Getting people to post on a new forum

**Cutter** · 11-16-2005, 09:26 PM

Are there any specific sticking points that make it better than phpbb? I know that vbulletin run considerably better as a large board. Considering my long term goals, now probably is a better time to switch.

**James** · 11-16-2005, 11:01 PM

As far as I've heard there's no reason to stay with phpBB, and it's inferior to vBulletin in every way *shrugs*.

It's also better programmed and not open-source, so you know it's higher quality overall.

**Chris** · 11-17-2005, 06:47 AM

Well, its much simpler to add code that appears on every page.

vb has a very robust template system all editable from the admin control panel.

**chromate** · 11-17-2005, 08:57 AM

Originally Posted by James

It's also better programmed and not open-source, so you know it's higher quality overall.

Really?

I always thought the VB code was supposed to be a muddled mess. I've not used it myself though.

I'm tempted by IPB. I've always found it nicer to use. Not sure how the admin side of things compares though.

**Chris** · 11-17-2005, 09:23 AM

I find VB's code to be good. Well documented within the code, and with their templating system you rarely have to touch the code itself.

Most hacks are also very easy to install.

**Westech** · 11-17-2005, 09:31 AM

Another cool thing about vB is that with the newest version (3.5 I think ??) they are implementing a plug-in system so that when people do add-ons or hacks for vB they can simply use the "hooks" that vB has built in instead of modifying the vB code.

This means that when you install a hack that uses this new system you can easily upgrade to future versions of vB without breaking the hack.

**Cutter** · 11-17-2005, 09:42 AM

Sounds good. I'm going to buy it later today.

**Chris** · 11-17-2005, 11:26 AM

Notice the link in the footer...

**Cutter** · 11-17-2005, 04:16 PM

Yeah, I actually clicked it earlier. Well, time to whip out the AMEX

**Cutter** · 11-17-2005, 05:28 PM

In the setup, it asks for the "MASTER DATABASE USERNAME & PASSWORD" I'm getting the idea that this means MySQL as a whole, rather than an individual database I set up through cpanel?

**Chris** · 11-17-2005, 06:25 PM

no, just your forum database

**Chris** · 11-17-2005, 06:25 PM

when you're all up and running give us your impressions... especially of the admin panel. I'm sure it can be overwhelming at first though.

**Cutter** · 11-17-2005, 07:00 PM

Getting things installed is the hard part for me, I tend to figure out user interfaces a lot easier

**Cutter** · 11-17-2005, 07:35 PM

Finally working. Very impressive! This makes phpBB look like a toy.

**James** · 11-17-2005, 08:29 PM

That's because it is

I've really got to get a successful forum running so I can get me vB for keeps instead of just looking around behind the scenes on other peoples' sites.