Can we just merge this with the normal vB section?

It's a pain having having two sections for the same topic tbh :-/

 

To be honest, they are meant for two different purposes. Past events and outrages dictated the need for the creation of this extra section. See this announcement for details: http://www.adminaddict.net/forum/vb...-brands-passionate-discussion-sub-forum-4567/

The vBulletin sub-forum is supposed to be about the product alone (features, how-to's, tips, questions, etc.) while this extra section is for discussing IB, its policies, the future of the product, etc.

 

Personally I think it's fine in one section Nick - it's all vB related.

Awkward being a sub forum of a sub forum - makes it a bit of a pain tbh.

 

I see where you're coming from, but we had an uprising over it. People were ranting about vBulletin/IB all over the entire site, and it was disrupting the flow of our community and was off-putting to many. We had to contain the rants and heated discussion in a solitary section.

 

I've always looked at the vb section as a place to ask questions on mods, bugs tips, styles and all that.
I think this section is for.. well just what the title sales, passionate discussion that would push down any "hey my vb forum is hacked, what should i do" questions if they were all in one section

my 2 cents

 

I just noticed that I somehow accidentally closed this thread (probably by ticking the quick-close box below the quick reply). That was totally unintentional, so I've re-opened it.

And Brandon, you hit the nail on the head. That's exactly why we have these two separate sections.

 

Neither section is busy enough for it to be a problem (as one section) tbh guys - but it's up to you, just thought I'd say that I find it a pain myself and guess others might too...

 

Perhaps you weren't around when it was a problem. The passionate discussion section alone was receiving probably almost 100+ posts per day.

If you look back, you can see that there were many threads active in a short period of time. For example, the last post of 19 threads in this section is between November 1st and 6th. That's a lot of threads for just six days, considering the subject matter. :shrug:

And regarding being a pain: What about the readers who want to get help with their vBulletin forum, but don't want to wade through all of the IB crap: "I hate IB", "IB this, IB that, bla bla bla". It would be a pain for them to have to shuffle through the off-putting material just to figure out how to change a setting on their vB forum.

 

I don't see why they don't just skip those threads?

Anyway - it's up to you guys, I just find it a bit of a pain this way as it's an extra section to look in on for what I see as the same topic.

 

They aren't the same topic, imo. If every technical vb4 question turns into a new round of denigrating vb generally, once again aa will lose its value for me. Since vb community forum is not the best resource any more, and vbcodex doesn't seem to be online, aa is the last resort for vb 4 questions. Real questions, and real interest in the real experience of others who are actively using vb4, if you take my meaning.

Also - to be frank - I don't want to have to sort through the crap threads in 'passionate' forum if they are merged into the 'real' forum, looking for something that is actually of value. Which a lot of 'passionate' lacks, to me. Sorry y'all.

 

I haven't seen any of that nonsense go on as I've only just come back to the board bit if threads go off-topic moderate them as normal? (split the posts)

Also don't know what you think vb.com is not the best place for support - the support staff have always been good (unless that's changed since I haven't required support for a while!).

 

Well considering the inactivity of the 'big three': vBulletin Community Forum, it may be okay to say it isn't as great (although they have recruited reinforcements).

How can anybody take vBulletin.com support forum seriously? It's a disastrous heap of crap and has been overridden with new customers who haven't touched a bulletin board in their life.

So many threads have gone unanswered at vB.com, too, for the record.

 

Tbh I haven't paid much attention - although to be fair you'd need to compare their activity with that of the new support staff they've taken on. If it has gone down (which prob wouldn;t surprise me) they yeah that's bad.

How about just rename the other vB section to vB support and put this one above it as general vB chat - as really that's what the other section is for (?).

Like I said tho - up to you guys, for me personally I'd prob want to chat more about vB (pros AND cons) than get support.

 

My respect for you is huge, but I just don't think many others are going to be using vb4. I've even lost interest in v3.8, and my forum uses it. I'm looking forward to, and focusing on, other solutions for my forum.

I'm at a loss where someone can get support for vb4 except through support tickets. There are a few people on vb.com that do try to help, it is not the non-stop rantings it once was. Many have left or gotten bored with the rants.

 

Thank you very much. I also have the greatest respect for yourself and others on this forum.

