The Joomla! Extensions Directory ™

I have purchased plenty of Kunena templates in the past and all pale in comparison to what Tigra has put out there for us. I used to have to buy a template, load it, then go through all kinds of CSS modifications to tweak it. To make matters worse, on the next version of the forum, I had to hope the developer was still around to release an update for the template or figure it out myself.

This is where Tigra for Kunena excels. There are no core tweaks or mods that you are splicing in. Everything is in a simple menu to customize at your leisure. It is a huge time saver and allows me rest easy knowing that if I have any problems, Tigra support will work on it.

This is my jump into Tigra support. I know as consumers and not developers, we tend to get a little anxious for tech support when it is needed. Compile wasted hours on high dollar extension forums (I guarantee you know a few) looking for posts and all you see are threads going on weeks with no reply. This has NEVER happened with Tigra. Honestly, I don't think I have ever used them for a Kunena template problem, only issues with Jomsocial. I guess that's a testament to how solid this product is. They have excellent reviews for a reason.

Looks amazing and works great. Setup is a breeze and I cannot be happier with how it looks on my site. Other developers charge way too much and this one beats them all being free.

I replaced my RocketTheme social icons with this module because it looks a lot better and it included other social sites that were missing from RT. Overall, I am really happy with the fit and finish of this module. If you want to see it in action, search for MyThrottle and look at the header.

I submitted a review at the Jomsocial extensions for this template/framework and am writing a different one here with more praise (that's how good the product/service is). In short, if you want to save countless hours hacking away at Jomsocial template code and already have a nice Joomla Rockettheme going, get Tigra for Jomsocial.

Not only did it make simple work of putting a theme on my site, the few user (me) induced issues were solved immediately. It's 5 stars for the product and 5 stars for the support.

This extension is used on my not for profit site and over time I have spent a lot of money of poor themes and solutions. I know I got it right this time around when I got Tigra. My site now has a good Jomsocial mobile layout for the first time!

I have been using this extensions since November 2010 and I have not regretted any bit of it. It is an amazing tool for my social networking site. I really like the newest version which has automated reminders. I can now take a long vacation and let regreminder do my work. Not that I will ;)

More important is the developer support. Dwayne is very responsive to questions and feedback. *Not that this extension needs much because it is built well out of the box.

* A full evaluation of the extension
For an out-of-the-box component, Jomsocial is great. I think reviewers might be a little harsh because they are expecting a more simple solution. While I do agree that bringing my Jomsocial from 1.8 to 2.0 was a pain, the files itself upgraded flawlessly. Theming is something that could still use some work but like I mentioned before, this component can get a full community site going in minutes. How do I know this? I paid a lot of money a while back for a completely custom coded solution that does not even scratch the surface of what Jomsocial brings to the table. My site (www.mythrottle.net, sorry about the plug) works great and is way better than the original custom concept thanks to Jomsocial.

* Courtesy and Honesty
I have not had an experience in this area since I have not had to interact with support. My questions have been answered by reading old posts in the forums.

* Pros & Cons of the extension and its performance
Pros - Up and going in minutes, by far the best application that gives you a little of everything.

Cons - Theming is a nuisance. I had to migrate my theme using Winmerge to capture all of the new CSS code and save it on my template. In the end I got frustrated and used a hybrid theme between my own and Blackout. This will be remedied within the week as I am working on a custom 2.0 theme with Vrosa.

* Level of support received
None to date - no need for it...yet

* Ease of usage and deployment
Simple enough for an entry level developer to do it.

* Purpose of using the extension (i.e., "I used this extension for a magazine site.")
I use this extension for a motorcycle community.

* Level of difficulty
moderate if you are integrating additional extensions with Jomsocial. If you use it as a standalone it is very easy. Currently I use some big components but I have Alphauserpoints and Friend Suggestions woven in. Once The JEvents component is able to get events posted in its visual calendar, I will go review it and give it 5 stars.

* Your experience level with Joomla and web technologies
A few months but I feel like I've been doing this for years. It is really easy to configure and make changes.The forums have helped me a lot for Joomla and Jomsocial.