For the operator of a board that outlived its software
Twenty years of threads.One import.
The community is fine; the PHP underneath it is the problem. The importer moves members, content, private messages, attachments, avatars, subscriptions, polls, reputation, warnings and bans — with working passwords, and redirects from the old URLs so years of inbound links keep landing.
“Nobody dares touch the server, so nothing gets upgraded.”
A Meith board is a small repository pinning one exact engine version. An upgrade is a version bump with the procedure written down, and nothing moves underneath you between them.
“A migration means every member resets their password.”
Not this one: imported members sign in with the password they already had. The move is invisible on the login page.
“Our search results all point at the old URLs.”
The importer sets up redirects from the old paths, so the link somebody posted in 2009 still lands on the same thread.
“The old board does things the new one will not.”
Where behaviour deliberately differs, it is written down — a parity page per source lists every decision, so you can read the trade before making it.
The importer
Bring it across whole, then retire the ladder.
Point the importer at a MyBB or phpBB database and it carries the lot: the coverage table in the migration guide lists exactly what moves from each source, and what to do after it finishes. Run it against a copy first and browse the result — the old board keeps running until you point the domain.
Coming from somewhere else?
There is no clean way out of a Facebook group, a Discord server or a Slack. Most communities start fresh, run both for a season, and move what was worth keeping. A MyBB or phpBB board imports whole — working passwords included.
Not quite you?
The same board, argued four other ways.
One piece of software. What changes is which of its problems you recognise.
Open-source projects
A support forum your project owns: answers with URLs worth pinning, pages that render without JavaScript, and an archive no platform can sunset.
Meith for open-source projects →
Product & SaaS communities
A support community on your domain, behind your identity provider, wearing your brand — with no per-member pricing.
Meith for product and SaaS communities →
Agencies & dev shops
One engine, a board per client: each a small config repo you can theme, deploy, upgrade — and hand over whole.
Meith for agencies and dev shops →
Clubs & communities
The volunteer-run version: clubs, associations, clans and groups that need one place everybody can reach.
Meith for clubs and communities →
Retire the PHP. Keep the community.
Import a copy of the database this weekend and click around the result. Nothing about the old board changes until you decide it does.
- A repository
- npx create-meith, pushed to your GitHub
- A server
- Rented in the community's name, from a few euro a month
- An evening
- Once — an upgrade is a version bump