vBulletin vs. Ikonboard

[LanciaStratos]

I know you guys might be a little biased with this question, but:

What would be the advantages of vBulletin over Ikonboard v3, or vice versa?

Please only give serious advantages/disadvantages. Don't go all out in favor of one or the other, as this will be a big investment on my part. Thanks! :)

[SillyAlien]

Ikonboard uses DBM module at the moment, or runs flatfile, so it is a much greater burden on the host's resources than vB. The vBulletin software runs on a MySQL database, so it is not only a lesser burden on the host, but it runs/loads/executes much, much faster.
I'll leave it up to the rest to give you a step-by-step technological comparison.;)

[Rich]

Matt (Ikonboard creator) is working on a module to allow the administrator to switch from flat file to SQL with the click of a button, so to speak. :D


I am an iB (Ikonboard) user. vB has lots of great stuff, and is probably a better script than iB.

However, in my very humble opinion, it's not $160 better.

[heartcall]

I prefer IB... but what can I say, I am biased :D

[Rich]

Originally posted by heartcall
I prefer IB... but what can I say, I am biased :D


Well, as I said over in the 'old country', I would have a hard time choosing if not for the monetary issues.

[Billy]

Well,as for speed,and how hard on the server, ikonboard running under mod_perl(it CAN be run under it) is no worse,if not better than vBulletin.They both have basically the same GREAT feature set,vBulletins is a little bit better however...a few more features,and a tiny bit more powerful.But that may not be true for long as iB3 is still in Beta,and the skins and languages pack features are not quite done yet.As for support,here you are paying for support,email,and phone,should have great support...but not sure.Ikonboard is free...doesnt have email or phone support,just a GREAT(I know) community.It basically comes down to how much money you have.

[Matt@ikonboard]

I don't really see why Ikonboard and vBulletin or indeed any other board have to be compared.

Lets face it, they both do the same things - they allow discussion.

The way I see it is that every single board author adds something to the genre. UBB(tm) may have been the first flat view board, but we've all taken that concept and added new features to it.

If you are truly serious about starting a community on your website, and you just want to run it from the box, with the knowledge that if you encounter any problems, you can phone up, send an email or complete a support ticket to get help - then $180 (about £100) is a very small price to pay.
If you want to get involved with the Ikonboard community and help us all create a bug free board - then thats great too, you'll just have to wait a little longer for support until the 'gold' version is ready and put up with a few known bugs.

Either way - I don't really see the fascination with taking apart each board to see which one is "best".

I started Ikonboard about a year ago now. I didn't write it to try and become the 'best', I didn't write it to try and take custom away from Jelsoft (I had never heard of vBulletin during the time I was developing Ikonboard v1 back in July of last year). I'm just doing my bit to help out the guys that don't have a budget to buy web software.




Just my 0.02 Euro's. :)

[Rich]

Originally posted by Matt@ikonboard
I don't really see why Ikonboard and vBulletin or indeed any other board have to be compared.

Lets face it, they both do the same things - they allow discussion.

...

I don't really see the fascination with taking apart each board to see which one is "best".


I can't disagree with most of what you said, Matt, but I do think that comparison certainly has a place. People need to choose between one or the other (in most cases). This means either another customer for Jelsoft or a slightly larger community for Ikonboard--which is what many iBers feel is special about iB.

I do not think that bashing other boards is good, but I don't see the problem with comparing them.

[templar@iB]

My first post :)
wow this is my first time using vB, but for some reason, it looks similar to iB, so i can use it properly :)
Well I don't notice many differences in features between iB and vB,
So i think they are just about the same,
but people want diferent forums, if people like PHP and MySQL over Perl and Flat-file then they would go with vB, if they like it the other way around, they will go with iB,
just a matter of requirements.

[Nicholas Brown]

Originally posted by Matt@ikonboard
Just my 0.02 Euro's. :)

:eek:
/nick wacks matt with a £ sign :)

[KarateKid[WBC]]

wow Matt is also here!!

I see it in the same way as Matt! OK the VBB is a big an really goo bb but it is very expoensive! And the IB is free available, thats what the IB makes it very popular!

Greetz

KK :)

[Folken]

Originally posted by Matt@ikonboard
Lets face it, they both do the same things - they allow discussion.

Sure, they allow people to talk. But vB looks good while it does it. :p Anyways, I've only been to a few Ikonboards, didn't really like how they looked and such. So I can't really say anything else about them. w00. oo;

[LanciaStratos]

Originally posted by Folken


Sure, they allow people to talk. But vB looks good while it does it. :p Anyways, I've only been to a few Ikonboards, didn't really like how they looked and such. So I can't really say anything else about them. w00. oo; Well, the default colors aren't that great, but with a little time you can make your iB look as good as you want. It all depends on the webmaster. I'm using 2.1.8 right now, take a look at it: http://www.gtplanet.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard/ikonboard.cgi

[Ping Production]

When Ikonboard does Release the GOLD version, with MySQL
support.... Im sure it will really hurt vBulletin....
The only reason I like vBulletin and I would imagine other do it for
its speed and the fact its run off MySQL and PHP.. But when
Ikonboard has these same features but for Free, I can not see anyone spending the $90/year for vBulletin...

