.
 

.........................

Gonna be kinda hard for them to upgrade seeing as how pricey vBulletin is to begin with:

- vBulletin 5.0 Connect (New License): $249
- vBulletin 5.0 Connect (Upgrade): $209
- vBulletin 5.0 Connect Mobile Bundle (New License): $399
- vBulletin 5.0 Connect Mobile Bundle (Upgrade) $359

Lord, I've never been so turned off by a CMS/BBS in my life than this. IPB doesn't cost that much for just the core system alone ($75 with $25 renewal after 6 month) but with the extra add-ons, it does get even more pricey than vBulletin that's if you want them. At any rate, it's up to the staff here if they want to stick with what they have and hope for the best if something like what happened to those sites happen or bite the bullet and upgrade or to change to a different BBS/CMS.

Speaking of which, people with a Hongfire acct....the forum apparently got hacked in June.

So yeah, change passwords....don't use critical email for it etc etc

Which was completely unrelated to this issue as hongfire used VB with a large amount of mods and that (from what I could deduce from the final post regarding the hack) was how the hacker managed to get in.

Man, it's been eons since I last used their site from what I can remember.

Is their community still holding up well even after all of these years?

Yes it is essential to never reuse passwords used on forums elsewhere.

The AnimeSuki Forums were hacked in 2014; another site I own was hacked in 2015.

The forum software we're running (vBulletin 3) is quite old but unfortunately upgrading isn't trivial due to the amount of modifications we've made.

I think they finally improved things in vBulletin 5, but older versions (so that includes this forum) use pathetically simple password hashing (MD5 with salt). This means that if somebody gets hold of the forum database and really wants to crack your password it's quite possible they may be able to pull it off (unless your password is insanely long gibberish).

So once again, never reuse passwords, especially the passwords you use on forums.

Also think about the complexity a bit: don't use very common passwords like "hello" or "12345". Also don't use anything that matches anything from your profile (if your username is "AnimeLover" don't pick a password that is "AnimeLover123").

vBulletin to phpBB migration is definitely possible but with the size of Animesuki there would almost certainly be issues. Also, free doesn't always mean better.

I would personally suggest XenForo; built by the people who originally created vBulletin (Before it was bought by internet brands).

I will say that we looked at different software of the years. In the past, there were various problems with a lot of the alternatives that wouldn't have worked well for us, but we're looking at it again now. XenForo is, now, a much more viable platform than it was in the past so is something we can consider again. It's not out of the question anyway.

The big problem for us is the amount of customization we've made to vBulletin, and deciding what will need to be re-implemented in the new platform if we move. If we want to make the new system as close to what it is now as possible, it'll be hard. But if we are willing to sacrifice more to align with the system we're moving to, obviously that'd be easier (but potentially more disruptive to everyone who uses the site -- and, given how old a site we are, change is a bit tough). So we have to think about this, in addition to finding the right platform.

Anyway, all this to say, it's on the radar. We do try to keep this forum up-to-date with the latest patches, but the attack surfaces are ever-evolving.

Better to move on ASAP than to go up in an spectacular disaster.
Anyway, what's gonna end up on the chopping block if ever a move to XenForo or some other board software happens? Social Groups? Subscriptions? Personal galleries?

What customizations have you made to vBulletin? Just wondering so we could get a better idea of what you need on a possible new platform.

Yea free isn't always better. I was addressing GHDpro when he posted about the extensive modifications made to AS. phpBB has many. So perhaps the modding issue might be easier to deal with if AS migrated from vbulletin to phpbb possibly.

The running costs would be lower. Which could allow the admins to pool that $ elsewhere AS may need it in.

Yeah XenForo is a good option. But what are the running costs compared to VB? Idk what plan the AS site owner(s) has from vB; & what plan would be purchased from XenForo. But if I remember correctly XenForo is cheaper & with a similar amount of options in the customization & security department as VB 5.

phpBB although for starting up is gr8. If you want to be able to have the latest & greatest forum tools. You have to do alot of work yourself & or help form the modding community of php.

Yeah. XenForo has come a long way since 2011.

Change can be good. I'm not aware of how many subtle things have been customized. But translating most of the major things shouldn't be too hard now, right? About the disruption. Someone should see how many older members are active as compared to newer members. B/c I'm sure most members before 2009 are not all too active now. While the most active members are probably from 2010-2014. Members from 2015 & 2016 activity should slowly pick up as they continue to become more familiar w/ the community.

I mean besides XF & phpBB what other legitimate options are out there? Comparing costs( time, human resources, etc.), security, affordability, & customization?

Yeah I mean we still have some time. Perhaps until 2018? Before attacks become more frequent? In the meantime wouldn't it be better to prepare the database to be encrypted & made ready to be transferred over to another system. So as to maintain as much user information as possible? Specifically profile customization, friends list, posts, etc.

I still do think we have time. Although late 2018 might be pushing it. As long as it is done within the next ~15 months it shouldn't be too bad I think.

I do think all of those things can be translated over. If the database is secured & managed properly. Even if those things do not move over there on day 1 of the shift. They can be be added again as long as those pieces of information are in the database; yet to be moved over to the new site software.

Yea having a list of all major things & relevant minor things would be a good start. Although this list might already exist. Which regularly circulates among admins.

Is there a reason why you feel compelled to post in italics? You'll notice none of the rest of us here do that.