PHPbb vs. vBulletin

[Lord Chaos]

I am using PHPbb right now and considering upgrading to vBullitin. What I'd like to know is:

1. What are the advantages of vBullitin over PHPbb?
2. How easy is it to make templates, modifications and adding mods that other people have made to it?
3. Is it possible to convert PHPbb forum data into vBullitin?

[MindTrix]

1. There are too many to list mate :) Basically you get official prompt support, a huge site here of hacks, and then another huge site full of template mods and so much more performance wise. I used to run PHPBB and i havent looked back since :)

2.Very easy to make templates, you simply click a button called ADD and you can create a new one, Everything you see on the forum, you can customise in the admin cp.Also installing someone elses template mod's or Hacks is easy too. Each come with a step by step guide, and if you run in too trouble you meerly have to post stating what is wrong and you have about 5 people pounce on you too help :)

3.I believe there is a converter yes.

[Lord Chaos]

Sounds cool...I am sorry if its a big trouble, but could you mention some of the main features?

Also, does vB contain subforums?
can subforums get individual templates?
can you have super moderators or other levels of moderators?
Can users set their own posts per page and threads per page?
Can features be disabled? (like the calender and others that might not be needed)
Is vBulletin avaliable in other languages, like danish...and can you set a default language and allow users to switch between them in your profile?

If I purchased the full version would support be avaliable to convert "non-traditional" PHPbb data, ie. data that has been modded to for instance PHPbb subforums?

[MindTrix]

Also, does vB contain subforums? --- Yes it sure does :)

can subforums get individual templates? -- You can assign styles to certain forums on your site, as for templates, that might require some hacking to be done.

can you have super moderators or other levels of moderators? Sure you can make your own user groups, set how many posts too get into them, if any, and what actions they can do

Can users set their own posts per page and threads per page? -- How do you mean?

Can features be disabled? (like the calender and others that might not be needed) -- You can simply remove the link to the calendar from the header template (its a template that holds the logo and buttons) Most features especially with the release of the new vB board RC1 which was released today, pretty much every option has a on and off switch :)

Is vBulletin avaliable in other languages, like danish...and can you set a default language and allow users to switch between them in your profile? -- There are language packs available at vbulletin.com and here at vbulletin.org. I believe the user can select their language, i am not 100% sure however as i have never had the need for multi languages

If I purchased the full version would support be avaliable to convert "non-traditional" PHPbb data, ie. data that has been modded to for instance PHPbb subforums? -- Hmm i think there would be support given to move over your threads and posts and members and catagorys etc.

[Lord Chaos]

That each individual can set how many threads they want to see per page, and when they enter a thread, how many posts they wish to see on each page? (like one person would like to see 20 posts, another 99 posts)

[MindTrix]

Ah yes i believe the user can, if not im sure there is a hack for it :)

[Lord Chaos]

How are hacks applied, do you have to program them in yourself or can they "install" themselves, or how does it work?

[MindTrix]

Depends on the hack. Most require you to find code in the php file, then add some after/before it, or replace code etc. All straight forward. Then some require you to create a new template and they give you the code, Once again this is very very very simple too do :)

Some hacks automatically do the database edits and template edits when the file is run, yet you still need to make the php edits yourself.

[Lord Chaos]

Oh that reminds me of another thing...which PHP version is required and can this run on MySQL and what other DBs does it run on, and is it possible to "upgrade" a DB?

[incript]

vBulletin is best coz even i am switching to it from phpbb.

[Dark Shogun]

MySQL is the only database that I know works with vbulletin and is the only supported one I think. Any version 4 php works I think too. And about the language packs thing, vbulletin 2 has a pretty good variety of packs but since vbulletin 3 but became rc I doubt it has any but like german.

Dark Shogun

[Infopro]

These is no better forum anywhere. It has all that you want, and more than that. It's a no brainer. Buy it and toss the freebies..

[Lord Chaos]

Heh, well, I need some very good research before jumping anywhere...once the forum goes public (right now its held at a low profile), it will have a heavy load and features much be rich and working properly.

Anyway, Subforums and that ALL is in danish is *very* important.

Another thing about support, how good are they at giving it?, if I (or others) am/are a little dense about a problem, do they stay patient or just goes "get the f... out of our forums, n00b"?

[MindTrix]

Extemely patient ;)

You should see some of the hassle some of the vB staff have received in some posts, yet they remain professional.

Same here at vB.org you will always get the best help people can offer.

[Lord Chaos]

Its definetly going good so far...Are subforums a stable part of vB 2 or do you use 3?

And can anyone give me some code examples on how a parts of a hack would look like...the problem is that I am going to be the central administrator, I am going to be the one who has to document everything to the letter and I have to make very sure everything is easy for me and my eventual replacements/co-workers.

