Well just making some suggestions.

- Friend system (using vb's default buddy system but with notifications)
- Profiles (basic ones that we can modify the MEMBERINFO)
- Gallery
- Profile comments
- maybe blog, but doesn't really matter, there are some other ones out there...

These are the only things I would need ;)

They power Nerve.com http://personals.nerve.com/
and Esquire http://personals.esquire.com/

and more http://springstreetnetworks.com/partners_corp/2028.html

1: Consider a version that doesn't have the 'centralised profiles'.
2: Make a URL available for peole to see this application in action for themselves.

The big guys know they can't do it all and so they go to Application Service Providers to give them what they want. Long, long time ago, I worked with a company that did the same for community solutions -- message boards, instant messaging and chat. our clients were MTV, Oracle, VH1, CBS, GE and many more.

My point is, I'm beginning to feel that this is a very good idea that needs to be approached with sophistication.

You will be known as Social Network Solution Providers. :)

There isn't much online that I like less than spending my time posting and monitoring a thread for almost an entire year, only to have it go "poof" for any reason. Closing a thread like this I can fully understand but pulling it off the open forums perm. isn't cool. I know you all (staff) are chewing on this, as we do in my own forums, but please consider carefully why this thread needs to be trashed for the long term, and what are the reasons behind it.

I'm sure there are some that are not happy with the negativity expressed in this thread by those who do not want to use a centralized system. I am/was one of them, and while I still am not to the point where I am willing to use a system like this, I see some of the benefits and think the discussions that took place in that thread are important to all that have been and are interested in it.

I'm not sure that I can do that right now because our system *may* be considered a commercial product which is why the thread was removed. I don't want to post a public link and get banned or disrespect vbulletin. If i'm cleared to, I will.

Heheh, I like that.

:)

I fail to see why the thread was removed. After all, it's still a free script which no one has to pay a penny for. No matter what happens, debate is uber healthy and we cannot hope to contribute to improving the web, by closing threads where people are making good effort to solve a problem. Very sad.

As both Danny and Brad said, there are things within that thread that need to be discussed by staff and until such things are discussed, it has been removed :)

Chris

I gotta agree.A bit much censoring is happening.I was under the understanding that this hack wasnt being charged for?So im lost as to why its commercial all of a sudden.Also,wtf is going on with the censoring,i mean damn,shouldnt dialogue be supported as that is what gets ideas out.Alot of dictatorships have censoring and cloak and dagger policies,is that what this is all about?(im speaking both on the secrecy of vbspace hack and vb.org censoring) Sometimes i wonder when vb.org is gonna implement a delay for posts to be added as then they can moderate and asterisk any words and phrases they deem hostile or not beneficial for them.I have this funny feeling that eventually this place is going to alienate itself into closure or at least into a ghost forum.....so sad.

We are not charging for it. In fact, forum owners should profit from it. However, we DO have the potential to make a profit in the long term which brings up the "commercial" debate. However, the code that would be released here at vb.org would simply be a single product that allows you to tap into the system.

Is this the TOS in violation, by us ( forum operators ) not holding the member info on our servers. So by this being ran we would all be in violation, because this hack/mod would be a 3rd party. No? Or is it another TOS violation. Also the potential to profit from this in a long term is a violation as well I believe.

TOS read like this;
"You undertake to; ensure that, prior to use of the Software by your employees or agents, all such parties are notified of the terms of this Agreement; and hold all data (including object and source codes), software listings and all other information relating to the Software confidential and not at any time, during the period of the licence or after its expiry, disclose the same whether directly or indirectly to any third party without Jelsoft's consent. "

Thats what i thought.So,after all the work done on the hack by coders it is wrong for them to receive some compensation?Isnt vbulletin a commercial product?Arent these forums used to promote a commercial product and byproducts of that?I dont see a whole lot of difference between posting a paypal button and being compensated in the manner you mentioned d1414.Hmmm,is it possibly that the powers that be dont want their product used to earn a dime unless they get broke off themselves?I dont know really.I just dont see why this has now turned into some sorta money thing.Guess thats what it usually boils down to.

The programmers we emply right now aren't being paid near what they are worth. I'd love to be able to pay them industry standard. And pretty much any money we do make will be poured into making the service better.

Part of the problem with all of this is we did not do a good job of communicating the fact that vbspace changed from a local forum install to a cental system so people are upset and feel deceived. Obviously we would NEVER do that on purpose. In hindsight, we should have just closed the vbspace thread when it took the evolution. Because we could not comment on what we were doing otherwise I am confident this would have been stolen from under us.

