but if they use a forum then 9/10 they will know what vb is or know that it is better because its on big forums or such things.

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Dalmatian Owner and Lover Forum!

The One and Only Army Wives TV Show Forum Coming Soon To A Screen Near You!

So vB is better because it's used on big forums, that isn't a reason it is better is it, if you want to use that as a reason you would have to say phpBB is the best given the largest forum is powered by phpBB.

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Liverpool FC Forum with 3 million+ posts. Powered by SMF

No im not saying that why its better im just saying how if people dont know what it is exactly. but in my opinion it matters if not to members but to the owner.

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Dalmatian Owner and Lover Forum!

The One and Only Army Wives TV Show Forum Coming Soon To A Screen Near You!

In my experience the majority of users haven't got a clue, in the last 5 years about 2 people have suggested "upgrading" to vB and asked why, they haven't got a clue as to how it's better.

From my own point of view, I'm happy not to use vB (and it's certainly not down to the price given it costs less than a months hosting), as far as I'm concerned, the way SMF works is better for me than how vB works, other forum admins might aspire to use vB simply because they think users see it as better but IMO users haven't got a clue.

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Liverpool FC Forum with 3 million+ posts. Powered by SMF

In my eyes part of planning a site involves vBulletin so when starting a new one i always get a license before i start on it

Also i don't join a forum as well unless its vBulletin because i don't tend to look around unless it is vBulletin

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I agree with Ben_s that the average non techy web surfer (the mass majority) have no clue about the differences between forum softwares. It was a long time before I myself could reliably identify or tell the difference simply because I was not particularly interested as long as it worked. Why would I be unless I where in the extreme minority of people who run a forum? If it worked and had the basic necessities which most popular software does then brand does not matter to your average surfer. It is way down the list after activity, content and design.

A smaller more experienced group may have preferences and to them advanced features and usability will matter but this is not necessarily a deal killer. However if you had 2 boards equal in all aspects except software they these people will probably choose their favourite sofware.

There are other aspects that I think an experienced surfer will consider such as paid software might imply that the site and the site owner has more seriousness, longevity and reliability. Additionally these people may, wrongly or rightly consider more prevelant software that has been around longer such as vB to be superior.

So I'd say, for a minority board software is important but the masses will be happy as long as you use something that covers the basics in a decent manner, which includes free and paid boards.

This is assuming all other things being equal.

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A regular user who has no idea and is there just to join in for content and post, will not care IMO. Obviously, most of us who have boards of our own know more about it and always have a slight prejiduce to what the software is. But in my experience, a regular user isn't going to know the difference.

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I couldn't agree more! Very well said.

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I'm actually very surprised at these results...It seems like when you're dealing with a non-tech crowd, any time you make a change (even if it's for the better), there are almost always more negative opinions than positive opinions...I'm shocked to see that everybody likes your decision...and that's a good thing

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Forum software does not matter in terms of features, but in ease of use. Products like vBulletin or IPB have great layouts as far as the end user interface goes. On the other hand, SMF and PHPbb have less polished layouts, which gives room for confusion with inexperienced members.

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