IPB or do i go vB

[Jessica-N]

Good day everyone,
Right now my online community's forum is running IPB 2.2.2 and i have never had any troubles with it, now, i am constantly hearing vBulletin is better then IPB, my question is how so. People always tell me to go vB because it has more features but when i see the feature list i don't see anything IPB doesn't have, maybe some bits but those are things we would never use.
What can vB offer me that IPB can't
Also, if i was to purchase vBulletin is there some kind of service where the company could help me start my new forum .. i tried the demo and i had no idea how to make a category .. I'm really sucky with these things
And is there a convertor where i could transfer all my members/posts/smilies .. i wouldn't want to lose over 4000 posts and 400 members
Oooh, this wysiwyg thing is cool
Thanks

[Colin F]

Hello Jessica,

I'm sure members that actually moved from IPB to vB or that use both will tune in to say what they find better in vBulletin.

For help with starting to use vBulletin, there's a large documentation available here: http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html
Additionally, we'll be glad to help you with whatever questions you may have.

Of course we also have a convertor, you can transfer all you IPB data into vBulletin easily.

[Jessica-N]

Thanks for the fast reply Colin

I actually have a question, my ultimate question!
User groups, now lets compare
What i need is to stick people in a group and only members in that group can see a certain category/forum now ..

1. phpBB can add people to groups but one they are added they cannot be removed from that group once they are added
2. IPB can only password that certain forum and exempt certain groups from entering the password
3. vB can what?

[antiekeradio]

Thanks for the fast reply Colin

I actually have a question, my ultimate question!
User groups, now lets compare
What i need is to stick people in a group and only members in that group can see a certain category/forum now ..

1. phpBB can add people to groups but one they are added they cannot be removed from that group once they are added
2. IPB can only password that certain forum and exempt certain groups from entering the password
3. vB can what?

group rights management is quite advanced, and separate from setting passwords for forums.

users that have no rights to read messages in a given forum will not see it in the forums list.

[Fusion]

1. phpBB can add people to groups but one they are added they cannot be removed from that group once they are added
2. IPB can only password that certain forum and exempt certain groups from entering the password
3. vB can what?

1. Are you planning to disable access to that forum on a per-user level, despite the fact that they are in the usergroup which by default is granted access? It's possible, but I'd simple remove that user from the usergroup.

2. As antiekeradio pointed out, users cannot access forums they cannot see (except in a special situation where the forum is set inactive and the exact URL is known), even if they know the password of that forum. You can only set one password per forum, but this isn't a problem.

3. Asked&answered.

[whitetigergrowl]

What can vB offer me that IPB can't

Depends on what you are looking for and what your main areas of interest are. Both are pretty similar.

And is there a convertor where i could transfer all my members/posts/smilies .. i wouldn't want to lose over 4000 posts and 400 members

Yes there is.

Oooh, this wysiwyg thing is cool
Thanks

You do realize IPB 2.2.2 and previous versions have and use WYSIWYG right?

[~kev~]

My .02 worth. When I decided to set up my new site, the choice was either IPB or VB. I went with VB and am VERY happy.

One feature I really, really like, and one that my members like is the highslide mod. Instead of pictures in the forum thread opening in a new window, they open in a popup.

The youtube and google video embedding mod is freaking awesome. Instead of having to host the video files on my server, I created a youtube account, upload the videos to youtube, embed them into the post on my forum. I water mark my videos, so people on youtube that watch them get my site address.

After going with VBN, as compared to my previous forum software, spam has been reduced to almost 0. In the past 3 weeks, I have only had 3 spammers come in the forum.

[Jessica-N]

Depends on what you are looking for and what your main areas of interest are. Both are pretty similar.

Yes there is.

You do realize IPB 2.2.2 and previous versions have and use WYSIWYG right?

Uhm, not really, the smilies aren't WYSIWYG, you only get a code, same for colors and size .. another point for vB i suppose

Ok, well, I'll poke around with the demo for a few days and will return with my verdict

[Joseph]

I own both systems, I must say I love vbulletin a lot more than I do ipb. The main thing is that both systems have pretty much everything the other one has. So if you are looking for a certain feture in one, you are most likely going to see it in the other one.

vb actually has vb.org, I believe ipb had something similar but they don't anymore.

