I'd like to get some opinions on an alternative to the current vBulletin software that we use here at BJT. The former main developers of vBulletin left after that company was sold, and they are developing a new forum product. If you are interested, please take a look at their as-yet-unreleased product: Xenforo. I am seriously considering a switch to that platform when it becomes available. Opinions on how that would work for BJT?
- Will the current platform still have developments/upgrades ? - Would accounts be automatically transferred ? - Would all old messages be transferred ?
Absolutely all the content would move over seamlessly. I realized after posting this to both my boards I may cause some undue worrying! I posted this as a partial explanation of my thinking over at BJInfo: I like the version of vBulletin we are currently running, but I'm not thrilled with the look of the new version 4, which you can see over at ZenZoneForum.com. I was working on moving to v4, when I found out that the style system is going to completely change (again) between 4.0 and 4.1 which is supposed to be released soon. I could just stay on v3.8, but eventually that will mean no more support and security fixes, so I don't think that is a good long-term plan. When I do make the move, whether to vb4 or something else, it is going to take a lot of effort to migrate. When confronted with that effort, I thought I would look around to see what options are available. vBulletin's new corporate owners so far have not seemed to handle the product well. After the original developers left, at least one of the releases shipped with a significant security problem. While that doesn't necessarily reflect what to expect in the future, it is troubling. Regardless, nothing is going to happen soon, and nothing without lots of input from the community. If I become serious about a XenForo option, I would probably launch a temporary test independent of the real board.
Xenforo Looks Good Xenforo looks good to me. I do not see where we should notice any differences in our ability to navigate the site.
VBulletin's appearance is pretty customizable, isn't it? I'd ask the folks at vBulletin if your current theme/skin will work with the new version. I run UBB on a forum I own. I haven't done much about customizing it, but I'm always envious when I go to their forums and look at the member gallery of sites. Unless you're getting reamed on the vBulletin license, of course. If not, then I'm kind of a "stick with what you know" kind of gal when it comes to software, including upgrades. Otherwise, you have to spend the time learning something new and then find you still aren't as happy with it.
Ken.... Something I learned many years ago about computer software: IF IT'S NOT BROKE, DON'T FIX IT. I think a good example is your Zen Zone forum. The new fomat sucks.
One feature I enjoy, both here and at blackjackinfo.com is receiving daily updates via email of the forums that I follow. I would, however, like to suggest an improvement. It would be nice if the email link took you to the post which generated the update rather than to the beginning of the thread. This would be especially useful for threads which have grown to several pages. Overall, still a great site with excellent resources!
