Staff Re-organization at vBulletin.org - Erwin Steps Down

Joe Ward · #1 05-19-2006, 01:04 AM

Erwin Leaves vBulletin.org - Staff Now Organized Into 3 Core Groups

Erwin will no longer be with vBulletin.org as an admin. Reasons not provided.
Staff will be re-categorized into 3 groups: (1) Coders, (2) Designers, and (3) Customer Support.
Brad will be heading the Designers group.
Xenon will be heading the Coders group.
Danny.VBT promoted to admin duties to cover Erwin's opening.
Improvements to community promised.

Notes on vBSEO

Will the vBulletin staff changes and re-structuring result in a section of vbulletin.org related to commercial vBulletin plugins/modifications/extensions/templates materializing, thereby helping the vBulletin user community to discover 3rd party applications that may help to improve their community?

For Discussion

How do you feel about the staff at vbulletin.org. Do they do a good job? Any areas for improvement? Any areas that they do extremely well?

Source:
vBulletin.org - The Ultimate vBulletin Resource!

BamaStangGuy · #2 05-19-2006, 02:22 AM

I think the restructuring is a much needed deal.

Joe Ward · #3 05-19-2006, 12:37 PM

I hope the new staff structure brings out some re-vitalization and creativity. I'd like to see something new and exciting happen over there.

Mike · #4 05-27-2006, 01:01 PM

I would like to see some sort of structure set up to organize the hack a little better. You go through many of the hacks there that are messed up, and there is nobody to fix them because they have been basically abandoned. There are very few hacks there I will mess with for that reason. I dont want to get something on my forum that users grow to like, then it suddenly is no longer updated or supported in later vb versions.

It is a free resource though, so I guess you get what you pay for.

Mike · #5 05-27-2006, 01:05 PM

I would like to see the commercial/paid hacks brought into the vbulletin.org.

Those would be the ones I am more likely to pursue because you have a better chance of the hack being regularly updated and supported. I will take quality over free any day. No offense to the people who do provide free mods, as there are many coders there that do indeed keep their products updated and do a great job. (personal fan of Paul M's hacks)

Joe Ward · #6 05-27-2006, 01:49 PM

A community for vBulletin should definitely include commercial plugins, even if it is a paid directory. The decision as to whether or not to purchase these modifications depends on the users' needs and the resources they are willing to commit. But - they should have the option. Without a centralized portal for *all things vBulletin*, attempting to find a needed plugin/application can be a time consuming process. Having that information at vbulletin.org, would also generate a lot of feedback from the community, providing people with the information they need to evaluate the product and determine whether or not it is the right choice for them.

The free hacks that are available are fantastic. But (for more advanced plugins) over the long term, the coders will not be able to maintain them. This doesn't take anything away from them. Someone with some coding experience can modify these hacks as required - so they are still great resouces to have available. It does leave the non-coder admins a bit in the dark.

Over time, the best of these free offerings may (1) have continued development by the entire vBulletin coder community, (2) get integrated into the core vBulletin package, or (3) get repackaged as a commercial offering the by the coder - giving them the resources required to continue developing/supporting the effort.

I believe the vBulletin.org team will go ahead with a commercial directory of some sort. Fees collected could be used to re-invest into the community & create some interesting contests or new ways of engaging users to make the community even better.

dutchbb · #7 05-30-2006, 01:53 PM

We use a paid directory/boards for one of our sponsors. It's a win-win situation for everyone. Advertisers/sponsors get clients, administrators make money for the community, and visitors/members get good support, more quality products (selected by the admin) and sometimes better deals (promotions, contests etc...).