I'm the original developer of Flarum[1] - open-source forum software. In 2019 I left Flarum because of burnout[2].
Generally speaking, I think open-source is a great fit for libraries[3], but less so for products. I wanted to be able to simplify the exchange: build a great product and sell it.
It's been a few years but I'm excited to have just launched my follow-up project: Waterhole.
Waterhole is a modern, Laravel-powered discussion platform. It has a simple, extensible architecture; an inclusive, customisable design; and thoughtfully crafted features that streamline building healthy communities. It's made for brands, creators, and teams who want to build bespoke and tightly-integrated communities. It plays in the same space as Flarum, Discourse, and others.
Waterhole is open source[4] and free to try locally, but you must pay for a license to run it in production. This business model allows me to focus on developing and supporting a great product, and creates an opportunity for the wider Laravel ecosystem to provide hosting, customization, and consulting services.
Thanks for checking it out, feedback would be appreciated! Happy to answer any questions about the product, technical details, or anything else.
Toby
[1] https://flarum.org [2] https://discuss.flarum.org/d/20590-farewell-and-what-s-next-... [3] https://github.com/tobyzerner [4] https://github.com/waterholeforum/core