New Official vBulletin Add-on Products

[djbaxter]

How can a social networking add-on ever be stand-alone, no matter who makes it? Doesn't it, by definition, require a network to which to link?

[chopin2256]

How can a social networking add-on ever be stand-alone, no matter who makes it? Doesn't it, by definition, require a network to which to link?

I am talking about non reliance of a key. Information exchanges between Zoints and your website. A standalone would be something like Myspace, where it retrieves the data from it's database without relying on others. Zoints isn't exactly like this. It may retrieve data from your local database, but if Zoints ever went bankrupt, or decided to stop their service, your community may stop functioning unless Zoints offers a standalone. In any ideal situation, you want to limit your reliance on others for your success. This is why any serious webmaster would choose this hack over Zoints in a heartbeat.

[djbaxter]

Originally Posted by chopin2256

Zoints isn't a standalone

Originally Posted by chopin2256

the more serious webmasters should probably choose this Vbulletin hack, and the hobbyists can probably just stick with Zoints

Originally Posted by chopin2256

Furthermore, some forum owners such as myself may want to keep communities internal.

Originally Posted by chopin2256

I am talking about non reliance of a key. Information exchanges between Zoints and your website. A standalone would be something like Myspace, where it retrieves the data from it's database without relying on others. Zoints isn't exactly like this. It may retrieve data from your local database, but if Zoints ever went bankrupt, or decided to stop their service, your community may stop functioning unless Zoints offers a standalone. In any ideal situation, you want to limit your reliance on others for your success. This is why any serious webmaster would choose this hack over Zoints in a heartbeat.

First, I'm not sure you're in a position to decide what "serious webmasters" will or should decide.

Second, I'm still not sure how this "keeps communities internal".

[chopin2256]

First, I'm not sure you're in a position to decide what "serious webmasters" will or should decide.

I am not deciding anything, I am stating a plausible audience for Zoints and the VB hack based on the facts, and my conclusions. I am just trying to shed light as to how the two products are different, because they are.

Second, I'm still not sure how this "keeps communities internal".

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.

Anyway, if you are ok with helping the Zoints network grow, then Zoints is for you. If you are ok with the profiles of your community to be shown on Zoints networks, thir product is for you. But if you are more concerned about making your own community grow and keeping all data internal (no sharing of traffic), and growing your brand, then VB hack is for you.

If this wasn't the case, believe me, I would have used Zoints local a long time ago. Personally, I am not interested in growing Zoints network and I don't want to share my traffic with them. I want to build my own network from my member base ONLY, and I don't want my members to transfer to outside networks. Others who feel the same way will understand what I am talking about, and appreciate the differences. Not everyone will have my needs and wants, and I understand that. Again, these are the stated differences.

[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.

[chopin2256]

What I am talking about is social networking within your own community, forget other communities. Doesn't this hack take care of social networking within your own community only? I know this is not possible with Zoints currently. That is where the licenses come into play.

[InfoNirvana]

Originally Posted by ragtek

whats a real one for you?
i'm using vbcms and its great
www.ragtek.org

vbCMS looks interesting ... it says it has news ... but I can't tell by the demo.

Is there an ENGLISH site with it ?

Demo Site: http://demo.vbcms.de/vbcms.php (login/pass = Test / Test )

[Zachery]

Looks like a vBA clone to me.

[ragtek]

Originally Posted by InfoNirvana

vbCMS looks interesting ... it says it has news ... but I can't tell by the demo.

Is there an ENGLISH site with it ?

Demo Site: http://demo.vbcms.de/vbcms.php (login/pass = Test / Test )

the news are working
but like you see my communuity is a closed community, so just members have rights

[Surviver]

Originally Posted by InfoNirvana

vbCMS looks interesting ... it says it has news ... but I can't tell by the demo.

Is there an ENGLISH site with it ?

Demo Site: http://demo.vbcms.de/vbcms.php (login/pass = Test / Test )

http://www.vbdesigns.de/forum.php?langid=14

Greetings Surviver