Is vBulletin REALLY that great? I need some opinions, and a few answers

[Blootix.com]

Currently, I've tried IPB, SMF, UBB, MyBB, wowBB, and phpBB. NONE of those completely satisfied me. And now, I am thinking of heading over here to vB.

Since I am fairy young and I do not have the kind of funding some of you have so this would be a fairly important decision for me.

I've heard too many good stories about vB to just ignore it, and so I came and tried out the Admin Demo, and I actually liked it... . However, that is just a Demo, and I never tried it out with a live forum so I don't really know if it will fit my needs.

So I need a current vB user to tell me:

1). Is skinning the forum easy? / Are there GOOD free skins available? (I'm paying for a $160 license, so I don't want to pay for another $30 skin...)
2). Do we HAVE to backup using Telnet/SSH or can we also use PHPMA?
3). Can you import posts from MyBB to vB?
4). If I have a licensed vBulletin board running at 123.com, can I install another one on abc.com IF I delete the one on 123.com?
5). Do vBulletin hacks really cost money? Some people said that even normal hacks like v3Arcade and vBadvanced cost big bucks...
6). Do ANY of you regret buying vBulletin (the cost the my main concern; any of you think a freeware board can replace vBulletin?)?

I will post more questions as they come up. I am leaning towards a "Yes" right now in purchasing this software, but I'm still not completely sure. Convince me anybody?

[ManagerJosh]

Hello Blootix:

Welcome to vBulletin! What you've messed around in the Admin Demo is actually the exact same thing what you would be doing if you had a real vBulletin board under your control. So what you saw in the admin demo, is basically what you will get. There are also additional benefits, such as getting template designs from http://www.vbulletintemplates.com and cool codehacks from http://www.vbulletin.org

Skinning is easy. All you need to do is pop into the admin cp, and mess around with the styles manager and fiddle with the templates. Since you have the admindemo, I encourage you to fiddle around with the template system and see how the skinning process goes so that you know what you are getting into. There are quite a few free skins around floating at vBulletinTemplates.com and here as well (look for Floris and Zachery's work).

As for backing up your forum, it is recommended that you use Telenet/SSH simply because it guarentees you'll get a complete backup. However its quite possible to backup via phpmyadmin, though when your forum starts soaring to large sizes, its just rather easier to backup via SSH or Telenet.

According to this post, there is a MyBB importer available. (See Item 35)

The license agreement allows you to run one instance of vBulletin. However if your site 123.com fails, and you decided to close it up, you can move your license to 1234.com legally, as long as your URL in the members area is kept up to date.

Some hacks may cost money. But most people do not charge for hacks. You can find a whole list of hacks available at http://www.vbulletin.org, the official hacking community for vBulletin. Programs like v3Arcade and vBadvanced are third party programs and are not supported by Jelsoft. However, for the record, I know that if you have a vBulletin license, you can download vBadvanced free of charge (per what their site says at http://www.vbadvanced.com).

There are a lot of customer testimonials floating around (like this one http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showt...273#post815273 and http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=105559) but I honestly urge you to decide based on what you need. Ultimately if you feel vBulletin fits your needs the best, purchase a license. If you feel a competiting product is clearly superior, go for that one instead.

But what it boils down to is whether vBulletin meets your needs the best. For some people it doesn't. Others, vBulletin meets or exceeds their needs. Either way, decide based on what you feel is best


Hope this helps and best of luck on your decision!

[Lars-Christian]

Hello, Blootix - Satisfied vB customer here, and I'll try to answer some of your questions

1). Is skinning the forum easy? / Are there GOOD free skins available? (I'm paying for a $160 license, so I don't want to pay for another $30 skin...)

Skinning is incredibly easy, and in my opinion the styles editing and how simple it is, is one of the things that definately sets vBulletin apart. I have tried editing phpBB, and it is, well, confusing, to say the least. With vB, it was a breeze for me.

