I would love to know the future of vbulletin

[christian8a]

Hey guys, I've been a loyal member, customer, designer, etc of vbulletin. Few years ago I used my forums as a small talk for my members but I now own big businesses and sadly I have a feeling that vbulletin will turn into something my businesses won't need. Im talking for alot of people here is not only me. vbulletin 3.8 to me is still the best platform there is, I just couldn't upgrade to 4 and definitely 5 is not looking any different from 4. Will vbulletin ever merge into new stuff without getting rid of the actual "vbulletin" that most of us know? its getting more difficult to customize it based on our members needs and now I just can't risk my businesses future if this keeps getting way out of vbulletin's original COOL software. What is your opinion and what do you think it'll happen with vb

[chefy]

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[setishock]

This is the single most asked question and the most discussed. Whether or not this company makes a homerun with VB or falls flat on its face is something that can be hashed over till the cows come home and not get anywhere.

[borbole]

Personally I think the future of vb is not looking too good. With the premature release of vb 5 the trust that was gained by vb 4.2x that became a very solid product, is so good as gone. And I think it will be impossible to get that trust back anytime soon. A lot of forums left/are leaving vb for better alternatives. Most notable some of the biggest forums that once were the walking advertisement of vb 's popularity. Not to mentioned the coders and a lot of helpful users too.

If IB does not change its policies soon and make vb 5 a really great and solid product like vb once was, then vB is as good as finished imho.

[findingpeace]

Seems like two different questions to me - future of forum software vs. future of vBulletin specifically.

I think forums will always satisfy a need that cannot be replaced by social media. People love to interact with like-minded communities about shared niche interests. In fact, with successful forums, I see more loyalty & thought put into posts than on huge sites like Facebook.

As for vBulletin, I still think it's one of the best forum softwares out there. I also liked IPB and phpBB, although my most successful forum has been on vB. Haven't tried xenForo, mainly because it feels "lonely" to me (I can't really explain why).

Having used vB 3, 4, and 5, I believe that 4 is the best version. More specifics in your question might help. I'm wondering what made 4 less cool than 3? What is the "actual" vBulletin?

It's strange that you say 5 is not looking any different than 4. They feel drastically different to me, in a bad way. You certainly wouldn't be the first to be frustrated with vB5, but I would highly recommend giving 4 a shot. Our members have been extremely happy with it, and have quickly voted against using various other softwares (or going back to 3)

[Amaury]

Originally Posted by findingpeace

It's strange that you say 5 is not looking any different than 4. They feel drastically different to me, in a bad way. You certainly wouldn't be the first to be frustrated with vB5, but I would highly recommend giving 4 a shot. Our members have been extremely happy with it, and have quickly voted against using various other softwares (or going back to 3)

Adding to this, vBulletin 5 is still in its early stages. It's got ample time to improve.

People have to remember that vBulletin 1, 2, 3, and 4 were like this at the beginning, too, and I'm sure they were just as frustrating as vBulletin 5 is right now.

[Chris8]

My opinion is that the future of this software is uncertain. How about preparing for unknown?

[Blue-Inc]

I think vB's future is still secure. But they definitely went to the wrong way about vB5. It seems so unstable and requires a lot more work than currently is being done.

[vbresults]

My local psychic tell me Internet Brands will sell vBulletin to vbresults and Paul M will give me an admin account on vBulletin.org.

[Paul M]

I think their crystal ball is broken.