How about cluttering, is it easy to unclutter areas that might look like there's too much info? and is it easy to add new? (like in the sidebar)

Does vBB have a permission system and user groups which can have set permissions?

How well would vBB fare with 300-500 fora/forums and a large active userbase?

[MindTrix]

Subforums are in both version and work perfectly.

The code in vB is laid out alot better than PHPBB trust me.

Its just a matter of finding a line, then doing as your told, like add so and so code after it.

Areas that are cluttered with posts/threads etc, can easily be moved via a drop down box when viewing the thread. Areas can be added easily aswell and have many options available when creating them.

vB3 even has password protected forums :)

Permissions is definetly in vB.

vB would cope better than any other BB board with a huge community ;)

[Lord Chaos]

My biggest fears is because the Black Isle forum used to use vBB, but it starting have great problems after some 2 million posts and 60K users, breaking down, lots of errors and so on...their programmers could not fix it and was told that they had to wait until vBB 3 for it to be fixed and that wasn't out, so now they use PHPbb, and so does Interplay who has now taken over the forums.

Is there any way you could show me a code example of an existing hack (just a large block of it), it is very important things are checked out in detail (do not worry, I do not have any pirated boards or anything, and even if I did, a block would do me no good).

[MindTrix]

Cant cause that would mean posting someone elses code ;)

and vB3 is out now so go figure :)

[Lord Chaos]

Couldn't you make something up or have a code snippet of your own or something?...there's a difference between having something described and seeing it for real.

[HabboForum]

I'd say PHPBB is better for hacks as there are more of them. A lot of the hacks here don't work and it is really starting to annoy me.

[Link14716]

1600 vB2 hacks and you say phpBB has more? How many more can there be?

Here's a short list of the new vB3 features: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showpost.php?p=396510&postcount=1

[Zachery]

PHPBB is not better for hacks, if theyre are more its because there are LESS standarized features in vB2/3

:)

vB is way ezier to hack considering that you dont need to edit so many files plus the fact that template system makes things 100X ezer when you have more than 1 style ;D

[Lord Chaos]

Well, the end result of our board should have about 20-30 styles...so I am looking for a forum thats easy to make styles for ontop of the other features needed...a heavy moded PHP board is really a pain to make new styles for.

[Link14716]

In that case, vB3 should be your best friend, especially with the "style inheritance" feature. Think sub-forums, but they're styles. You can add child styles and any templates customized in the parent style will also be customized in the child style (unless it has already been customized in the child style), and the same applies for colors, replacements, etc. It makes having 5 billion styles easy. :)

[Lord Chaos]

1600 vB2 hacks and you say phpBB has more? How many more can there be?

Here's a short list of the new vB3 features: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showpost.php?p=396510&postcount=1

Linky no worky for me.

[Lord Chaos]

So you're saying that I could have style A, then subforums with style B and C, but style B and C inherits all from A that they do not override themselves?

[Link14716]

NOTE: Just hit the max post size limit... :( Thankfully, the first response to the post just happens to be mine (actually, there used to be another in that spot, but it looks like it has been deleted). Due to this, the "suggested features list" is now included in the next post (here).


*** List of features already in vb 3.0 ***
(List from http://www2.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=51821 and various responses from vb Team.)


Forum Index

Show the title of the last posted to thread for each forum on index.php
Todays birthdays to not always refresh the cached template when someone submits a profile.
Option to remove "moderator" column via on/off in Admin CP


Forums / Categories

Password protected forums
Meta tags -- forum descriptions (and keywords?) are added to the Meta tags for each forum page
Thread preview on mouse-over (optional, via Admin CP)
Subscribed threads are indicated with an icon on thread / forumdisplay listings
Expand/collapse categories in forum view


Threads / Posts

Hit counter on announcements
Threaded and hybrid views (optional, via Admin CP and/or User CP)
Similar threads display (optional, via Admin CP)
All user info cells are combined into one template
Quick reply box (with optional "forced" click on post to quote)


Posting / Editing

WYSIWYG Editor for major text input fields (IE 5.5+, Mozilla 1.3+, Mozilla Firebird 0.6.1+)
Minimum number of characters in post
Insert smilie/vB code where cursor is (IE 5+ Only)
Preview on edit
Ability to add attachment when editing a post instead of just when creating
Reason for editing
Reason for deleting
Hitting the back button no longer necessary when you have too many images
Ability to manage thread (for mods and admins) while posting (i.e. - lock, stick, etc.)
Quotes are not included in min char count to keep members from posting long quotes with no content of their own (optional, via Admin CP)
Attempting to post a duplicate thread now results in an error message, and the user being sent back to the forumdisplay listing
Non-WYSIWYG editor shares many of its interface components with WYSIWYG editor for visual consistency