2). Do we HAVE to backup using Telnet/SSH or can we also use PHPMA?
That's not really related to the software, is it? Either way, vBulletin has a built in backup feature in the Admin CP, where you can back up individual tables, and you can back it up directly to your server (and then download it there, for instance). Of course, I'd reccomend SSH to backup any decently sized databases, to avoid problems.

3). Can you import posts from MyBB to vB?
Yeah, there's a MyBB importer in the official import files you download from the members area here on vBulletin.com

4). If I have a licensed vBulletin board running at 123.com, can I install another one on abc.com IF I delete the one on 123.com?
Yes, you can change the URL for which the license is valid.

5). Do vBulletin hacks really cost money? Some people said that even normal hacks like v3Arcade and vBadvanced cost big bucks...
I have no clue. I have never found anything but free hacks. Then again, I have never tried any of the hacks you mentioned.

6). Do ANY of you regret buying vBulletin (the cost the my main concern; any of you think a freeware board can replace vBulletin?)?
Do I regret? Not at all.
Do I think a freeware board can replace vB? No, not in terms of features, support, performance and so forth, but in the end, it comes down to the eyes of the beholder. If you just want a simple place where users can post messages, then no problem, other forum softwares do that as well. If you want to stay up to date with the latest and most innovative features, and want great support, and a huge community to help you with anything, then vB should be your first choice.

Hope I was able to answer your questions in a somewhat satisfying manner

[TruthElixirX]

V3 arcade is free. The only hacks that cost are custom jobs(Usually). So Vbulletin after initial purchase is pretty cheap.

[Blootix.com]

Hmm... Well, considering there's so many people who like this, this must be an amazing software.

I think I'll purchase it. I'll get around to it this afternoon after I come back from school.

[pieman666]

It is very good, check out the admin demo http://www.vbulletin.com/admindemo.php

[BrandonC]

I'm very happy with my company's purchase of vBulletin. This is the first forum software I've ever managed, and I can't count the number of times that I've said "well, it looks like I need to find some way to do X to fix things". Then I'll look through the admin control panel, and there will be a button I can click on to do the exact thing I was looking for!

Very well thought out piece of software, and amazingly inexpensive for all that you get. The support through this board is great too.

[Forum-Style]

You wont regret moving onto VB, like yourself we used near on every forum there is, we do forum design for a living so we know then all vB is the best of the best, there is no better around in my view. Styles for free yep theres a few there, paid sites also. So there never a shortage of good designz around, there is hundreds on this site so when you become a customer you get access to them all.

Many 3rd party sites also like to produce styles for vB, and yep also free ones to a good standard, not basic colour changes, but full template systems.

As for other items vB is the best on support, they offer a phone support as well at a extra charge, but that down to you, there free online support is just great as it is. So if you get into trouble it not be long till your back on your feet.

I understand its a lot of money for some, but it is worth every penny, and more i feel. One thing i like to say, vB dont change there prices like other sites, they got a great rep by being totally upfront, and that the way i like it. (no bull)

I sure you been to some other sites to see whats on offer for vB so i guess you know by now there so many mods and hacks around, free as well as paid, thou huge amounts more free. Which is great.

You be doing what most have done by going for vB, and that the best of the best. Why settle for second.

[Blootix.com]

Just moved to vBulletin!

GREAT software. I definitely don't regret buying this, though it cost quite a bit of funds out of my website budget.

[Bad_i_BILL]

Just moved to vBulletin!

GREAT software. I definitely don't regret buying this, though it cost quite a bit of funds out of my website budget.

As I have said,
You didn't just buy a Car, You bought the Rolls Royce of forum Software

[Sovereign]

I had a massively modded phpBB on my site for a long time. It kept crashing, daily database errors. I just couldn't get the features out of phpBB unless I had mods, but mods meant crashes. I too, beat around the bush looking for something besides vB, but once I purchased, there was no going back!

[Bunny]

EDIT: Oh, youve already boughten it :P