Take a look at vB. In three years, they've gone through version 2, all the way to version 3.6. Take a snap at Mybb, in two years they've gone through a on par phpBB board all the way to a feature fledged board that many compare to paid solutions. Having such features as AJAX, subforums (should be standard), quick reply (should be standard), and info on who posted in what on the index forum(Once again, should be standard). All of which, phpBB don't have.
Looks, don't get me started. Yes, while phpBB looks average for a board, Mybb in my opinion surpasses phpBB in every aspect of design.
http://ushhq.mobstop.com/Community/
http://ushhq.mobstop.com/InsideUniversal/
myBB, like SMF and phpBB all have bugs... and security problems, but thats why people do something called updating their BB software.
But when a software has been stuck on the same version series for over a year, it's something to consider when looking for a feature rich software.
myBB is slower, phpBB3 has one of the most intuitive administration panel.
MyBB is not slower, neither is phpBB.
They work out the software bugs quickly.
Just like Mybb.
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Feature list for phpBB 3, that isn't already in the version 2.
Attachments
* Attachments in posts and PMs
[Standard]
* Automatic image thumbnails
[Standard]
* Attach images, documents, video streams, archives
[Standard]
* Multiple attachments allowed
[Standard]
* Display attachments inline
[Standard]
Unlimited Subforums
* Create unlimited subforums
[Standard]
* Display active topics of all subforums
[Standard]
Custom BBCodes
* Create your own BBCodes
[Standard]
* Add buttons to posting screen
[Standard]
Custom Profile Fields
* Add new fields on user profiles
[Standard]
* Display them at registration
[Standard]
* Display them on the profile view
[Standard]
* Hide new profile fields
[New]
* Support different data types
[Standard]
User Control Panel
* Manage subscribed topics & forums
[New]
* Manage bookmarked topics
[New]
* Manage saved drafts
[Standard]
* Manage private messages
[Standard]
* Manage usergroups
[Standard]
* Manage friends and foes
[New]
* Manage attachments
[Standard]
New Moderating Tools
* Moderation queue
* Topic merging
[Standard]
* Topic copying
[Standard]
* Locking of single posts
[New]
* Topic history
[New]
Friends and Foes
* Add other members as friends or foes
[New]
* Posts by foes are hidden
[New]
* Friends are shown in friends list
[New]
Warnings and Reports
* Users can report topics and posts
[Standard]
* Moderators can warn users
[Standard]
More Improvements For Users
* Bookmark topics
* Subscribe to forums
[Standard]
* Jabber/xmpp support for notifications
[New]
* Mail or print topics
[Standard]
* "You got beaten at posting notification"
More Improvements For Admins
* Global announcements
[Standard]
* Display forum rules on forum page
* Prune inactive users
[Standard]
* User, moderator, admin and error logs
* Language pack editing
[New]
* User notes
[Standard]
* Detect search spiders
[Standard]
Most features aren't new and out of the ordinary, if not standard to forum software these days.