Guest hilaryfan80 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I would like to bring this topic with the entire community because how we proceed affects everyone. Since IP.Board 4 has come out, it's been brought up that we could possibly upgrade or change forum software. Currently, we are using an outdated version of IP.Board 3 that ssj4gogita4 has generously allowed us to use. The poll is about which one you think we should go with, if we did change or upgrade the forum software, and please give each forum software a fair chance. I personally do not have a bias on whichever one we use, and all of them will work with our current features on SBC (e.g. SBC Music). Please take this to heart and choose wisely. Now, this does not mean that we will be upgrading the forum software. This is merely to collect feedback to see what the community would like to see out of SBC. We will base the final decision off of this poll's results, the transition, finances, and many other factors. We might not even do it at all. Who knows. IP.Board 4 We have been using IP.Board 3, so the next step would be to use IP.Board 4, which brings a bunch of cool enhancements. It currently costs $175 to upgrade, with a $25 renewal fee every 6 months if we wish to receive updates (it's an optional fee, but who doesn't want updates?). There isn't very many significant changes between IP.Board 3 and 4, but IP.Board 4 does have some cool HTML5 features that adds new bells and whistles. It also has stronger security and upgraded features. Demo link: https://www.invisionpower.com/demo Community link: https://community.invisionpower.com IP.Board 3 Tried and true, this is the forum software we are currently using on SBC. It doesn't cost anything to keep it, though we are using an outdated version. If we decide to keep what we have now, I would definitely try to bribe ssj in some way to let us have the latest version. Aha. Demo link: You're using it right now! xenForo For those who don't remember, this was a solution that was offered a while ago back when we moved to IP.Board 3 in 2012. It was turned down mostly because xenForo was still new back then, but now it's developed more. A lot of online communities out there have switched from vBulletin to xenForo. The makers of xenForo once worked for vBulletin, so if you're used to vBulletin, xenForo will feel like home to you. The cool thing about xenForo is that it uses the newest software available because it's newer. ssj4gogita4 currently owns a copy of xenForo, and I could simply buy it off of him and pay the $40/year for renewal. Demo link: https://xenforo.com/demo/ Community link: http://xenforo.com/community/ vBulletin 5 vBulletin is IP.Board's main competitor when it comes to forum software. That being said, a lot of what they have changed since vBulletin 4 has been to reflect on the fact that they lost a lot of sales to xenForo. You'll notice a lot of similarities between vBulletin 5 and xenForo. Out of all of the forum software, vBulletin 4/5 has the most plugins since it's been around the longest. In fact, the first arcade forum software was written for vBulletin! If you're into vBulletin, this would be an option to go, but at a price: $209 with no renewal fees, unlike the rest of the forum software options here. Demo link: http://www.vbulletin.com/en/vb5-trial Community link: http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/ vBulletin 4 We have used vBulletin 4 back in early 2012, if you recall! We can always go back to vBulletin 4 if we wish. Dylan owns a copy, so it wouldn't cost us anything to switch. There's no renewal fees either. However, vBulletin 4 is significantly different than IP.Board 3, so you will have to keep that in mind. It's also not the newest and greatest, like IP.Board 3, but it is an option. Demo link: http://www.vbulletin.com/en/vb4-trial/ phpBB Anybody knows the history of SBC knows that SBC started out on Forumotion, which ran on phpBB! It's something that's held our history very well. The only thing with phpBB is that it does not hold all the features that paid forum software holds, but that's because phpBB isn't driven by profits. Out of all the forum software, phpBB has been known to be the most secure; it hasn't had a successful hack in many years. If the history of SBC matters to you and you'd like to go back to phpBB, this may be an option for you! Demo link: http://try-phpbb.com/31x Community link: https://www.phpbb.com/community/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spongy272 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 IP.Board 4 forum's design looks very nice and organized ;D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweat Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 If we are ABLE to use IPB 4, then it'd be quite a nice upgrade. Otherwise, we should just stick with what we have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wumbo Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 Eh, I'm always of the "don't fix what's not broken" mindset, so I'm perfectly happy with IPB3. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sbl Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I prefer IPB4, but if we can't use it then I think we should stay on IPB3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hilaryfan80 Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 If you want my honest opinion, I think IP.Board 4 isn't worth the money. I like the new stuff, but it feels like IP.Board 3 with a new skin honestly. Though if everyone wants it, I'll respect that. I know Dylan really wants it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearl Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I voted for IP.Board 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpongeOddFan Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 this is pretty tough choices, I would go to IP Board 4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Biden Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 I like how IP Board 4 looks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crushingmayhem Posted June 26, 2015 Share Posted June 26, 2015 IPB 4 is a good choice if we want to modernize the site's layout a bit more. But if it can't be afforded then i'm fine with the current forum software. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 phBB, honestly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hilaryfan80 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 For anyone who wants to try xenForo, I've transferred SBC onto a xenForo install for you to try it out! You may spam on it; I don't care. Log in with your normal SBC account. Have fun! http://www.thesbcommunity.com/xenforo/index.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 XENFORO IS SO COOL EVERYONE CHANGE YOUR VOTE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ssj4gogita4 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 That bribe better be expensive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Less_SpongeBob Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 Really, upgrading from IPB 3 to 4 is like taking every last iPhone upgrade and really isn't a necessity. I think we should be patient and wait until v5. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweat Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 XenForo is incredibly ugly, why are some of you guys so obsessed with it? I need some sort of explanation, as I don't get it at all. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hilaryfan80 Posted June 27, 2015 Share Posted June 27, 2015 XenForo is incredibly ugly, why are some of you guys so obsessed with it? I need some sort of explanation, as I don't get it at all. You can't base a decision of forum software based on its appearance. In my opinion, default IP.Board is ugly, but that doesn't stop everyone from using it. We can make any forum software look very good through skins. What you need to look at are the features and how things are done around xenForo, not just appearances. "You can't judge a book by its cover" applies here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaid Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I cannot wait for IPB 4, but apparantly everyone wants #3. i guess Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Drifter Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 IP.Board is my favorite forum host I've ever used, very reliable and almost never had any problem (compared to other forum hosts). If we can upgrade to 4, maybe we should upgrade. Or not, I think for now we should stick to 3 until it became obsolete. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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