How long before we see 'vBulletin loses the last big site to XenForo'?

Well, they're losing a lot of large sites as clients, so I wonder how many left they've got to burn through...
What do you think? How long until pretty much all big sites move off vBulletin?

 

If they are happy with their lot and aren't concerned with updates then I agree in part. I think the remaining sites will be those owned by IB.

 

Indeed I know alot of large vB forums who are happy where they are for now so may not convert until other scripts have a matching feature set to their specific own customisations etc.

That being said, some of the large vB forums I have either kept track of or have done work for (server optimisation) in the past.

vB 5.1 (stats calculated via a shell based scrapper tool I wrote so doesn't include private forums)
29.966m posts 1.886m threads ? members http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum

vB 5.0 (stats calculated via a shell based scrapper tool I wrote so doesn't include private forums)
posts threads ? members http://goaliestore.com/board/
0.688m posts 0.016m threads ? members http://www.hdherd.com/Main

vB4.2
23.725m posts 2.100m threads 0.317m members http://www.archerytalk.com/vb/
22.208m posts 0.504m threads 0.213m members http://forums.prosportsdaily.com/forum.php
20.124m posts 0.207m threads 1.056m members http://avb.s-oman.net
15.143m posts 0.617m threads 0.154m members http://www.istorya.net/forums/
15.069m posts 1.739m threads 1.112m members http://www.howardforums.com/forums.php
6.106m posts 0.448m threads 0.240m members http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/forum.php
5.547m posts 0.165m threads 0.119m members http://apolyton.net/forum.php
4.539m posts 0.360m threads 0.185m members http://www.wizard101central.com/forums/forum.php
3.341m posts 0.179m threads 0.135m members http://www.thetruckersreport.com/truckingindustryforum/
2.541m posts 0.119m threads 0.159m members http://www.soonerfans.com/forums/forum.php
2.299m posts 0.116m threads 0.068m members http://www.therpf.com

vB4.1
110.458m posts 5.877m threads 8.013m members http://forum.bodybuilding.com/
46.209m posts 2.378m threads 1.387m members http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/forum.php
21.291m posts 0.982m threads 0.188m members http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/forum.php
17.051m posts 1.246m threads 0.663m members http://forums.redflagdeals.com/
13.119m posts 0.481m threads 0.565m members http://boards.dailymail.co.uk/
12.453m posts 1.589m threads 3.572m members http://www.zyngaplayerforums.com/forum.php

vB4.0

vB3.8
158.680m posts 2.923m threads 0.613m members http://www.forocoches.com/foro/
73.808m posts 0.881m threads 0.780m members http://www.skyscrapercity.com/
73.211m posts 0.348m threads 0.259m members http://www2.fanforum.com/
64.525m posts 0.587m threads 0.129m members http://www.neogaf.com/forum/
55.836m posts 1.103m threads 0.126m members http://hfboards.hockeysfuture.com/
50.864m posts 0.038m threads 0.014m members http://www.modpc.com/foros/index.php
50.486m posts 1.400m threads 0.278m members http://forums.sherdog.com/forums/
48.572m posts 2.975m threads 0.472m members http://www.disboards.com/
48.338m posts 2.237m threads 5.556m members http://forum.xda-developers.com/
44.971m posts 3.145m threads 0.355m members http://forums.corvetteforum.com/
41.656m posts 7.899m threads 8.637m members http://gamebattles.majorleaguegaming.com/forums/
41.509m posts 1.299m threads 0.394m members http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com
40.044m posts 1.859m threads 1.098m members http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com
36.150m posts 2.358m threads 0.342m members http://forums.anandtech.com/index.php
35.206m posts 2.559m threads 1.303m members http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/
37.576m posts 2.081m threads 0.506m members http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php
21.805m posts 0.671m threads 0.251m members http://www.advrider.com/forums/
17.090m posts 0.680m threads 0.158m members http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/
15.953m posts 0.738m threads 0.595m members http://forums.hardwarezone.com.sg/
14.943m posts 1.079m threads 0.188m members http://hardforum.com
13.184m posts 1.297m threads 0.796m members http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/
12.089m posts 0.669m threads 0.133m members http://forums.overclockers.com.au
9.622m posts 0.279m threads 0.080m members http://forums.offtopic.com/
8.213m posts 0.236m threads 0.059m members http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/
8.170m posts 0.551m threads 0.235m members http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/

