minifhncc wrote:(or it was when I was dealing with it back in 2004).
I was in search of a forum software at the same time (2003 or 2004) and tried out diffent forums. I remember that the phpbb installation sucked very much. The admin panel wasn't also very convincing (back at 2003). Then I discovered Simple Machines (formerly known as YaBB SE). No problems here. Everything just worked fine and it was a pleasure to run the forum.
In 6 years I was hacked 2 times and had to fix a minor bug, with friendly support from the community. I'd choose it anytime again.
You also might step up to vbulletin, if you want to spend the money.