vBulletin 3.5's BEST & WORST:

[Shining Arcanine]

How is that different to images in sigs?

At the moment, we have:

Avatars - files have to be hosted on your server, cannot be remotely linked.
Signature Images - files have to remotely linked, cannot be hosted on your server.

Looks like vB Admins want the choice to have Avatars and Sig Images be able to do either one, to be given a choice rather than have the choice made for them.

I agree. I right now have signature images disabled on my forums for three reasons:

1. I don't want tracking bugs in signatures: http://www.danasoft.com/
2. If they're not on my sites' server, they're probably on a slow server and I don't want the slow downs
3. I want to be able to enforce limitations on the screen space and disk space they take up, so they're aesthetically pleasing and don't contribute significantly to the load time of the page due to the sheer byte length of the images.

[MJM]

Ah, the problem with writing in a relaxed state at my own computer isn't so much that it can lead to long-windedness, but the effort required to edit out/make less words to say as much ... I give up, here tis ...

Best Feature
vB Backbone - as the foundation for building an interactive community and resource knowledge base.

Worst Feature
Users Subscriptions - display and management controls
Subscriptions Display interface
New Posts - need more selectable viewing options
Selectable subscriptions should be viewable and manageable using the forums index interface.
In essence, the default view of the forums provides the bigger picture, a road map and global repository of information/postings. Members use the infrstructure provided as the foundation for creating a personalized road map and a knowledge base fine tuned to their interests and needs.

Subscriptions Management Interface - Come on now! The current subscribed threads interface is fine for viewing Most Recent subscriptions and that's where it ends.
Management of subscriptions should be also possible through the above - viewing of selected subscription types using the forums board as the display interface.

Subscription Types

Bookmark needs
- ability to bookmark (thread title only) for further reading
- ability to bookmark a post for further reference
- bookmarks folders provided based on forum board structure, viewable as per forum subscribed to, as all forums subscribed to, or in user customized folders. Bookmarked icon and management when viewing threads in forumdisplay.

Worse Feature: `Instant email notification' - because Instant is lacking, and because Instant is used in a somewhat deceptive manner that leads to confusion, misunderstanding and loss of communication.

Member: Uh, "I subscribed to receive instant email notification but only received one email. I thought the thread was dead. Now I won't get another instant email till i visit your website??? At least at Ygroups I do get all emails from the forums I've subscribed to. ..."

Instant should more aptly be called:
- Single reply email notification

Also needed:

- Receive all posts from this thread

- Receive all posts from this forum

This issue is NOT about sending an email from home computer to the forum - this is about readership subscriptions

For our readership subscriptions, the current Instant Email Notification subscription is inadequate.
They joined for the purpose of receiving up to date postings from (forum) topics of special interest to them.

Instead they are deprived of their desire to have truly `instant updates' sent to their own and most cherished home console.

I remember reading a comment when this was requested many moons ago ...
"Why would you want your members to read the posts in their email? - this will result in loss of traffic to your site"

Turns out that traffic at our site is growing quite nicely, primarily because we're providing content that visitors want to read.

The issue here is that vB does not provide for continuity of dialogue for subscribed readership through their home computer.

A basic principle for building an interactive community discussion site is to enable your members (who so desire) to be instantly updated on discussion that interests them most.
Email notifications are like a `carrot on the stick'.
Stick = site reminder
Carrot = email content
Eating carrot = going to site to view links in email / view image galleries > participating in dialogue

As would be expected, my opinion of most worst or most lacking features may not be desired by others, thus the need to provide easy on/off AND customizable options controls in the adminCP.

Mark

How is that different to images in sigs?

At the moment, we have:

Avatars - files have to be hosted on your server, cannot be remotely linked.
Signature Images - files have to remotely linked, cannot be hosted on your server.

Looks like vB Admins want the choice to have Avatars and Sig Images be able to do either one, to be given a choice rather than have the choice made for them.

I like your mind.

When one element cannot function the same as a parallel, you've got a problem.

[cyburbia]

Best: Implementation of AJAX.

Worst: Still haven't cleaned up the control panel.

The developers really listened to me when I pointed out a few problems, one of them very minor, with Beta 3. They were fixed in Beta 4, and it's really stable. I'm looking forward to 3.5 Gold, even if the control panel is still confusing.

[Erwin]

Right. And leach the bandwidth off another site, also very uncool.

How is that different to images in sigs?

At the moment, we have:

Avatars - files have to be hosted on your server, cannot be remotely linked.
Signature Images - files have to remotely linked, cannot be hosted on your server.

Looks like vB Admins want the choice to have Avatars and Sig Images be able to do either one, to be given a choice rather than have the choice made for them.

[Shining Arcanine]

You just typed out what Wayne said in a longer form

Cheater

Satan

Well, we've been trying to rewrite vBulletin's templates to be written properly (this goes beyond just pulling tables) at vBulletin-CSS.com, but we have had to water down our goals because every time we find a way to achieve them, it isn't possible due to a limitation of the Style Manager. We can remove the tables (and use CSS for positioning), but we can't do much beyond that as writing the templates as well as they could be requires modifying vBulletin. It is too limited.

Even so, none of Jelsoft's competitors come close to vBulletin's style system so you won't find a superior one unless someone gets so fed up with it that they design and market their own. I sent a list of suggestions to one of the developers so hopefully the next feature release will eliminate the Style Manager's limitations.

[MGM]

You just typed out what Wayne said in a longer form

Cheater

Satan

That's why I said "what he said" at the top

MGM out

[Biker]

Anyways, I never said you had to do it, or that you couldn't. I'd like it... Would save lots of bandwidth and storage...

Right. And leach the bandwidth off another site, also very uncool.

[Chris M]

You just typed out what Wayne said in a longer form

Cheater

Satan

[MGM]

Best: vBulletin Style Manager.
Worst: vBulletin Style Manager. It can be so much more than it is, even though nothing I have seen elsewhere comes close.

What he said.

I love the style manager, but I do agree so much more can be done. And at the same time, I have seen nothing like it elsewhere.

MGM out

[Wayne Luke]

Best: vBulletin Style Manager.
Worst: vBulletin Style Manager. It can be so much more than it is, even though nothing I have seen elsewhere comes close.

[Zonex]

some people will never say anything bad about vb brinnie

they are called fanboys or apologists

i love your posts cause they even things out a bit even though i may not agree with you all the time

[KimmiKat]

Recently I board I was on went to IPB from vB. Many of us moaned although one of the admin's mentioned the lease expired so he decided to use his co-admin's IPB license.

Anyway...
Best: Great support.
Worst: No built-in warning system.

Best: vBulletin 3.5 itself
Worst: IPB can import vB into IPB (sry had to say it )
Needed: um.... cant really think of any atm...

[filburt1]

As per this dicussion, the subject is features. That means you cannot list "great support" or "crappy support" for a best or worst. Other than that, let's roll.


BEST: Inline post editing.
WORST: No remote linking avatar option.

BEST: Boolean Search.
WORST: Cannot change post icons per skin! (wtf )

Best: fairly simple template system (from an end-user's standpoint)
Worst: no level of abstraction between model, view, and controller. If they were separated, doing things like providing the model via XML and rendering it to a view with XSLT would be simple.

[Freezerator]

Best: Plugin System
Worst: Well, this would be nice to improve:

-the vbulletin statistics, i would like to have more stats wich i can export to cvs or so.
-stats for my Subscriptions to export.
- Expanded view of what attachments are uploaded per user.

But everything else is superb