converting an existing Vbulletin forum?

[fj123]

If a person is already using vbulletin and vaultwiki, is it possible to switch the whole mess to xenforo or IP or phpBB?

[pegasus]

Yes. VaultWiki includes a VaultWiki -> VaultWiki importer.

If you purchased your VaultWiki license before March 1, 2013, and it was not expired before June 11, 2013, you can convert your existing license to the XenForo, IPS, or phpBB license. However, this is really only beneficial if you already purchased branding removal while on vBulletin or if you still have time left on your existing license.

Otherwise, you can just purchase a new license for your new platform of choice.

When choosing a new platform keep in mind that at the time of posting, VaultWiki only has releases for:
- vBulletin 3.6 - 3.8
- vBulletin 4.0 - 4.2
- XenForo 1.2 - 1.4

If you are planning on moving to IPS or phpBB, these releases are expected in late Q1 2015, if funding is successful.

Please note that if you need to purchase a new license or renew your existing license for another year, you can do so at a 20% discount via the IPS/phpBB campaign by selecting a vBulletin license/renewal when redeeming the "A Year's Supply" reward.
http://igg.me/at/vw-ips-phpbb

[fj123]

I guess I was wondering at how successful that type of a conversion would be? Would it keep my existing wiki formats? Could I lose members or posts in the process? It just sounds really scary.

I did a convert from UBB to vbulletin WAY back in the day. And I did lose some stuff but it was mostly successful. But there was no wiki attached to it already.

I guess I don't even understand how a person would do that? Do you do the conversion to, say, phpBB first? And then you convert the wiki secondly?

I would LOVE to get away from vbulletin, but my forum is quite large after 15 years and I think my wiki is pretty hefty too. Scary.

[pegasus]

1. Convert the forum to phpBB.
2. Install an empty VaultWiki on phpBB.
3. Access the VaultWiki import script on phpBB.
4. Enter the details for the original forum/wiki database (pre-converted database).
5. VaultWiki's importer will find the data there and copy it over.

There may be some content lost if phpBB doesn't have some features that vBulletin has.

For example, vBulletin has social groups. VaultWiki lets those social groups manage wiki pages. IIRC, phpBB doesn't have social groups, so VaultWiki on phpBB wouldn't let those groups manage wiki pages. In that case, those would just be imported as regular wiki pages.

Conversions are scary. There's always that fear that it won't be the same anymore. But by offering VaultWiki on multiple platforms, we strive to maintain as much consistency as possible when it comes to the wiki. My advice is to take the conversion slow. Plan ahead, do a few tests about a week before, check out EVERYTHING and compare it to the original. If you don't like it, report bugs, adjust plans, etc.

[fj123]

When you convert the forum to phpbb, doesn't it TRY to do something with all of that wiki content?

[pegasus]

The way most importers work, and I suspect this would be the same when converting vBulletin to phpBB, is that the target forum actively asks the source forum for various information.

e.g.
1. phpBB asks vBulletin for its users
2. phpBB asks vBulletin for its forums
3. phpBB asks vBulletin for its posts
etc.

Thus, a standard conversion of just the forums would leave all your vBulletin wiki data behind, because phpBB would never ask for that.

[fj123]

But isn't my wiki data in the forums? I know I gave each wiki section a name in the add forum area. Or are you saying you can specify which forums to convert?

[pegasus]

The exception is if your vBulletin forum is still running VaultWiki 3.

VaultWiki 3 saved wiki data inside special forums. phpBB would receive this information when it asks for forum content, but it may not display correctly and definitely will not function as a wiki.

Even in this case, you would have to install VaultWiki (4) on phpBB, then re-import the wiki data using VaultWiki 4's importer. You would have to cleanup the junk data from the earlier forum conversion.

So you may want to make sure your source vBulletin forum is using VaultWiki 4, and that the old VaultWiki 3 data and forums were already removed, before you run phpBB's own import script.

[fj123]

I am running VW 4 but I would have no way of knowing if I still have any VW3 data on there.......is that the stuff you deleted for me when we did the upgrade to 4?

Do we know anyone who does this for a fee? Do you have an opinion about which forum it might be easier to convert to?

[pegasus]

We will perform the wiki part of the import for a fee. For the forum conversion, you should be able to find someone willing to do that on either Invision's support community or phpBB's community.

Unfortunately I'm not very familiar with the default conversion processes for either platform at this time, to tell you which one is easier. Ideally, though, your choice of software would be based on other factors. I would imagine that if your community is 15 years old and used to the benefits of paid forum software like vBulletin, they may be more welcoming of a change to Invision/IPS than to a free option. But perhaps that is a discussion you should open up with members of your community.

[fj123]

My forum is pretty bare bones, and I don't think my members would care much at all, as long as everything is still there. We don't use any of the new fancy features of the forums, and I think they would like to see me save the money if I could get a free option. But I will keep that in mind as I compare my options, thank you.

Can you tell me how much it would cost to convert the wiki part, if you guys do it?

[pegasus]

Import Service is $35 at the time of posting. Pricing may change over time.

See: https://www.vaultwiki.org/members/?do=service

[fj123]

Thank you for all of the info!!

[fj123]

Any news on when vaultwiki might be available for phpbb?

[kdtrieuan]

My forum is pretty bare bones