[ConqSoft]

Then explain his error:

SELECT timezoneoffset
FROM vb3_user
WHERE user.userid = 1;

MySQL Error : Unknown table 'user' in where clause

When you reference user.userid you ARE referencing the user table. He doesn't have a user table. He has a vb3_user table. So, it needs to be vb3_user.userid. Or, alternatively, leaving the table off completely and just using userid should work too, since there's only one userid field and there should be no ambiguity.

I don't program in PHP (ASP instead), but I do SQL work for a living, so I know how to reference tables and fields therein.

xtremeoff-road,
Did adding the prefix fix your problem?