[Important!] vBulletin 4.0 is coming... soon...

Looks like we've got some new software on the horizon. http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/


As soon as it's available, you can be sure we'll all be working on skin ports to vB4. We won't switch until we can get everything out of vB4 that we have now with vB3 (and then some), so don't worry about losing any functionality because we're crazy upgraders.

I don't worry because you're crazy upgraders, I worry because you're crazy in general. :3

This sounds good though. What kinds of new shinies can we expect?

Oh dear. I remember when forums we're upgrading to 3.0 from 2.0 (or something like that, can't remember exactly, but I do remember things looked quite different after wards).

Will we look different? I wanna know the new shinies too.

http://www.vbulletin.com/index.php?do=features

They've got a list of new shinies

But I'm too lazy to click a link. D:

*pouts*

Originally Posted by Shetani

But I'm too lazy to click a link. D:

*pouts*

If you're expecting for someone to copy and paste the entire list of stuff on vB 4.0... you're mistaken.

I was kinda hoping for the high lights, the extra zazoom. You're no fun.

Originally Posted by Shetani

I was kinda hoping for the high lights, the extra zazoom. You're no fun.

I'll show you fun!

GENERAL FEATURES
Scalable Solution - database server and web servers can reside on separate machines. Yes Yes
MySQL back-end database Yes Yes
vBulletin can be run on any machine that can support PHP and MySQL (Solaris, BSD, Linux, Windows, Mac) Yes Yes
Written in PHP which makes for a fast and efficient product Yes Yes

Built-in Applications
Discussion / Forum Yes Yes
Photo Albums Yes Yes
Groups Yes Yes
Calendar Yes Yes
Events Management Yes Yes
Polls Yes Yes
Blog No Yes
Article-based CMS Publishing No Yes

Seamless Integrated Experience
Single Member Sign-on Yes Yes
Single Permission System Yes Yes
Single Admin Control Panel Yes Yes
Simple Cross Publishing No Yes
Create a Matching Themes across Articles, Blogs, Forum. No Yes

Multi-Roles Control Panels
Admin Control Panel Yes Yes
Moderator Control Panel Yes Yes
User Control Panel Yes Yes
Unified Permission System Yes Yes
Power Template Engine for Advanced Customization Yes Yes

Search Engine Optimization
SEO Friendly URLs Yes Yes
Custom META keywords/description tags Yes Yes
Automatic Google XML sitemap module Yes Yes
Removal of duplicate content links Yes Yes

User / Member Management
Multi-user system with unlimited roles and permissions Yes Yes
Member groups Yes Yes

Security
Granular Privileges Yes Yes
Problem Notification Yes Yes
SSL Compatible Yes Yes
Captcha Yes Yes
Email Verification Yes Yes
Admin Control Panel News Manager Yes Yes
Login "Strike" System Yes Yes
Email and password changes require current password Yes Yes
Compliant with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998. Yes Yes

Support
Customer Forum Support Yes Yes
Customer Ticket Support 30 days included Yes
Public Forum Yes Yes
Extensive 3rd Party Developer Community Yes Yes
Professional Services Yes Yes
Code Skeletons Yes Yes

Flexibility
Extensible User Profiles Yes Yes
URL Rewriting Yes Yes
Interface Localization Yes Yes
Content Reuse Yes Yes
Multi-lingual Content Yes Yes
Metadata Yes Yes

Standards Compliance
XHTML Compliant Yes Yes
Content Syndication (RSS) Yes Yes
Content syndication: RSS, Atom, XML Yes Yes

FORUM FEATURES
Forums
Unlimited Hierarchy of Forums Yes Yes
Private Forums Yes Yes

Threads
Thread Display Options - sort by, sort order, from date Yes Yes
Thread and forum subscription (notification by email optional) Yes Yes
Thread preview on mouse-over (optional, via Admin CP) Yes Yes
Active Users viewing thread shown Yes Yes
New Post Indicator Yes Yes
Printer Friendly versions on threads Yes Yes
Admin tools: edit, delete, move, lock, make sticky, etc. Yes Yes
Email page to a friend option Yes Yes
Similar Threads displayed on all thread views Yes Yes