I feel its really sad that vBulletin and UBB for that matter charge
so much for this, It makes me happy to know that Ikonboard and others can see how much some people really need to stay
in touch but can not afford a board that cost so much.. :eek:

So When Ikonboard Gold is out, I am sure I will be going to
Ikonboard :rolleyes:

[Tolitz]

Hmmm, here's something to think about - since Ikonboard is commonly used by people who are on free webhosts (which rarely have PHP/MySQL support), would it be a good move for Ikonboard to move totally to a PHP/MySQL architecture? Perl is still the most prevalent programming environment, which is why Ikonboard got to be so popular, not only because it's free, but because almost ALL webhosts support Perl, but not all of them support PHP.

With Ikonboard's goal to satisfy as much users as possible, I think they may consider a conversion tool, or maybe even two different versions (Perl or PHP) like WWWThreads has, but I doubt they're gonna move totally to PHP/MySQL coz of their target users.

Just a thought ;)

[Grumble]

Originally posted by Tolitz
Hmmm, here's something to think about - since Ikonboard is commonly used by people who are on free webhosts (which rarely have PHP/MySQL support), would it be a good move for Ikonboard to move totally to a PHP/MySQL architecture? Perl is still the most prevalent programming environment, which is why Ikonboard got to be so popular, not only because it's free, but because almost ALL webhosts support Perl, but not all of them support PHP.

With Ikonboard's goal to satisfy as much users as possible, I think they may consider a conversion tool, or maybe even two different versions (Perl or PHP) like WWWThreads has, but I doubt they're gonna move totally to PHP/MySQL coz of their target users.

Just a thought ;)

Umm Ikonboard isnt being converted to PHP, and the MySQL is an option, not a mandatory requirement. The gold version will offer a choice of DBM or MySQL databases on installation, but it will still be written in Perl.

[Ping Production]

Correct, Ikonboard will offer 3 different database options...
MySQL is just my pref....

Just saying it is a very good board... for the money (FREE)

[Tolitz]

Originally posted by Ping Production
When Ikonboard does Release the GOLD version, with PHP/MySQL
Driven.... Im sure it will really hurt vBulletin.... Hehehe, sorry, was referring to the above statement, which turned out to be incorrect, after all...

Yeah, MySQL would make IKB faster, for sure...

[Ping Production]

Sorry.. was a typo...

Was supposed to say "with MySQL support.."
Driven fell into my head while typing -=(

[rockergrrl]

I'm thinking about using iB for a smaller site of mine -- I would go for vB on this site - except I don't have $85 right now... So I'm using iB3.

I already own 3 vB licenses... 2 in use and one that is semi in use (project put on hold at the moment).

[wert]

I wonder, Will the "mysql" support that is coming in IB be just an absraction layer or will it by "native" support?

[Matt@ikonboard]

Wert, my iB hating friend.

SQL is a language, no other programming language can claim to be native to it.

PHP and Perl both have to jump through the same hoops to access a mySQL database.

Ikonboard will be using a module, just like vBulletin does. This allows us to use other database types rather than hardcoding the whole thing in the scripts.

Perl modules are compiled at run time, so it's no different from coding it directly into the script.

I don't know what you mean by "native" support - logically that's impossible.

[wert]

Originally posted by Matt@ikonboard
Wert, my iB hating friend.

Good info, but for the record, I do not "hate" IB. I rather like it in fact. Very nice looking board, great features..

But in the past, installation has always been a pain in the ass for me. I've heard this from many other users. Hopefully the newer versions will address this and some other issues I've seen *slow searching and loading of pages on really busy boards* Perhaps the new "corporate owned hosted IB" thing will help out users a little more than the current setup does....


Once the mysql version is ready *months? years?* I'll be glad to reevaluate it and give it another shot...


[b]
Ikonboard will be using a module, just like vBulletin does. This allows us to use other database types rather than hardcoding the whole thing in the scripts/B]
Since when does VB support other databases? I thought it was php/mySQL only. For now at least.

[JamesUS]

While vB only supports MySQL at the moment, we still use a database module ($DB_site in teh code) rather than using standard mysql_query statements to allow for future support of different databases.

[Dogface]

vBulletin is the best forum I have yet to see, without a doubt. I can honestly say that some sites which run Ikonboard, are very slow loading times compared to vB. vB has set the standard for forums, I look at everything else as a copy cat of it for people who don't want to pay the money to own one.

[megahard]

Originally posted by Dogface
vBulletin is the best forum I have yet to see, without a doubt. I can honestly say that some sites which run Ikonboard, are very slow loading times compared to vB. vB has set the standard for forums, I look at everything else as a copy cat of it for people who don't want to pay the money to own one.

why on Earth have you relplied to such an old topic?!?!

Matt doesn't even code IB anymore.

[hIPwrBoard user]

Originally posted by megahard
why on Earth have you relplied to such an old topic?!?!

Matt doesn't even code IB anymore.

I know, since then matt has moved on to Invison Power Board http://www.invisionboard.com

and this topic is two years old. You may want to change whether or not you are viewing "ascending" or "descending" ;)