How stable is vb4.2.2

Im at the stage where I need to upgrade, hence my interest in the progress of vb5
Im running vb3.8.1, not upgraded since about 2008
Earlier this year, I was forced to change my hosting company and then the problems began of intermittent 500 errors when people tried to post
Lots of hours spent with the hosting company who only ever want to upgraded the php, rather than set it to an older version

4.2.3 is still in beta, so I can hang on until that goes gold
I was one of the mugs that purchased it, sight unseen. Then gave up the will to live with a wamp sever test area, about 4.0.4
That was the last time I looked at vb4 back in 2010

Finally, has anyone used vb to upgrade their forums or do you have someone you can recommend

I have a lot of mods installed, a lot are either unsupported or abandoned now, things like vbseo and gars, which also need to be binned, along with moving away from photopost classifieds and gallery, to rely more on the forum software

 

4.2.2 is very stable and for the most part quite decent. There are areas that didn't get the attention they deserved including user groups, albums and the asset manager is in my opinion a bit of a mess. That said I wouldn't hesitate to use it but I would be mindful that by past vBulletin criteria it is now EoL.

I've upgraded in excess of twenty forums from 3.x to 4.x. Some of them were quite large and some heavily modified. I didn't encounter many issues but I did put a lot of time into each upgrade, months in some cases as I personally rewrote all the custom themes.

It's essential that you take a copy of your database and go through the entire process of upgrading the software, your modifications and theme before doing it for real. I really can't stress that enough. Take a dry run at it, documenting the entire process. That will give you a script to follow which will ultimately minimise downtime and maximise a successful transition for you and your members.

 

New version, new theme. Four years on the same theme so far
The Blue Pearl skins look half decent, just to get away from the bog standard look
http://www.bluepearl-skins.com/forums/store/category/4-vbulletin-themes/

User groups on vb3 has been nothing more than another sneaky spam or self promotions area

I need to get a look at vb4, front and back end to get an idea of the built in navigation bar editor
That way I know how easy it will be to add three custom coded pages that I will have to create

If only vb5 was up to scratch. Doing those pages is an absolute breeze

 

As far as I recall (most of the forums I upgraded to 4.x I've subsequently migrated away to other platforms) a navigation manager was added to vB4 which made adding new tabs a trivial matter. Pages are easy enough to create with or without php. I don't know a lot about Blue Pearl but the themes look quite decent and as long as they provide ongoing support they should be fine.

 

Looks like complete vb have given up
Their vb3 skins were buggy and took a lot of work to make them work right
Their site looks almost abandoned
No updates since about 4.1.1

 

Just walk away from vBulletin. It's tough, but think of all the headaches you will free yourself from by moving to XenForo.

 

I have done quite a few upgrades to vB4 and the upgrade process works good. Your add-ons might work, but I wouldn't count on it. Test, test, test first.

And I agree with Josh. Don't hold your breath with vB. IB will let you turn red in the face and even suffocate first, before they do anything worth your while. Every customer that asks me to upgrade their forum from vB3, I suggest for them to move to XenForo and I've done 2 upgrades and a 3rd is on its way. It is the next logical step from a vB3. Xen is 3/4's of "Next" backwards, "for" as in 4, and "O" as in 4.0.

The Next 4.0.

Scott

 

There is list ( somehwere, vb.org or vb.com compiled by Joe of add ons that will work with 3.8 as well as 4.2, so that might help.

Moving to Xenforo is an option, but if $$$$ as a concern, remember it looks cheap on the outside, but you may not be able to replicate the MODs you need without spending a lot more $$$$.

 

Its one of those things about personal preference
I use an ipb board for a forum that I help moderate, the owner there started with vb and prefers it
I get glitches with internet explorer using the board and some features, I have to fire up another browser to use

Xenforo is lacking a lot of features

My problem is also the usability of the forums. It needs to be very basic
The age group I target is 60+, the sunburnt, blue rinse brigade
Which is why vb5 still appeals with its lack of features

Im presently exploring all routes at present, even upgrading vb3.8 to the latest version
I thought there was a recent announcement on a beta being released for 3.8.9 but I cant find that on vb.com

 

Specifically what features is missing in XenForo? One would not have a true one to one replacement with vBulletin. You'll always be missing something.

 

Found the 3.8 beta announcement
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/foru...roubleshooting/4091944-vbulletin-3-8-9-beta-1
There is also a blogs beta as well, for those of us that also brought that

As for not wanting to change to Xenforo, its all down to personal choice and the fan boys all over the net, just get on my man boobs
Which in turn, puts me off even considering it even more

 

I totally understand personal choice, but at the same time, my frustration with Internet Brands boiled over long ago to a point where it was not worthwhile to give them any more talent, time, or treasure to correct issues they first created. At some point, their PRIDE has interfered with basic business decisions which in turn has hampered product development.

Like it or not, Internet Brands has determined for the majority of forum owners that vBulletin is an archaic dinosaur and it will become extinct.

 

3 series was stable, pretty much gives an idea, if I had no updated since 2008

4 series, sounds stable now but is close to eol or will be once 5 series becomes stable

5 series has a lot of promise, but still needs a lot more work to get there

Its a case of finding the lesser of the evils to upgrade to
All three, presently have beta versions

 

Thats rather a clouded view, if companies like IB didn't try to innovate, and try new things, then it would never progress, if people never made mistakes, then we would never learn.

VB5 may never be the forum platform to beat them all, but you can bet that IB already know this, and that discussions are already taking place about a VB6, which would not have the flaws that VB5 has.

VB5 was about innovation, what other platform has been as innovative for small forum owners, or Admin that have no clue how to code or theme a platform, in that sense it is doing it's job.

 

You call that innovation? You are very, very, mistaken. Those of us that were around during the time IB took over know too damn well what their real objective was/still is. As for your argument that vB6 won't have the flaws of vB5...you're just going to see a repeat of the mistakes of vB4 and vB5. The evidence is in the pudding.

 

And the pudding was taken out oven "way too early" on both occasions. Same will happen again with vB6.

vBulletin 5, good they keep making new releases trying to make it better. Problem is though, it's broken at the core. You can polish a turd, but at end of day - it's still a turd, just one with a nice shine on it.

I'm not actually anti vBulletin, why I don't post replies much about vBulletin in threads talking about it these days. But that said... I do think it's a steaming pile of crap now.

 

vb6 will have a very short cue of customers in the pre release sale

 

To be honest I'm fed up of discussing VB5 with people who have their heads in the sand and rely on hindsight to justify an argument.

As I have said before, I'm just very glad that people like Henry Ford and Rutherford didn't have your mentality, we'd still be living in caves.

 

IPB is way more innovative and friendly to small forum owners that don't know how to code, even ahead of the beloved XenForo platform.

Which other software maker offers a comprehensive suite of powerful tools like they do, that come fully supported by the company that makes the software?

 

It has nothing to do with hindsight. It has everything to do with the present state of deliverables.

Professional coders are saying the code is inherently unstable and poorly coded. Security professionals like myself are saying this is the best way to get compromised and have a data breach.

The only thing that is keeping Internet Brands and vBulletin afloat are the apologists.