Is it mandatory to have vBulletin under /forum

[fcall]

I saw a comment by one vBulletin user where he mentioned that he already have a word forum as part of his site name, but still vBulletin forces him to use it under /forum
Is this true? is there any bypass for this?

Just to be more clear, say someone opens a site like javaforum.com and he want the vBulletin under this site. So do he need to make sure that people access vBulleting as javaforum.com/forum ?

[final kaoss]

You do not have to install it under /forum, you can install it into the root folder or wherever you want it.

[fcall]

Originally Posted by final kaoss

You do not have to install it under /forum, you can install it into the root folder or wherever you want it.

Thanks @final kaoss
I have few more questions before buying vBulletin for my site, can you please help me on that too.
1) As per my understanding (based on many reviews) the vBulletin versions till version 4 are faster then the current version. Is it true?
2) I like the look and feel of version 3.8 (which is used here), can i achieve this look in the latest version?
3) After buying latest version, can i used the older version (3.8/4.2) for my site, instead of using the latest version. If yes then what is the major thing i will be missing out?
4) I read vbSeo is not required in latest version. Does the default software is as effective as vbSeo?

[BirdOPrey5]

1. Yes
2. No
3. Yes - Lots of things you will miss out on... Support, bug fixes, updates, Responsive Design (mobile friendly pages), push notifications (if using mobile add-on)... To be blunt, it would be a bad idea to start a new forum today on VB 3.x or 4.x IMO.
4. VBSEO has been dead for the better part of a decade. It is not usable, period.