Will VB ever be challenged?

Discussion in 'vBulletin' started by triphp123, Aug 3, 2008.

  1. Brandon Sheley

    Brandon Sheley Illustrious Member

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    #21
    I hope so, just for the competition :)
    but if you're asking if I'll ever switch, the answer is no ;)
     
    Brandon Sheley, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  2. Swift

    Swift Member

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    #22
    This entire thread is based on little more than an opinion. There is no right or wrong answer. In many peoples' minds, vB has never really had much of a hold over the forum software industry in the first place.

    In my mind, will vB ever be challenged? I've long preferred IPB, personally.
    In your mind (op), will vB ever be challeneged? That's obviously a question you'll have to answer on your own.

    The better question would be "Which forum software do you prefer?". Also a question based on opinion, but a more appropriate and answerable one. Do a few searches on google for forum software vs. forum software, and you'll find plenty of ongoing debates on the subject.
     
    Swift, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  3. zelphics

    zelphics Active Member

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    #23
    I'm still surprised that phpbb now seems to be dead because of vb.
     
    zelphics, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  4. MarcL

    MarcL Notable Member

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    #24
    triphp123 why dont you make a forum script and challenge it? :)
     
    MarcL, Aug 13, 2008 IP
  5. Lazybuttons

    Lazybuttons Active Member

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    #25
    I wouldn't say phpBB is dead, but the lack of updates between 2 and 3 really hurt the software more than anything.
     
    Lazybuttons, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  6. wussadotcom

    wussadotcom Banned

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    #26
    IPB and VB are nice but I like PHPBB more. Why? because its free and many nice themes available :p I like to surprise my forum users by changing theme each week. lol:)
     
    wussadotcom, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  7. MrEsper

    MrEsper Banned

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    #27
    What and you can't do that with vb? I think you'll find that theres probably the same amount, if not more, of free skins available for vb. Plus there are so many free plugins/add-ons that your users would like your forum even more if you had them. Last count there was 6,353 code mods and 3,707 style mods for vb.
     
    MrEsper, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  8. ~kev~

    ~kev~ Well-Known Member

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    #28
    Yea, I agree!!!!

    Having good themes is so much more important then having good security!!

    That might just be the best statement in this whole thread!!! Who needs quality software, timely security updates, real tech support and modifications without security holes when you have good themes?

    :cool:


    I disagree. It is not "opinion" that VBulletin is more secure then phpbb or smf, that is a fact. Compare how VB, smf and phpbb handles security problems. I am a member of all three communities. I receive regular email updates from VBulletin every couple of months. I have not received an update by email from smf or phpbb since I joined those communities, which was around 3 years ago.

    While smf and phpbb turn their backs to security updates and informing their users of security holes, VB takes a proactive approach. If a hole is found, its fixed and all licensed VB users are notified via email. Its also posted on the home pages of vbulletin.com and vbulletin.org. The smf developers might post one thread in their forums about a security breach.

    I do not have a license for IPB, so I can not offer an opinion on them.

    Over the past 3 years I have tired lots of forum software, including pnforum (postnuke forum), mdforum, phpbb2, smf, vbulletin, dragonfly, fireboard (a forum for joomla). The only one that stands out is VBulletin. Just about every free forum software is the same. They try to offer as many free add-ons as possible, regardless if their secure or not and then ignore security problems.

    As for there not being a right or wrong answer, sir I disagree.

    Right answer - Using quality and secure software that is supported by an active developer community. The experience of the developers is also very important. Do you want a 15 year old kid with 2 years experience writing code, or a 40 year old developer with 20 years experience?

    Wrong answer - Using software that has security holes, and is developed by people who do not fully understand what they are doing.
     
    ~kev~, Aug 14, 2008 IP
    MrEsper likes this.
  9. MrEsper

    MrEsper Banned

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    #29
    well said ~kev~. +rep
     
    MrEsper, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  10. wussadotcom

    wussadotcom Banned

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    #30
    Zzz...
    ;) I like PHPBB so what are you gonna do about it~lol..
    You can't force people to accept each one of your opinion..even though if some are true:p

     
    wussadotcom, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  11. Swift

    Swift Member

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    #31
    Security is obviously your selling point when choosing forum software. Thus, seeing how vBulletin offers a sufficient amount of security (by your standards), you migrate towards it as your preferred choice. As your preferred choice. You're not the only one who shares this preference, obviously, but multiple people sharing an opinion don't make that opinion fact.
    (For example: I can say that Coca Cola is the best soft drink in the world, and surely enough, I'll have a lot of people who agree. But popular opinion still won't make it fact).

