netFORUM Pro

What do you like best?

When NetForum gets removed from a company I'm working with.

What do you dislike?

I've run into this train wreck of a software application at a number of different associations. I just wanted to briefly touch on the experience as a developer, and just warn non-technical people from using this garbage.

This tool was clearly authored somewhere in the middle 2000s. It uses XML-based SOAP API endpoints to facilitate authentication, which will double or triple your development costs because it is so old and non-conforming to the modern web. Given its age and lack of openness, I will guarantee there are security holes you could drive a truck through in this application.

The documentation a developer would need to do these integrations is not available freely - they charge for it and it's hidden. It's grossly outdated and incomplete when you actually see what's going on. Further, the examples they provide are broken and you have basically just have to try random things to get it to work.

Lastly, they've had significant downtime with the SSO gateway both clients I've worked with. I'm not sure who's fault it was but I can tell you in both situations it took OVER A DAY for systems to come back online. It effectively crippled the both organization's authentication infrastructure.

Not to mention, the parent company of this organization has changed hands countless times - who really knows who's in charge of this madhouse. Stay far away from this system.

If you need authentication, Okta and Auth0 are the gold standard - go with them.

Recommendations to others considering the product:

Stay far away.

What problems are you solving with the product? What benefits have you realized?

It lets people log-in...sometimes.