vBulletin® - Frequently Asked Questions

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FAQ

Ordering [-]

How Can I Order vBulletin?

We currently accept the following order methods for vBulletin (available via the online order form):

Credit-card - online using any of the following processors:

Metacharge
PayPal
WorldPay

Credit-card - offline using either:

telephone
fax

Other offline payment methods:

Check - mail
Wire Transfer
Invoice

Once your order has been processed, you will receive an email with your vBulletin customer number and password - this login information will give you access to our online members area, where you will be able to download the software. Please note that in order to tackle piracy, we do ask that you provide us with the URL/web site address where you will be running vBulletin.

If you purchase a vBulletin professional installation, you will be sent an email with complete information after the order has been processed.

For complete information about the different types of licenses available, as well as information about our optional professional installation service, please click here

We can accept other order methods by arrangement. Please contact our sales team for more details.

How long does it take to get my license information?

How quickly you get the license info depends on the payment method you use.

The quickest payment method is with a credit card via Metacharge. Worldpay orders are manually checked and approved and can take several hours to complete.

Note: If you order with Paypal and you do not have enough funds in your Paypal account to cover the purchase, Paypal will issues an eCheck which can take up to 7 business days to complete.

Credit Card payments can take up to 24 hours to be verified.

Wire Transfers can take up to 4-5 business days.

And finally checks can take as long as necessary for the check to reach us, be deposited and clear our bank.

Do you offer any discounts if I purchase more than one license?

Yes - we offer discounts for purchases of three or more licenses. The price for each license decreases depending on the number of licenses you already own and the number that you wish to purchase:

3 to 5 Leased Licenses - $93.00 per license
6 to 10 Leased Licenses - $86.00 per license
11 to 24 Leased Licenses - $79.00 per license
25 to 49 Leased Licenses - $73.00 per license
50+ Leased Licenses - $66.00 per license

3 to 5 Owned Licenses - $166.00 per license
6 to 10 Owned Licenses - $153.00 per license
11 to 24 Owned Licenses - $140.00 per license
25 to 49 Owned Licenses - $128.00 per license
50+ Owned Licenses - $119.00 per license

There are two ways to qualify for a discount. The first is to purchase all licenses at once, in which case the discount applies to all licenses purchased. For instance, if you purchase three owned licenses at once, the price will be $166 for each license or $498 for all three. The second method is cumulative. In this case if you purchase two licenses, both these will be at full price. However the third license purchased will qualify for the $166 price.

If you wish to purchase more than 15 licenses, please contact our sales team for more information on bulk order pricing.
All prices are exclusive of VAT. (Customers from countries in the EU will be charged VAT at the standard rate of 17.5% This will be added automatically to your order at the checkout stage.)

Can I get a Trial Version of the software?

Since vBulletin is a "visible source" product, it is not possible for us to offer the full version of the software for evaluation.

You can evaluate the features of the full version of vBulletin with our live demo of the admin control panel, which you can view and test here: vBulletin Demo

(the demo automatically expires after 24 hours)

You can also download a test script to run on your server to see if it's compatible with vBulletin version 3. You can get this script here

Can a license renewal be used for all my licenses?

No. When you renew a license the renewal is for that license only. You cannot use the download from that license for any other licenses you own. Each license must be renewed individually if you want continued access to the latest versions for that license and site.

Can I Upgrade a Leased License to Owned?

You can upgrade from a leased to an owned license for an additional $100 if you do so within 60 days of the purchase. After 60 days, it is full price.

If you are a current customer and it's within the 60 days, the 'Leased License Upgrade Offer' is available when you click on the 'Upgrade/Renew' link under License Options in the Members Area.

Licenses [-]

Do you offer discounts for non profit/charity/academic organisations?

No - we do not offer any discounted prices for non-profit/charity/academic organisations.

Do you offer discounts in exchange for advertising?

No - at the moment we do not offer any discounted prices in exchange for advertising. However, we do run an affiliate program that will allow you to earn a 20% commission for each vBulletin license that is sold as a result of a customer clicking through to vBulletin.com from your site/forum. For more information, please click here.

Do you offer any reseller programs?

At the moment we do not offer any official reseller programs - vBulletin.com is currently the only official outlet for purchasing vBulletin licenses. However, we do run an affiliate program which will allow you to earn commission for every vBulletin license sale that originates from your web site. For complete information, please visit this page.

If you are interested in pursuing a business relationship with Jelsoft Enterprises Limited, please contact our sales team.

I'm having problems downloading the software

The problem maybe caused by a firewall. Temporarily disable any firewall software prior to accessing the Members Area. Then try the download again. Once you have the file, reenable your firewall.

Can I remove the 'Powered by vBulletin' copyright text?

No - All copyright messages (both in the software code and templates) must be retained and visible.

A 'branding free' license is available at a cost of $170 per license, in addition to the cost of the license itself.