Posts
Video Embedding (YouTube, Vimeo, Hulu, Dailymotion, Google, Metacafe) - New in 4.0 Yes Yes
Linear, Threaded, Hybrid display views available Yes Yes
Supports BB Code in posts Yes Yes
Supports HTML in post Yes Yes
Smilies Yes Yes
Avatars Yes Yes
Optional WYSIWYG or standard editors for posts and Private Messages Yes Yes
Attachment images (.gif, .jpg, etc.) stored on filesystem (optional, via Admin CP) Yes Yes
Quick reply box (with optional "forced" click on post to quote) Yes Yes
Preview post option Yes Yes
Post Rating Yes Yes
User Reputation Yes Yes
Polls Yes Yes
Post Reporting - report posts to moderators Yes Yes
User post count Yes Yes
Admin tools: edit, delete, move, etc. Yes Yes
Preview-safe Attachments Yes Yes

Member Features
Member Profile Pages (updated in 4.0). This information can be viewed by other members from the member list. Custom user title, URL home page, date of birth, instant messaging medium, location, occupation, biography, interests, vB version, plus any other custom user fields that may be defined by the administrator Yes Yes
Allows members to upload pictures that can be viewed in the users' profile. Yes Yes
Member List Yes Yes
Member Search Yes Yes
User Style picker Yes Yes
Private Messaging Yes Yes
Friends List Yes Yes
Member Birthdays shown on Forum home Yes Yes
User Reputation Management Yes Yes
Who's Online Yes Yes
Pop-up auto-refreshing buddylist with ICQ-style alerts when Friends come online Yes Yes
Signature Editor Yes Yes

Avatar Options
Admin Defined Avatars Yes Yes
Custom Avatars - upload from your own computer or specify a URL Yes Yes

Private Messaging
Pop-up notification when new PM received Yes Yes
Private Message Tracking Yes Yes
Private Message filing in custom folders Yes Yes

Privacy & Permissions
Permission system, based on user, usergroup or forums Yes Yes
Private Forums Yes Yes

Users & Usergroups
User registration options Yes Yes
User banning (by name & IP) Yes Yes
Global Ignore User — When enabled, all posts by the specified user will be ignored/unseen by other members. Automatically added to the all users ignore lists Yes Yes
Unlimited Moderators and SuperModerators Yes Yes
Permission system, based on user, usergroup or forums Yes Yes

User Options
These include Daylight Savings options, forum style chooser, selection of notification types for PM, emails etc, thread display options, WYSIWYG editor options, language chooser, vCard downloads to allow the user profile to be placed into an address book Yes Yes

Attachment Management
View attachment statistics - shows limit and used space Yes Yes
View the attachments you have posted (link or thumbnail views available) Yes Yes
Remove attachments Yes Yes

General
View and manage subscribed threads and forums Yes Yes
Email and password changes require current password Yes Yes
Joinable Public User Groups Yes Yes

Admin & Board Maintenance
Task Scheduler Yes Yes
Control Panel, Moderator & Task logs Yes Yes
Board statistics Yes Yes
Maintentance - Database backups, table repair Yes Yes
Post Pruning Yes Yes

Moderation
Moderation queues for user registration and posting Yes Yes
Calendar moderation Yes Yes

Import Facility
Import facility - import posts and members seamlessly upgrade from other bulletin board systems, including Infopop's Ultimate Bulletin Board, UBBThreads, OpenTopic, ezboard, and Ikonboard Yes Yes

Attachments
Multiple attachments and types (types defined by admin in CP) Yes Yes
Attachment thumbnails (requires PHP to have GD enabled) Yes Yes
Storage type options for attachements (database or file system) Yes Yes
Attachment moderation Yes Yes

Styling & Templates
Powerful Templating System Yes Yes
Conditionals supported in the templates Yes Yes
Ability to create multiple styles which can be applied to different forums and users Yes Yes
Ability to upload / download styles and languages Yes Yes

Template Engine and Layouts
Proprietary template engine Yes Yes
Templates / Skins Yes Yes
Design independent - can support any web-page design Yes Yes
Full CSS layout and design Yes Yes
Sitewide templates: you can create entire site using default set of templates Yes Yes
Multiple templates: you can create individual templates for every section, page or even the smallest box Yes Yes
Powerful, fast and suitable for robust development Yes Yes
Add-ons and Plug-ins Yes Yes
Easily extensible through a plug-in architecture and variety of accessible plug-ins Yes Yes

Language & Phrase Management
Language Manager - allows you to easily translate your forums in any language Yes Yes
Multiple Languages Supported Yes Yes
Phrase Manager Yes Yes

Help and FAQ
Editable FAQ for your own boards Yes Yes
Context sensitive help throughout the adminCP Yes Yes

