I know what you mean. I had a fluxbb install awhile back that required modification of the source php in various locations directed by the install guide for each modification. I don't mind that.. but after the 5-6th file with extremely specific directions, you start to wonder how scalable that is.
It's actually one of flarums goals to fix.
Powerful and extensible. Customize, extend, and integrate Flarum to suit your community. Flarumβs architecture is amazingly flexible, prioritizing comprehensive APIs and great documentation.
Basically, do the absolute minimum with the core. Everything else should be done completely with extensions.
You can see a example flarum setup and mess with the admin panel / etc if you want.
I'm hosting it to identify bugs, test new stuff, let people see it. I also have a cronjob to completely flush it every 24 hours π
See - I can easily disable tags, likes, media embedding, etc.