A story of vBulletin, SMF and a revamped forum
Well, I finally did it. I forked over the $ to buy vBulletin. Here’s the story.
On Sunday, I decided to update my installation of SMF, the forum software I was previously using. The update went fairly well, I reinstalled my modifications and all looked good. The only problem (and I didn’t realize it at the time) was that there was an error in one of the script files that didn’t allow anyone to post anything. Now that’s not good.
The decision to buy vBulletin had already been made. I just hadn’t gotten up the nerve to drop the cash on it.
Purchasing vB was a breeze, I got my license key and downloaded the zip file withing minutes of paying. I also downloaded vB’s special conversion script called ImPex, and imported all the posts from SMF. All went well except some of the user’s avatars didn’t get imported correctly.
After that, I tweaked the templates and got the forums integrated with the rest of the site (I still need to change the colors to make it more congruent). Then I sent out a mass email to all the users notifying them of the change and of the fact that you all will have to change your passwords. I guess vBulletin can’t import the passwords, since they’re encrypted in the other script.
I’m really liking how this new software works. I hope you all like it too.
If you already have an account on the forums, be sure to reset your password and update your profile. If you don’t already have an account, come check out what it’s like and register for your own free account.
