vBulletin 4-Friendly Hosts

[Hostboard]

I am not assuming there is ANY mod support what so ever. Especially since the development scene for VB 4 is primarily dead since IB took over the helm.

In fact you do not even need a vBulletin developer to make the port. Just someone who knows PHP and can make the necessary adjustments based on the log file.

I am not arguing for or against, I am clearly just stating facts. VB 4 is said to be compatible with PHP 7.1. Paul who made the changes while still employed by IB has also noted that it should limp along under 7.2 without to much drama.

You need to turn off PHP error reporting as warnings/depreciations are just that and have no effect of the working of the site. It is the errors in the log files you really want to concentrate on.

The VB version (both 3 and 4) in the wild that is modified to run under PHP 7.4.x does work 100%. I know several users using it. I am also using its code modifications with no issues. In fact there is also a .diff file from the the German .org site. I think it was posted here by someone as well.

this very forum is running vBulletin 3. Think they'll make the jump to the latest vBulletin?

.ORG is running on 3.8.14 This has been noted over and over that it is an internal release and NOT available to the public. It has also been noted that the amount of customization makes moving to VB 4 or 5 impractical.

DB stuff should work under PHP 7.1 as it is supposed to run on what VB can. I own most of DB products and we had to tweak a few things to get them to run under 7.4. However while under 7.1.x I had no issues with VB or DB. The issue I had was with the other modifications I ran.

As for IB, IPB, Xenforo or the other numerous platforms, they are under current development and should support current PHP releases. Supporting PHP 5 would be silly for any company at this point. As for hosts and PHP 5, it really comes down to a resource issue as well as security of their systems. PHP 7 is really just that much better and much less taking on the hardware.

In respect to Xenforo and everyone saying that is the way to go. At first they took off like a rocket ship. Now some time has passed and I have seen a few post about the speed of development and releases has slowed considerably. I think they lack a few components to round out their package, I would lean more towards IPB from the little I have looked at.

Personally I get it. I would have jumped ship myself but like .ORG the customizations on my site make it impractical as the quotes alone to re-write my system is in the 5 digit realm.

While you have found a host that supports PHP 5, you have to remember that at some point they will move on, and you will be right back where you left off here. I really think, between the code adaption of the already existent PHP 7.4.x compatibility and hiring a PHP developer, will just set you up for a longer window and not break the bank in doing it.

And, yes even those of you that are already on 7.4 will face this exact same problem at some point unless you are on a private/dedicated server and can control the environment.