SHSelfHostIndex

Discourse vs Enigma 1/2 BBS

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted social networks options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
DI Discourse Modern open-source community discussion platform VS EN Enigma 1/2 BBS Enigma 1/2 is a modern, multi-platform BBS engine with unlimited
FeatureDiscourseEnigma 1/2 BBS
CategorySocial NetworksSocial Networks
LicenseGPL-2.0BSD-2-Clause
LanguageRubyJavaScript
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM2,048 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, sourcedocker
GitHub stars★ 47,619★ 658
First released20132020
ReplacesphpBB, Reddit—

Why pick each one

Choose Discourse if…

  • Polished modern UI
  • Strong moderation tools
Discourse details

Choose Enigma 1/2 BBS if…

  • Released under the BSD-2-Clause license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Written in JavaScript
  • Lightweight — runs in 512 MB RAM
Enigma 1/2 BBS details

Frequently asked questions

Is Discourse or Enigma 1/2 BBS better?

Neither is universally better. Discourse has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Discourse and Enigma 1/2 BBS free and open-source?

Yes. Discourse is licensed under GPL-2.0 and Enigma 1/2 BBS under BSD-2-Clause. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Discourse and Enigma 1/2 BBS with Docker?

Discourse: yes. Enigma 1/2 BBS: yes.

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