vB3.7
65.105m posts 7.806m threads 0.348m members http://www.christianforums.com/
45.332m posts 0.974m threads 0.205m members http://forums.clubrsx.com/
42.092m posts 2.483m threads 0.652m members http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/index.php
40.596m posts 2.460m threads 0.375m members http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/
32.549m posts 1.798m threads 1.699m members http://www.city-data.com/forum/

vB3.6
76.469m posts 3.824m threads 0.658m members http://www.pbnation.com/
71.824m posts 1.923m threads 0.557m members http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/
46.465m posts 0.873m threads 1.560m members http://forum.literotica.com/
40.294m posts 2.268m threads 0.478m members http://www.hwupgrade.it/forum/
23.529m posts 0.434m threads 0.076m members http://www.tennisforum.com/index.php
16.479m posts 1.297m threads 0.395m members http://photography-on-the.net/forum/

vB3.0
25.544m posts 1.199m threads 6.407m members http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/forum/

vB2.2
153.095m + 79.543m posts 3.241m + 3.220m threads 0.186m members http://forums.somethingawful.com/

 

55 sites. Is this representative of the total sites remaining using vb software?

 

Many may have another reason for staying where they are. Not because the like where they are but they probably have not yet found a suitable alternative.

 

Nope, that probably represents a small fraction in the total numbers. It's more representative of just the larger sites I personally know of or worked with over the years.

 

Not necessarily, XenForo still lacks the power vB3 offers, and as a forum version it still works very well. Not everyone is fussed about the old look, they feel they must move away from vB3 because other forum software like XenForo looks more slick and stylish. If you run a forum software and it's still working well for you, members are happy to still use the board - why mess around changing things until it's needed.

You also have to think that some over the years have modified their vB3 forums to dead, they don't see it as an easy option (or even an option) to move away from using it. If you look there are loads still running vB2, never mind vB3.

 

I can't see that Internet Brands will ever convert any of their forums from vBulletin to Xenforo and they own a lot of big forums. I doubt other of the bigger companies that own forums will convert too, like VerticalScope for example, I doubt they'll ever convert. I know the owners of a number of middle size forum portfolios who are thinking they'd be better off just sticking with an older version of vBulletin than converting. It might make sense for a company with resources to keep the older code updated themselves than try to convert dozens, or hundreds, of big board sized forums.

 

That strategy might be acceptable short to mid-term. But it is going to be really bad long term, IF they have competition using more modern and "more fun" software and their competition is giving the same or better content to the users. Such a strategy would be the making of a slow and painful death IMHO.

Scott

 

If they can get a new forum going to catch up with a big board, that got established many years ago. It's much harder today to turn a new forum into a big board, no matter what you use. So the older forums have that on their side. Plus, a lot of it has to do with the member base they have, they stay faithful to a forum they've enjoyed using for many years, they may have friends their, people they have got to know over the years using it - so why would they leave it to go use another just because it uses more trendy forum software. That is not something people generally do if happy with the forum they've been using for years already.

Another factor, is that people actually do get used to using that board software over the years. They are familiar with it and have stayed using the forum on it - so it works for them. Some don't like change are happy to still carry on using a forum running old versions.

I wouldn't put too much importance on the forum software. It isn't the be all of everything.

 

It's all mute when vulnerabilities keep popping up. vB has deemed many old versions EOL. Even security updates are at a stand still for them at this point. So how long will the big boards stay a float with unpatched holes in their hull??
She's going to the bottom no matter how many band aids they apply.

 

I used to visit that site a lot. I cannot even begin to imagine why the owners thought it would be a good idea to move it onto vBulletin 5. It's such a shame, it used to be a really active site and a fantastic resource for musicians.

Setting their software choices aside (it's not first time that forum was migrated to unsuitable software) there seems to be a major issue with the site currently. At most times of the day I'd describe it as slow but usable with pages resolving typically within 4-10 seconds. However at other times it can take 3-4 minutes. I can't quite work out where the bottleneck is occurring but it appears to be connected with pulling images from the server according to Firebug.

 

Didn't they move to JIVE from vB3 first, that's what I read. If true, what made them migrate away from JIVE, thought that was supposed to be like the ultimate forum software to use, which cost a fortune to use.