My concern is that there is a groupthink anti-vb4 on the AA forum. When you say "but I just don't think many others are going to be using vb4" you mean AA members, isn't that right? Obviously outside AA there are quite a number of forums that will be using vb4. And if AA is not a resource for them for their forum software, there is less reason for them to visit or join. What you say will be ever more true for AA but not necessarily all forums.

I don't think minimizing vb4 software discussion is going to help AA be a resource for admins of all forums ... just those who agree with the people posting in 'passionate.' Maybe that is happening to AA now.

 

Yes I mean that a significant number of members of AA that currently use vB will not use vb4, at least compared to the number that would have went with a newer version in years past.

Yes there will be a huge number of forums that will use v4.

I'm not sure what you mean in regards to the rest of it. I'm not suggesting minimizing any discussion, but personally I do not have an interest in v4, or even improving my vb3.8 forums. I almost posted on my forums today some neat ways to use vb3.8 for my members, but thought it would be best to focus on other things. One of those things is to evaluate IPB, I don't know if that is the right answer, but will be back on AA more often if I need more information about IPB. The lack of activity may be because people get answers on the IPB forums, and are treated well by the IPB tech staff and even the key company officials help out. In addition to their forums, they have support tickets that get answered and phone support. I am not in any way trying to 'put down' vb, but it does come down to needing questions answered. That could be one of the reasons AA's activity is down.


To me, vb is a tool, like a hammer or screw driver. I don't get emotional over things like that. However I can see what I believe the future is. A couple of things:

People took the time to fix their 4.0.0 and 4.0.1 forums so it would work well enough for them. Yesterday they released a security update for 4.0.2 (only). Now the owners of the forums need to decide if it is worth it to use 4.0.2, and fix and entirely new set of problems with that version, or take a security risk. Steve's quote
"If you are running 4.0.1, you will need to do a full upgrade to 4.0.2 PL1 "

They will be re-factoring the code in steps, and products, skins, and plugins will need to be re-written at least a few time this year. I've got no time to try to use software that will be changing that often. v4.2 might work one way and 4.6 another, and when they release a security patch for 4.6 (only) I would be faced with re-writing the mods/skins or take a security risk.

And with each new release I've got to train my members to use the new features of the newer software. Our members are fantastic but getting them to do things a different way is like herding cats with a broom. Not easy. Forcing a last minute upgrade on them with major new features because of a security patch would not be good.


Even if every version worked 100% perfectly, I really do not want to follow that plan. At least I want to look at the alternatives.

 

That's my point. You are excluding vb4 users from AA.

Are you sure you want to do that? And more to the point ... why?

Why should AA be the anti-vb4 forum? If that's the direction of AA, I think the forum title and introductory blurb should be adjusted to reflect that so vb 4 admins can avoid it. It should be "AA XCEPTVB4" or something.

THIS is my entire concern about the future of AA ... it's just for the one clique of like-minded forum admins. In the near future having no one on board who are vb 4 users, who will discuss vb4 just like any other forum software. Obviously if I am a vb4 user this forum goes off my radar. Y'all are a great group and all that, but clearly the purpose of AA is supporting admins, and this forum won't do that for vb4.

I'll ask for clarification from AA management because for selfish personal reasons I need to understand the official direction of AA. I'm sure every member has the same objective consideration for their own forum software.

 

I made a mistake. This is what I typed:

This is what I should have typed:

I should not have attempted to speak for others on this forum or alluded to any change in direction that AA may, or may not, have. AA is not my forum and except for visiting and posting, have no association with it.

I'm really confused how you can somehow associate what I type as a normal member with the direction of where AA might be going.

I'm not part of a clique. To be honest, I think you are taking what I type, and somehow try to make it more than what it is.

 

I'm also very confused as to how your personal thoughts, Abomination, evidently somehow represent the views of AA. :shrug:

I'm lost, guys, to be honest.

 

I don't know AA well enough to know who is speaking for who, other than Nick and the staff. Abomination's post and further thoughts were phrased as such definite and broad-ranging statements that I interpreted it as having more weight than I should have given it. I don't know Abomination's official status with AA, but as a frequent and always knowledgeable poster it seemed that post might reflect some inside knowledge. The re-phrase definitely changes the way it comes across. Thanks for that clarification.

There may not be many vb 4 admins on this forum at present. The vb community forum is clearly awash in vb 4 admins who would very much like a less cluttered venue to communicate and help each other. If there were interest in welcoming them to AA that could be a nice increase in membership. (I found AA through a link in a post on vb community forum, and have been glad I did.)