not stop you from seeing it, when you login at the demo ( they have almost auto login ) and click on a freinds name you can see that you CANNOT send any scrap or profile comment.

Wordpress or Buddypress as far as I know do not allow users to form own Groups or Communities with individual boards. Do they ? ( and unless they do that, its pretty pointless as a social script ) Any working demo with large userbase ?

One more thing ( though it does not apply to all ) MU cannot be tested and tweaked on localhost ( xampp )

 

You are right but what I feel is that basic components should be there.
For example, you wont go for a email script that has 'inbox' but no 'compose'

Thus a social script must, must have scraps/wall/profile comments
and must have Groups/communities along with a good per user blog and privacy settings. This is based on the user expectations who have used actual sites like facebook/orkut/myspace

I am not saying or asking about user wiki, video, email importers, and most importantly widgets which is grand thing that facebook/orkut have now. Just two basic things in full and logical functionality - scraps and groups.

 

And I guess it brings back the original question :

Is a really sky priced script like socialengine, which can cost more than $500, worth buying when again you have to tweak and twist it ? Or we go with scripts like xoops, boonex, wordpress and ask a developer to deveope it ? Perhaps posting in their appropriate forums may also help the job get done.

Why then one will recommend scripts like phpfox,socialengine,dzoic ? Supports for them are not known to be heavenly and free of cost also. Then ......... ?

 

Well, I guess you can't avoid hiring a developer in the end...sooner or later you will need him. And that is not free (could be free for a while - help from the community - but after that...)...

 

I'm a Joomla user and this extension, UHP2 might be something to consider.

There's a free version for you to try - limit of 50 members. Although you want to start with a social site script, the flexibility of Joomla has always impressed me.

 

Hi Valkerie,

I guess sooner or later almost every site owner will like to have a social network angle, as it offers better communication than simple profiles, pms, or guestbooks. Thanks for pointing out Joomla. It actually has a social networking module - and if offers more feature than, say, $300plus phpfox.

Joomla + Groupjive does not take more than 10 minutes to download and install - One can get this from groupjive.org [ free download ]

People are probably not much aware of this excellent module, and together with CB, another free download, joomla users can have excellent social network. I guess there is REALLY no point in purchasing dzoic, phpfox, or socialengine.