Attachments

Multiple attachments
Preview safe attachments
Attachment images (.gif,.jpg,,etc) are no longer in the database (optional, via Admin CP)
Attachment thumbnails (requires PHP to have GD enabled)


Calendar

Much improved calander system (too many changes to mention)
Multiple calendars
Calendar moderators
Private event reminder
Multiple days events (spanning multiple days)
Reoccuring events (monthly, weekly, annually, etc.)
Specify holidays
Events visible to specific user groups
Ability to add custom fields to calendar
Calendar events on forum index (optional, via Admin CP)
Option for full day events (instead of having to select an hourly span)


Email

Digests: new posts/threads in selected forums daily/weekly/monthly
"excerpt of message:" are now in the new reply email notifications
'report post to mod' sends anonymous copy to the original poster of the message
Happy b'day emails
Newsletter / mailling integration
Opt-out list for e-mail options
User activation emails and lost password emails will not use the mailqueue, resulting in instant delivery
Ability to disable the mailqueue system completely (useful for boards with small amounts of traffic)


Login

No more "nosessionhash" setting.
No more use cookies setting
MD5 password by javascript before it is sent to the server
Option to save cookie *on this computer* when logging in
Login/logout ability in all pages, with user/pass form -- single login system
"Want to register?" and "Forgotten your password?" before user/pass form fields, for using tab
Password break-in watches -- too many failed attempts warning with a preset wait after too many failures.


PMs

Completely revamped PM system
Integrating Tracking with the Regular Folders
Mass download of PMs in CSV, TXT, or XML format
Preview PM before sending
Ability to send PM to multiple receipents
Mark PM(s) as read/unread
Private messages are now grouped by sending date, and each group can be collapsed to conserve screen space


Polls

Option for users to see who voted for which option (public vote)
When you vote your name is highlighted when viewing results
Poll results ordered by most to less voted
Ability to post a poll AFTER a thread had started
Threads that do not already have polls now include a link at the bottom of the posts lists that allows users (with permissions to create polls) to add a poll to that thread


Registration / New Users

Quick registration system...username, password, email and any required custom fields and timezone
Send an email "thanks for registering and welcome to .." on user registration (welcome email)
Image / word verification for registration (requires PHP to have GD enabled)
New user moderation:
-- Radio buttons for "approve", "deny", "not sure" (save in limbo)
-- Default emails to send to approved and disapproved users
New COPPA system which requires date of birth to be entered and the appropriate page shown, this will cut down on under 13 registrations into a non COPPA group
**NEW**: Ability to disable COPPA users (users under age 13) from registering
**NEW**: Ability to set default registration options for most options in User Control Panel


Search

Get daily for just one category
Search only in subscribed forums
A list of ignored words or words used in a search are added to the results page
Option to find only started by 'username'
Display matching forums in results
Support for searching custom profile fields
Search for exact username (e.g. turn off wildcards)
Search flood check
Autoselect forumid for search when clicking search button on toplinks from the forum.
Quoted text excluded from search results
Associate searchid with userid so people can't insert searchid's and get results they're not supposed to see
Search system is improved with regards to speed. Even faster now!
Select multiple forums to search
Search flood check does not apply to admins and mods
Search for users based on custom profile fields.


User Group Options --> User CP (Group Memberships)

Public User Groups (PUGs) that members can "join" via User CP
Usergroup leaders can view who is in their user group
Usergroup leaders can remove users from their group


User Options --> User CP

Settings / Options Section:

User Pictures - user can upload a personal picture. This picture is shown in the profile of the user.
Longer signature field with optional limit
Option to enable / disable daylight savings time
Option to select default type of subscription in User CP (rather than just subscribe or don't subscribe)
**NEW**: Requires password when changing e-mail address

Subscribed Threads Section:

Subscription to Threads/Forum without receiving e-mails
Change selected subscriptions to selected type (e.g.: like the PM system, with check boxes next to each message, and an option to move, delete, or download them)

Miscellaneous Section:

Users may remove attachments directly from their attachment manager via UCP
Calendar events to which users are subscribed can now be managed via a tool in the user control panel

Other:

Pop-up auto-refreshing buddylist with ICQ-style alerts when new buddies come online.
Validity check for homepages
vCard download (must be enabled in users' control panels) to allow the user profile to be placed into the address book



Moderator Options / Permissions

Permissions:

Admin can designate moderators who can themselves set forum passwords.
New permission - caneditpoll (separate from caneditposts)

Tools:

