V bulletin Forums

[Laird Mobi]

I am thinking of buying a V bulletin forum licence. Are these easy to set up with little experience of coding etc, and i understand you can host them yourself is this true?

 

[NameWolf]

They are very easy to setup with clear instructions. VB is very customizable and you can get a lot of modifications which adds great value to forums and communities.

You can indeed host it on your server or hosting account.

Regards,

NW

 

[Laird Mobi]

Cheers for your reply Namewolf.

 

[Anthony Ng]

One place that ALL vB administrators frequent is:

http://www.vbulletin.org

Hope this helps.

 

[labrocca]

Why do people PAY for vbulletin when phpbb is free? I just dont get it.

 

[Steen]

I never really understood why people pay either. Both phpBB and Invision seem to be great..

 

[Keith]

Oh, dont get me started.

vBulletin is a rip off. Invision is already better than it. And even with IPB slowly moving towards "we want you to pay, but offer a free trial", look at the price breakdown...


vB ( 1 year licence )
Access to downloads for 1 year
Board can be used for 1 year then must be removed or another licence purchased
Initial Cost: $85
Additional Costs; Installation: $135. 1 year phone support: $300
Total Price: $520

IPB ( 1 year licence )
Access to downloads for 1 year
Board will have complete support for 1 year then will remain active but unsuppoted. No requirement to purchase further licences
Initial Cost: $69.95
Additional Costs; Installtion: FREE. 1 year phone support: FREE
Total Price: $69.95

IPB SAVES YOU: $450.05

vB ( "Lifetime" Licence )
Access to downloads for 1 year only - additional access @ $30 per year.
Board can be used for "lifetime"
Initial Cost: $160
Additional Costs; Installation: $135. 1 year phone support: $300
Total Price For Year 1: $595
Total Price For Year 2: $330
Total Price For Year 3: $330
Total Cost (Running 1 x Board for 3 Years): $1255

IPB ( "Lifetime" Licence )
Access to downloads for "lifetime"
Board can be used for "lifetime"
Initial Cost: $199
Additional Costs; Installation: FREE. 1 year phone support: FREE
Total Price For Year 1: $199
Total Price For Year 2: $0
Total Price For Year 3: $0
Total Cost (Running 1 x Board for 3 Years): $199

IPB SAVES YOU: $1056

 

[NameWolf]

Well as a commerial product for businesses, VB is second to none but for hobby sites and forums, I do not see any reason why IPB should not be used.

Regards,

NW

 

[theparrot]

Why do people PAY for vbulletin when phpbb is free? I just dont get it.

phpbb is Gpled, as a programmer, this means it is only free in the sense of dollars to me, but the potential cost to it is much higher to me. I would rather pay money to avoid this then use GPLed code in many cases.

 

[skylight]

personally i prefer IPB at the moment.

 

[Anthony Ng]

vB ( "Lifetime" Licence )
Access to downloads for 1 year only - additional access @ $30 per year.
Board can be used for "lifetime"
Initial Cost: $160
Additional Costs; Installation: $135. 1 year phone support: $300
Total Price For Year 1: $595
Total Price For Year 2: $330
Total Price For Year 3: $330
Total Cost (Running 1 x Board for 3 Years): $1255

IPB ( "Lifetime" Licence )
Access to downloads for "lifetime"
Board can be used for "lifetime"
Initial Cost: $199
Additional Costs; Installation: FREE. 1 year phone support: FREE
Total Price For Year 1: $199
Total Price For Year 2: $0
Total Price For Year 3: $0
Total Cost (Running 1 x Board for 3 Years): $199

IPB SAVES YOU: $1056

LOL! Except that most people probably don't need their installation or phone support and simply pay $160 instead. And in that scenario,

vB saves you: $117

 

[Togoodhlth]

I have a few VBs and have hacked the crap out of them.
vbulletin . org is awesome for finding unique hacks and getting help installing them if you don't have the expertise.
I havent seen a invision or ipb with tons of hacks but would be interested in knowing if they have stuff like the RPG, shoutbox and arcade?
Are the others as customizable as the vb?

I'm setting up 2 more forums this week so any help would be great.

 

[labrocca]

well you can do anything you can with phpbb that you can with vb and NOT have to pay to do it

 

[Steen]

IBP has tonnes of hacks as well!

http://www.invisionize.com/

 

[labrocca]

Yeah Invision Power Board is probably even closer to style to VB than PHPBB is.

 

[MediaHound]

well you can do anything you can with phpbb that you can with vb and NOT have to pay to do it

show me the phpbb arcade hack please.

 

[llew]

http://www.free-game.co.uk/activity.php

show me the phpbb arcade hack please.

 

[Keith]

LOL! Except that most people probably don't need their installation or phone support and simply pay $160 instead. And in that scenario,

vB saves you: $117

Not really, because the LIFETIME license of Invision is $199, that includes access to the download section for LIFE. With vBulletin, its $160, and you only get a year access to the download section. Each additional year is $30.

Basically a one year license of Invision is $70, and a one year (still being able to use it afterwards) of vB is $160.

 

[labrocca]

I run an arcade too on one of my phpbb too.

It's not that difficult to install phpbb mods. And now the mods are getting even easier since they are getting this easyinstall feature that basically runs a script to install mods that are approved. Most phpbb hacks take less then 15 minutes to install. They have some of the best support and easiest install instructions. The phpbb community makes sure to approve all the hacks at the site and to set a standard on install and code. Makes it rather easy and painless.

AND ITS FREE.

There are hacks to make it look like other forums and there are tons of skins for it too...plus there are tools to import other boards in case you want to switch.

 

[MediaHound]

labrocca, did you use the same "activity" hack?
http://www.free-game.co.uk