The main thing that keeps me with vb is the fact that Ive been an owner since 03 and not once has the license changed. In ipb however they have changed it quite a few times, I believe that ipb has honored my license so I still have the same stuff I had from before, however I really don't know for sure.

[Fusion]

In ipb however they have changed it quite a few times, I believe that ipb has honored my license so I still have the same stuff I had from before, however I really don't know for sure.

I'm not gunning to start one of the many previous IPB vs vB flamefests, but I'd be really surprised if a company didn't honor a paid license, for whatever reason. There would have to be some really strong reasoning behind a move that would in fact invalidate such a license.

[whitetigergrowl]

Uhm, not really, the smilies aren't WYSIWYG, you only get a code, same for colors and size .. another point for vB i suppose

Ok, well, I'll poke around with the demo for a few days and will return with my verdict

Actually IPB has used WYSIWYG for quite awhile now since AT LEAST 2.0. By default its not enabled and can be easily enabled through the My Controls area or by the admin. When it comes to posting smilies, coloring letters, etc. I can do all the same stuff with their WYSIWYG as I can with VB's. No difference. It's called the 'RTC' or Rich Text Editor and is under the board settings in the My Control area and like I said can be enabled by default for the whole forum through the admin cp.

Anywho, both are good forum software and have their pluses and minuses.

I find IPB more flexible and advanced and detailed in terms of the templating system. VB's is rather plain IMO and not as flexible. It's just too tabled for my taste.

A lot of this stuff comes down to experience though. The hobbyists seem to generally go for VB while the techies generally prefer IPB. I have plenty of experience with both since I own both and have used both.

The one thing I have noticed is how easily some people can wrap their head around the forum software. It doesn't matter if it's IPB, VB, or whatever. For some people they don't like taking the time to learn the in's and out's of that software and get flustered easily and look for something they think will be easier. But easier doesn't mean better.

Also I would take a poll on your existing forum and find out which your members would prefer. You can do whatever you want to your site, but if people like the changes less, they will likely leave or become less active. Don't listen to the fanboys. Listen to the members. Some people HATE change especially if they have become a customed to certain things. Change can sometimes kill a site. So at least setup a poll and get feedback.

[Shelby]

Another advantage of IPB is they have Blog Software, Gallery software, you can converge your software at different sites and have one login. IPB has a lot of benefits that Vbulletin just doesn't.

[Steve Machol]

And among the advantages of vB are the excellent support (yeah, that's pretty self-serving but it's still true ) and the fact that we are not afraid of comparisons. Just see how long a post extolling the virtues of vB would last on the IPB support forums. (Somehow the life expectancy of a positron in our universe comes to mind.)

[Fusion]

The positron reference.. You crack me up, Steve!

[Quillz]

Actually IPB has used WYSIWYG for quite awhile now since AT LEAST 2.0. By default its not enabled and can be easily enabled through the My Controls area or by the admin. When it comes to posting smilies, coloring letters, etc. I can do all the same stuff with their WYSIWYG as I can with VB's. No difference. It's called the 'RTC' or Rich Text Editor and is under the board settings in the My Control area and like I said can be enabled by default for the whole forum through the admin cp.

Anywho, both are good forum software and have their pluses and minuses.

I find IPB more flexible and advanced and detailed in terms of the templating system. VB's is rather plain IMO and not as flexible. It's just too tabled for my taste.

A lot of this stuff comes down to experience though. The hobbyists seem to generally go for VB while the techies generally prefer IPB. I have plenty of experience with both since I own both and have used both.

The one thing I have noticed is how easily some people can wrap their head around the forum software. It doesn't matter if it's IPB, VB, or whatever. For some people they don't like taking the time to learn the in's and out's of that software and get flustered easily and look for something they think will be easier. But easier doesn't mean better.

Also I would take a poll on your existing forum and find out which your members would prefer. You can do whatever you want to your site, but if people like the changes less, they will likely leave or become less active. Don't listen to the fanboys. Listen to the members. Some people HATE change especially if they have become a customed to certain things. Change can sometimes kill a site. So at least setup a poll and get feedback.

I agree with most of your points, but just for clarification purposes, IPS introduced rich-text editing with the 2.1.x series of IPB, whereas it was a stock vB feature since 3.x, which debuted first.