New merge/split/delete posts system
Remove check for attachments from mass-prune
Ability to delete all threads in a forum with less than x amount of replies.
Ability to delete all threads with a 0 rating.
Ability to prune by categories (not just forums)
Ability to prune all closed threads in a forum.
Ability to remove thread redirects
Mass-moving of threads
The "prune threads selectively" page should be similar to forumdisplay. Not only should the thread title be shown, but also the thread starter, number of replies, and last post time.
Selective mass delete, move posts

Other:

Extended Moderator Activity Logging
Ability to moderate thread creation but not replies



Admin Options

Annoucements:

Multiple announcements as separate threads (instead of one)

Attachments:

Allow users to specify max size of attachments to be viewed. If image is larger than user's specified size, it would be resized to the max image size and able to be clicked on to open the attachment full size in a new window (requires PHP to have GD enabled)
Can specify the size of attachments per type
Improved attachment system. Statistics, Attachment types editing.
Ability to delete old attachments. Ability to limit users to X number of bytes in total attachments. Option to "expire" attachments in CP.
Ability to store attachmentsin sub directories based on the userid of the poster

Avatars:

**NEW**: Ability to mass move avatars in categories

Banning / Warning / Violation system:

Timed bans
Separate section for banned users
Logs on who banned who and when the ban was implemented (not retroactive)
Users can be moved to other groups (i.e. - not the Registered group) and still be banned

Email:

Email members based on custom profile field
Resend for registration confirmation emails

Extended Stats:

Most Active Forum - New posts / new threads per forum per hour
Most Popular Forum - Views per forum per hour
Peak Online Time - Active users per hour
Most Popular Registering Period - New users per hour

Forums:

Ability to restrict "view new" to certain forums and groups of forums.
A "forum" can be just a link to something or somewhere else
Option to show forum lock icons
Choose forums in forum jump
Unlimited size of email field to automatically notify on new posts to a forum

Language Manager / Language Packs:

Ability to specify language as "left-to-right" or "right-to-left"
Ability to have image folder overridden to specified folder
Ability to specify encoding
Ability to override date and time formats
Ability to specify thousands and decimal separator

Options / Settings:

Ability to specify "powers" given to Mods
Signature length control
Improved email address ban
A more complete set of subscription options for daily/weekly/on new posts updates, for forum, thread and board.
An option to have thread views updated hourly rather than immediately
Option to set max avatar height and width seperately (i.e. : width=75, height=100)
Option to have passwords expire after __ days
Option to specify userid's of admins that are not allowed to be editted (by other admin or mods, set via config.php)
Super admin group - assigns permissions for regular admins, allows them to do certain things (like admins -> mods currently) / Ability to give limited access to Admin CP (mini-admins)
Option to disable control panel session timeout

Paid subscriptions:

Multiple payment processors (Paypal, Clickbank and Authorize.net)
Option to add manual entries to the paid subscriptions system, as well as options to edit existing entries
Will work in several currencies
Paid subscriptions now have a link in the user control panel

User Groups:

Options:

Add options to pick which groups appear on the memberlist, birthdays, etc
Place user under moderation (via usergroup)
Ability to set display options for usernames for user groups
Ability to allow/disallow avatars, sigs, and titles per user group
Usergroup determines avatar size

Permissions:

New permission - "Can use invisible mode"
New permission - "Can see invisible users"

Other:

Users can be members of multiple usergroups with their permissions "combined"
Add usergroup with permissions initially set as set for another group
Ability to setup moderators / group leaders for PUGs (control of user group via User CP)
Allow users to change usergroups automatically based on postcount, reg. date, or reputation


Users:

Admin editing of User's Avatar is more user friendly.
Additional user profile fields - you can now add profile fields which can have either a single line text box, multi line text box, single selection radio buttons, single selection menu, multiple selection menu, or multiple selection checkboxs.
An option for allowing a regex option to be specified for a custom profile field
Add user option in the admin CP to change the user's referrer
Option to merge user accounts
Search members based on custom profile field
User notes -- A field for the admin to keep notes on the user
Search for exact username (e.g. turn off wildcards)
Ultimate Ignore (a.k.a - Tachy Goes to Coventry): Admin can specify userid's to that is automatically added to all users ignore lists (although the user him/herself will be able to see their own posts)

vBcron system:

New control to allow admins to execute scheduled tasks instantly via a click of a button

Other:

