What Happened To Innovation?
 

(Note* I posted this in the presales forum on accident* but since staff doesn't seem keen on moving it even when requested* I wanted to repost it here. Staff: If you want* go ahead and merge the other thread with this one... keep it in the suggestions forum though.)

I bought vBulletin based on the email that we all got and were a little miffed at. From the email* I gathered that the product was going to be released imminently and that the "presale" was just for current customers* and that I would be able to download the product right away. That obviously wasn't the case* the email was very misleading... and I'm almost positive that I will be requesting a refund and if not granted one then charging it back.

I was excited to get on here and try out the forum. Unfortunately* that excitement quickly turned to worry.

I'm going to ignore the unbelievable lag and assume that is because the software is still relatively early in development.

I guess my question is... what has the vBulletin team been doing all this time?

This release should have brought vBulletin back up to current technology standards... what some people call "Web 2.0*" though at this point we are getting close to 3.0. It's clear that the way conversations happen on forums as they are right now is not the most efficient way of conversing* nor is how the content is organized or brought to the user. Just like when the iPod came out the clickwheel was a brilliant design* we now have the iPod Touch* and the clickwheel is obsolete. vB is clinging to what it knows... it should be improving the way that conversations happen. This model is stagnant.

This software does not bring vBulletin's dated technology up to speed with the rest of the web world... it's just a little less far behind (that might be an overstatement) than it used to be. I mean* where is the ajax and web 2.0 stuff? Polls still require a new page? Aside from vBulletin websites* I literally cannot remember the last time I participated in a poll online and had it need a page load to display results... everyone is using ajax and other technologies now... in fact* it's been that way for quite a long time.

These things would have made this new software killer.

What vBulletin needed to do was INNOVATE. They clearly didn't do any innovating for this release.

There are so many ways to improve forum software. The name of the game is bringing content (threads) that might interest the user to the forefront. The process of scrolling down the list of forums is cumbersome... just off the top of my head I can think of some great ideas on how a custom stream of content could be created for each individual user.

What I would have liked to see:

• Quick replies load using ajax
• Poll choice/results load using ajax
• When viewing a thread* new replies from others load using ajax in real time
• Goes with above* option to have thread ordered in reverse chronological so new replies load at top.
• Ajax Thread Pagination
• On-Page notifications of thread replies* PM's* mentions* etc. that fade after a few seconds...
• Mentions - any time someone uses your username* you would get a notification.
• Personalized Forum - You select which forums you want to include and it conglomerates those threads into one feed so you don't have to be scrolling all over the place to read threads in different forums. There could also be additional rules you could set* like include any threads your friends participate in. This is just off the top of my head... could probably come up with something amazing with some time.
• Thread Recommendations
• CHAT! Exactly like facebook chat but for vBulletin.
• Chatrooms
• Either redo calendar and just make it into an event/invitation system... noone is using the site as their calendar* the only use for a calendar is for events.
• Calendar Integration: Thread for event discussion* or discussion on the event page (like facebook)* RSVP's* invites* etc.
• Forum Mailing List Solution
• Much better PM system
• Etc.

These things would have made this new software killer. Obviously they can't do everything* but a few of those features would have been nice. Just a few of those implemented and vBulletin would KILL any other forum out there.

Instead... what groundbreaking features did we get (only including actual features users use):

SEO Stuff (Should have happened years ago)
Video Embedding (Should have happened years ago)
Pop-up auto-refreshing buddylist with ICQ-style alerts when Friends come online (sounds useless)
Private Message Filing (Should have happened years ago)


I'm sorry* but the whole thing is pathetic. This is the same vBulletin with some of the problems ironed out* not something that should be boasted as a new release* or even deserving of bumping the version from 3 to a 4.

No innovation* no real progress. vBulletin will continue to stagnate for another couple years... maybe they'll finally decide to do what they need to do at that point...