Forum framework criteria

[Wumbate]

Hey all,

I'm setting up a forum and considering between phpBB, vBulletin, and myBB.

My criteria are that the forum should be:
- in php
- have seo friendly urls (like mydomain.com/forum-name/this-thread-title-here
- secure
- able to have integration with my own site's php session log-in, so people will only have ONE account
- readable/clean code, so I can extend it in ways that I want.

Those are the main requirements. I'm a good php programmer and I could've programmed my own solution, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

vBulletin looks good but I don't know if it's easy to set up seo friendly urls. I'm familiar with htaccess.

I'd like to hear what some people think before picking a framework.

I consider the SEO friendly urls and integration to be important. Like I said, I can program well, but the framework would need to have been designed well for me to extend it the way I want.

[deuterium]

Hey all,

I'm setting up a forum and considering between phpBB, vBulletin, and myBB.

My criteria are that the forum should be:
- in php
- have seo friendly urls (like mydomain.com/forum-name/this-thread-title-here
- secure
- able to have integration with my own site's php session log-in, so people will only have ONE account
- readable/clean code, so I can extend it in ways that I want.

Those are the main requirements. I'm a good php programmer and I could've programmed my own solution, but I don't want to reinvent the wheel.

vBulletin looks good but I don't know if it's easy to set up seo friendly urls. I'm familiar with htaccess.

I'd like to hear what some people think before picking a framework.

I consider the SEO friendly urls and integration to be important. Like I said, I can program well, but the framework would need to have been designed well for me to extend it the way I want.

1st Criteria is fulfilled;
vBulletin 4.0 will have SEF links;
What exactly do you mean by secure?
I'm not too sure about SSO/ etc, but it certainly can be done!
The code is in OOP, and is one of the cleanest I have seen. (I'm a PHP coder as well).

[Jerz]

1) vBulletin is in PHP (As well as the others).
2) There are free and paid addons for SEF URLs (MyBB includes this by default, phpBB does not).
3) vBulletin has a better security history than the others, as it's a commercial script.
4) It can be done, but..

Integrating vBulletin with a non-vB member system would require a rather extensive modification of the code. What most people do is modify their current system to use the vB member system.

Either way the place for help with this would be over at the mod site: http://www.vbulletin.org (http://www.vbulletin.org/)

Once you register you can post in the Pre-Sales forum there.4) The code is clean, and vB has an excellent plugin/hooks system so in most cases you won't need to touch the files to extend it.

[Reeve of Shinra]

SEO - vb4 will have it out the box but vbseo is pretty popular and seems to tweak other things as well. Of course, you are paying for this. I am not using it at present so I have no specific input or interest in the debates that follow SEO.

Integration - it would be easier for you to change your system around to use vb's authentication system. There are some bridges out there which you could probably use as a template if you really wanted to go that route. As a programmer, it would be feasible for you.

Code - I haven't seen the code for vb4 yet but vb3 is decent. The system has plenty of hooks you can use for your own add-on's.

[Wumbate]

Thanks guys!

You gave me some follow up questions...

1) When does vBulletin 4 come out?
2) If I buy now, will I get vBulletin 4 automatically or have to repurchase?
3) Let's say I buy one license for a site. If I switch domain names do I have to rebuy? (I would still only have one site - I just would use a different domain name)

[Nick]

Thanks guys!

You gave me some follow up questions...

1) When does vBulletin 4 come out?
2) If I buy now, will I get vBulletin 4 automatically or have to repurchase?
3) Let's say I buy one license for a site. If I switch domain names do I have to rebuy? (I would still only have one site - I just would use a different domain name)
1) There is no specified release date. Alpha testing has recently begun, and the latest announcement is here (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315870). Read the last few announcements (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=1) to get an idea of where the dev team stands with regards to vB 4 progression.

2) Yes. If you have an active license, you will be able to upgrade to vB 4 (just the forum - not the suite). This announcement (http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=315681) clarifies.

3) You can change the URL/domain associated with a license at any time in your Member Area. There is no fee or charge.