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I need a reason to purchase vB 3.5, I need someone to bring up a feature unique to vB, and only vB that IPB doesnt have, or isnt capable of doing besides the plugin system.
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Just so you know, the plug-in system of vB 3.5.0 is a major part of vB's appeal. Not to mention no other BBS solution currently has such a system...
Let's see... While not necessarily unique, vB does allow all of its tweaking via the ACP. With IPB, for example, you often have to edit the core PHP files. vB also features a powerful reputation system, per admin settings in the ACP, inline moderation, the login "strikes" system, etc.
One of my favorites features of vBulletin is the ability to enable Threaded/Hybrid Mode(s) onto the showthread.php pages. While most people don't use it (I'm not one of those people...), I find it incredibly useful to see how all the message relate to one another, etc. Having four different ways of viewing a thread may interest you. (Linear Mode actually has two functions; the ability to view posts in ascending or descending order.)
There are many features of vBulletin, with a good portion of them being unique to vB itself. I honestly don't know all of them, and I'd even go as far as to say that not every feature of vB is particulary useful to the everyday webmaster. I suggest you try out the online demo to see what 3.5.0 offers. -
It's just easy to use.
That's not true. I know of one other BBS that has it. I won't mention it for obvious reasons and that BBS is nowhere nearly as good as vBulletin.Just so you know, the plug-in system of vB 3.5.0 is a major part of vB's appeal. Not to mention no other BBS solution currently has such a system...Comment
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Ah, I didn't know other BBS also had it. I know that MyBB is developing it for the final release of 1.00, but I don't think PR2 has it yet.Comment
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Outstanding customer support.
Quickly & accurately answered issues.
If the software were equal (Which they are not, vb is a front runner)
Just the support & staff make the software worth every penny.Comment
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One thing vB has against IPB
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Ultra-Mega-LeetnessComment
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Actually I think IPB has all those features including the plugin/component system. Not sure what sort of core files need editing in IPB to achieve the same result as in vB as you mean, but its possible to do most of the changes through the tempating system like vB. Threaded/hybrid mode is also not unique to vB although maybe vB pioneered it?Originally posted by Quillz
To be honest its very difficult to get an objective opionion from members here. They are both excellent systems and recommend you try the demo's out for a while.
Also check out the plugins and add ons available for both and see how they suit your requirments.Comment
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A good reason to pick vB over other forum software is because the big web sites have found out it helps them, that we indeed are giving priority to security, that we indeed have a well balanced setup of features against performance, that we indeed provide complete features with not just an off/on switch but with a lot of additional options to tweak it for your small to enterprise web site. And that we indeed have professional staff members that are trained to help and perform within a timely matter. We don't change policy every now and then, we don't change our prices every now and then and we are listening to our customers. We have a public bug report system, a public feedback and suggestions forum and both public and private support forums/system. We also have a massive community behind vBulletin that helps at no cost and shares at no cost resources like language packs, styles, graphics, tutorials, hacks, mods, plugins, etc.
You can go to any third party forum web site and compare their feature list which they hopefully post in public against ours, which you can find here:
http://www.vbulletin.com/features.php and every announcement of any new version will have specific changes.
vBulletin 2 and 3's features and options are all in 3.5, here's a rough summary of these new 3.5 features and options:- Product/Plugin system with over 550 'hook' locations strategically placed in the code. Allows modification and extension of vBulletin without physical alteration of the vBulletin PHP scripts.
- Inline moderation allows multiple threads or posts to be have moderation actions performed without a visit to the admin or moderator control panels
- Completely rewritten message editor with ability to instantly switch between standard and WYSIWYG modes
- Thread title editing on forumdisplay via AJAX
- Thread opening and closing on forumdisplay via AJAX
- Super-Quick Reply on showthread via AJAX
- Inline post edit on showthread via AJAX
- Username suggestion for PM recipients and search by user via AJAX
- Data manipulation APIs (Data Manager) for centralized data saving
- Template History & Comparison for easy tracking of changes
- Database-based thread and forum read marking
- MySQL Full Text Search
- Additional Datastore Storage Methods
- SMTP Mail Wrapper
- MySQLi Wrapper
- PHPDoc'd Source Code
- Moderator log language abstraction
- Webkit support for style manager color picker
- ImageMagick 6 Support (alternative to GD)
- Calendar events support start/end times
- Custom avatar and profile picture resizing
- Profile pictures can be saved to filesystem
- Statistics ordering
- Each attachment image type can be individually set to generate thumbnails or not
- Each attachment image type can be individually set to open in a new window or not
- Moderated posts and threads do not contribute to post count until approved
- Language chooser in footer
- New bbcode parser now corrects invalid tag nesting to ensure valid HTML
- New attach bbcode tag for placing attachments inline with messages
- New noparse bbcode tag for disabling bbcode parsing within
- Word wrap excludes contents of PHP/CODE/HTML blocks
- Search engine spider configuration via XML file
- New 'Can View Thread Content' permission
- New 'Can Upload Animated GIF' permission
- Attachment upload via URL in addition to local upload
- New (hopefully foolproof) method for setting cookiepath/cookiedomain
- Forum description field no longer limited to 250 characters
- Completely rewritten Paid Subscriptions system - now known as Payment APIs. New support for 2checkout, Worldpay and Authorize.net
- 'Always Moderate Group Posts' permission replaced with more logical 'Follow Forum Moderation Rules' permission
- Threads containing posts awaiting moderation have indicator icon on forumdisplay for moderators
- Right-to-left language support improved
- Additional 'Execute SQL' auto-queries added
- Image verification for sendmessage to avoid spam issues
- Improved registration image verification to out-fox those pesky bots
- Control panel navigation controlled by XML for easier addition of links
- Upgrade system now imports styles/languages/options only after upgrade complete rather than after each script
- Ability to preview signature edits
- Calendar event email reminders
- And of course, numerous bugs and annoyances resolved.
