Social Network Marketing Tycoon

**64 bit** · 10-01-2006, 08:51 PM

Which style of forum is better for an online community, vanilla or classic (i.e. vbulletin, SMF, etc.)?

**pfgannon** · 10-02-2006, 12:02 AM

I tried to work with Vanilla, its really not worth it at this point in my opinion.
Wait until it can be converted to other softwares before you give it a go.

**cpr** · 10-02-2006, 10:44 AM

I think the default Vanilla skin is more appealing that most but it's limited technically compared to vB etc.

**64 bit** · 10-02-2006, 12:17 PM

I'm not talking details, I want to know if communities like the way vanilla displays topics better than a classic forum.

**Riboflavin** · 10-02-2006, 01:51 PM

Personally I don't like the way that vanilla brings up the topics rather than categories first, however I do like the ease of use of the software etc.

**pfgannon** · 10-03-2006, 09:49 AM

The majority of people will prefer a classic format.

**Phineas** · 10-10-2006, 01:00 PM

Vanilla is fantastic once you get into it. It's the next generation of forums. The problem is that VBulletin et al. are the de facto standard and are what people are used to.

Vanilla is a drastic change with very little transition between the two, if there some middle step then Vanilla would be easier for users to adapt to, but if your goal is to bring in new people - stick with the standard.

Right now Vanilla is finding users in special niche forums, like software app support, and such, not the general use of most forums.

-- Phineas

**007** · 10-10-2006, 09:40 PM

The Vanilla style is very easy to achieve with vBulletin's template system if you are familiar with the templates. I'm sure it's been done successfully before.

**I, Brian** · 10-11-2006, 11:58 AM

Any examples of what you mean by "vanilla" style?

**cashable** · 10-11-2006, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by I, Brian

Any examples of what you mean by "vanilla" style?

Vanilla is actually forum software, not a style:

Vanilla

**PalSys** · 10-11-2006, 11:43 PM

I don't have any personal experience with Vanilla, but I don't like it's display style at all. vBulletin is easily my number one choice for BB software.

**PwrUps** · 10-11-2006, 11:47 PM

I prefer the classic style. I tend to get turned off from a site when a forum uses a Vanilla style type forum.

**Decepti0n** · 10-12-2006, 02:21 AM

Classic style

**slayerment** · 10-20-2006, 12:13 AM

I just checked it out. It doesn't look like it does anything out of the norm. It has 1 extra page that displays all recent posts pretty much? Am I missing something?

**64 bit** · 10-20-2006, 04:29 PM

It doesnt have the top-level categories on the home page.