software running forums.servethehome

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john4200

New Member
Jan 1, 2011
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I'm curious about the software you are using to run the forums on servethehome. It is clearly the same software as many other forums use, but I never knew what the software is called. How difficult is it to set up and run?
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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This is using vBulletin (you can see the version at the bottom of the page). Version 1 of the beta forums was on phpBB. vBulletin is easier to setup but you have to buy a license which runs $200+. phpBB is also very popular and is free with the base install being easier, but customization taking a bit more work.
 

john4200

New Member
Jan 1, 2011
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So, you switched from phpBB3 to vBulletin 4.1 because it was easier to customize vBulletin?

Anything specific worth mentioning that you found easier with vBulletin?
 

Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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One example was getting search engine friendly slugs. The board is currently using one of four out-of-the-box settings if you look at this post's URL.

I actually like the UX of vBulletin a bit better. Just from what I have seen over the past few years vBulletin is a bit better from a security and support standpoint since you are paying for something versus having open source software. I net lose a decent amount of money on ServeTheHome.com anyway so I figured what is a few dollars for something that took me less time to set up?
 

john4200

New Member
Jan 1, 2011
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I net lose a decent amount of money on ServeTheHome.com anyway so I figured what is a few dollars for something that took me less time to set up?
I know what you mean. I think the forums here look and work great, and if it was easy for you to set up, then so much the better!

I've never set up forums before, so I was mostly just curious how much work it was.

In the URL, are you talking about the "software-running" part?
 
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Patrick

Administrator
Staff member
Dec 21, 2010
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In the URL, are you talking about the "software-running" part?
Exactly. Search engines like Google apparently like descriptive words in the URL instead of showthread.php?___ only.