 

In this interesting thread someone mentions they had tried Lithium.

http://www.harmonycentral.com/forum...1/31140964-why-did-this-forum-become-comatose

Scott

 

First 3 or 4 posts in that thread are funny. One is too lazy to leave, other doesn't want to ohh and ahh over cat pictures on Reddit. And look at the Mods title below his avatar "Mod Without a Cause".

Admin said this:

Member replied:

 

Jive and Lithium, are basically just overpriced versions of normal forum scripts where the only real 'difference' is the support.

Seriously. There's a reason only a very few large companies choose them (outside of just the ridiculously high cost), and that's because frankly speaking, they're not much more interesting than any other forum scripts you can get for a reasonable price. In fact, the last time I saw Jive, it was arguably less advanced than vBulletin or Invision on any front.

 

My site has 3,367,573 Posts - Over 300K Threads and 190,000 members. We are running 4.2.2.

And I WANT to move off of vBulletin, but have not found a package yet that meets my needs as good as vBulletin. Xenforo is close but not quite there yet.

I don't like the fact they are not supporting and updating the 4.2 line yet they upgraded the 3.8 line.

And vBulletin support (Not your George) is the biggest bunch of ass clown I have ever seen. This past weekend my email box filled up with emails from vBulletin.COM of threads I never read, subscribed to or interacted with. So I went there to their site feedback forum to let them know there was an issue. I got the run around from Wayne... emails still kept coming in... Then Paul M, the lead developer who doesn't actually develop anything chimes in and tells me to go into my subscriptions manage page and unsubscribe to those threads.

When I go into subscription manager on vb.com I get the first page of threads I am subscribed to, if I click to go to the next page I get a message from vBulletin saying "Error unable to connect to the server."

I make mention of this and then everyones favorite ass clown Mark B chimes in and tells me to unsubscribe from the threads from the subscription manager. I then ask mark if he knows how to read... I told him I am getting an error message when I go to the subscription manager page.

He replies back that if I am rude that I will lose my access to their support forum. I am not trying to be rude but my mailbox is filling up with new post notifications from threads I never subscribed to... and I can't unsubscribe to them! I then mention that if they don't stop soon I am going to stop reporting them as spam. I was scolded for that too. But if they won't fix the issue or help what else can I do?

He then says he has nothing to do with the vbulletin software even though it says under his name his is LEAD DEVOLOPER of VB.COM and VB.ORG... Lead Developer of what? You don't put your LEAD DEVELOPER of a software on a support forum, but actually have NOTHING to do with the software. He then tells me to submit the issue to Jira so that they can fix it.... excuse me? Its YOUR WEBSITE... YOU ARE RUNNING vBe;lletin 5 not me, it is YOUR SERVER which is spamming me with email. I am NOT sunmitting a big report to Jira, I reported the issue in your forum, and its your job as support to notify whoever can fix it to do so, not play pass the buck.

I replied back again that if I was going to keep getting spammed and couldn't do anything about it then I was going to start was going to start reporting posts and Mark posted back that ranting wasn't going to fix the issue.

Surprisingly later on the emails stopped coming and I didn't do anything. I reported back this news and Wayne chimes in that they have made no changes on their end. There was another user who reported the same issue, I don't know if it is fixed for him as well.

I still however get the unable to connect to the server error message when I go into the Subscription manager at vBulletin.COM.

Here is a copy of the thread. http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/foru...ck/4032317-new-post-notifications-anyone-else

It is this support (or lack of) is the main reason why I want to get off vBulletin. Support does not seem to give a crap about anything, and they treat their customers like crap. The only thing it they seem to care about is that they get a paycheck. They do not support the product they sell and to make matter worse they dont know how to support the product they sell. If they don't know the answer they just pass the buck. That is no way to run a company.

I am a big board, they should be working to keep me as a customer, not trying to push me away to someplace else... and unfortunately it seems to be their goal to push people away. Its sad really.

 

@SatGuyScott - Indeed, they are bunch of ass clowns over there. What things are preventing you from being able to move to XenForo? AV forums is a big board and hired Chris Deeming to do some custom work for them. You might be able to find a developer to fill the gaps for you, if that's what your issue is.

 

@jmurryhead I think part of it is fear... all of the big boards that moved to a different platform have had massive drops of traffic. Such a loss in traffic would kill me revenue wise.

But I keep watching, and I keep playing with the other software that is out there, watching it get better and better over time. I have even been playing with vBulletin 5, but its worlds behind all the other software including vb 4.2.