Vanilla is a lightweight and extensible free/open source forum application which uses PHP scripting language and MySQL database management system. It was developed by Mark OSullivan. This open source forum application is multi-lingual and a fully extensible discussion forum for the web. Vanilla allows you to run advanced searches through discussion topics, comments, and users. Users can also view number of comments on each topic and which discussions have been unread by the user. By using the per-user preferences, users can change the way Vanilla operates. Moreover, a fully customizable account profile is offered where you can display pictures of yourself and additional information about yourself, if desired.
Vanilla comes equipped with a powerful, built-in spam control, an autonomous user & role management system and offers an extremely user-friendly experience and easy to use features. The administrators wield ample flexibility in terms of modifying or changing the layout, style, language, and all application settings through an easy to use and navigate settings tab. Adding and organizing roles, categories, languages, and add-ons does not require any technical know how and is very easy and well organized. Add-ons make this forum software all the more exciting as developers constantly strive towards creating new add-ons which allow users to do just about anything with their forum. From a bug tracking system, to tagging discussions to highlighting certain sections of a message; with add-ns users can get innovative and enhance the overall experience of using Vanilla.