Once you have purchased this option, you will have the right to remove all references to Jelsoft and vBulletin from the vBulletin design templates, and from the page title. Note this is for one license only and is in addition to the cost of the license.

Also please note that you must retain all copyright notices within the actual product programming code (these notices do not affect any visible vBulletin pages). Note also this does not allow you to rebrand the software with another name. It only allows you to remove the Jelsoft/vBulletin copyright information.

The vBulletin branding-free license concerns the removal of visual branding. The branding-free package available from the members' area does not remove comments or variable names within the program code that mention vBulletin.

You may change the logo without purchasing this option.

For complete information, please read the vBulletin license agreement. If you require any further information please contact our sales team.

I have purchased a license. Am I allowed to run two copies of vBulletin?

You must hold a valid vBulletin license for each individual installation of the software (regardless of whether the two installations are on the same domain name or server). For example, if you wish to install one copy of vBulletin at http://www.yourserver.com/forum1/ and another copy at http://www.yourserver.com/forum2/, you will require two licenses. Please note that the license agreement specifies that you must submit the URL where your vBulletin license(s) are installed (via the online members area). For complete licensing terms and conditions, please click here.

Does the license price include access to the source code?

Yes - vBulletin is a 'visible source' product, which means that you have access to the PHP source code of the product. You are free to modify the product in any way, provided you retain the vBulletin/Jelsoft copyright notices. For information about vBulletin code "hacking", please visit our unofficial sister site, vbulletin.org. Please note that we are unable to support any installations of vBulletin that have had the source code modified. For more information about the licensing implications of code modification, please review our license agreement.

Support [-]

Can I speak to a Jelsoft sales person?

If you wish to speak with a Jelsoft sales representative, please call our US toll-free number: 1-877-326-6444. This service is available between the hours of 9am to 5pm PST (GMT - 8), Monday to Friday.
Note: In order for us to offer the best level of customer service, the operator will request your name and email address prior to transferring you to a Jelsoft representative. Your contact details will be used to send you a summary of your call, and/or any information requested by you during the call. Your email address and telephone number will not be added to any list, or provided to any third-party organisation.

I can't post in the forums!

To be able to post in the support forums you need to be a licensed customer and register for Priority Forum Support. To do this, please go here:

Enter your email address (the one you used to register on the forums) in one of the boxes. You'll need to have your customer number and password to access that page.

Unlicensed customers can ask questions in the Pre-Sales forum.

Technical [-]

Is vBulletin a hosted solution? Can you recommend a web host?

vBulletin is not a hosted only community solution - when you purchase a license, you will be able to download the software and install it on any server that meets our system requirements.

For more information about vBulletin hosting options, please click here to visit the community forums.

Does the software include a license for PHP and MySQL?

Both PHP and MySQL are available online at no cost from PHP.net and MySQL.com respectively. Click here to view the PHP license agreement, and here for the MySQL license. For vBulletin system requirements, please click here.

What are the system requirements for vBulletin?

Minimum Requirements: vBulletin is designed to run on every server that has PHP 4.3.3 or greater and MySQL 4.0.16 or greater installed.

It is recommended to use PHP 4.4.2 or 5.1.2, or later and MySQL 5.0.19 or later.

The software has been successfully installed on several different flavours of UNIX, as well as Windows™ 98/NT/2000/XP, and the Mac

Note: We recommend you contact your hosting provider to verify that they have the correct versions of PHP and MySQL installed. If you administrate your own server, PHP and MySQL are available for free download from php.net and mysql.com.

How difficult is it to use vBulletin? Do I need any special knowledge?

vBulletin is easy to use and manage. No prior knowledge of PHP, MySQL or programming knowledge is needed, as all the options are manageable in the Administrator Control Panel.

If you have any questions we'll also always be glad to help, through our Community Forums or support systems.
Additionally, there is a very extensive online manual available that explains most of the vBulletin functions in detail.

How much disk space do I need to run vBulletin?

With vBulletin there are 2 different types of disk space usage:

Web space - For the PHP scripts and images of vBulletin.
MySQL database space - Which is separate from Web space, and you need to make sure your host gives you enough space in that department.

When you use vBulletin, you have to take into account both web space and MySQL database space. vBulletin 3.x consists of:

PHP scripts and image files in the zip file you download = 7.0mb in size once zip file is extracted and uploaded to your Web site account.
MySQL database space which holds the actual vBulletin data:

On initial install the MySQL database space used is approximately 3.6mb, and that is mainly the database table structure and initial data in the database tables.
Once you start posting, adding threads, members, polls, private messages, attachments, avatars etc, your MySQL database space is the one that grows and should be your main concern - MySQL disk space.

How much MySQL disk space is used is highly dependent on the type of forum you run, and factors such as:

Your average allowed attachment and avatar size
How many attachments and avatars you have stored in your vBulletin database
How many private messages you have stored in your vBulletin database from members
How many posts and threads you have and the size and variables you have set for your searchindex
How many members you have
How many forums you have
And so on and so forth

For example, one installation we have seen had 5,800+ members, 40,000 threads, 662,000 posts, 70,000 private messages and 8,000 attachments. The total MySQL database size was 940MB - which comes to around 140MB per 100,000 posts. Please note that it does vary from forum to forum, so your mileage may vary.

