Moving from SMF

[Sykoi]

I just recently setup a SMF forum on eoeforums.com, for my fanbase and at first - it was good... But now I'm starting to see all of the little negative sides of it.



So I'm thinking about buying a vB license, but have a few questions:



1) How well does SMF (Simplemachines.org) transfer to vB?

2) How many mods are there, that are on vB? Could I get a list or an idea of the best ones?

3) What about themes?

4) How easy is it to skin/theme?

5) This is a matter of opinion: But would vB increase traffic and activity on said forums?

6) Is it possible to allow users to create their own groups, and forum sections for said group? I was planning on letting users create their own groups, and forum sections (Similar to http://forums.thesato.com/forumdisplay.php?f=66 (http://forums.thesato.com/forumdisplay.php?f=66)) - would this even be advisable? Is vB easy enough to manage, as to let users do this?

7) How does vB handle attachments? SMF is very nice - you simply expand an extra toolset, and keep expanding it for more and more attachments - then browse, and submit - if they're pictures, they'll be put in with <img> tags (Resized)

8) What about private groups, forums, etc.?

9) How well does vB integrate in with Xoops? I actually have Xoops setup on another site, and wouldn't mind having them integrate to some extent.

10) Donations? I hear you can accept donations, and let donators access 'donator only forums', groups, etc... Is this true? Is there any more information on this?

11) I have a little package/mod/hack I'm quite happy with, on SMF: Arcade - its just a little arcade area, that users can play a few games on and submit their high scores... Is there a similar mod for vB?

12) Are there any A.I. poster bot mods? I remember hearing about IPB having one, that went around replying to posts - and actually replying with something intelligent, not just spam - are there any similar mods for vB?

13) This is just a little wishful thinking, but some forums have tips and tricks for keeping an active community, or forums for users to exchange tips - does vB have something similar?

14) Are there any "mini-games" to keep users active, and give them a reason to post or register? phpBB had a few RPGs - but they were... Not fun at all, they were all "Post til you get enough gold, buy best weapon, kill kill kill kill" - It'd be nice if there were actual good mini-games, that encourage posting (Not spamming) for vB :D





I know I'm asking a lot of questions, but vB is $85 - and thats quite a bit for a forum; I would like to be able to justify the cost before purchasing it ;)


Thanks in advanced to anyone who can help me :)

[ManagerJosh]

Hi Sykoi:

This is the latest update available on the SMF (1.0) (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showpost.php?p=728082&postcount=21) importer. You would just run that and it will convert everything over.

In terms of hacks, check out the official vBulletin Hacking Community, http://www.vbulletin.org

Templates/Themes/Styles should be over at vBulletin.org, however they still may be at www.vbulletintemplates.com (http://www.vbulletintemplates.com). They are in the process of bringing them over to vB.org.


It's really easy to skin/create themes. Just needs a lot of imagination, and a few clicks :)

I don't think it is a matter of opinion, but people have noticed consistently that traffic has increased a lot with vBulletin.

I'm not sure about "creating your own groups" like creating a forum? or creating a usergroup? If that's what ur going for, it will need a bit of code hacking.

vBulletin handles attachments in two methods. Flat Files and through the database. When you upload, basically you can upload as many attachments as needed, based on settings imposed by the administrator.

Private Groups/Forums exist. It is matter of adjusting permissions accordingly

Integrating into Xoops will need codehacking, something Jelsoft won't assist you on.

I think in terms of donations, you are refering to the Subscription features package. Yes that exists :). Basically when a person purchases via paypal, or some other method, their account automatically gets bumped, based on the settings you left for each group

Yes there is a vB Arcade. Look over at http://www.vbulletin.org

If u are looking for an AI bot, look for TomBot over at vBulletin.org


As for suggestions to keeping a community active, check out www.theadminzone.com (http://www.theadminzone.com) :)

I personally recommend the owned license (160.00) simply because it is cheaper in the long run. 85.00 is the cost of a leased license, which only grants you one year's period to run the forum.

Finally, check out the admindemo. It is available to you to tinker around with and should help you get a better outlook on what's available in vB3.

http://www.vbulletin.com/admindemo/

[Sykoi]

Thanks for the quick reply :)



This is the latest update available on the SMF (1.0) (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showpost.php?p=728082&postcount=21) importer. You would just run that and it will convert everything over.

Thanks for that, I noticed it doesn't handle permissions - but I think I can handle that myself ;)



I'm not sure about "creating your own groups" like creating a forum? or creating a usergroup? If that's what ur going for, it will need a bit of code hacking.

I've seen a few forums, that allow users to create their own usergroups and invite other users into said groups... Or join groups via a drop down menu (And be in multiple groups at once).
This is what I am referring to.

As for the forum part of it: Is it possible for users to request a new forum be created just for their group? Or could I create a new forum/section for their group, and they have complete control over it?



I think in terms of donations, you are refering to the Subscription features package. Yes that exists :). Basically when a person purchases via paypal, or some other method, their account automatically gets bumped, based on the settings you left for each group

:D - Is there a more advanced donation mod out there? I found http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=63793&highlight=donate - but not quite sure what its capable of (I'd like to accept multiple levels of donations: $5-400), and have each level give more and more. Granted the $40+ will include things that aren't inside vB, but it'd be nice to be able to keep track of the donations inside vB (As I am currently using Xoops donation mod - which isn't that great).

(I also found http://www.vbulletin.org/forum/showthread.php?t=54436&highlight=donate - but not sure if this has more features than the uCash mod)



As for suggestions to keeping a community active, check out www.theadminzone.com (http://www.theadminzone.com/) :)

Actually signed up, but its not very active ;)




I personally recommend the owned license (160.00) simply because it is cheaper in the long run. 85.00 is the cost of a leased license, which only grants you one year's period to run the forum.


I normally would - but I can't afford that right now; was planning on using leased til next year, and buying an owned license