I just installed Simple Forum, updated my permalinks and when I go to view the forum, it’s not there. I get a link like this - http://www.weboptimist.com//2008/01/31/ - which just takes me to  a duplicate of my latest post. Note the "//" in there.

My install of WordPress is older, 2.07 I believe. Could that be causing a problem?

I just went and visited the link you posted and yes you do get a copy of your latest post…

I also noticed, with great distress, that your site loads extremely slowly, for a site called ‘web optimist’ as an seo blog and source for systems optimization, this is a serious problem.

I have multiple suggestions for you just on the basis of the information you have provided:

1) update to the latest version of wordpress. major code changes, security fixes and code optimizations have taken place since the version you reported.

2) check your plugins for updates and latest versions as well. some older versions of plugins are known to conflict with SFP, specifically some SEO plugins remove functionality that SFP requires inorder to opperate.

3) make sure your WP-Cache does NOT cache the Forums page. although this does reduce the speed of the forums in relation to the rest of your site, it is better than having a cache of an empty forum being fed back to you over and over again, even though the forum’s content does change.

4) update to the latest version of WP. (so important it required restateing.)

5) routinely optimize your SQL database. writing and re-writing your database with wordpress often leaves stray data in the tables and sorting through it slows down SQL operations.

6) If at all possible, update your PHP … or ask your provider to do so… again many security updates and code optimizations since the version you have reported. (why on earth you have a developer’s version, I’ll never know)

7) Update to the latest version of WordPress. 

Agreed on both - speed and upgrading. I was working on my blog today trying to speed things up. One culprint is an Amazon.com plugin that really drags at times. I’ve also got too many posts coming up on the main page. I had ten, now I’ve set it to five.

As far as upgrading WordPress, yes, I know. The problem is that I’ll have to do a manual upgrade and I just haven’t found the time to do it yet. For whatever reason, the auto upgrade for my install of WP just won’t work. More than once I’ve downloaded the latest version with the idea of setting aside some time for the inevitable glitches, but, well…

I’ll revisit Simple Forum once I’ve found the time to do the upgrade.

Thanks,

Richard

Do we need to do sth else like installing the SMF manually before intalling the plugin? I have installed the plugin, everything works fine except that when i visit the forum page, 404 page appears.

Please help! Thanks in advance!

I got it solved after following the instruction in the pdf guide, udpating the permalink both for the blog and the forum. Thank you for your prompt response.

At first i thought this is just a plugin to integrate Simple Machine Forum (SMF). So my apology and just forget about my mentioning SMF.

One of the most sophisticated wordpress plugin out there i must say!  Love it so much.  Thanks a lot for such a wonderful job.