I need to assemble a GetSatisfaction/Lithium/Jive type support forum/community. The first is not available in the desired language and the last two are priced for the enterprise market. I did research some other options (open source or SaaS) but they all seem to be either:

• kind of dead (open source options)
• too focused in gathering ideas/feedback (uservoice)
• strictly support without the community/voting features (zendesk)

I need an open forum (people powered support/UGC with community/voting features).

Therefore I will have to do some of the work on my own. I want to piece things (plugins/mods/etc) on top of a standard forum platform to give it the features I need. For this purpose, I want to use a mature product with widespread userbase, active community and lots of plugin options. I believe most will agree that my options therefore are:

• vBulletin
• phpBB
• SMF

Here are the questions:

1. Which one of the three above offers the easier path towards the desired goal?
2. Which one of the three above has the most advanced features related to the desired goal?

Of course I dont expect anyone to know these answers cut and dry. I am hoping to hear some experiences and see some examples. Also, it would be great if both those questions had the same answer, but I am not going to get my hopes up...

PS: I wish I could add the tags "phpbb" and "smf" ;)