Those were 3 of the solutions I've looked at, in addition to one or two others (grassroots I believe was the name of one, and there's another one just coming out that I've seen). There's also one opensource that "wraps" different individual tOS ools into a suite package (such as wordpress plus a forum plus...). I appreciate you posting the options that you've used.
So far, Active Social and SmartSocial were the top third party options on my list if I go with DNN vs. another CMS altogether.
Active Social (based on their documentation and demos):
Positives:
1) Had stronger forums then DNN out of the box, and the forums were attached directly to the groups. - NICE!
2) Development appears strong and heading in a forward direction. It's likley they'll be around for a while - at least a few years.
Negatives:
1) I looked at it using IE6, and a lot of components weren't rendering correctly (which affected both the functionality, and display).
2) Some features appeared a bit clunky, or unfinished at this stage (including the group home pages). I suspect this will fix over time. For example, while in the forums one cannot read the group posts (unless I assume they log in, but there's no warning saying as much). Additionally, I'm not sure how it would look incorporated with other DNN features like blogs/wikis - the integration was unclear on the demo.
3) There was no categorization tools for groups, etc., or other strong navigation/searching like tags. It's an often overlooked, but extremely important feature for medium or larger applications (say 100 or more groups in various categories). Regional categorization would also be a nice bonus - PARTICULARLY for groups which may have an offline presence (like a local divorce group, or local gaming club).
4) Still missing features (such as group calendars, regional search, etc.), but some of these should improve over time.
5) Costs a fair, but sizeable investment for a smaller user up front, but likely cost substantially more on the back end. The problem with this type of thing is the requirement to renew licensing when new DNN versions come out every year or so. This is one big drawback (being reliant on annual paid upgrades to keep your socialware current with the rest of your DNN package). I didn't find the cost for an annual renewal on an existing license - if it's small, my gripe would be less. But if the renewal is the price of the original package, it's not a good deal IMO.
SmartSocial (again based on documentation, demo, and the poker site:
Positives:
1) Better overall functionality (except the forum integration), though it's difficult to tell where the SmartSocial ends, and other 3rd party mods begin.
2) Much better search/categorization/tagging features.
3) Totally free now!
Negatives:
1) No forum integration.
2) I understand the documentation/setup is more difficult to understand/accomplish vs. other solutions.
3) It's hard to tell from the demo/live poker site exactly which mods are and are not included (for example regional search of groups, etc.). The demo strength is seeing it in a live DNN integration, the flaw is not seeing it by itself or knowing which pieces are not included. Active social had the opposite problem. Good demo on the included pieces, but no demo with a full DNN integration.
4) Not sure if I like the Wall idea. Group Blogs (allowing group members to post blogs in addition to the group owner by setting) may be a solid alternative or addition - that's just a preference thing. Some other settings/bugs need adjustment like limiting the initial page to say 10 images per page by default (loading a busy group takes a long time if using dial up, and can break the page during load), and some of other minor issues/settings.
5) Main drawback, is the code is no longer freely supported or in "active" development. There is very little support for existing or new users at this stage, including bug fixes. It's future is uncertain (particularly with compatibility with new DNN releases) in it's current state. The good news is the owner has opened/appears to be opening up the code with the intention of allowing others to grow/support the software, or other solutions which may allow SmartSocial (Smart-Thinker) to continue to grow.
That's my review based solely on documentation, Demos, live sites using the software options, and third party critiques. I have not used either other than demo, so I am not an expert at this point.
Now Here's why I want it incorporated with the standard DNN release:
1) Cost. While I could see value in paying for DNN as a whole with this feature, I have a problem getting locked into a cycle of having to pay for third party licensing renewals every year when a new DNN suite comes out. Microsoft Windows & Office uses this model sort of (as well as tons of other software), but it's not optimal from a user standpoint - particularly on an annual basis - though their lifecycles are longer. IF Active Social had the features I wanted, and had free lifetime style upgrading after the initial investment, I would find it far more attractive for the price.
2) In conjunction with number 1 above, by having the social suite contiained within the DNN community and pro editions as a core module, the end user will avoid issue 1, as well as have a more integrated package. In otherwords, by default, the social suite should work seemlessly with the other DNN core modules. This becomes especially important when it's time to upgrade to a new DNN release, as well as minor DNN additions such as a new module (like regional searching), etc. This is a very important reason, followed closely by #3 below.
3) As evidenced by SmartSocial in 2009, and by countless other DNN, Drupal, Joomla, etc. add on third party modules, the likelihood of a 3rd party module ending it's support/continuing presence within a few years is very likely (or pricing itself out of the little folks). Granted Active Social can be an exception (it appears strong), but it's also likely that at some point, it may discontinue support/upgrading of its product for the average user. That winds up leaving end users in the predicament of either: 1) Hiring someone (including the original developer possibly) to upgrade it for them, 2) Stop upgrading DNN and the social tools, or 3) Learning to access/modify the code themselves with help from other "forum" type users. That's assuming that the company's code is even available under their license if they change their operations.
4) By having it as a core module, a team will be working on the solution. But, because it is a core module in the community edition, the local forums will be doing a lot of the testing/bug fixing, feature requesting, problem solving, etc. for DNN. Additionally, the DNN forum and 3rd party module developers will be making things compatible with the complicated DNN social suite (which is better for end users again), rather than trying to make multiple third party modules compatible with a exterior third party social suite. DNN remains the focal funnel point, which ensures consistancy within the module releases. The end result should be an ongoing, evolving, growing social suite for DNN - which in turn will lead to a different type of user (larger scale user) potentially purchasing the DNN pro edition.