Interview with Lynne Sands, Admin at vBulletin.org

Has morale been affected by the xenforo lawsuit / drama on vBulletin.org/.com?

** We really don’t think about it much at all any longer, so no, it doesn’t really affect our morale. We figure it’s in the hands of the court and there isn’t anything we can do about it. So, we just go about our job which is to support our users.

Have you tried out Xenforo? What are your thoughts?

** I tried it when it first came out and it was fun because it was new. I think it’s a nice piece of software, but it’s just not something I’m interesting in putting enough time into to start developing any modifications.

If you couldn't use vBulletin, which forum software would you focus on?

** Hmmm, I’ve used phpBB before, but not really any other software. I’ve never really tried modifying any other forum software though, so I don’t know how easy it would be to convert my site to another software. I don’t need all the add-ons that seem to be common these days – Blogs, CMS, chat - so I could just use something pretty basic. I do need a tracker though, so that would influence which software I picked.

What’s the process of implementing a change on vBulletin.org?

** We use Jira. J We discuss things in our Staff forum, but if we actually want the change to happen, we need to put it in Jira for Paul to take care of when he has time. But in regards to how a change gets started, either a customer posts something in the feedback forum, or someone on staff has an idea and posts it in the Staff forum, and then we discuss it and decide if it’s something we want to do. Then, if we decide to do it, into Jira it goes!

Why doesn’t vBulletin.org utilize a feedback system for the paid services area?

** We’ve talked about it but never really decided what to do about that forum. We don’t want to have to get involved in any disputes or spend a lot of effort on it, so we aren’t real crazy about implementing some big feedback system that would require us to have to moderate in any way. We decided that since the users want a place to ask about paid services, that we would have a forum for it, but just keep it simple. However, there are times we do wonder why we keep it.

What’s the process vBulletin.org uses when there is a habitual scammer on the site.

** Since we don’t get involved in disputes, we don’t have any process to take against a scammer. We ask that if someone posted a Paid Request and got scammed, that they write a very brief message that simply says something like “I hired JoeBlow and he took payment but didn’t provide any work. I don’t recommend hiring him.” We don’t want some long tale about what he did, just a simple statement that will allow other users who are thinking of hiring him to be able to search on his username and view that statement.

How has traffic to vBulletin.org been affected since IB & VS have bought up all the auto sites?

** I honestly cannot answer this question as I don’t monitor traffic at all. I just know that every day that I login to the site, there are several threads asking questions. Thankfully, there are still many helpful users on the site that answer most questions asked. Well, that is if they haven’t been asked several times before! Users start not answering a question that could easily be answered with a search.

Most common praise you hear about vBulletin , most common complaint?

** I still hear people say that the support offered at vBulletin is top notch. I know I get told a few times a week by customers that the support is great and that is why they purchased vBulletin. The most common complaint is probably in regards to how everything needs to be entered into Jira. As I have been told over and over, if it isn’t in Jira, it doesn’t exist. Many customers don’t want to learn to enter something in Jira and so this frustrates them greatly.

How did you become a staff member of vBulletin.org

** I learn by doing and then by helping. So, several years ago, I needed to upgrade my site to 3.6 and the best way for me to learn php and learn the plugin system was to read as many threads asking the same questions I had and then to try to help users when I could. I found that I enjoyed the users there and that I really enjoyed helping. And, the more I helped, the more I learned. Pretty soon I was spending quite a bit of time there and I was asked to be an Advisor. From there, I was promoted to Moderator and then later to Administrator.

Why hasn't vBulletin.org upgrade from Version 3.6.12 to the 4 series?

** Probably the biggest factor would be time. It would take a bit of time for us to recode the different modifications used on the site and with most of Staff also having part-time jobs doing vBulletin Support, that means we don’t have a lot of extra time between us. And really, it works fine how it is, so we just aren’t that motivated to go change things.

Will vBulletin.org be upgrading to vBulletin 5 ?

** I can’t really answer that as we haven’t really had a serious discussion about it. I can say that we certainly wouldn’t do so before there is an Infraction system in place!

Tell us a bit about http://www.thetradersden.org


** My hobby site. I became a big U2 fan back in the 1990s and got into trading live shows. U2 live is just incredible! I then found out about sharing shows via torrents and joined a site where the users shared their shows on a vBulletin site via .torrent files. I became a Moderator there, and then an Administrator, but the site owner just got over his head and just left and stopped paying the server bills. So, the Staff on the site got together and we decided to start our own site, and that is how The Traders’ Den was born.

How is it a file sharing site that’s legal?

** Many bands allow taping of their shows as long as nobody profits off of it. There are a few bands that don’t like it and they have contacted me and asked me to remove all the shows from their band and we have. I am always very quick to reply to any request to remove any music since you don’t want to get a band mad at you and actually have them take any legal action! We have a Band Restriction list and whenever a show is uploaded to the site, that is one of the things the moderators look for and a show will get immediately removed if the band it on that list.

How long have you had it?

** We started the site in October 2004. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long. We’ve had a pretty good time with it. I’ve got awesome Staff there and I’m thankful all the time that they help out on the site. They run the site more than I do. I’m really more of the site maintainer – I do any maintenance and coding on the site and handle all email and contributions/server costs. Oh, and I get to handle problem users that the moderators don’t want to deal with (which isn’t often, but it does happen).