Payment & Advertisment Integration
Paid Subscriptions Capabilities (PayPal, WorldPay, NOCHEX and Authorize.net) Yes Yes
Google AdSense Integration Yes Yes

Calendar Features
Supports multiple private and public calendars Yes Yes
Viewable public and private events (adminCP option) Yes Yes
Weekly, monthly and yearly views Yes Yes
Jump to Today option Yes Yes
Add single, ranged or recurring events Yes Yes
Add all day events Yes Yes
Option to show calendar event on forum home page (adminCP option) Yes Yes
Show events to specific usergroups (adminCP option) Yes Yes
Calendar Moderation Yes Yes
Private events reminder Yes Yes
Ability to add custom fields Yes Yes
Calendar event reminders for subscribed events Yes Yes

CMS FEATURES 4.0 Forum 4.0 Suite
Seamless Integrated Experience
Single Member Sign-on No Yes
Single Permission System No Yes
Single Admin Control Panel No Yes
Simple Cross Publishing No Yes
Create a Matching Themes across Articles, Blogs, Forum No Yes

Complete Customization
Full CSS Layout and Design No Yes
Themes & Skins No Yes
Plug-Ins No Yes
Powerful Template Engine: Ability to create multiple styles which can be applied to different pages, articles, forums, users, or even the smallest box. No Yes
Language and Phrase Manager: Allows you to easily translate your forums in any language. No Yes

Unlimited Section/Site Structure Hierarchy
Article and Static HTML Page Publishing No Yes
Easily Publish Custom Widgets No Yes
Enable Community Members to Write and Publish Articles No Yes
(updated) WYSIWYG Editor No Yes
Inline Publishing Toolbar No Yes
Flexible Content Layout No Yes
Each Section can have unique layout and style No Yes

Publishing Options
Permissions can be applied to Articles, Pages, Sections, User-Groups. No Yes
Set Future Publish Date/Time No Yes
Set Article Display Order No Yes
Assign Articles to multiple Categories. No Yes
Tag Support. No Yes
Turn Comments On/Off for each article. No Yes
Article Status (Published, Inactive) No Yes
Assign article to multiple categories No Yes
Set Articles to publish on the Front Page No Yes
Custom statuses for articles (active, pending, headline) No Yes
Internal search engine for advanced searching of site content No Yes
Article Tags No Yes

Cross-Publishing Capabilities
Promote a Forum post to an Article with link back. No Yes
Promote a Blog post to an Article with link back. No Yes
Create a new forum thread in the Forum. No Yes

CMS Admin Tools
Content Manager No Yes
Category manager No Yes
Section Manager No Yes
Layout Manager No Yes
Grid Manager No Yes
Widget Manager No Yes
Unified Permission System No Yes

Community Management Tools
User Management No Yes
User-Group Management No Yes
Social-Group Management No Yes
Powerful Moderation Tools No Yes
Inline Moderation Tools No Yes

Administration / General
Minimal training required - fast learning curve No Yes
Visitor and Comments Statistics No Yes
Download and install additional assets such as templates, plug-ins and widgets directly from control panel No Yes
Web-based Style/Template Management No Yes
Inline Administration No Yes
Asset Management No Yes
Content Scheduling (Publish Articles in the Future) No Yes
Themes / Skins No Yes

Universal Search
Single Search finds what you are looking for across your entire website including Articles, Blog posts, and Forums, guests comments, and user-groups. No Yes

Template Engine and Layouts
Proprietary template engine No Yes
Templates / Skins No Yes
Design independent - can support any web-page design No Yes
Full CSS layout and design No Yes
Sitewide templates: you can create entire site using default set of templates No Yes
Multiple templates: you can create individual templates for every section, page or even the smallest box No Yes
Powerful, fast and suitable for robust development No Yes
Add-ons and Plug-ins No Yes
Easily extensible through a plug-in architecture and variety of accessible plug-ins No Yes

Comments
Full-featured user commenting system No Yes
Anti-spam protection (CAPTCHA, bad words, flood protection, IP ban, posting by registered members only...) No Yes

Default Widgets
Recent Forum Posts No Yes
Recent Blog Posts No Yes
Recent Comments No Yes
Recent Articles No Yes
Friends Activity Widget No Yes
Section Navigation Widget No Yes
Category Navigation Widget No Yes
3rd Party HTML Widgets (i.e. Google Gadgets) No Yes
BB Code Widgets No Yes
Poll No Yes
RSS Widgets No Yes

