VBulletin

Pros

vBulletin is stable, easy to use and easy to learn. It creates deep, feature rich forums and message boards which are easy to navigate.

Cons

Having to buy and maintain a license is definitely an inconvenience for me. There are other ways to share content which don't cost anyhting.

Pros

VBulletin feels like it's been around forever. Probably because it has. It works, and there's a reason pretty much every board runs on it: It's easy and fast and lightweight and does the basics you need it to do.

Cons

For a software that has been around this long, it rests on its laurels a bit. There are functionalities that could be developed, but haven't been (better mobile RWD and implementation of more...current graphics layouts and design). Perhaps people are trending away from bulletins, but maybe they wouldn't as much if the raw UI design and graphics weren't quite so dated!

Pros

This is the first solution that comes into my mind when I think in bulletin boards (aka "forums"), and still is being used for specific cases like gaming communities, developers, etc.

Cons

In the past it was very common but, today, it's very difficult to recommend using a bulleting board this expensive, also it's not mobile friendly. You can find some great free alternatives.

Pros

The forum software is easy for our customers to use and navigate.
I like the cloud offering and that they maintain the software and all needed security patches.

Cons

As it is based on common open source software, it is occasionally vulnerable to security breaches. The team seems responsive in handling this howver.