vBulletin and SMF

[brianjw]

I know im just saying. we're still buds

[rctxtreme]

Why go with vB in the first place? Just because users want it doesn't mean they will neccesarily enjoy what you are able to do with it in the end...

It all depends on what you are capable of doing.

[brianjw]

I used aku's forum and it looks awesome. You can customize it just as much as smf except it takes alot more work, and it looks better too

[bloc]

.."it looks better"? I don't think thats due to VB itself, rather to the theme chosen..

But again, you all love SMF (I presume) and thats good..but every software worth its salt, has its pros and cons. Just because you buy a Ford doesn't mean the Mazda is worthless. (ok, not the best example lol, but you get the picture).

[rbh]

Just because you buy a Ford doesn't mean the Mazda is worthless.

    Ford and Mazda are the same thing, like Chevy and Isuzu 

    As for Aku using VB, it doesn't bother me. He is valuable to this forum and contributes enormously to the TP community. Personally, I agree with what Aku says about VB. The mods are way more advanced and they have a large stable of mods to choose from where as SMF/TP are still in it's infancy I guess you could say. They are still growing and hopefully the mods continue to develop and mature over the next couple years. Right now a lot of the mods come quickly then the authors drop em and move on. A few mods continue to develop and grow with the next new versions of SMF, and soon the list of mods that continue growing and not abandoned will be equal to what VB has to offer.

    I used a "borrowed" version of VB to try out for a few weeks to decide whether to spend the money or not. I loved the mods, but as mentioned the administration and customizing was hair raising, funny coming from a bald guy :laugh:, and when the smoke cleared I erased the VB forum, decided to keep my money and went with SMF.

   It (SMF) has had it's problems. The forums are usually so busy a lot of times your questions go unanswered and several mods I really like have gone obsolete with the newer versions of SMF and have been dropped by the authors.

    All in all though I have been happy with my choice. I don't think either software is better then the other, it is just what you are used to and how much you want to spend getting used to it.

[IchBin]

Mind me asking which mods you want that aren't available? All too often questions go unanswered I agree. But the support Team could really use more support members. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that there are too many people that want to help, or are qualified to do it.

[brianjw]

Mind me asking which mods you want that aren't available? All too often questions go unanswered I agree. But the support Team could really use more support members. Unfortunately it doesn't seem that there are too many people that want to help, or are qualified to do it.

you mean vB staff?

[sikhness]

yea actually, what are some examples of mods that are used in vB that SMF doesn't offer?  just curious...

[brianjw]

Well i heard from aku that vB has alot more mods than smf because it has been running for a longer time. And you know how smf is with like a 1 mod posted 1 day. vB is the same except has been running longer

Brianjw

[akulion]

@sikhness well examples of mods that smf dosent have.....(apart from this even the mods which SMF has, the vB ones are far superior)

VbGarage: this is a full fledge garage system for Auto sites, you can add cars, car parts , make your own real cars based on a points system. Its quite extensive really

LDM (aka Links and Downloads Manager): This is not your average Links and download module - this allows you to have nearly every type of file posible and DISPLAY it if you want. So for example, if you upload videos, it will play them for you and also allow you to download, same with music files, etc. Audio files and video files allow you to have a jukebox type layout so you can easily access all files.

vbArticles: This is a full fledge article system and very professional too - users can publish articles - top authors and all sorts of options available.

Mindestic GlosPro: Integrates a full fledge glossary / dictionary into your forum integrated with users base

Favorite Smilies: Allows users to customize which smileys they see in the message editor when composing a new mesage

SR Classifieds: full fledge classifieds system with user reputation  system as well

vBMates & vBPals: full dating / e-pals module integrated with user base

GeekArticles: Allows specialized templates to be assignned to any forum the admin chooses. You can design your own layout for the kind of form you get when composing a new message

e-steki Smilie Maker 1.7: Make your own smileys using pre defined smiley bodies, eyes and mouths and extras

Talkerbot V2: A VERY intellegent bot which you can assign to a forum, it talks to the people in a shockingly human like nature actually responding to things thay ask! can be fully programmed to respond to certain words in a certain manner when admin and mods talk to it in the forum using commands, so no need to open up any files!

MMLotto System: A full lotto system where users can play lottery and is integrated with the SHOP equivalent of SMF - or can be used just for fun to increase stats

Mood Manager - with AJAX mood update: Allows users to specify their mood on the fly with a simple click

Toplist: A fully integrated top list mod for top sites

Personal Notepad: users can have their own notepad to save notes in their CP area

RPG Integration Hack: Role Playing Game hack where users avatars turn into 'characters' which you can equip with armour, buy potions etc and attack other members by using points you earn through posting and stuff

Subforum Layouts: Allows admin to specify what format the subforums take on the board index - LIST - DROP DOWN - BULLETED- 2 or 3 COLUMNED, etc

And the list goes on - there are loads I havent even read abot, plus there are TONNES of mods from older vB versions which havent been ported over to the 3.6.4 version yet since its pretty new still