New admin cp front end
Categories for Avatars and Smilies
Context sensitive help
Help topics manager for the context sensitive help
Admin can run REPAIR and OPTIMIZE on tables as a group or singularly (using mysql 3.23+)
An SQL box in the admin section for executing general queries
Diagnostic tests for testing system compatibility and settings
User ranking and karma admin
New settings manager
Ability to set display / parse order of smilies
More advanced throttling options on forum:
- *nix Load Limit (turn away new sessions at when load average hits limit)
Ability to save a backup file to local file for download via FTP
Ability for admins to choose their own style for the control panels, overriding the default style choice in the options editor
Improved admin control panel navigation frame, allowing groups of links to be expanded and collapsed, along with the ability to save your expanded groups preferences so that you can have 'favorite' groups open whenever you load up the control panel



BB Code

[ thread ] and [ post ] BB Codes added to link directly to threads / posts
All bbcode/smilies are stripped from posts BEFORE indexpost()
Improved bbcode parser
vBCode descriptions in the "What are vBCodes" link are now the actual descriptions in the database. No more editing the template.
Added default vBCodes: Left Align, Right Align, Center


Styles / Templates

Completely revamped Style system
You can place $post[postcount] in your postbit template to see each posts position in the thread
Conditionals in templates. Also called vB Conditionals, these are "if" "then" "else" statements built directly into the templates. This gives the admin/designer improved flexibility in creating dynamic design
Infinite parenting system for templates/replacements
Ability to specify the default styleset
Improved style editor including color preview swatches (which support background images) and a fully functional popup color picker system
Permissions editor colors now held in CSS for constant colors between different interfaces
The new horizontal-style postbit can be changed to use the old-style vertical postbit via a simple switch in the vBulletin Options admin control panel
CSS stylesheets can now be saved as cacheable files, rather than included within the HTML of every page (to make use of caching ability)
Special <phrase> tags may now be used in templates. This allows you to use phrases that contain variable parts by only editing the templates (versus editing the files). Here's an example: <phrase 1="member.php?find=lastposter&amp;t=$thread[threadid]" 2="$thread[lastposter]">$vbphrase[by_x]</phrase> {1} and {2} in the phrase by_x will be replaced with the values you see there
Ability to revert all edited templates in a style


General / Major Additions

User rating - Karma
User ranking
Removal of redirects
Back to Top link at bottom of page
Search engine friendly archive of open forums (requires Apache)
Restyled FAQ section now looks similar to a forum
Visible "announcement" on forum pages when forum is "off" to remind admin
Drop-down box on pages for changing of styles without going to the user CP


Code Changes / Code Improvements

Improved post storage to reduce resource usage when showing threads.
Use gmdate() and NOT date()
A second phpinclude template to be executed at the same time as dooutput() - to allow manipulation of elements already generated by the page
An API for posting functions (newreply, newthread, newpoll, editpost)
Who's Online code is moved to a function so that it can be used to figure out a single user's location, to be used in the user's profile and other places if need be
Have install routine check for ALTER permissions and let user know ahead of time of status (vbtest.php)
Admin and mod directories are no longer hard coded to www.forum-url.com/admin/ (i.e. - you can specify the directory name for the admin and mod CP)
Prefix table names
URL length of links on the user-side of vBulletin shortened and optimized for better spidering by search engines
Javascript phrase parsing rewritten for compatability with Macintosh browsers
Improved unicode support regarding strings





Continued on next post (here)...

[Link14716]

Yes, if you create style A, and then child styles B and C, any templates that you customize in style A are also changed in styles B and C as long as they do not already have that template customized.

[Zachery]

and of course you can revert them back to their parrent styles ;D

[Lord Chaos]

Then another question...when will vBB 3 be ready for full use and will it have full danish support? (very important)

[Link14716]

Whether it will/has a language pack out is unknown (unless it already has one released), however, you can easily translate it via the Admin CP (might take a while though).

[Lord Chaos]

Some questions that pops up:

1. Can you create supermoderators? ie. moderators that by default has moderator powers everywhere and to some extent a few admin powers as well?, is that what they call "mini-admins" just the other way around?

2. How complicated is the back-up restore facility?, how would it feasibly be done if you a 400+ Mb DB?

[Lord Chaos]

Whether it will/has a language pack out is unknown (unless it already has one released), however, you can easily translate it via the Admin CP (might take a while though).

*everything* can be translated in the admin cp?

[Link14716]

Yes, *everything* can be easily translated using the Phrase Manager in the Admin CP.

Super Moderators are a default usergroup in vBulletin.

[Lord Chaos]

Is there anyway to prevent spiders from indexing your forum and getting your posts on search engines?

[Lord Chaos]

Oh and can a default language be set to forum, so everyone gets it in that language by default, but can switch away from it in their user cp?

[filburt1]

Oh and can a default language be set to forum, so everyone gets it in that language by default, but can switch away from it in their user cp?
Yes.