    As far as free forum software goes, there are still plenty of people who feel that, with enough modification, phpBB can be the best forum software on the planet, and even if I disagree, I cannot dispute that sentiment because it is their personal opinion. SMF is also gaining in popularity, and naturally, there are people who feel that it is the best. Without naming the others you mentioned, I'm sure they have small groups of people who favor them as well.

    As I said in my previous post, I personally prefer IPB as I enjoy the sleeker look, the usability, their customer support, and the overall more professional feel (which is an opinion). I could also make a thread here asking "Will IPB ever be challenged?", but that would also be an opinionated question (implying that IPB is the best forum software) looking for answers from people who share that opinion. It also wouldn't be very intelligent on my part, seeing how this forum is powered by vBulletin. Taking advantage of that fact (that this is a vBulletin forum), you'll obviously get a lot of responses that are favorable towards the vBulletin software. Thus, feeding into the threadstarters opinion that vBulletin is the best.

    There are a lot of factors that go into preference and, unfortunately, security isn't always the first thing that comes to mind with many users. You have to factor in the learning curve and the fact that some people remain loyal to certain softwares (similar to the loyalty that you're developing with vBulletin), get comfortable with them, and learn to use them in ways that wouldn't work so well if they were to "leave the nest" so to speak.

    So, although security is your selling point, realize that different factors matter to different people. Once you've understood that, you've begun to understand why I made the statement that I did about this being a thread based on opinion.

    P.S. - Try IPB, you might like it.

    I do understand that the op was referring to the amount of people using vBulletin, and its popularity in powering large forums (like this one), but the message received beyond that was the implication that vBulletin is the best forum software. To which I'm saying is not the case in the minds of plenty forum webmasters.

    Well said.
     
    Swift, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  12. ~kev~

    ~kev~ Well-Known Member

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    #32
    Yes, security is a primary consideration for my forums. But its not just the forum software security, its the quality of the modifications and are those mods secure?

    Its difficult to build a community when the site stays hacked.

    One community I was a member of, was hacked once or twice a week for almost 2 months. The forum software was phpbb2. After the owner switched to smf, he has only been hacked a couple of times over the past 2 years.

    Its also difficult to sell a premium membership on a site that gets hacked. This makes the members think their credit card number might be stolen.

    And its not just security, its how the developers respond to a security breach. Are the members of the community notified in a timely manner? Are updates released in a timely manner?

    One of my forums is a premium / paid membership forum. Getting hacked would destroy my members confidence in my site. For however long my site is down, I would have to offer refunds or add time to their paid memberships.

    The way that vbulletin handles updates and security notifications is superior to SMF and PHPBB. Why is it superior, because the VB developers take a pro active approach. To compete with this, SMF and PHPBB would have to sending out notification emails when security holes or flaws are found. Then, release updates in a timely manner. For some reason, the smf community does not do notifications. Just this one change in their operating procedure would increase their reputation and quality of their communities.

    Some forum software is able to compete with VB in the modification field. But are these modifications tested by the core forum developers? With some forum software, there are hundreds of modifications being released by people who do not fully understand security.
     
    ~kev~, Aug 14, 2008 IP
  13. campolar

    campolar Peon

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    #33
    the next big thing will be SMF!!!!
     
    campolar, Aug 16, 2008 IP
  14. Luke Beale

    Luke Beale Peon

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    #34
    I think MyBB is an amazing forum software.

    They are always making it better and their plug in system is good, so is the template system etc.
     
    Luke Beale, Aug 17, 2008 IP
  15. zk0

    zk0 Peon

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    #35
    I like IPB the most. It looks more like a social network than just a forum. It's admin panel is so much better and easy-to-use than VB's.

    And it seems IPB 3 will be an super update!

    True. Support is always nice. But IPB also has support.

    Yes, I agree. But the new phpbb is actually really good.
     
    zk0, Aug 17, 2008 IP