I have often said that vBulletin easily rules over IPB. Earlier for the sake of it I downloaded a copy of IPB to install and convert my database to. After doing this I was amazed with IPB, I have installed a custom skin and setup a board ready to go. The software is fantastic, highly differant to vBulletin... It's gonna take me awhile to get used to it, If I decide to keep it and buy a licence. I have only had this for 4 hours on my computer but I am amazed. I highly feel like buying a IPB license to replace my vBulletin one. I just miss some of my modifications
Does anyone have any example of an IPB forum that does not conform to the blocky look of version 2.0? I have never been able to find an IPB style that differs from default one that much (layout wise). Neowin is the closest I have seen to something that differs from Invision's default style. All of this makes me think that their style system is not the nicest to play around with.
Cole, I too have never seen an IPB forum that has been modified beyond the default look/structure. I've (obviously) seen loads of vB forums that look nothing like vB, but never IPB - it's weird and it does make you wonder.
Now that you mention it...looking at two IPB forums I frequent most often, they are both blocks. Can't really explain that...
You're indeed correct, Justin - I just installed a copy of IPB 3 yesterday and, while it's fantastic, the styling system has not improved (in my eyes).
I would say that IPB looks alot better than IPB, but I would find the move from vB to IPB hard. So used to the vB AdminCP.
I am assuming that you mean IPB looks better than VB. Care to quantify that? What exactly is better? The default style looks pretty horrible to me, though I know if can be changed. I am not asking to deny your opinion but "looks better" doesn't help anyone improve. Personally, I think vBulletin 3.X is antiquated and outdated. However vBulletin 4 (even as seen from Kier's screenshots) is light years ahead. The IBP Admin CP when I saw it last was difficult to find things and too many clicks. I know in vB's control panel, that I can access any portion with a little flick of the scroll wheel and a single click as long as everything is expanded, which is how I handle it. I don't agree that vBulletin has the best method for an ACP but haven't seen anything that provides the raw power yet. However I am honestly trying to broaden my horizons on what people are looking for in regards to workflow and control. What works for me isn't going to work for everyone.
The permissions system is better, without a shadow of a doubt. The multi-moderation feature and I can only compare it to the prefix vb is vastly superior even when it was at 1.3 IPB really got that right years ago. The profile page looks and feels better. The whole admincp navigation is more user friendly. Visually more appealing also (but we can class that as superficial).
Indeed in the IPB AdminCP you have to click too much to get somewhere. But I like the way IPB looks on most there skins. Ones which you can buy from IPB Skin Makers are absolutely outstanding. Most are much better than ones made for vBulletin. Plus I like boxes. I like squares and blocks. So it kinda suits me.
I do like the vBull ACP but sometimes similar options are in different spots whereas you'd think they'd be near each other I'll try to think up some examples if desired.
Very odd. I haven't seen many if any vB forums that are much different from the default. IPB Customize is just one of many great IPB skinning sites. Maybe try there. Just like most vB forums I've been on. vB4's layout looks just like the current one. They decided to keep all the clutter. I have no idea how to navigate the vB admin control panel. Everything is everywhere and placed poorly. Anyway. Forums in general are filled with boxes or box like.
Started out with IPB, and I gotta admit, I wasn't thrilled. It's very basic and the controls seem a bit, elementary. Definitely a good starter site though.
Just like I've seen MyBB's that do not look like MyBB at all, I've seen vB that do not look like vB at all.
I have yet to see a forum software that uses a template system I like... mainly because I just dislike online templates when I could just use files like they do in wordpress. Forum software could learn A LOT from wordpress if they'd get off their high horses. We just bought a IPB license, and so far I have it ahead of vBulletin. I need to see vB4.0 before I make my final judgement, but the admin area is much better suited, permissions are much easier to deal with than vB's nightmare, and it is already a tableless design which I prefer over table-based. I've said numerous places that vB was moving too slow and the others were catching up but everyone said I was being retarded... well test IPB and if you really think its so much worse than vBulletin you need to take off your fanboi glasses liek I did. I hated IPB for a while since I was a vB user, but after playing with IPB3.0, they've done quite a bit right. Some things I do miss like the subscription payment system of vBulletin, but thats rumored to be coming soon for IPB. Arguing over which has better custom styles is pretty irrelevent, since a designer could do something with any of them. There are more people with vBulletin than with IPB, so naturally you'll see more customized vBulletin sites. IPB is tableless now, with vBulletin following suit soon. For me, this means I can create custom styles without having to go back to the dark ages of web design and teaching myself how to create styles with tables. I feel like a lot of current designers are going to be losing steam because they're stuck in Table-based design practice and don't want to deal with CSS.