BLOG FEATURES
Fast Start
vBulletin Blog makes it simple for community members to create their own space within the community. Getting started is as simple as posting the first message (using the same familiar vBulletin editor). There is no lengthy setup process - blog owners are free to personalise their blog at any time by defining a title and a description that will appear at the top of every blog post. No Yes

Fully Featured
It is a feature-rich blog application, with support for fully formatted WYSIWYG posts, attachments, comments, trackbacks and pingbacks, draft posts and categories, as well as seamless integration with the overall vBulletin system. No Yes

Blog Home Page
Available via a single click from any vBulletin page, the blog home page aggregates activity from all member blogs into a single page – with information about the most recent and highest rated blog posts, recent comments, a featured blog post (selected by the administrator or at random), full support for browsing posts by date and overall blogging statistics. No Yes

Syndication and Subscriptions
Site wide and per-blog RSS feeds allow syndication to external readers, and full support for vBulletin subscriptions enables users to join their favorite blogs and receive regular email updates. No Yes

Profile Support
Member blogs are integrated with the vBulletin profile system – profile information is displayed alongside blog posts, and existing profile pages are enhanced with information about blog activity. No Yes

Blog Control Panel
The Blog Control Panel empowers members to control every aspect of their blogs, from permission controls (who has access to view and comment on the blog), to full management of blog categories, draft posts, trackbacks/pingbacks and subscriptions. Blog owners also have the ability to moderate comments on their own blog. No Yes

Full Control
Integration with the vBulletin usergroups permission system allows site owners to regulate which users are able to create blogs, and enhancements to the vBulletin admin control panel give administrators total control over the whole system. No Yes

Fully Customizable
Blog utilises the powerful vBulletin templating system, and will automatically inherit styles and color-schemes from the forums, for total out-the-box integration. No Yes
Anti-Spam No Yes
Full support for the Akismet anti-spam service stamps out comment spam.

That was hardly the high-lights. :< That seems more like the whole list. Silly Zien, you're still no fun. ^-^

Originally Posted by Shetani

That was hardly the high-lights. :< That seems more like the whole list. Silly Zien, you're still no fun. ^-^

I can't do the high-lights because I don't know all the add ons and crap ZU has. ...It looks like only the webmasters can be fun. :Z

Now you're getting it. :3

Is it bad if I find it amusing that the vB forums are broken?

I still prefer vB2...

What exactly is the difference between 3.8.4 and 4.0?

Can somebody please spell it out for us? A lot of the things in that list seem to only apply to Admin, and the things that don't appear to already be in place.

Now I am by reputation horrible at this whole "reading" thing, so I need some help catching what I missed that was important.

Originally Posted by Tohopekaliga

Is it bad if I find it amusing that the vB forums are broken?

I do sorta IB has been pretty fishy...

But vb4 is better, the skin will reflect that as well as user interface upgrades.

Originally Posted by Shmeh

What exactly is the difference between 3.8.4 and 4.0?

Can somebody please spell it out for us? A lot of the things in that list seem to only apply to Admin, and the things that don't appear to already be in place.

Now I am by reputation horrible at this whole "reading" thing, so I need some help catching what I missed that was important.

Better skin integrations, faster loading/management, attachment asset manager (advance attachment montoring), new user interface usage, etc. All skins will have to be revisited to make it work with the new template system as well, so some temple changes could end up on the other skins .

Search is also a lot faster and nicer to use. It's mostly the back end stuff though.

Will group discussions be subscribable and be updated in the User CP?

Originally Posted by Prof. Fish

Will group discussions be subscribable and be updated in the User CP?

They should be now, under "Group Tools".

Originally Posted by Derek

They should be now, under "Group Tools".

No, that only makes them subscribable through emails, which apparently only I do. They don't show up in our User CP (thought they do at The Hidden Triforce, which is also vB).

Social Groups appear to have changed somehow, though. I'm not sure how long ago, but I just noticed now that I can edit around with them (I couldn't before), and that you can search within them now. So maybe now subscriptions are different? I don't know, I never subscribe to threads, so I can't test it.

No, that only makes them subscribable through emails, which apparently only I do. They don't show up in our User CP (thought they do at The Hidden Triforce, which is also vB).

They only don't show up on the Temple skin. You can subscribe to groups in the Light Green skin.
Must be due to the custom User CP setup I have there. This will be changed, soon.