# esotalk/esoTalk

Fat-free forum software.

Repository: https://github.com/esotalk/esoTalk
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/esotalk
Language: PHP
License: GPL-2.0
License Family: copyleft
Last push: 2022-02-14T07:22:31+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 23/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5407, "days_push": 1661, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1472, forks 229 (observed 2026-08-28T04:04:49.383067+00:00)

## What it is
esoTalk is a free, open-source forum software package built with PHP and MySQL, designed to be fast, simple, and extensible via plugins and skins. It is the predecessor of Flarum and is no longer actively developed.

## Use cases
- self-host a lightweight community forum
- run a discussion board on a PHP/MySQL web server
- set up a fast forum with minimal overhead
- extend a forum with plugins and custom skins
- replace heavyweight forum software with something simpler

## When to choose
- you need a simple, fast, self-hosted forum on PHP/MySQL
- you want a lightweight forum with plugin and skin support
- you prefer minimal, easy-to-use forum interfaces

## When to avoid
- you need actively maintained software with security updates
- you require modern PHP versions (esoTalk targets PHP 5.3+)
- you want a forum with contemporary features — consider Flarum instead

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: abandoned
- function: web-framework, plugin-system, templating
- domain: web-development, self-hosted, cms
- platform: php, self-hosted
- tags: forum-software, mysql, community, discussion-board, web-server

## Member repositories
- esotalk/esoTalk (main) score 23

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:49.383067+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T04:34:40.728016+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/esotalk/esoTalk (fetched 2026-08-28T04:04:49.383067+00:00, sha 486f67c13ec4)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.