Upgrading My Forum

[Biker TAZ]

Hi All
Im looking to upgrade my current forum software!
I currently use Burning Board® 3.0.8
Things I would like to know before I Buy.

1. Burning Board® 3.0.8 has a plug in system that installs MOD's built right in to the system. It will also look for updates to all installed MOD's as well as the Burning Board software. You never have to Hack the Board to install them. Will V Bulletin do this as well?
2. I don't see as many MOD's for V Bulletin as for as what I am allowed to see here, Maybe it's because I have no License as of yet.
3. The main complaint I have with Burning Board is the support, MOD's, etc. It's mostly all in German. You can find some good MOD's if you take the time to translate it all but thats another story.
4. I do see that you can use plugins in this forum but most the MOD's i see want you to hack the Board or Templates. Are the Germans that far ahead of us?
5. Can I Import my current DATA BASE? members, profile , post ?

[Shamil.]

1 +2) Our modifications are hosted on vBulletin.org, for that you'll need to have a license. Due to the amount of modifications and inpracticalities, vBulletin does not have an automatic modification installation system.
3) Support is excellent here at vBulletin (you even have phone support if you choose to purchase it
4) No, we're better
5) You can use ImpEx. More details here:
http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/impex_module_dump

[Biker TAZ]

So I only get the one Opinion?
I see in the demo it has a place for plugins. why do you not use them?
My current Board has at least 106 plugins that installed and updates them self when a new version is out.
as far as not being practical, you should do some research.
Its done every day and when the forum is updated it has no effect on the board plugins.
Seems to me that its the coders job to make it compatible.

It's the same way at Burning Board, All the coders are German and have there own community.
There set up is the same as vBulletin. you must have a license.

This is the main reason I left IPB ,
You should not have to hack your board if it will run a plugin.
Burning Board has proved that. There only trouble is converting them to English.

[Biker TAZ]

Ok think i made my decision, could not have done it with out you!
and in case your wondering It's No

[NegativeSmoke]

To answer your plugin question for vBulletin:
*Most* plugins require no template edits (skin edits) and nearly *all* do NOT require file edits, which means you will almost never (depending on the modification...i've only seen 1 that this has happened to) have to open up a core file in vBulletin and alter code.

Hope this has been helpful to you.

As for ImPex, which is a free converter you can download after buying a license (regardless of type), I'm not sure if Burning Board 3.0.8 is supported, your best bet is to ask Jerry, as he is the developer for that product.

Jelsoft doesn't use any unofficial plugins here at the support forum for obvious reasons of having any kind of security flaw in the plugin's code or incompatibility with their developing software (as you can see, they run all of their versions here, live, while developing them, running an unofficial plugin can cause serious problems)

As for plugins, most plugins work after board upgrades, those that stop working due to a significant chunk of code being changed from version A to version B, are almost always updated by the author over at vBulletin.org in a timely manner.
See example - This forum has been updated from 3.6.9 all the way to 3.7.4 (about 10 versions, roughly) using the same plugins with only a minimum having to be re-installed/updated (which is a piece of cake to do) as far as the template edits go, they are pretty easy to re-do.

I hope I've covered all obstacles here and have gotten you to re-consider your decision.

[Biker TAZ]

Thank you NegativeSmoke,
This is the info I have been looking for, You have been a Big Help.

But I do find it strange that a V-Bulletin Staff Member never responded to my Questions.
Especially since it was posted in vBulletin Pre-sales Questions Topic.

Maybe it is because they where off on holiday.

OK Im thinking V-Bulletin again.
Thanks for your help.

[Simple User]

I also noticed that some Threads don't get a reply, even after a user has bought vB.

Just said the same thing on another Thread, saw ThailandTopper ask some questions after buying vB and not one reply.

[Wayne Luke]

But I do find it strange that a V-Bulletin Staff Member never responded to my Questions.
Especially since it was posted in vBulletin Pre-sales Questions Topic.

While we try to answer every thread there are times when we miss some or by the time we get to it a community member has answered the thread. If already answered and we have nothing further to add, then we move on.

If you absolutely need an answer from a staff member, we suggest that you use our ticket system for any questions.

www.vbulletin.com/go/sales

[NegativeSmoke]

Thank you NegativeSmoke,
This is the info I have been looking for, You have been a Big Help.

But I do find it strange that a V-Bulletin Staff Member never responded to my Questions.
Especially since it was posted in vBulletin Pre-sales Questions Topic.

Maybe it is because they where off on holiday.

OK Im thinking V-Bulletin again.
Thanks for your help.

Glad I can help buddy.

[Biker TAZ]

ct2k7

While we try to answer every thread there are times when we miss some or by the time we get to it a community member has answered the thread. If already answered and we have nothing further to add, then we move on.

If you absolutely need an answer from a staff member, we suggest that you use our ticket system for any questions.

www.vbulletin.com/go/sales

It was my understanding that only licensed customer could use the Ticket System. My Bad

ct2k7 answer was wrong if NegativeSmoke is right.
at the least it is very misunderstanding.

[feldon23]

I see a lot of your plugins are bbCodes. Those do not require plugins in vBulletin. They're handled separately and easy to put in, and once they're in, they are in for good and do not need upgrading.

Attachment manager, Birthdays on Index, WYSIWYG, FAQ, Global Announcements are all built into vBulletin.

[TheElf]

BikerTAZ: The plugin system for vBulletin allows you to install producs / plugins without any edit to the forum software but it doesn't check for updates, and doesn't automatically downloads updated product versions. It works this way for many reasons.

[NegativeSmoke]

BikerTAZ: The plugin system for vBulletin allows you to install producs / plugins without any edit to the forum software but it doesn't check for updates, and doesn't automatically downloads updated product versions. It works this way for many reasons.

Oh yeah, forgot to mention that initially I think.

[Wayne Luke]

BikerTAZ: The plugin system for vBulletin allows you to install producs / plugins without any edit to the forum software but it doesn't check for updates, and doesn't automatically downloads updated product versions. It works this way for many reasons.

Actually if the developer adds a version check url for their product, you can check for upgrades to specific products from the product manager. You are correct in stating it doesn't do this automatically though.

[Bames]

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hey wayne , I was under the impression that the lastest vBulletin was vBulletin® Version 3.7.0 now since being which was only for 40 mins I am hearing about vB 4.0 Suite, please is it better for forums, as I wanna build a forum, just tying to find out before I buy, what are main differences, if you buy one version can you upgrade later, will you lose all you forum and users details and posts, pics and avatars? how do register a domain name do it remain yours forever? can you trademark it, what is a sever in laymans terms wikipedia-ed it and still was confused.