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March 4, 2021, 11:42 PM | #1 |
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Join Date: August 21, 1999
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,181
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Question about the forum software that this board uses
Hi!
My last visit here was in 2012. My life took me in other directions. I was just reminded of this place tonight and decided to drop by. I wanted to ask a question about the software used for this forum. The forum that I run used to use vbulletin 3.x, but I upgraded when 4.x came out. I would have upgraded to 5.x when it came out, but the reviews were awful. Last year I upgraded my forum to xenforo, which was written by the original authors of vbulletin, who were forced out when JelSoft was acquired a few years ago. My question is, why are you still using an ancient version of vbulletin? It’s at least 12 years old. Why not upgrade? Just curious. |
March 5, 2021, 12:02 PM | #2 |
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Join Date: January 1, 2021
Posts: 335
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I'm not affiliated with this site, but have run and moderated forums on VBB and other platforms.
You answered your own question. There's virtually no benefit to upgrading to later versions, and upgrades are not always a smooth process. This forum isn't active enough to justify the potential expense of switching to another platform, so better to just leave things alone. |
March 5, 2021, 04:21 PM | #3 |
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Join Date: March 20, 1999
Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia
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eflyguy answered the question the same as I understand it. But, I'm leaving the final answer to tyme who is the guru that holds the keys to the secret IT workshop around here.
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March 5, 2021, 08:44 PM | #4 |
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The update to vb4 wasn’t bad, but jumping to xenforo was a real chore. We ran pre-conversions on a testbed and I hired someone to make the jump. In the end, when we pulled the trigger, it was fairly seamless. I loved vb, but soured on it over time. Vb-based forums look kind-of dated these days. I originally hated xenforo, but have warmed to it. It has functionality that vb can’t match.
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March 5, 2021, 11:41 PM | #5 | ||
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Join Date: September 25, 2008
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Posts: 18,470
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Quote:
In addition to this site, I am also a moderator on a Jeep club web forum. About a year and a half (or so) ago, the system gurus moved us from whatever we had been using (not vBulletin) to a newer platform. Unfortunately, there is no indication on any of the pages what that platform is, so don't ask -- I won't be able to answer. The new site looks very pretty. Speaking as a member, I hate it. Speaking as a moderator, I hate it even more. On the member side, it defaults to a WYSIWYG mode, and there's no way to turn it off. After a year and a half, I still can't split quotes so that I can quote a multi-pronged post, split it to respond to the first question, re-open the quote, and then respond to the second question. As far as I'm concerned (from the user/member perspective) it's totally brain dead. On the moderator side, as with pretty much any form the moderators receive an e-mail when a member reports a post. With the new Jeep forum software, when I click the link in the e-mail it takes me to a report page. Once there ... I have ZERO idea what to do. It doesn't tell me if any other moderators have seen the report, or if they have acted on it. It doesn't tell me if the member has any previous moderation actions. And, if I do anything to moderate the reported post -- there is no way for me to enter that I acted on it, or to close out the report. So it's a pretty face with abysmal functionality. In the Jeep world, we have a saying: "If it ain't broke ... don't fix it." IMHO, vBulletin ain't broke and I see no reason to change just for the sake of making a change. Unless some other software is going to be quantum orders of magnitude better than vBulletin AND be easier to use for both members and staff -- I see no reason to consider a change. Quote:
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March 6, 2021, 12:44 AM | #6 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 21, 1999
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,181
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I’ll try to gather some info. There are so many advances that it’s difficult to list them all. stop by my forum (linked above) and surf around.
I actually created sample forums in both vb5 and xenforo, and provided those links to my membership. I asked them to beat up both test forums, which they did. I had them vote on what we should do - update to vb5 or jump to xenforo. 80% voted to go with XF. If you’d like me to set you up with a membership so you can play with the software, I’d be happy to do so. I really loved TFL when I was a regular here. The new technology gives a much more robust user experience. It’s also VERY handheld device friendly. |
March 6, 2021, 02:12 AM | #7 |
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Join Date: September 25, 2008
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Link doesn't work.
404 Not Found
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March 6, 2021, 04:22 PM | #8 |
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Join Date: August 21, 1999
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March 6, 2021, 05:49 PM | #9 |
Staff
Join Date: September 25, 2008
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Ouch!
Don't mean to offend but, as a professional designer of more than 50 years in practice ... that's pretty ugly. I don't see anything about it that would cause me to want to switch from vBulletin.
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March 6, 2021, 10:39 PM | #10 |
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I’m not on a ton of forums these days (four, I think) but back in the day I was active on twice as many across a few subjects.
Then... now... And without question (and not close), this one works the best. Smooth, fast, seamless, no failures. Predictable. This site is rock solid and literally with not even a hiccup.
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March 6, 2021, 10:47 PM | #11 | |
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Quote:
Uploading pics and videos in these newer sights is a breeze as is the ability to edit (both as a poster and a Mod)
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March 7, 2021, 05:55 AM | #12 | |
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Join Date: December 14, 2016
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Quote:
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March 7, 2021, 11:18 AM | #13 |
Staff
Join Date: March 20, 1999
Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia
Posts: 16,955
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I'm closing this until tyme gets a chance to respond to the original questions. Discussion about other sites and other systems isn't necessary.
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March 11, 2021, 11:26 AM | #14 |
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Join Date: October 13, 2001
Posts: 3,355
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Every version of vbulletin above version 3 was completely terrible. That's why we never upgraded to vb 4 or 5.
So far there hasn't been any urgency to upgrade to xenforo. There are software constraints that will force us to upgrade eventually.
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