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Vanilla just makes sense for forum hosting

Discussion in 'Forum Management' started by matters5, Jun 5, 2012.

  1. #1
    It's blowing other open-source and paid solutions out of the water now, I believe.

    They have a new version with lots of new features coming out (v2.1b) pretty soon. This is a theme under development to be released with 2.1b: http://vanilla.ungdomsrod.dk/ Keep in mind that theme and that software is free! Very usable and clean interface, tons of add-ons and plugins. A great site to build a community on.

    vBulletin is great for forum users. For sites being built for older adults or younger audiences, Vanilla is the way to go.

    I would love to hear negative aspects about Vanilla?
     
    matters5, Jun 5, 2012 IP
  2. petertdavis

    petertdavis Notable Member

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    #2
    I'm interested in Vanilla, but have not yet seen a forum using it that I like the looks of. Penny Arcade comes close, though, but it just has a too sterile and outdated look to it still.
     
    petertdavis, Jun 5, 2012 IP
  3. matters5

    matters5 Member

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    #3
    I like the Gold forum in your sig: nice and simple, but maybe not wholly engaging. Vanilla themes are different. I've been exploring around a bit and I think I understand what you mean. I just appreciate the simplicity of their software. I embedded a forum at http://www.copd.ca/discussions that I think should be pretty straightforward to use. (But the site has dropped to page four on Google now so the forum gets no traffic since installing it.)
     
    matters5, Jun 6, 2012 IP
  4. petertdavis

    petertdavis Notable Member

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    #4
    Nice topic for a forum. I noticed that the shell of your site loaded quickly, but the forum hung up for about five or six seconds before it loaded. It's fairly common for a forum to lose ranking when you convert it from one software to another. How it fares in the long-term is another story. It looks like your site is fairly new too, so it may not be established enough in Google's eyes for stable top rankings. You might want to try out Postloop if you would like to jump start some activity for your forum.
     
    petertdavis, Jun 6, 2012 IP
  5. matters5

    matters5 Member

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    #5
    I just signed up for Postloop. Do you use it? I deposited some points to get started. I will test it out.
     
    matters5, Jun 13, 2012 IP
  6. InnovusHost

    InnovusHost Peon

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    #6
    Vanilla is nice if you are looking for something simple. However, I find it can be too simple for my tastes.
     
    InnovusHost, Jun 13, 2012 IP
  7. petertdavis

    petertdavis Notable Member

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    #7
    Yea, I've been using it for over a year. How's it working out for you?
     
    petertdavis, Jun 21, 2012 IP
  8. matters5

    matters5 Member

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    #8
    Fantastic. A co-worker has since signed up as well. It's a great service, so long as you have specific topics. My forum is flush with activity... all "fake" people:p but great discussions.

    Do you buy forums to monetize them?
     
    matters5, Jun 21, 2012 IP
  9. petertdavis

    petertdavis Notable Member

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    #9
    Awesome!

    Yea, forums are my primary business nowadays. :)
     
    petertdavis, Jun 22, 2012 IP