i have a very good custom version of yabbse already, and it works 'out of the box' just fine... the difference is that a CMS (or portal system) - i have yet to figure out the distinct difference - as more to it than just a message board.
It enables you to control the content of your site separately from the look of your site (similar to a messageboard). but it's also much, much more than that.
Here's a feature request I posted on pfabb - which is pretty standard on the *nuke systems:
a) advanced banner rotation, tracking which allows multiple campaigns in any module / block / section of the site (an example can be found here:
www.eldaronline.com/news/news.shtml)
b) total customizability - that will allow us to edit the look and style of the site without limitation - which may include the look of each block / module (including substituting borders with graphics, etc - somewhat like
www.40k.ca/community - the menus are graphics based)
c) A built in gallery that allows users to add, edit, comment, rate, thumbnail, and slideshow the pics - and one that would require membership (from the board) - something like
http://www.eldaronline.com/scripts/gallery/d) an article system that is smart and robust and complex enough for any article-based website, which also allows users to comment and rate the articles. I don't know how to describe this, but a good idea would be a form where the user fills out the info, such as AUTHOR NAME, ARTICLE NAME, etc, (and autofill date, section) on the article which would then apply a style to the names, date, etc: (hard to explain, but like the articles here:
http://www.eldaronline.com/tactics/tactics.shtml and here
http://www.eldaronline.com/tactics/tactics_characters.shtml - the second one shows my idea about the user's name, and article name, etc - that way, the whole site will have the same style but without the boring look of standard CMSs)
e) something I've found that's odd with a few CMSs is that they usually only have 1 articles section. but the truth of the matter is, most sites obviously don't just label their sections as "articles" - my site, for instance has tutorials, tactics, background, etc... the article sections should be dynamic, smart, and customizable
f) the ability to assign an unlimited amount of groups with an unlimited amount of priviledges, including article creation, editing, authorization, deletion, etc.
g) a member's map would be cool (more like a mod I guess)
h) an integrated chat would be ideal - one that's actually integrated in the sense that users can only chat if they have an account already, and they would sign on with their username, etc - much like Yahoo - integrated makes it feel more "home-y"
i) a more robust search feature that would search the entire site, and would allow users to search the forums too if they wish, as in the *nuke systems
j) a customizable user profile - with dynamic / unlimited additional fields, ranks, etc
k) a searchable user database sortable by e-mail, IP, group, title, etc. - something that's sorely needed in YaBB
l) a smart link exchange system that could be used as a topsites feature as well - this drives loads of traffic to sites so most people would love this feature - one which counts hits in and out as well as accounts for cheaters as well (example here:
http://www.wabbithole.com/lists/index02.html) it would be great if they can sorted by categories as well
http://www.thewarp.net/ts/ m) polls - enough said =)
n) webmail - where users can sign-up for e-mail addresses (for those of us who have hosting packages that allow for unlimited e-mail addresses) and for those who can't sign up, then at least a way for users who have pop3 accounts to check their mail. Added benefits could be auto-insertion of banners / ads into the e-mails
o) opt-in mailing lists when users sign up
p) a cool sites / affiliate sites drop-down menu
q) an article contribution page (something like above) where users can submit articles that need to be approved and assigned sections before they go live
r) site-wide banning / muting / restrictions on users or groups
s) restricted content / sections / boards for special groups
t) the ability to add an 'icon' or thumbnailed pic to any article which would appear on the index that gives it a more graphical feel
u) possible mod - an addition of a shopping cart system / e-commerce ability
v) a shoutbox
w) a buy / trade section or an auctions section where users can submit references, etc (more of a mod)
x) themes - perhaps swappable by user?
y) a users personal webpage - when we view the profile of a user, we actually see a webpage that they designed themselves - a feature that is used in all major communities such as
www.asianavenue.com or
www.blackplanet.comz) easy iframes / includes - when something simply needs to be added into the mix but cannot be integrated, the ability to just include it as the middle frame would be perfect (I think we can do that already, right?)
aa) customizable surveys that can tally and display results
**** the key is to have all of this stuff built into the site and having all the layout controllable at one place and to be able to control just about every aspect of the site without fiddling too much with code. And the best part is - it's all stored in a database and a few directories.
See why I'm hurting for one? My site is just all over the place and I just want a way of easily controlling everything without the fuss.