I'm thinking since long time ago to move my site (a forum based in SMF with nearly 3000 members and 70000 posts) to Drupal. However, I am a bit scared of the members reaction, as SMF is a very powerful Web forum and has almost every feature for a good communication. However, as most of Web Forums, all is limited (of course) to a forum. If I need a Gallery or a Blog a system I need to install extra applications and install bridges, and so on.
Drupal is a single piece of software where I can have everything in one place. No need of bridges, etc. Everything is integrated.
That's why I'd like to know if any of you have converted a big forum to Drupal and if have succeded?
The only case I've heard so far is http://www.webmaster-forums.net/ but I'd like to hear other stories as well. Was it good for you? Did the activity of your site decreased after the conversion? Did your members liked? Please notice that SMF use another method to encrypt the password so my members will have to request a new password in case I move to Drupal.
Thanks for sharing your story :)
Comments
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I don't have a story since I started with Drupal but I can say a few things...
1) The biggest problem you're likely to run into is moderation. That is by far the weakest area for Drupal's forums.
2) Most user facing features are there. It's just a matter of assembling the modules. In Drupal, the forum is part of the whole site and you shape it by the modules you use. It's not one huge monolithic thing that you install as a whole.
3) You might want to try setting up a test version and let your users play around with it before committing to it. Users can be finicky sometimes and a big change like that can be rough. If you involve them in the process, it's more likely to go smoothly. (I'm speaking from experience as a user who had a site suddenly change and change badly to the point where it was hard for me to keep using it.)
4) I'm not aware of an importer from SMF. That doesn't mean one doesn't exist, but I haven't seen one. You may have to go SMF -> phpbb -> Drupal.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out. :)
Michelle
Thank you Michele. I'm glad
Thank you Michele.
I'm glad to read your answer, at the same time I'm a bit sad that there are no more answers, which lead me to think people prefer to stick to use their Web forums instead switching to Drupal.
I use Drupal in other two websites I run and I love it. I guess I will wait a bit to see what D7 bring us. Anyway, if I ever migrate our forum I will share my story. However, the lack of answers to this topic make me a little bit skeptical.
Cheers,
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I've heard of others switching but not many. Drupal's forums are more capable than a lot of people give them credit for and are an excellent choice if you are starting a new forum. If you already have an established forum, however, the pain of doing the data conversion plus the lack of moderation tools make it easier to just stay with what you have. If you really want a completely integrated forum, converting is the way to go. It really is up to you to determine how important that is to you and if it's worth the hassle of getting the data converted and getting users used to a new system.
Michelle