Did you try our free -real time- live admin demo yet?Comment
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Has the online demo been upgraded to 3.5.0 yet? Some potential customers were complaining that it wasn't...Originally posted by FlorisComment
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You know what, here's something to consider that vBulletin is indeed a superior product in term of releasing a stable, secured product.
I got this from invisionboard.com
IPB 2.1 Final was released on September 13
IPB 2.1.1 was released on September 22
Are you kidding me?
Just 10 days after their supposed to be stable release and you need bug fixes already? Talking about immature release and unstable product. Although they added some new features, but some of those are "re-added due to popular requests" I don't know about others, but IMHO, the IPB 2.1 is not a "complete" product. That's why they had to added to some new features just after 10 days. Who can guarantee that the new added features don't have any bugs? Or who's to say that the supposedly added features aren't actually bugs themselves? I don't want to appearing to be bashing them but you have to wonder. vBulletin 3.5 Gold has a longer shelf life than IPB 2.1 Final.
Also, the presales forum at invisionboard is not public viewable? I clicked on there several times myself and it directed me to a ticket system. Opening a ticket for presale questions? I think that's lame. I'll stick with vBulletin "openess" style. I find so many questions answered without having to opening a ticket, or registered/login for that matter.Last edited by VietLang; Mon 10 Oct '05, 11:34am.Comment
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Actually, I'm glad IPB released 2.1.1 within 10 days. It shows they are on top of their game, fixing bugs as they become known. As good as vB 3.5.0 is, you think we'll never see a 3.5.1? All products have bugs; the ones in 3.5.0 just haven't been known yet.Originally posted by VietLangYou know what, here's something to consider that vBulletin is indeed a superior product in term of releasing a stable, secured product.
I got this from invisionboard.com
IPB 2.1 Final was released on September 13
IPB 2.1.1 was released on September 22
Are you kidding me? Just 10 days after their supposed to be stable release and you need bug fixes already? Talking about immature release and unstable product. Although they added some new features, but some of those are "re-added due to popular requests" I don't know about others, but IMHO, the IPB 2.1 is not a "complete" product. That's why they had to added to some new features just after 10 days. Who can guarantee that the new added features don't have any bugs? Or who's to say that the supposedly added features aren't actually bugs themselves? I don't want to appearing to be bashing them but you have to wonder. vBulletin 3.5 Gold has a longer shelf life than IPB 2.1 Final.
Also, the presales forum at invisionboard is not public viewable? I clicked on there several times myself and it directed me to a ticket system. Opening a ticket for presale questions? I think that's lame. I'll stick with vBulletin "openess" style. I find so many questions answered without having to opening a ticket, or registered/login for that matter.
Also, as an actual IPB customer, I find it much better that they switched all support manners to support tickets, rather than private customer forums. It's a little hard to explain, but the change was for the better, I feel.
But this board is for vB, so I'll stop here.Comment
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LOL And lets get real for a minute. Look at how many duplicate topics there are here in pre-sales. Its obvious over 90% of the people don't do a search. And if they do, they just do a quick skim over and thats it. Lucky to get to the second page. If they don't see it on page 1, it doesn't exist. Not saying all potential customers do that, just most.
So really, a support ticket system is more personal, and eliminates alot of wasted space in the forums. IMO
If people did use the search option, there wouldn't be as many, "What does VB have that IPB doesn't have." threads. I see 2 already just on page 1! I can uderstand if its for something specific. But 9 out of 10 times its not. Its just the typical general feel of what one has the other might not.Comment
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And the great thing about vB support staff is that they don't mind repeating the answer. I've seen the same question over and over again in the "How to" forum, and I don't mind repeating the answer at all (I'm not part of the support staff BTW). I don't see anything wrong with that. The point of customer service is to try to help people, not make them feel dumb. If you don't want to read it, then don't reply. No?Last edited by Vtec44; Mon 10 Oct '05, 1:31pm.Comment
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True...but at the same time, its that effort that could be going into the forum software, rather than having answered that "IPB vs VB" thread for the millionth time. As well, how many "IPB vs VB" threads are needed? Seriously.Originally posted by Vtec44
As well, one of 2 things are happening if there are so many duplicate threads in the first 2 pages.
1. People are just lazy and don't look. They post...THEN look.
2. The search function is flawed. They type in "IPB" and get back a bunch of threads that have nothing to do with what they are looking for.
Honestly, it becomes a waste if only the first page or 2 ever get looked at, and all it is, is just a bunch of duplicate questions. A minority do use the search option, or they look themselves through the forums. But thats infrequent.
As well, its usually the members doing most of the replying. Not the staff. Problem with that, is you may get wrong information. And by the time the staff gets around to correcting it, the potential customer may have already seen the flawed answer, assumed it as fact, and left. And lost a potential customer in the process.Comment
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