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vBulletin or IPB?

Discussion in 'vBulletin' started by cmpolis, Feb 6, 2006.

?

Which forum software is better?

  1. vBulletin

    26 vote(s)
    86.7%
  2. IPB

    4 vote(s)
    13.3%
  1. #1
    Hello Everyone,
    Ive decided to make my next forum not phpBB. Which is better and why, vB or IPB?

    Thanks
     
    cmpolis, Feb 6, 2006 IP
  2. GTAce

    GTAce Notable Member

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    #2
    They are essentially the same software...vB tends to have a better user side, IPB has a better admin side...everything else is all personal preference/needs. I prefer vB because it is more widely used and thus has a larger mod/support community
     
    GTAce, Feb 6, 2006 IP
  3. Eased

    Eased Well-Known Member

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    #3
    I have fell in love with vBulletin from the start.
     
    Eased, Feb 7, 2006 IP
  4. terryuk

    terryuk Notable Member

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    #4
    vBulletin all the way
     
    terryuk, Feb 7, 2006 IP
  5. juniorcj

    juniorcj Guest

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    #5
    Vbulletin has better support channels (I believe, as you are paying for it), and is easier to customize in my opinion.

    I love the mods as they work seamlessly, with phpBB i often have trouble getting a mod to work properly or at all.
     
    juniorcj, Feb 8, 2006 IP
  6. gprime

    gprime Guest

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    #6
    vBulletin. Its a stronger, more developed product from a somewhat stronger company. And more to the point, vbulletin.org has a massive hack database which puts IZE and other IPB modding sites to shame.
     
    gprime, Feb 10, 2006 IP
  7. just-4-teens

    just-4-teens Peon

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    #7
    VB all the way ...................
     
    just-4-teens, Feb 10, 2006 IP
  8. janjalani

    janjalani Active Member

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    #8
    When you buy a vb, you might wanna buy vbseo too :p
     
    janjalani, Feb 10, 2006 IP
  9. GTAce

    GTAce Notable Member

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    #9
    vBSEO is a waste of money unless you have nothing better to spend it on...and for any small to medium-sized forum, this will be the case. vBSEO is a good piece of software, but TERRIBLY overpriced...I say take that $150 and spend it on advertising, contests, a new skin, etc. Save vBSEO for way down the road.
     
    GTAce, Feb 11, 2006 IP
  10. Mystique

    Mystique Well-Known Member

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    #10
    I like vbulletin and its intuitive admin area, however it has too much options that makes hard to manage it by yourserlf if you do not have a team to help you out setting up different aspects.

    Also I like Invision subscription manager which is easier to handle and effective getting members signing up for packages, so I stick to this.

    Finally, thought limited, it is still possible to get free skins graphics and mods for Invision. vBulletin is all pay, pay and pay... except for a German site offering some skins and graphics for free, with the bless of vBulletin, of course.
     
    Mystique, Feb 11, 2006 IP
  11. GTAce

    GTAce Notable Member

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    #11
    I respectfully disagree ;)

    While the vB admin interface might be a little bit more confusing than IPB's, it can still easily be maintained by one person.

    Also...the subscription manager for vB is identical to IPB's...and there are many more free skins out there for vB than IPB ;)
     
    GTAce, Feb 11, 2006 IP
  12. EGS

    EGS Notable Member

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    #12
    They're pretty much the same but I prefer using IPB. :)
    <3 Invision Power Board.

    They're also more inexpensive. ;)
     
    EGS, Feb 11, 2006 IP
  13. ForumPosts

    ForumPosts Peon

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    #13
    Even though I have got an IPB subscription, I'm going to have to go with vbulletin.

    It's more expensive, granted, but for that you get a better all around package.
     
    ForumPosts, Feb 12, 2006 IP
  14. gprime

    gprime Guest

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    #14
    Actually, IPB is more expensive (for owned licenses).
     
    gprime, Feb 12, 2006 IP
  15. dataman

    dataman Peon

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    #15
    I don't like both of them, both are bloated, contain bad coding by design (they both need a lesson on memory management). I think if they developed in C or some other programming language they would understand that. But just having a PHP background limits one's range to (just give more memory );).

    Other than that, there are still security holes in vB, I don't know about IPB because I haven't looked at it for some time. I recommend to all my clients Jive Forums, because it's written much better than any other forum package that I have had the chance to look at (code -> structure and design).

    dm!
     
    dataman, Feb 12, 2006 IP
  16. Lpspider

    Lpspider Well-Known Member

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    #16
    vbulletin all the way. Vbulletin is, in my experience, the best you can get and completely worth the money. IPB, however, isn't worth a dime. I'd take phpbb over IPB any day.
     
    Lpspider, Feb 12, 2006 IP
  17. hTK

    hTK Peon

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    #17
    I've run an IPB board for a year now, it is pretty nice as you can quickly get used to editing the template and stylesheets from within the administration.

    Just 2 weeks ago I purchased vBulletin and it made me wish I knew a year ago what I now know. vBulletin may have an uglier admin interface (though this can be opinionated) but it's got much nicer features and capabilities than IPB. Plus you guys are right, the vbulletin.org community is great!

    The good thing with IPB though is that you don't have to pay every year with their Lifetime license,
    with vBulletin you have to pay the $30/year to renew the updates subscription.

    IPB form business aspect seems to be expanding considerably with the introduction of new products and integration between them. Blog, Chat, Mail. Though you can surely get these for vBulletin as well, IPB would assure that your integration lies with them, and not scattered amongst third party vendors.

    If you want good board-statistics, then check out big-boards.com, to the left they have a statistics link and there you can see which boards are being used most and have the highest success in terms of popularity/member base/posts. vBulletin leads the ranks by far.

    Costs, money, but it's worth it to most people.
     
    hTK, Feb 16, 2006 IP
  18. biggazillakilla

    biggazillakilla Active Member

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    #18
    I've been running two sites with vB and IPB, and I find that it's much easier for me (someone with little coding knowledge) to get what I want done with vB than with IPB. Not many users have stated a preference, but the ones who have have said that vB is more "welcoming."
     
    biggazillakilla, Feb 18, 2006 IP
  19. GTAce

    GTAce Notable Member

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    #19
    hTK, I love some of the points you brought up...

    Regarding the pricing...

    vB for 2 years = $190
    IPB for 2 years = $185

    I would consider those the same as far as pricing goes. Also note that with IPB, you still must pay $30 each year after the second if you wish to receive support...I just feel like vB's pricing scheme is more flexible.

    I'm gonna have to agree on the IPB extensions/add-ons. I love how they are releasing more products that are officially backed by IPS and will integrate perfectly with your forums. Jelsoft should really start doing the same.
     
    GTAce, Feb 18, 2006 IP
  20. gprime

    gprime Guest

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    #20
    There are rumors of them doing so, starting with a CMS, for which they've long parked the domain.
     
    gprime, Feb 18, 2006 IP