[djbaxter]

The VBulletin social network hack just makes use of your community only. Zoints is different because you gain traffic from other Zoints communities, therefore you need a key. For me, this key bothers me, because if Zoints goes under, who knows what will happen to your social network.

I don't use Zoints local and I'm not trying to be a promoter of that system. I'm just trying to make the point that whatever social network you tap into, you are dependent on the integrity of that network to make it all work. If they change the rules - or decide to levy a fee for use by groups (sort of like an API but with a fee) - you're still at their mercy. Or if for their own reasons they decide to "ban" your forum, as Digg did to one or two this past year, there's nothing you can do about it.

In that sense, it's never going to be stand-alone OR "your community only" - it can't be by definition.

Strike the word "Zoints" in the previous posts and insert the social network of your choice. My points remain.