What plans do you have for it in the future?

** We just plan to keep it going until there isn’t a need for a site like ours any longer.

Do you use either Tapatalk or Forumrunner and why?

** Nope. Since the site is about torrenting, it’s a bit hard to torrent to your portable device.

How long have you been on the vbulletin support staff?

** Since just after vB4 was released, so for three years. I didn’t realize that until you asked – I enjoy this job so much that it honestly doesn’t feel like a job!

Do you look after a particular type of support on vBulletin.org?

** I look after the Contact Us emails and I also tend to be the one to add Staff to the site. It’s just kind of fallen to be that way. If we need coding done, then generally it is Paul to do it although I did help with the Like mod since I was the one who really wanted to add a Like mod to the site. We’ve never really talked about who does what – it’s just kind of fallen to the person who wants to do it and luckily there is someone who always wants to do whatever we need done.

What are your thoughts on vbulletin 5?

** I really like the new software! I know it doesn’t have all the features in it that the previous versions had, but they will get added into later revisions. But it makes some of the most wanted things so easy – adding widgets to a page, making custom pages, adding navigation links, etc. It’s been fun to see it grow since I first got a look at it a bit less than a year ago.

What made you get in to CSS?

** From the very first time I encountered it, I thought it was just the greatest thing since sliced bread! OK, maybe not quite, but I just found it to be such a neat way to style your site. I’ve got a very logical mind, and to me, CSS is very logical. It has rules that it follows, and as long as you stick to the rules, it works!

Have you looked at CSS3 much?

** I’ve looked at it a little. I just wish all the browsers would use the same property instead of having their own browser-prefixed property. It would make it easier if they would stop using the browser-prefix!

What do you spend your free time on outside of vBulletin?

** I spend my time reading, cooking, gardening, and being a grandma. One of my favorite things to do is check out cookbooks from the library and read through them in the evenings while watching TV. I love to try new recipes and get ideas. Thankfully we do have a great library nearby because I’d need a whole room just for storing cookbooks if I had to buy them all! And, then I’d need another room for all my reading books. I love suspense books and thrillers. I do indulge in the occasional romance and horror novel too. We see the grandkids at least once a week, if not twice. Luckily they are only about 20 minutes away.

When did you first start getting involved with forums?

** I think around 2001 or so – just before U2 started touring that year. I wanted to talk to other people who were going to some of the same shows I was and be able to meet up especially since we did GA and basically spent all day in line!

Are you a parent?

** Yes, I am. I have a step-daughter who has a step-daughter and two kids of her own, so I’m not just a Mom, but also a grandma! I also have two boys in college – one in London and one here in California. I’m old – I am hitting the big 5-0 this year!

What's your favorite social networking site?

** I love Facebook. I am in contact with so many relatives that I would never see or hear from if it wasn’t for Facebook! I have cousins I see maybe once every 15 years, but now I get to see their families growing up and hear what they are up to. I just love all the pictures that are shared on there. I’ve got friends scattered all over the globe, but Facebook makes me feel like they aren’t so far away.

Favorite email service and why?

** Well, I use gmail for most of my accounts. It’s just easy and I can access it anywhere. I used to use Yahoo, but then I got so much spam! They seem to have dealt with that, but I had switched to gmail by then so I rarely check my Yahoo account.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10? Any major plans?

** Well, I doubt I will have more grandkids by then since both my boys insist that fatherhood is a LONG way off for them! I do plan to do a bit of traveling, especially to the UK and Europe since my son is in London for college for four years. We also plan to move sometime in the next five years or so. We currently have two empty bedrooms and then my youngest will be off to college next year. The house will be too big for the two of us, so we plan to move to a smaller house. And, we are also hoping to build a new cabin up in Idaho since the current place is just 700 square feet and we’d love to be able to have the kids come up and visit.

Do you run vBulletin 5 on any of your forums if you have any?

** I don’t have time to start another forum, so I don’t think I will have a live site running vB5. Currently, I just run vB5 locally on my iMac.

What percentage of your replies on vBulletin.com are "Code modifications are not supported. Please go to vBulletin.org to ask your question."?

** Haha! I honestly don’t know. If I were to guess, I’d say 10% perhaps? Sometimes I have to tell this to the same person over and over again. Some people just don’t want to go ask over on vbulletin.org for some reason. I love that site, so I don’t know why they wouldn’t want to go over there.

We are rather curious as to what you do for a living in any way relates to software, coding, development, or other areas that also relate to forum administration.

** The only thing I do for a living right now is vBulletin Support. I retired from being an engineer and then web developer about ten years ago. I developed a Repetitive Stress Injury in both of my wrists back in 2001. This caused me to take a break from the computer for a couple of years while we figured out exactly what was wrong and how to treat it. Now, I can spend time on the computer, but I can only spend a couple of hours at a time on it and then I need a couple of hours off as a break otherwise my wrists protest! Currently I spend my time divided between my home in California and a small cabin up in Idaho during the summer. We just got internet at our Idaho place two years ago (but still no cell phone service, LOL), so now I can continue to work while up there also although I don’t spend as much time working while up there since it is so pretty and there is so much to do outdoors.