What do I do if I want to move my forums to another server?

The instructions for moving servers are here:

Note that this requires having telnet or SSH access to both servers.

Will vBulletin work on an NT/IIS/Solaris/Unix/Linux/other server?

vBulletin will work on any server platform that can support PHP and MySQL - which includes almost all Windows and Unix based operating systems. For complete information about PHP and MySQL, please visit php.net and mysql.com.

Will vBulletin work with Oracle/Sybase/MS SQL/other databases?

vBulletin is only compatible with the MySQL database system.

Do you offer an Active Server Pages version of vBulletin?

At the moment we do not offer an Active Server Pages version of vBulletin (for use on NT/IIS servers). If you wish to run vBulletin on a Windows based server, you can download Win32 versions of PHP and MySQL from php.net and mysql.com.

Do you offer a German/Italian/French/other language version of vBulletin?

At present we only support English, German, Chinese, and Hungarian language packs.

With vBulletin 3.0 and above you can translate into many different languages using our Language Manager in the admin control panel. This allows you to translate the vBulletin language into your own language or several languages, as well as being able to import language packs created by others. Your users can then select the language they prefer to view the board in.

We do have a Languages Packs forum where you can find packs donated by our customers and also receive help for creating your own.

Please note, the Language Management System only covers the board text and not individual posts. The posts themselves will be displayed in the original language they were written in.

Can I import posts/threads/members from other forum software?

We currently offer import utilities for more than 70 competitive products.

vBulletin 3.7.x

The vB3 import system is called ImpEx and currently can support the conversion of the following boards to vBulletin:

IPB (2)
phpBB 2.0.x
Infopop eve
IPB (1.1 -1.3)
IPB (2.x)
wBB (2)
Ubb classic (6.3 - 6.7)
Open Topic & Ubb.x
DCFm (DCForum+ MySQL backend)
YaBB SE
Ubb threads
vBulletin (2)
vBulletin (3.0, 3.5 and 3.6)
Snitz (MySQL)
Ikonboard MySQL
XMB
CuteCast
ThwBoard (3)
SMF
DiscusWare (file based - 4.00.x)
vB (1.0 RC1)
YaBB - Gold
openBB
dulexportal
Digiposts
Phorum
Fusetalk
WebWiz
Ezboard (posts only, not members accounts)
many more...

For further details on the current status of the vB3 import scripts and an overview of the data that is imported for each of the different boards please see the ImpEx Systems section in the online manual.

vBulletin 2.x

Infopop Ultimate Bulletin Board 5.*
Infopop Ultimate Bulletin Board 6.0, 6.1 and 6.2
Infopop UBBThreads 5.4 (formerly WWWThreads)
Infopop OpenTopic/UBB.x
Coolboard
Ikonboard 2
Ikonboard 3
Invision 1.1-1.2
phpBB2
DC Forum
XMB
vBulletin Lite

No further development of vB2 importers is planned.

These import utilities are available to all customers via the online members area.

Missing Copyright Notice

The copyright notice must be clearly visible on all forum pages unless you have purchased the Branding Free license option.

Your footer must contain at least the following text and must not be masked by color or images:

Powered by vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2008 Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.

Restoring the copyright notice

If you have removed the copyright and need to add it back in you can do one of two things:

1. Revert the footer template.
AdminCP -> Styles & Templates -> Style Manager -> Edit Templates -> select the 'footer' template -> Click the 'Revert' button

2. Edit the footer template and add in the following text:


$vbphrase[powered_by_vbulletin]


3. Revert the 'powered_by_vbulletin' phrase
AdminCP -> Languages & Phrases -> Search in Phrases -> enter 'powered_by_vbulletin' -> select 'Phrase Variable Name Only ' -> Click the 'Find' button -> Click the 'Copy Default Text' -> Save

Members [-]

How can I change the contact information assigned to my account?

To alter the contact information assigned to your account, please contact the support team.
After we've verified your request the contact details will be updated.

Help - I have forgotten my vBulletin customer number and password!

If you would like us to resend your customer number and password to your registered email address, please visit the lost password page.

If you no longer have access to your registered email address, please contact our sales team with the following information about your order:

Your name
Registered email address
Billing address
Payment method
Date of purchase
Type of license ordered

Piracy [-]

How can I report a site that is running/distributing vBulletin illegally?

To report sites that are running or distributing vBulletin illegally, please report it using this form.

We take piracy very seriously, and really appreciate when people help us in our efforts to reduce piracy of our software.

Your identity will remain confidential.

Please note that we will be unable to reply with whether a site is properly licensed or not, or our actions, for privacy reasons. We take all piracy reports seriously and we endeavour to investigate every report as soon as possible.