I've got a perfectly good VBulletin 2.x board I paid for 3 years ago (my license ran out before vb3.0). It does everything I need in a messageboard. Yet I find myself interested in using a board like this. But I only have one place to use a messageboard. So if I use myBB, then my vBulletin just sits there doing nothing and it feels like I'm wasting a perfectly good license I paid for.
So I have to ask, what could tip the scales? What would be a reason(s) I would use MyBB over my perfecly good vBulletin license? Just curious.
Well, the best reason with MyBB is that you don't have to pay anything at all for a board which otherwise will cost you hundreds of $. But as you have already spent your bucks, you have deprived yourself from that best reason for going for MyBB. Now you are using vB 2.x and if you are not going to get vB3.x, I will strongly suggest that you use MyBB because with the arrival of MyBB Gold, you won't find this message board system very far behind vB and am sure you won't miss your "perfectly good" vB. As you know that your vB does "does everything", let me tell you that MyBB also does everything one may need. My final recommendation is that you move around MyBB, see what others have to say, how does this system works and than decide what to do. You may decided to go for MyBB and use it, and even if you don't like it, you may alway go back to your VB, which I am sure you won't do
You're allowed to modify your code to suit your needs. If I understand correctly, if you modify your vB code, you are not allowed support from their forums.
I don't know about that. Perhaps that's the official case but I've never run into any troubles with it. There is always vb.org where you can get support as well. It's usually not as prompt. But it's on par with the type of service you usually get from free messageboard providers.
When I bought my vB license it was back when there weren't really any decent PHP messageboards. Now there's a flood of them out there and they're all pretty much like vB to some extent. I got sick of the headaches of working with a CGI based board and so did my growing community back then, so I put down the money for some decent software (vbulletin) and have been pleased ever since.
But about 8 months ago my life took some turns and I gave my community away to a fellow active member. Transferred the database over to a phpBB he set up and my vb license just sat there from then on. Now I'm interested in starting a new community. And even though my vb is perfectly good and I know how to use it really well (like a trusty old sidearm) I know it's getting dated and the free stuff these days is just as good (or pretty close) to the vb2.x series.
Personally I don't like the vb3 series. I tried it once and it's incredibly confusing inside the AdminCP. But still it has some features I'd love to have.
I may just give MyBB a try. I feel like if I do I'm just throwing $160 away. But then again, I did use the vB for three years. So I definitely got my monies worth.
I just hope myBB is around to stay. Because of all the free boards I've looked at it seems to have the most promise.
What are the features that you'd like to have in MyBB? Usually once you post them here theirs many people eager to make the mod if it doesnt exist yet in MyBB.
MyBB RC4 is very much like vB 2.x, the admin cp has the same feel. MyBB Gold will have some of the samethings as vB 3.x, but it won't be so over loaded and won't be hard on servers. It will run much faster than the vB 3.x series.
I happy to run vBulletin on a few sites, so I know where you are coming from. MyBB is something you should give a test drive, and if you are still around for the gold release you see it's well worth the wait.
Marc
HomeDawg Wrote:What are the features that you'd like to have in MyBB? Usually once you post them here theirs many people eager to make the mod if it doesnt exist yet in MyBB.
Well everybody likes different things. But personally I think the new edit mode in vB3.5 is super cool. All you do is double click the post and it turns into a textbox you can edit. No changing pages or hitting submit buttons or anything like that.
I also like the way multiple types of fields can be added to a profile. Textboxes, radio buttons, drop down boxes, ect.
There is a really cool hack that exists for vb3 that allows people to make their profiles into a single mini webpage where they can use BBcode and customize it how they want. It also gives them a guestbook inside their profile so people can leave them feedback or whatever. Makes the profile something people actually want to look at.
There are a few other little things, but those are just off the top of my head.
But for me to upgrade to get those things I'd have to pay another $30 to renew my download license and with free messageboads starting to catch up to vB I don't really think it would be worth it. Especaily since I don't know how well my new community will do.
marcgo15 Wrote:MyBB RC4 is very much like vB 2.x, the admin cp has the same feel.
That's one of the things I like about MyBB already. I don't think it's copying as much as it is just taking a good thing and running with it. If I built a messageboard software myself I'd have the adminCP laid out the same way. I just hope you're right and it doesn't become this big cluster___ that the vb3 adminCP seems to have become.
I installed a copy and it's really nice. Definitely on par with vb 2.x series. As well as nice and easy to use. Maybe I will have to switch. I'm browsing the adminCP and already finding things I'd like to use, like password protected forums, customizable profile fields, and a few other little things.
Quote:That's one of the things I like about MyBB already. I don't think it's copying as much as it is just taking a good thing and running with it. If I built a messageboard software myself I'd have the adminCP laid out the same way. I just hope you're right and it doesn't become this big cluster___ that the vb3 adminCP seems to have become.
We're actually going to be completely redesigning the Admin CP in 1.2 of MyBB, so that it doesn't use frames and is more usable for management, just something else to look forward to?
wow, those vB features sound good.
double click editing.
as for the mini-webpage. im not quite sure. I think it would be a little extra strain on the server, but that would be interesting to do.
*adds to ideas for mods*