vBulletin Cloud Questions

[Guest]

From my experience with 4 forums and 3 branded apps, vBulletin's support is very poor.

Issues I had with apps and my forums would take forever to resolve with pointless reply to my questions which they seem to use to give themselves more time to actually resolve the issue, I would NOT recommend anyone to go for this icloud as they struggle to offer basic support for the products they currently offer never mind this !

You cannot even call this company and speak to someone, which i had to do many times to resolve issue but then all you get is a message saying they cant answer the phone so leave a message (requested a call back - never happened) and then it cuts you off.

The perfect type of support you want for your hosted website yikes....

[internalaudit]

From my experience with 4 forums and 3 branded apps, vBulletin's support is very poor.

Issues I had with apps and my forums would take forever to resolve with pointless reply to my questions which they seem to use to give themselves more time to actually resolve the issue, I would NOT recommend anyone to go for this icloud as they struggle to offer basic support for the products they currently offer never mind this !

You cannot even call this company and speak to someone, which i had to do many times to resolve issue but then all you get is a message saying they cant answer the phone so leave a message (requested a call back - never happened) and then it cuts you off.

The perfect type of support you want for your hosted website yikes....

How complex is your forum compared to the base offering? I thought 3rd party add-ons are not permitted?

If you think the cloud offering will not be great and will require lots of support, what alternative forums hosted in the cloud, with direct support from the vendor, would you suggest? Many icloud forums are hosted by a hosting provider with our choice of a bulletin board system. I doubt we will get any better support going that route.

I only intend to open a forum site with very simple requirements.

[cigarman2k]

This sounds like a good service. If we currently have an Invision Power forum that is self-hosted, will vB convert and migrate the current db to vB?

[Mark.B]

This sounds like a good service. If we currently have an Invision Power forum that is self-hosted, will vB convert and migrate the current db to vB?

Currently it is not possible to import existing databases into vBulletin Cloud, sorry.
This may be made available in the future.

[internalaudit]

How will the cloud version be rendered on various viewing devices such as iOS, Android, Windows 8 Mobile phones and tablet? Will the cloud version be phone and tablet viewer friendly? Are there Apple, Windows, or Android apps for viewing the vBulletin Cloud?

[feldon23]

I thought 3rd party add-ons are not permitted?

There was a time when the strength of vBulletin was measured by it's installed base, stability, and availability of thousands of mods and styles. Now people think that 3rd party add-ons are "not permitted"? My how times have changed.

[Captain Atkin]

Good question. Is someone going to actually answer the man?

[internalaudit]

We're currently having problems with the vBulletin 5 demo system. We're working on getting it back on line. It would be the demo for the Cloud as well as the Download software.

vBulletin 5 already has bot and spam management tools built-in to the software.

Hi Wayne, any updates on the cloud demo system?

[Captain Atkin]

I contacted the sales team today about possibly transferring over. I started my vBulletin 5 site just 2 months ago, so it is still pretty new. I got what was obviously a cut-and-paste answer from them:

"Hello, At the moment we cannot transfer over data from an existing forum. Vb Cloud is only compatible with an entirely new license purchase. Best, D'Marco vBulletin Solutions"

Why even launch this new Cloud it is not possible to import existing databases into vBulletin Cloud? This seems very short sighted of them. They say that they are working on making it possible, but no time frame is given. Three years from now that might be saying the same thing. It is just ridiculous. To me, this doesn't come across as honest marketing.

[Mark.B]

I contacted the sales team today about possibly transferring over. I started my vBulletin 5 site just 2 months ago, so it is still pretty new. I got what was obviously a cut-and-paste answer from them:

"Hello, At the moment we cannot transfer over data from an existing forum. Vb Cloud is only compatible with an entirely new license purchase. Best, D'Marco vBulletin Solutions"

Why even launch this new Cloud it is not possible to import existing databases into vBulletin Cloud? This seems very short sighted of them. They say that they are working on making it possible, but no time frame is given. Three years from now that might be saying the same thing. It is just ridiculous. To me, this doesn't come across as honest marketing.

Not really sure what's "dishonest" about it. The vB Cloud product is currently only aimed at new sites, but the plan is to be able to import existing vB databases at some point.

[feldon23]

I contacted the sales team today about possibly transferring over. I started my vBulletin 5 site just 2 months ago, so it is still pretty new. I got what was obviously a cut-and-paste answer from them:

"Hello, At the moment we cannot transfer over data from an existing forum. Vb Cloud is only compatible with an entirely new license purchase. Best, D'Marco vBulletin Solutions"

Why even launch this new Cloud it is not possible to import existing databases into vBulletin Cloud? This seems very short sighted of them. They say that they are working on making it possible, but no time frame is given. Three years from now that might be saying the same thing. It is just ridiculous. To me, this doesn't come across as honest marketing.

You just bought a vBulletin 5 license. What's the main reason you are considering a vB Cloud license?

[BirdOPrey5]

How will the cloud version be rendered on various viewing devices such as iOS, Android, Windows 8 Mobile phones and tablet? Will the cloud version be phone and tablet viewer friendly? Are there Apple, Windows, or Android apps for viewing the vBulletin Cloud?

vBCloud runs VB 5.x software so it will have the same responsive design (and same bugs) as the download version of the software.

At this time the Mobile Suite is not an option for vBCloud sites (nor or any other mobile options) but this may change if there is demand and it can be safely done.

[BirdOPrey5]

There was a time when the strength of vBulletin was measured by it's installed base, stability, and availability of thousands of mods and styles. Now people think that 3rd party add-ons are "not permitted"? My how times have changed.

Those who know me know there is probably no bigger fan of 3rd party modifications then myself. I have over 100 modifications released on vBulletin.org, even more on my own site, and even mroe still in use on my live forums. I very much believe 3rd party modifications keep the brand strong. That said however as a support rep I have learned not everyone is like me- not everyone wants to install 3rd party modifications- not everyone wants to be responsible for their own upgrades- and those people are the target audience of vBCloud. For those who feel as I do the download version isn't going anywhere and will always be the better choice for such people.

[+DS_DV+]

For those who feel as I do the download version isn't going anywhere and will always be the better choice for such people.

Cant like your Post (cause it errors me out)

But Thanks for that mind clearing words

[Kristi]

I apologize if these questions were answered already, but here are mine about the Cloud service.

Does Cloud offer the same functionality as the main software?

Can you use your own domain with a Cloud-hosted forum?

What if your forum gets a one-time boost in traffic (like getting mentioned in Mashable) if you were on the starter plan?

Can your forum get popular to the point that the highest Cloud plan can't handle it anymore and you'd be forced to move off?

Thanks!

[Zachery]

~~Does Cloud offer the same functionality as the main software?

More or less, some features are disabled, such as extensive customization options, like template modifications, plugins/hooks, etc.

Can you use your own domain with a Cloud-hosted forum?

Yes.

~~What if your forum gets a one-time boost in traffic (like getting mentioned in Mashable) if you were on the starter plan?

If you use enough bandwidth to go up to the next tier, your next month would be bumped up automaticly, as well as the rest of the current month. You can contact support if there needs to be additional changes.

~~Can your forum get popular to the point that the highest Cloud plan can't handle it anymore and you'd be forced to move off?

In theory, it'd be possible. We can make arrangements to help you migrate at that point though, and you always have access to your data.