vBulletin software [Archive]

Tracker

12-12-2006, 09:33 PM

Wonder what you think of the software used to run this board behind the scenes?

Stable?
Easy admin interface?
support? how would you rate it?
what kind of bandwidth does this site take?
I'm guessing you're running it on Linux?

Kicking around an idea for a non m/c board. I'd also like to see triumphrat.net switch. Whatever they use stinks.

Thanks,

Tourmeister

12-12-2006, 09:40 PM

:tab I started with phpBB. It is free and at the time was pretty good. However, they were SLOWWWW to upgrade it. I had been seeing other sites switching to VBulletin and I liked the user side of things. Rocket_Cowboy switched one of his sites over and so I got the scoop from him. Since the change, I have loved it. The admin interface is pretty good. There are a few things I would like to see done differently, but they are not major. I would like the ability to individually select things that moderators can access/control. That would make delegation of certain aspects of running the site much easier. Right now, it is kind of an all or nothing approach with many things. The VB support is good and there are tons of hacks/plugins for spiffing up your site. However, when it comes time to upgrade to newer versions, all those hacks and plugins can make things more difficult.

As far as site stats, the bandwidth is really about the same. Disk space usage is the same. Those things are not really affected by the forum software as much as by how the users are using the forum and how the admin has things set up.

I think RC has the server running Linus/Apache? That is not my thing. I let him worry about all that ;-)

Gilk51

12-12-2006, 10:15 PM

I think RC has the server running Linus/Apache?
Linus the Peanuts character? :-P

As a user, I like this setup better than phpBB and the config here is better than a lot of VB sites - I REALLY like the feature that keeps up with what is read/unread using a database - others reset after you log out.

So, :thumb: to RC and TM!

Tracker

12-12-2006, 11:06 PM

really a separate question--what type of bandwidth does it take to support a site with this size and level of activity?

Rocket_Cowboy

12-12-2006, 11:19 PM

Gary ... Two Wheeled Texans pulls roughly 35-40GB each month. The site is running on Linux.

Scott ... sounds like I need to show you how to limit admin control panel access ... :)

Tourmeister

12-12-2006, 11:20 PM

Right now we are hitting around 40Gb per month and have a disk usage of maybe 200mb? I have not checked recently. Be aware that if you allow attachments and that gets used a lot, that can really drive up your bandwidth.

Tourmeister

12-12-2006, 11:21 PM

Scott ... sounds like I need to show you how to limit admin control panel access ... :)

WHAT!? :doh: Don't tell me I missed something like that!?

** TM heads over to the Admin section for schooling...**

Rocket_Cowboy

12-12-2006, 11:24 PM

Tourmeister

12-12-2006, 11:51 PM

Hmmm... Chuck must be uploading to the gallery like crazy :lol2:

Voltar

12-13-2006, 05:33 AM

Is there a "graphics light" option? I would like to check in from my Blackberry sometime.

Rocket_Cowboy

12-13-2006, 06:09 AM

For just reading, check out http://www.twtex.com/forums/archive/. Or you can use your profile options to cut out avatars/images/signatures to make things more readable on the blackberry.

Gilk51

12-13-2006, 06:56 AM

Hmmm... Chuck must be uploading to the gallery like crazy :lol2:
I'm still behind (by almost a hundred) a guy called MourTeister (or something like that)... :-P

Voltar

12-13-2006, 08:46 AM

For just reading, check out http://www.twtex.com/forums/archive/. Or you can use your profile options to cut out avatars/images/signatures to make things more readable on the blackberry.

Thanks, I;ll give that a whirl.

bluedogok

12-13-2006, 09:37 AM

Some of the newer forums that I have seen have gone to a Simple Machine Forum (http://www.simplemachines.org/) software. I don't know how it is from the admin end but on the user end it has some neat features but does take some getting used to after being on so many vBulletin sites.

Maybe RC knows about some of those differences?

Rocket_Cowboy

12-13-2006, 12:31 PM

Biggest problem I've heard of regarding SMF is security ... they apparently are pretty lax in that regard. Given the comments I heard from Twist and bsd, I was kind of surprised to see them migrate STN over to SMF ... but hey, I don't have to deal with the results.

The biggest complaint from an admin perspective with vb is that it's TOO flexible. There are so many knobs and buttons, sometimes it's hard to keep track of where everything is.

Tourmeister

12-13-2006, 03:41 PM

The biggest complaint from an admin perspective with vb is that it's TOO flexible. There are so many knobs and buttons, sometimes it's hard to keep track of where everything is.

Word.

Sometimes I have to look forever to find an option and I just can't seem to remember which of the many menus it is buried in. :doh: