Which do you think is the better way to go, auto-installation from a script like Fantastico or installing by hand?
Installing forum script manually isn't much hard. I always go with Manual. Noobs go with Auto installation.
I seriously doubt that it's just noobs who use auto install programs. I use them as it is just easier
I highly agree with you Sometimes I use manual if it's a new software I'm dealing with and I want to figure out how to do it, or it's a paid software(Xenforo for example). However, usually I can be fine with installing it with an automated install program because I have better ways to spend my time
Manual installations all the time, unless that is, the board is only for testing purposes where I can't be bothered to install it manually
Well what you're calling manual is still automated really. I don't care, just go for what's quicker. Manual would be a long pointless way to do it, making tables etc.
1. Fantastico installation PROS - does the job faster, don't need to know how to do it CONS - not all scripts work (paid forum scripts surely can't be installed like that), some scripts are NOT updated 2. Manual installation PROS - you control everything, you LEARN something. You will do a lot of admin stuff as a forum/blog admin, so you should get your hands dirty as soon as possible CONS - takes more time (few minutes), you need to learn some stuff I'd go with manual though. It's better this way
I typically do manual unless I'm feeling sluggish and don't really want to do it manually. Though I have to say Softaculous is much better than Fantastico, script's are updated fairly fast and the process is pretty straightforward.