[Lord Chaos]

Is there anyway I can get to try out a test forum?

[Dark Shogun]

vBulletin.com has a test vbulletin 2 up but as far as vbulletin 3 goes there is no test. And there are no free downloads.

Dark Shogun

[Link14716]

The test forum will be updated to vB3 when vB3 Final is released IIRC.

[Lord Chaos]

1. I cannot get onto vbulletin.com , I just get "page cannot be displayed".
2. When is vB3 scheduled for final release?, and if it isn't scheduled for any specific date, does anyone have an estimate?
3. Is it possible to make it so your forums posts cannot show up in search engines?
4. Does *anyone* have some sort of part of a hack that I can see thats legal to see, so I can see how it functions for real?

I appreciate all the help in the thread.

[lifesourcerec]

Well, I own one license and use it for a sports site. I use phpBB on another. With the sports site, we've have countless mySQL database problems. They seem to be ok now with the self healing script. phpBB gets the job done if you want a basic stable forum. VB is good if you want an unique forum and easier to modify it. I'll probably purchase another license next week and transfer from phpBB to vB on the other site.

[Lord Chaos]

An additional question...would it be possible to give people only access to the styles modification control panel and not the rest of the admin panel?, this would be so I could create a dummy forum for style creators and they can test their styles before they get added to the main forum.

[Dark Shogun]

1. I cannot get onto vbulletin.com , I just get "page cannot be displayed".
2. When is vB3 scheduled for final release?, and if it isn't scheduled for any specific date, does anyone have an estimate?
3. Is it possible to make it so your forums posts cannot show up in search engines?
4. Does *anyone* have some sort of part of a hack that I can see thats legal to see, so I can see how it functions for real?

1. There have been a lot of DDos attacks so they have banned a lot of ips. If you want access you will have to email them.
2. No one can give you that information because it wasn't given to us.
3. Yes
4. Any hack posted on vbulletin.org can't be shown to a person without a license unless the person that made it contacts you and shows it to you him/herself.

An additional question...would it be possible to give people only access to the styles modification control panel and not the rest of the admin panel?, this would be so I could create a dummy forum for style creators and they can test their styles before they get added to the main forum.

Yes it is.

Dark Shogun

[Lord Chaos]

Excellent...I must say the PHPbb admin cp is a little easier and more intuitive than vBB, but seems to be with less features.

[klaus die maus]

Vbb Rockt
PhPbb2 not

[Bryan Ex]

Quick question... will user uploaded avatars from phpBB2 import into VB correctly?

[pucca]

I'll say this about both forums. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. As some pointed out, there's alot more to vbulletin than there is to phpbb. My sister who happens to own a puccafan forum(looks at username) is made from this company, and I must say, it is simply astonishing to find out what features comes with the package. I on the other hand own 2 forums from phpbb, and haven't touched vbulletin at all, but that doesn't mean I'll never try it. I'm actually quite anticipating the release of vbulletin gold. With phpbb, it's totally free, while as vb, you gotta pay and with some kids wanting to run their own forum, asking mommy and daddy for an owned license of 160 isn't easy to come by, and not to mention that if they ever want to upgrade, they have to pay another fee >_<.

Now, if you really wanna talk passion, for some people, the best feeling in the world is installing hacks and finding out that they work in the end. With vbulletin, they practically have all the features there, so it really takes the fun out of hacking the system. With phpbb, installing subforums, custom profiles, reporting posts hacks are all there for you to add, which really adds to the fun. And not to mention the fact that you get respect for doing it as well. Posting your forum and listing the hacks you've done really makes people appreciate what you've done to make the forum the very best that you can make it.

Templates wise, phpbb also has nearly 200 different templates that people have made to distribute, and you don't have to go digging for it either all over the web.

Sorry for the rant. I simply wanted to add some debating value to this which I have yet to see, because it's obvious that this is a biased forum. It's like going to phpbb and asking this very same thread. ^_~

[Link14716]

I'll say this about both forums. They both have their advantages and disadvantages. As some pointed out, there's alot more to vbulletin than there is to phpbb. My sister who happens to own a puccafan forum(looks at username) is made from this company, and I must say, it is simply astonishing to find out what features comes with the package. I on the other hand own 2 forums from phpbb, and haven't touched vbulletin at all, but that doesn't mean I'll never try it. I'm actually quite anticipating the release of vbulletin gold. With phpbb, it's totally free, while as vb, you gotta pay and with some kids wanting to run their own forum, asking mommy and daddy for an owned license of 160 isn't easy to come by, and not to mention that if they ever want to upgrade, they have to pay another fee >_<.

