Considering purchase, but a few questions

[Mr Bo Jangles]

OK, here's my questions:
1. Almost (maybe every?) Vbulletin site I've visited displays a 'quirk' when the browser first loads the page that seems to be caused by how the html or css handles the screen size i.e. every page element jumps around as the images find their correct size and the page layout sorts itself out. What is the cause of this? Can it be avoided by some template variation?
I find the phenomenon *very* annoying.
To compare with a non-Vbulletin forum, the behavior does *not* happen at:
http://www.webmasterworld.com/active.htm
for example.

2. I'm unfamiliar with SQL DB maintenance and would like to know how difficult it is to maintain a busy site with regard to maintenance of the 'system'. How does one go about archiving-off old posts, 'pruning' and cleansing the databases in order to keep it 'lean and mean'.

3. Despite the latest version apparantly being heavilly recoded, I haven't yet seen a Vbulletin site that to me seems to be 'blazingly' fast - again, to compare, webmaster world site is one of the webs busiest forum sites, and *that* is a forum site that I find blazingly fast with regard to DB performance. (No, you can't yet purchase the software that runs webmaster world - if you could, I might not be about to purchase Vbulletin!!) What do I need in order to get it to run 'blazingly' fast? (no, I don't consider *this* site to be blazingly fast either).

4. I read the license is for one server, one web site, and that I understand, but if the site/idea that I have planned for it doesn't work out, I presume I'm free to de-install it from that web site and use it on another? And if the original idea doesn't work out and I want to sell the license, I can do that too?

5. If I wanted to purchase from an affiliate rather than the 'mothership' - is there a list of affilliates, or third party sellers anywhere?

6. Is there a big list somewhere of a lot of different Vbulletin powered sites I can look at to get some template ideas?


Many thanks,