vBulletin 5 - When and What to Expect
 

vBulletin 4 was released 14 months ago and at the time there were some indications given that we should expect a 18-24 month life cycle. So if my estimate is correct then we should have vBulletin 5 before the end of this year or in early 2013.

Some of my thoughts and questions on vB5 are:

1. I was wondering if anyone in the know (esp the caped avatar people) could drop us some vague hints on what time range to expect.

2. I expect vB5 to be a continuation of vB4 but some major features should be there. Any guesses on what they might be?

3. Will there be a public beta this time around?

4. How well will vB5 carry over vB4 mods?

Please let us know of your thoughts. :)

The only hints that were dropped a few times, are SAAS and that it will not be a full rewrite.

How would SAAS work exactly?

I assume that vBulletin will do the hosting and upgrades/maintenance for you if you opt for SAAS.

But I wonder how will they deal with customisations and mods then? I wonder if they will also resolve problems stemming out of modifications/custom styles.

Im not bothered about the CMS and wordpress. I consider both of them are unsuitable for forums. My concerns are :

1. GARS needs to be updated to vB5 : The alternative GARS project is picking up steam now, so we should have a good GARS alternative for vB4/5 soon. I am watching development of this product very carefully.

2. Bananalives article forums : Will probably be updated as well.

3. vBadvanced for vB5 : Brian is likely to update this as well.

So the prospect looks good for now. :)

The sum of all fears is that vBulletin will be a service software that needs to always been active in order to use it. And that you will not own, but lease the software. So should you not pay your dues, you'll be required to un-install or convert to something else.

This would be the death of vBulletin.

And my best guess is vBulletin 5 will be announced (public alpha or beta) 2012 - 2013

Looking at your two XenForo boards in your signature makes me want to make that switch.

1. Last I heard, late 2012.
Thats not an official date, Im not involved in vB5.

2. No idea tbh.

3. That is the plan (afaik).

4. Again, no idea, I havent seen it, or the code.

Thanks so much for the update Paul. :)

One feature that is a must have features for forums now is the facebook like notifications that is now available in both IPB and Xenforo. I have observed that this feature is very useful for regular members and increases activity on the forums. The feature is also available on vB4 as a lite/paid mod but it is not perfect.