Now, if you really wanna talk passion, for some people, the best feeling in the world is installing hacks and finding out that they work in the end. With vbulletin, they practically have all the features there, so it really takes the fun out of hacking the system. With phpbb, installing subforums, custom profiles, reporting posts hacks are all there for you to add, which really adds to the fun. And not to mention the fact that you get respect for doing it as well. Posting your forum and listing the hacks you've done really makes people appreciate what you've done to make the forum the very best that you can make it.

Templates wise, phpbb also has nearly 200 different templates that people have made to distribute, and you don't have to go digging for it either all over the web.

Sorry for the rant. I simply wanted to add some debating value to this which I have yet to see, because it's obvious that this is a biased forum. It's like going to phpbb and asking this very same thread. ^_~
Well, installing 100 hacks on vB is fun, too. :p

[Kwak]

You should give the demos a tryout. Not sure if phpbb has one.

[jbird]

I run phpBB 2.0.8 right now, I like the hacks for it, I HATE THEMES! If I want to add a new theme I gotta edit the hell out of files, a pain in the butt. I am anxiously awaiting phpBB 2.2 to come out. But I have recently started to think about vB as a solution.

for "styles" if I install new styles do I got gotta edit a buncha crap?

also, my phpBB is less fourm based, and more user profile based. I have the fourms, but it's more of a hummm... dating'ish site. I know from word of mouth vB has tons of hacks. As does phpBB. But 98% of the phpBB hacks I tried (and I tried a lot) didn't do much to really make the board stand out from just a "fourm"

if I wanted to build a user interaction site that revolves around people looking at other peopels profiles, and having pictures and galleries and all that good stuff. Would vB be a good option? having 1200 hacks doesn't mean much if none of them will do what I'm after :)

[SVTBlackLight01]

I run phpBB 2.0.8 right now, I like the hacks for it, I HATE THEMES! If I want to add a new theme I gotta edit the hell out of files, a pain in the butt. I am anxiously awaiting phpBB 2.2 to come out. But I have recently started to think about vB as a solution.

for "styles" if I install new styles do I got gotta edit a buncha crap?

also, my phpBB is less fourm based, and more user profile based. I have the fourms, but it's more of a hummm... dating'ish site. I know from word of mouth vB has tons of hacks. As does phpBB. But 98% of the phpBB hacks I tried (and I tried a lot) didn't do much to really make the board stand out from just a "fourm"

if I wanted to build a user interaction site that revolves around people looking at other peopels profiles, and having pictures and galleries and all that good stuff. Would vB be a good option? having 1200 hacks doesn't mean much if none of them will do what I'm after :)

I couldn't agree more. Hacking (modding :ermm: ) phpBB was excruciating. The template system sux. Why have to hack it to death just to get some of the basic functionality. IMO vB is well worth every penny.

But if you have to have a free solution, go with IPB.

[jbird]

I couldn't agree more. Hacking (modding :ermm: ) phpBB was excruciating. The template system sux. Why have to hack it to death just to get some of the basic functionality. IMO vB is well worth every penny.

But if you have to have a free solution, go with IPB.


I understand what you're saying, I didn't find phpBB's modding to be too hard tho(edit a few files) vB stock is far far off from what I want my site to do. That's why I'm asking if anyone has turned it into a dating type site. Easy modding doesn't do much for me when the mods aren't out there

[Velocd]

It's capable to model your site with vBulletin into any kind of genre you want. A dating site wouldn't be impossible.

Are there dating hacks out there for vBulletin? Likely not, but that doesn't mean it isn't possible. I'm sure it's possible for PhpBB as well, as well IPB board. I've never used either of those boards extensively enough to know how easy hacking and using the templating system is, but I can tell you for vBulletin it's very easy and user friendly.

[TonyWu]

I like VBB than PHPBB because VBB is very POWER - SECURITY.
---> What you pay, what you get.

[ChrisLM2001]

I like vBulletin much more because of the control features built in for Admins. A lot of the stuff phpBB2 offers that vBulletin has you have to mod yourself. Things like the birthday hack, and to prevent robots from registering are major hacks...these are already in vB.

It mainly deals with if you're willing to pay or not. I got tired of coding the hacks myself that's available to vB owners, so saved those pennies to buy a license. If you love forums but can't spend 15hrs a day with tweaks and modding, get vBulletin. Saves you many l-o-n-g sleepless nights and eating Motrin like candy!!

One other thing: support is truly support. Try getting it from phpBB2 sites without getting grilled. One twerp there was enough to get me to buy vB outright. :angry:

Chris

[msimplay]

I couldn't agree more. Hacking (modding :ermm: ) phpBB was excruciating. The template system sux. Why have to hack it to death just to get some of the basic functionality. IMO vB is well worth every penny.

