Can you link to some larger VB 5 forums?
 

I am going to be studying if moving from VB 4.2 to VB 5 would be wise for our community.

I'd like to know some pros and cons of that, for example:

1) Can we transfer all data for a smooth transition?

2) Does VB have all the features VB 4 does as far as the back end management? Or is 5 much more simplified? VB4 has grown to be pretty feature rich and we depend on many obscure features.

3) How easy is VB 5 to skin compared to VB 4? We use and 3rd party skin which is highly customized.

4) What wizbang features does VB5 offer to make a transition from 4 inevitable?

In any case, I want to go check out any forums that run on VB 5 if they are larger and see how they operate and the features they use.

Our current stats are:
Threads: 98k+
Posts: 1.3kk+
Members: 35k+
Active: avg 700-1000 online. Most 2.5k+

We get more less around 200 posts a day.

I'd like to look around forums this size if they run VB 5 if you know of any. And what benefits we'd have for upgrading.

I will not be able to answer your questions but vBulletin 5 only has 53 released add-ons, compared to almost 2000 of vBulletin 4. It's more work to customize vBulletin 5 and has its limitations when it comes to that.

The code itself may be up to the current standards but for you, as a customer, it doesn't matter. It needs to work well for you. You will definitely not be able to use your current vBulletin 4 skin for vBulletin 5, someone will have to remake it from scratch.

If you want my personal opinion: don't do it. It will be too much work and a waste of time.

Someone else made a thread about this recently with bad experience: https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=315689

It would be unwise.

What is the compelling reason to violate "if it ain't broke don't fix it?"

It would be my personal opinion to stay with vB4 as well. :)

If you go with vb5 you will be back here not long after installing it asking for help. Many here have installed it and wish they never you have been warned

I would go with vBulletin 4 if it were me.

Once they invest and redo the plugin system to where its back to its former glory days we saw in vB3 and vB4 then you'll see more modifications and plugins come out but imho they're moving in that direction *cough *cough vB Cloud but who knows when we'll see that and until then you'll be directed here for outside the box vBulletin questions and sadly we can't offer much support for vB5 when the plugin(what some call hooks) system is not up to par or well sorta non-existent in a sense... basically some simple mods and changes using plugins are not possible in vB5 when they were in the past in previous versions, lack of a decent plugin system is the cause of this.

Follow the link in Ozzy's signature to vote for the plugin system to be completed and re-included into vB5 - http://tracker.vbulletin.com/browse/VBV-10333

I agree with everyone else. It took vB4 awhile to get to where it needed to be (if I recall correctly) and it will likely be the same with vB5. 4.x is by no means outdated or outclassed by 5.x, and in fact many forums today still run 3.x series. I would stay with 4.x until 5.x is in a much better place (might be awhile).

Pretty much as said above, based on your post, you would not see any benefit, in fact you would lose a lot of what you have (custom style, features, customisations, plugins etc).

so much negativity on vb5. I don't know how it will grow with this mindset.

I think the mindset of the developers of vBulletin 5 need to change in order for it to be a success.

For example; if they added a hook/plugin system such as the one in vBulletin 4 since its release, there were more vBulletin 5 add-ons and probably more sales as well. No one wants a stock and empty looking vBulletin 5 forum without any useful add-ons.

Ohh ho ho but the "Cloud" does :o :p

See what I did there? :cool:

It's the "negativity" that might not make it grow? Or just the fact that it's a crappy product?

Alot of people went broke designing accessories for the Edsel too. It wasn't "negativity" that sunk the Edsel either.

This negativity is killing 3rd party like me. Some of designers already left business. They either closed or not selling vb5 styles just left the site like ghost town. I really hope people start to use vb5, so I can still hang on. But it is hard for me to get one style sold a week.

There are couple of things if vbulletin do it right, right now like adding back a hook/plugin system and programmers start producing add ons, hopefully then there will be attraction to vb5. vBulletin should not wait for votes in JIRA to do it.

I really think starting vb5.1.5, vbulletin will get on the right track.

Well no one here is going to put " Lipstick On A Pig " to get people to use vB5 just so you can sell more styles.

If you think you are hurting, what about the mod developers? They can not upgrade their mods to work on vB5 because so much functionality was removed. So they are in worse shape than you. :)

I really wish vB5 was as good as it was supposed to be, but I see at least another year before it is even close to vB4 standards.

...If ever. Personally I would not waste my time moving to vB5. Every time I see a post about vB5 on any forum its someone asking how they can migrate back to vB4. vB5 is a dog IMO do not use!

It will be a long time before that happens, its not in any plans atm.

I like how the OP asked for examples yet no one has been able to post any..lol

LOL yeah seems everyone is all out of examples. Come to think of it I have not really seen any sites running vB5 other than vbulletin.com.

It's actually 52. I pulled the last of my vB5 add-ons a while back but it hasn't been moved to the graveyard yet.

This is why I stopped developing new add-ons for vB. I had to go where my clients went to keep my head above water. All but one has moved away from vB and he is an absentee owner. His sites pretty much run themselves.

While I still keep an eye on vB, I don't see any indication of change. And I think you're being optimistic about another year. I don't think that will happen since it's been about 2 years since release and it still hasn't improved very much.

Yes I like to be optimistic. But TBH, I don't see myself doing any of my mods for vB5 at all, unless I can do it like I did in vB3 / vB4.

I'm a pessimistic optimist... I doubt it will change, but I peek at it from time to time hoping it has. :D

Be careful where you peek, you may go blind. :p

I'm with nhawk I really do not think it will change mainly because the owners IB are not interested in customer service and its a real shame because vBulletin used to be pretty awesome before those people took over.

Sure, I think so to, but.....
I always hope for the best, but expect the worst. :)

I usually do too, but in this case I think its a lost cause. That being said I would be happy if it turned around though.

Just under a year ago I sorted out this forum for them: www.hdherd.com

They are still on 5.0.5 because it's a lot of work to upgrade them and I've been waiting for the "right" version because it's too much work to keep doing it every release.

I'm thinking that 5.1.5 might be the one I upgrade them to.

Typical horrid v5 performance.

Out of the box, it's horrid.

I've seen worse.

That forum works well in the real world, and looks good too. Without sounding too dramatic, I saved it from oblivion and now it's growing again like it used to be.

It'll be fantastic when I get it onto 5.1.5 or maybe 5.1.6 if the notification refactor makes it in. It'll go faster and most of my manual fixes and workarounds can come out. The biggest challenge will be maintaining the styling.

There's horrid, then there's Horrid.