Pre-sales questions... lots of them :)

[zealus.com]

Hello, all
Just some of the questions I need to know to make a qualified decision. Those of you who migrated from IPB are very welcome to contribute answers, since I'll be referring to that board a lot.

Basically, I understand that support is only available for those who paid for vBulletin, but too many restrictions, however, prevent me from looking at some mods/hacks, even at screenshots of such, that I believe are necessary for my community. So don't blame me if I ask for something you've known for years, I might just not ;)

All questions are related to latest version of vBulletin 3.0.3, so if the hack/mod is not available - please, let me know.

1. Is there a well-developed (meaning - not in alpha/beta/gamma/delta stage, stable release and so on) portal system, that can allow several categories of articles. For example - I want to have tech news to be taken from forum1, science news from forum2, and want them to be visually separated, or separated through menu (so there are menu items that correspond to categories of articles).

2. Is there a well-developed store/points system, that is similar to IBStore mod for IPB? The system, that automatically adds certain amount of currency/points to user depending on his actions (new thread, reply, poll, etc.) Then it also allows purchasing of some items from the store (password to certain topic/thread, upgrade in membership, change in signature, etc).

3. I've heard that vB present more server load then IPB, is that so? It'll be using shared hosting account for site/forum/photogallery, and we don't want any problems with host :).

4. I'm sure there are galleries that could be integrated into vB, which ones would you recommend based on stability and features?

5. Is there a site messenger available, that will allow users exchange instant messages, just like private chat?

6. Is there good chat available that is a part of vB or could be integrated?

7. Is there a dating/classifieds/personal ads mod available that could be integrated?

8. I've seen some mods that allow advertising on forum, which one would you recommend based on stability and features?

That's all for now. Thanks for reading this and sorry for long post. Just wanted to make sure I'm spending my money right.

[Zachery]

1. Yes, several portals, each I believe you could do with what you want, you should checkout vBadvacned.com and coreforums.net :)

2. Me and my team (just the two of us right now) have developed uCS, I am not sure how it compares to IPStore though. However, it gives points per thread, per reply, per threadview (to the original owner) as well as each forum has a multipler to allow further customization :). PAssword to forums, upgrade member ship are part of the default package.

3. I've never heard this, to be honest, Ive never seen a HUGE IPB site (5+ million posts) but there are sites that run vB with larger stats than 5 million :)

4. I've not used any :) so i have no comment, you might want to checkout photopost, and i think vBadvaced's team is developing one as well.

5. Yes and no, there is one, its in beta IIRC and it can be very server intensive if tuned wrongly

6. Raider soft has a vB intergration, there are also a few IRC intergrations.

7. Dont think so at least not now.

8. phpadsnews seems to be very popuar :)

[zealus.com]

Zachery

Thanks for prompt reply. I'll investigate the unanswered questions further and consult my partner in order to make sure we understand what we get and what not.

As of the server load - on one of the forums I frequent, I've seen a vB's sql statement that put me in doubts. If I'll find it - I'll post it here, so you'll know what exactly I am talking about.

PS When I was talking about IM/chat, I was referring to php chat systems, not IRC gateways.

[Zachery]

Then not sure about the php chat systems. but raidersoft AFAIK doesnt use an IRC gateway, i might be wrong however.

Whats the forum you frequent, and what statments? I can think of a few (very few) query that will slow very large threads down (with more than 3000 replies)


I know some very big boards that preform rather well :)

[nexialys]

#7 ... there is a lot of commercial tools integrating the vBulletin database, so you can use them to make what you wish...

[zealus.com]

nexialys

Can you point me to any one of those?