David, I think that would be an excellent idea. As I mentioned when we spoke last night, I think you all have a fantastic concept that you are putting into motion, but like you said, it may not be for everyone.

Personally, I think if you all were to make even a scaled down version available to those vB admins/owners that are not comfortable right now with using a centralized system, you would be providing a product that has been in heavy demand for some time. Then, forum owners who become comfortable with the basic system and who you all are may then become ready for the next step - which could mean more traffic and income for them.

The other idea off the top of my head would be to offer an even more advanced stand-alone system for a price. So, if someone is happy with the basic (free) vbspace hack/mod but still isn't that comfortable with the idea of using a centralized system, they can purchase a more feature-rich version. I would pay at least $500 (if not more) for a full featured version of what you all have without thinking twice, and would be willing to pay a yearly upgrade/maint. fee similar to vb and others.
Those who couldn't afford to pay for this still have the option to use the centralized system or the free stand alone "lite" version.

I think this model has the greatest potential to succeed globally. It gives everyone options to expand their communities in ways they are comfortable and even make money.

Of course, I think you should complete what you all started first and then consider the other options.

Feel? No, people were decieved - it is not a matter of feeling one way or the other. You're 100% right that your communication was not handled well. It was not only lacking but deceptive - intentionally so by your own admission (per the comment you made in this very post and others "we could not comment....or the idea would be stolen").

Did you have a straight face when you typed that? ;)

Not closed it, just notified all those who were waiting on a particular mod that another direction was being taken and a different mod was now underway. It's no crime to think up a better mousetrap but it surely isn't nice to have people waiting around thinking you're about to release something when in all reality not only are you not near to releasing anything much less the item you originally said.

Maybe. Maybe not. Irrelevant really, as you do at least understand where you went wrong with many in the community - that's the biggest hurdle and I appreciate that you've not only seen but stated and apologized for it.

By the way, I did add you to my MSN as you requested as well as tried to contact you.. but nothing ever came from it. Sorry that didn't work out, but give me an IM sometime, I'd still like to look it all over.

Krahl

This would be a great idea. The profile system with ad revenue is not for everyone.

Member Search, Profile Modification/Comments, Groups, Private messaging enhancements, etc. Also support for plugins to add features. We just want to beef up VB a bit to make it a little more like myspace style features.

If you guys don't do this I hope someone does and I will donate big $$ to support the cause.

Definitely. But I make a public promise now to look for additional solutions that will benefit people who do not want to use the centralized system.

Yup, those are practically what would be the best for the simple people ;)

FlyBoy has a great point and I agree completely. However, I do think a price of $500 would price most out of the market - it certainly would for my site(s). A dumbed-down version might work but that's also dependent on what is/is not included in it.

Good points FlyBoy, I'll add my "me too."

Krahl

At all those screaming "We'd pay 500$" you'd be paying way to much. I did a little digging today and there are several scripts for 300-400$; a couple that are less. You could get a 300$ script and pay a free lancer 100$ to integrate it with vBulletin.

Anyone else bother reading the vb TOS ? I dont believe something like this can be hosted/centralized without violating the vb TOS. Im not sure about other message board systems. Getting Jelsoft to agree on this could be possible but I dont think it would be possible for them to agree to let this run with other message board systems.

It definaetly needs a bit of research :D

Our legal team is 100% certain our system in no way violates any TOS. Our code is written from scratch. There's just a small product that installed on your forum that redirects the profile to our system.

I'm not screaming anything. I'm simply stating I would pay without a second thought $500 or more for the work they have done in a stand-alone version. I got to see it in action last night and it is very impressive.

I know all about scriptlance, findacoder, etc, etc.. How many of them are hard-core vB programmers? They might be able to install vb, modify templates and install hacks/mods, but I would not trust them to code us a system like this that would interact with the userdb and permissions system of my forums. Then you would need people to update and support it over time. Would they be the one? Maybe for you but not me.

I have looked into getting someone to build a myspace clone, and there are even at least two companies I know of that offer pre-made clone scripts like this, but forum members have to register into a separate system to use it. The only system I am going to want is one that integrates with my vB system, and not one that is just patched together to work.

Well, in the (hopefully temporary) absence of the "big thread", at least there's some useful dialogue going on...

Hell, I'd like to see the "naysayers" consulted further, they can only make the product better.

