I've been registering for a lot of forums lately, and most of them use Vbulletin. Is it just me, or are vbulletin forums more successful? Why?

I rarely see very big phpbb forums, I don't have a lot of money so I don't think I can afford a vbulletin forum. It's worth it I guess, but what if it doesn't take off?

(I'm not sure if this belongs in this section)

If you're worried about losing out on a vB license, buy an owned one.

That way, if the forum does fail, you can resell the license for $110~140.

phpBB is insecure, that's why most people don't use it. Although GaiaOnline [The biggest forum online] uses/used phpBB.

VBulletin easily has the most features, built-in, to offer out of any forums software. It is definitely the way to go if you want a large forum IMO. However it is not the software that makes the forum.

I have seen other forum software based forums grow and become a success. I just question the security of other free or paid software. I also think $160 is little to worry about if you plan to build a big success.

Well I'm just 16 and I don't have a real job. Later in life I WILL invest in vbulletin, I think it's pretty cheap actually (not now though).

Right now I'm still learning new things everyday, in fact, I learned a lot from your podcast Lee! So I don't want to waste my money on something I won't use yet.

I disagree that it's insecure though. Most of the phpbb forums that are hacked are running on old versions. I think there has been several new versions released, and none have security issues patched, because there is none. Some are hacked because they install mods.

It's common knowledge that phpbb is unsecure. Besides just being outdated compared to other free software, that is one of it's major drawbacks.

Shoemoney and Lee covered this topic pretty well on ShoeMoney's radio program over at webmasterradio.fm... Definately recommend you download the shows as they are very informative and weekly!

http://www.shoemoney.com/2006/06/14/...ome-episode-2/


HTH
Flamenco

I think you can use phpbb to start and then just switch to VB if it works out. Im pretty sure you can just use the same database and keep the messages

I use phpbb on some of my forums that are currently in a start-up face, just to grow. When I decide to fully launch a forum, I convert it to IPB or vBulletin.

The major reason is the security issues, but alos the possibilitys to improve and modify.

//Andreas

http://www.ozzu.com/

Just one example of a phpBB board that's definately no joke. phpBB is workable, but you have to put a lot more time into it to make it secure and to include all of the features that it lacks out of the box.

http://vgamin.com/forum

http://board.soundclick.com/
here is a gigantic music community that uses phpbb. I used to go there alot and I think they only got hacked once

Originally Posted by gdubs12345

http://board.soundclick.com/
here is a gigantic music community that uses phpbb. I used to go there alot and I think they only got hacked once

That's a pretty huge community. They even use the default template, which is gross in my opinion.

PEople who are able to afford vBulletin are usually able to afford to afford keeping a site up and promoting it properly. A kiddy webmaster isn't going to spend $100+ on a vBulletin website, it's like a sin. Spending money usually means you are serious.

Originally Posted by KewL

http://vgamin.com/forum

If I am correct, vGamin is switching to vBulletin on their next release of the site.

there are a few phpBB forums that are relatively big, but generally ones that are set up for commercial purposes are vbulliten. I dont know why :S

I don't think that the board software is a key factor in determining whether or not a forum is successful. However, I do strongly prefer vBulletin personally, and it's because of the admin control panel first and foremost. There are other reason too, but that's beyond the scope of this thread.

I think that there are some different factors at play that give the perception that forums running on vBulletin are more successful.

A: More people play around with phpBB, because it's free and easy to setup, you see a lot of people who setup a forum on a whim and don't see it through.

B: Conversely, the investment in vBulletin is a indication that the person behind the board is serious and there's a higher relative chance that the board will become a success.

C: Boards that start out with phpBB, and then become successful, often get switched over to vBulletin because the board owner starts earning money and can then afford the conversion (I started out my first board that way).

That's true peter. If my phpbb forum becomes somewhat successful (posts and revenue) then I will upgrade to vBulletin. Hopefully I don't mess up the db or anything.

Originally Posted by Hobbit

That's true peter. If my phpbb forum becomes somewhat successful (posts and revenue) then I will upgrade to vBulletin. Hopefully I don't mess up the db or anything.

Don't worry about that, converting is easy :thumbup:

I agree 100% with what petertdavis said

Originally Posted by Hobbit

That's true peter. If my phpbb forum becomes somewhat successful (posts and revenue) then I will upgrade to vBulletin. Hopefully I don't mess up the db or anything.

You have enough backup copies of your db, and you don't lose if you mess up on the first attempt.

I use SMF simply because I learned most of the ins and outs of it already so I can code myself custom mods for it.