phpBB ('BB' for Bulletin Board) is the world's most popular free and open-source forum solution. Our global community of contributors ensures that end-users receive a stable, secure, and infinitely customizable product that's easy to deploy and maintain while also being fun and simple to use.
Originally released in 2000, the latest version of the phpBB software has evolved to include an extensive permissions system, user groups, hierarchical subforums, file attachments, intuitive notifications, OAuth authentication, support for multiple database engines (PostgreSQL, SQLite, MySQL/MariaDB, Oracle, MS SQL Server), and a variety of other features. The phpBB Customization Database of styles and extensions offers administrators endless ability to adapt the software to their needs.
Our strict security practices have resulted in a hardened product with a proven track record greatly exceeding that of our commercial competitors. Likewise, our coding guidelines and collaborative development model ensure that code quality is a top priority while encouraging constant developer learning and growth.
We are proud to have participated in the GSoC program during four prior years. The goal of our mentors is to ensure that all students have a smooth and fulfilling experience. Former phpBB GSoC students have flown across the world to meet the rest of our team during our annual hackathon and have gone on to become long-term contributors to the project, some even joining the core development team. We hope that you will help us continue this excellent trend.
- Twitter: ## Get in touch We'd like to get to know you as soon as possible! Join us on IRC and introduce yourself. Don't wait until the last moment to ask questions and meet your prospective mentor.
We require all students to successfully contribute one small patch (>10 lines of scripting code) prior to having their proposal selected. We're here to assist and happy to walk you through the process.
These are suggestions based on what we have seen work in the past. Of course, there could be many reasons why they do not apply to your particular case, and that is perfectly okay. You can always ask us for help if you have any doubts.
We have found that good proposals are generally 1-4 pages long, and contains the following sections:
Introduction: A few lines about you, your studies, and your qualifications to implement the specific idea.
Features and design: This is the most important part of your proposal. You should outline what you would like to implement, and how it integrates with the phpBB software. You do not need to specify all implementation details, however (e.g.: if you need some data that is expensive to generate, it is important that you mention the need to cache the sorted data, however you don't need to specify the sorting mechanism).
Timeline: Your project should be broken down into tasks with specific milestones. We generally like timelines broken down by individual weeks.
If in doubt, just ask us. We're excited to be working with you!