Yup, if this system can do this and we could buy a sort of liscence for it, or else we have your ads or a image link or something. :D

i like the watered down free non centralized version myself, and the option for a full blown noncenrtalized version ( pay ), and then a full blown centralized version ( pay ) and a free version of the hacks that can be used by themselves, for example just a comments system.

so a lite, premium, and professional versions.

Hmm, interesting concept :)

The question isn't whether your product violates the TOS/License agreement of vBulletin, it's whether or not the development of a commercial product on vBulletin.org violates the TOS of vBulletin.org, which it clearly does.

No matter which way you flip it, this is a commercial product. It doesn't matter that the download will be free. The fact of the matter is that the network you envision will not exist without this modification, whether it be for vB boards or other board products, and the network is a commercial endeavor.

I believe that you are intending to use this as a product to help communities grow. Our opinions differ greatly in what end result will be, but that's irrelevant. You are using these boards to help develop a commercial product, and to recruit Beta testers for your commercial product. That's what the debate about the TOS violation revolves around.

Ok, so that is what it is worth to me :) , and you are right, it would probably be more financially sound to sell more quantity at a lower cost than few at a higher one.

There could always be additional modules for sale covering blogging, galleries, and more? Dunno, but it sounds like David and the rest of the team are now at least considering this. I don't think it is a threat at all to their original business model, which I am very confident will be successful on a large scale once fully implemented. I do think however with this option they will cover just about everyone else that wouldn't use the primary system.

People have hyped & love the big hacks/mods such as vBArcade, vBSEO, vBAdvanced, and many other paid and free hacks.. Well, I think (and with all due respect to those coders) something like this would eclipse them in usage in a very big way. The previous "vbSpace" thread that is now MIA clearly proved that, and at the speed this one is growing, I think it is clear how badly people want a serious social networking addition to their communities.. I have done polls in my largest community and they are hot for it along with blogs and the rest of the features.. I've lost out to myspace for too long and so has everyone else with a community.

One way or another, I am pretty sure we will have both options in the very near future.. I know where the central one is coming from and it is sweet... Not sure yet on the stand-alone, but I hope it will be similar and I know of at least two different people (or groups) that have now jumped into gear on bring that to life.


Great news!
Thanks

[removed promotion]

Sorry but tihnk its B.S.

V3arcade......free release but can pay to add more...then should it be blocked from here by being a commercial hack? Why the *Blep* would you even consider removing this? I say its a load of bull and you should ust let them release it. Last i checked, VBSpace was free.

Absolutely! and as each day passes we're loosing out even more to myspace as it grows in popularity.

I think this would be a GREAT idea. That way, people could see WHY making this site into a network is such a good idea.

One idea for if they DO have a vB Space lite: PLEASE allow for upgrades to the full thing in due time, with exports of profiles and the like. That way, the main thing can still grow in size.

I for one am in DISagreement about making a premium version. Make a version for individual forums, but I like the centralized community, and I like the idea about a free version. Just a fraction of the main thing should be fine for most forums, since a lot of the features about the program are just things that replicate vBulletin things. If you do release the full thing for forums, make it free.

Can somone fill me in please...

Was the thread removed because it was a commerical product? (If so fair enough).

Also, there's talk abuot the profiles not actually being hosted on the sites own server...? but they just re-direct to this hack authors own servers? If so thats crap! I'd never allow anything like that on my site - I'd rather pay a coder to do a custom job than send traffic to someone else.

No, vBulletin.org is about free code and not for people to advertise their commerical endevours.

ive seen this thing..... its bassically geocities for n00bs

Geocities, lmao, never heard that one before... :D

Yeah, and there are virtually no changes between vb2.0 & 3.6, right?

Try again..

Agreed.

There is nothing at all wrong with people receiving compensation and vBulletin doesn't begrudge anyone a penny they can make by creating commercial mods. In fact, when we're asked by potential customers if specific features exist, or if a third party application exists, we have no problem in referring them to commercial mods that meet their needs, and we don't make a penny from the referral. We also have no problems in referring people to the sites we know of that develop commercial styles. Again, we don't receive a penny for this.
The fact of the matter, as stated before, is that they were using this board to develop and recruit testers for a commercial modification. This is a violation of both the spirit and the rules of these boards. You can accept that or not, it still won't change the facts.

Please quit trying to paint Jelsoft as some corporation that cares about money and nothing else. Everyone who has dealt with us knows differently.