It certainly serves as the HUB of my Communities which I run on multiple domains. It also allows me to fiddle less with the Global Configuration in Joomla, always a plus!

I also enjoy a community of extensions surrounding this which seems to ensure the longetivity of it. Thanks!

This is an absolutely awesome extension. Out of the box it overrides Joomla's default user management system, letting you add extra fields, allowing users to edit their profiles and upload avatars. Users can talk to each other via email and view each other's profiles. There are a huge number of lovely little touches, for example you can hide fieds when the user first registers so the user is not overwhelmed by a massive form.

Installation was easy but not trivial. A helpful readme file was included which took me through the process of publishing the correct modules and disabling the standard user login functionality. Overall, this is a very impressive piece of work and I'm looking forward to playing with it further!

I agree with many of the other users comments. Undoubtably it should be the de facto standard and incorporated into the joomla module from the start as boy!, is it scary to install.
Even practice loading it offline, prior to installing online did not give me much confidence when it came down to it. I had put a number of joomla extensions online over a 6 month period but this was the toughest mentally, though in the end, it wasn't so bad but I did end up posting a none existent problem to the joomopalis forum.
I haven't yet got the club secretary's go ahead to pay for the manual but I think it will be well worth it (and necessary) for the future. The loading of the plugins through the program was, in itself, something new for me. Why is it necessary to have separate plugins for a security capcha and registration feedback? as this combines to make the whole installation process even tougher. I've also installed the birthday module, which I'm stll working on and haven't quite sorted out, the option for it not to be displayed.
As yet I haven't used joomla 1.5, but certainly it would be a more powerful attraction if this was the standard user login.
Club members can now securely enter personal details and admin officials can easily access them. There are so many options, which is great but there are also awkward terms such as synchonise the database and other difficulties that frighten the newbie and may put off potential users. Once in place, the package appears excellent and it is likely, that more developers will create addins but the run up is very hard and I'm still pouring through the free manual and scared the package is going to turn around and bite me for my troubles

Hello,
I love this component it make my work very simply.
Very simple to install and It work fine.
Just on suggestion try it.

Thank,
Richard

Community builder is a necessary feature of any joomla site trying to have a community (not just content driven) feeling. I needed to create a daily coaching media component for our website and ol' faithful Community Builder allowed me to gather the required information about the user (which I needed to determine gender and their fitness level) by just adding fields to the profile. I also found the plethora of plugins tailored to work with community builder like Mamblog and CB Profile Gallery to be just what I needed. They all integrate into the person's profile, so it feels like a cohesive unit. This is more than a component, it is like myspace within joomla because it has so many plugins available for it

If you plan to have registered users, this extension is necessary. It provides all the user customable you could every need. Rock solid, clean interface and many options allow you to just about anything.

I’m been using Joomla! For a while now and I almost always use Community Builder. It’s as crucial as JoomlaXploer or even PHP. It is very user-friendly, and I think that is the most important thing. It has so many uses. The only trouble I had was creating a menu link to a user list, which, after a quick trip to their forums, I had it solved in no time at all.

If you only use one extension, this would be it.

But when it doesn't you're out of luck. Unable to get any response from the community board over on Joomlapolis. A quick look around shows a LOT of questions with no responses. Very disappointing service.

I'd be willing to pay them for support if they'd just answer my question.

great component ..!! keep wondering what would ma site be without it :) keep up the good work ;)

I found it took a while to find my way around but once that initial learning curve is overcome CB is a very capable component.

First I have to say that this is an excellent extension of Joomla! It has everything you need - EXCEPT for ONE very important thing... Documentation.

I know that I will get hammered for this, but this is my opinion. I completely agree with the Open Source Movement. Open Source was supposed to be where you could either pay less for software or get it for free. It seems now that the skewed view of Open Source has crept into the Joomla! community with this plugin.

They contend that you should have to pay for their documentation of their "free" software - but the software itself is "free". I am sorry but if you make software and tout it as being "free", the documentation should be free as well. Either you make it a paid propreitary product, or you offer it for free - no strings attached.

I am a classically educated software engineer and I have no problems with paying for products put out by the big corps like Adobe because that is what they do and they do not claim to have free software.

I am not going to spend 35.00US for a pdf file when I can go out and buy a real book for that amount with a pretty cover and a free tacky-looking bookmark.

With all this said - they have a very good extension here. Its functionality is unsurpassed and I love the customization - if you can figure it out. You will need to play with it for about three hours before you get the hang of it - unless of course you decide to pay an outrageous amount of money for a limited time PDF file.

I've been using CB on several of my sites for almost the last year. I have no complaints and think that anyone who takes the time to learn it will be glad they did. I recently upgraded which was also quite easy and didnt take very long. Highly recommended!!! I think I'll go become a CB subscriber. Been meaning to give the developers some financial support and really would love to have the user guide!!!

The newest version does seem to improve performance..ours was outdated so we just updated ours.

We've written a plugin (or two) into the CB system and I have to say that this feature is very handy for extending the cb component.
Only suggestion is to clarify to new users some of the first steps to it.
Other than that, thanks for a great component!

I like the extension because it works and also without documentation (readme is sufficient) it's possible to set a very good user profile.

The CB plugin logic is great.

Registration extended ought to be the name of this component or login extended. The only usefull function is adding extra fields in the registration form. But these fields don't show in the userlist!? The usermanagement functions are zero.
I can't organise my users into interest groups, can't sort them out.

This component is a "must have" component for everyone who wants a community-style site. I have been using it for quite a time now and it has always been working perfekt.

Big thanks!