But if you have to have a free solution, go with IPB.
defo i tried phpbb sometime after i bought vbulletin just because i like to mess around
i thought there must be something that everyone always compares
coz i know there are some people out there that swear by phpbb

but dyam it was like a step back for me, i mean i had added like 50 hacks already just to get some of the basic features of vbulletin
and by that time i was thinkin hmm tis not worth it

[moonclamp]

I have phpbb2 on my main forum,

In vanilla format vbulletin is much better but there are fully modded versions available ... in all honesty there are a lot more hacks available for phpbb that I can't yet find for vbulletin:

Phpbb hacks that I can't find for VB:
a fully integrated free photo album
the buddy list lets you see who has added you
you can see who has visited your profile
you can block people as well as ignore them
the ICQ and msn activators all work properly ... they don't here

Also the templates are in files and easier to edit in dreamweaver or similar

best of all is that it is free.

However:
The things that sold vbulletin to me are the new features like the advanced member search, the payment systems and the wysiwyg editor, which are still not available on phpbb

If I can find the hacks above for VB then this will be perfect

[SVTBlackLight01]

Also the templates are in files and easier to edit in dreamweaver or similar


That was what I hated most about it. Uploading and downloding templates all the time was just too much trouble.

[moonclamp]

each to their own I guess.

[dndog]

After owning a phpbb board and upgrading to vBulletin, here is all I have to say:

If you cannot see the difference that vBulletin will give you, then it probably is not for you.

[waza]

I used to run on a phpbb board and I have to admit that phpbb is a very good free board, but vbulletin is just for the ones who demand something more.
Something safer, better, easier and with a lot more features.

[Corriewf]

Dude this is a moot point now.

[roundhost]

vBulletin is better, i don't care about other peoples stupid opinions. I am right, nobody can prove me wrong, i admit i am not always right but i know i am right in this case. If you think phpBB is better, please die!

[mohhas]

vbulliten is good board but more poeple who wants a good forum
phpbb for poeple who have small sites or want to have a guest book

phpbb faster but vbulliten slower because it has java and lot of settings
and vbulliten is better 1 millions time than phpbb

phpbb is a bugs forum lots of problems.

and thanks

[sally27]

I was a user of Phpbb and recently switched to Vbulletin and after using Phpbb for going on 3 years, I have to say Vbulletin is by far the better software.

[Brandon Sheley]

I've used phpbb2 for 3 years, and now I've used vb for 2..
If a friend wants a little forum made up I'll suggest phpbb2, If the same friend wants to make a professional site, then I'll suggest vb ;)

both scripts do a great job

[theodonnells]

I used phpbb with phpnuke and i loved it..made me want to get the best forum there was, i came across a forum i really liked, noticed it was some vbulletin software, did some searching and found vb.org vb.com vbhackers etc. Realising this software had serious backing by a great community really sold vb for me and i took the plunge to fork out for software.

[Dismounted]

* Dismounted says this is a really old thread! :D

[Tommy12345]

I am using PHPbb right now and considering upgrading to vBullitin. What I'd like to know is:

1. What are the advantages of vBullitin over PHPbb?
2. How easy is it to make templates, modifications and adding mods that other people have made to it?
3. Is it possible to convert PHPbb forum data into vBullitin?

All the hack mod PHPbb has, vBulletin also has. I used to own PHPbb found it had too many critical security flaws, too many new patch releases.

1. VBulletin has threaded view display and registration filtering by ip and email addresses and many other functions which PHPbb does not have. It is worth the upgrade to vbulletin. You get what you pay for in this case.

2. Same in difficulty as in PHPbb

3. Yes, I transfer existing PHPbb members and post made by PHPbb users to VBullitin using the admin control panel, it is tricky after that as users fit under a special category migrated users. This special status is just a special status, these users are 100% like regular users, good programmers like to keep track of every transaction for debugging purpose. The support is very quick you enail email them and get quick response.

[MRGTB]

I can't believe this has gone on for so long comparing phpBB to vBulletin. It's like comparing a Peddle Bike to a Porche.

Loco, said he would recommend phpBB for a little forum. Why? Sooner or later he's going to have to get used to using a more advanced forum software package like vBulletin when he realizes phpBB just doesn't have the standard features he wants at his disposal. So he might as well start with vBulletin from the very start. Small or Big forums, it doesn't matter either way. vBulletin is great for both types!

Unless of course he simply wants a FREE forum software package. But even then there is way better than phpBB out there. Take MyBB for example. It blows phpBB out the water and it's free. It might not have a huge hack database. But the standard features it does boast by default, would require you to install about 50 phpBB hacks just to rival it.