Considering switch from VB, can you help me?

[Logicalpath]

A very dear friend of mine recommended that I consider Xenforo instead of spending more resources on customizing our vBulletin based forums. Which is how I arrived here but I do have a few questions that I need answered. Before I get into the questions I would like to create a framework so that there is a solid of understanding of our challenges and reservations. We have been operating a gaming community on the vBulletin platform for about 7 years and have several "plugin/add ons" which our members have grown accustomed to having present. Some of which we have spent a great deal of time creating custom content to go along with http://www.tacticalopsunit.com/forums/awards.php?#award33. Furthermore, we have two custom themes and unfortunately the member that created both is no longer available for that kind of work. I was hoping to come here and "magically" find all the mods/add-on/plugins I would need to transition smoothly but either they don't exist or I haven't quite figured out how to navigate to that area. I know vB has vB.org and that's where most of the stuff is that we utilize but I was unsure if there was a similar option available here. At any rate, here it goes:

1. Is there a way to migrate our current forums over without losing any threads, posts, user data, usergroups and permissions?

2. Is there a way to migrate our current themes so that we do not lose the work that was put in previously in that department?

3. If the mods that we need do not exist is there a way to get them created? If so, is there a resource that we could utilize to easily find quality Xenforo developers?

4. Is there an easy way to search for add-ons that we have already installed on vBulletin to avoid unneeded development costs?

5. Currently our site is hosted on URLJet.com, is this still a viable solution or would that present an issue for us?

6. The latest enhancements we were looking for(which is what prompted us to begin this search) is the need to integrate a clan engine into the forums. Basically this would consist of a roster(that would take usergroups into account) and then a match scheduling system that would allow us to pre-schedule matches, allowing members within a given usergroup to sign up for said matches and after the fact be able to record results per match and per participant.

If any of my questions sound silly, I apologize as I am still learning the capabilities and differences between vB and Xenforo. Thank you in advance for your time and responses.

 

[Triops]

I am at the same point, but made my decision already. After 13 years using vBulletin and around 10 years with PhotoPost Pro I had only these choices:

1. stay with vB4 forever - it is EOL, will become obsolete in a technical and functional manner and will be probably an huge safety risk in future
2. make everything new, forget vB4, loose all addons and plugins, code a new style and - go to vB5 (which is not a vBulletin anymore, its simply a totally new product)
3. make everything new, forget vB4, loose all addons and plugins, code a new style and - go to xenForo

Option 1 never existed. If I don't move soon, I have to do it later, somewhen - I would really regret it being too late.
After 3 intense weeks of reading and following here on xenForo.com and related sites and installing my first xenForo license as a tryout the small chance for option 2 went away, absolutly. At vB5 almost everybody is complaining about the bugs and the missing features - but here one immediatly feels the enthusiastic, friendly and helpful spirit of this community - and the competence of the xenForo-team (and therefore their product) and all the developers and other good guys. Not everything is gold what is shining, but here its a lot.

Frankly, I do not like the look of xenForo default style, its all to tiny and "soft" with baby colors, but I've found good themes out there or will pay a designer for my own one. This is the smallest problem.
All small features you are looking for you will either find, because there is already SO MUCH, so many addons and resources existing. And if you don't find what you are looking for you will find a developer doing it for you for a fair price. I did for example with this addon, which was missing and am satisfied now.
More importand are the BIG features which you might miss:

• PhotoPost Pro - Xen Media Gallery is on the right way, to become much better than PP. And importers will be there, I am pretty sure.
• Calendar - I think I will try XenAtendo but I did not instaleld myself to feel it
  
• vBAdvanced CMPS - xenPorta and the pages within xenForo will do a good job, although vBAdvanced CMPS was much more powerful
• MemberMap - ok, there is one with GeoIP, but the membermap plugin I used with vBulletin is missing. This is the first real lost, because it would be quite expensive, to individually let program such a big feature. Maybe we should start some kind of cloud resourcing for big features. Eg. for the most wanted CMS
  
• which big features do you miss?

My advise:
buy the license, immediatly - trying is better than reading and imagine only. Install it localy and try it, try addons, try styles - and you will feel: in the end xenForo is MUCH BETTER than vBulletin. You won't regret.
The only thing is, when it comes to updates and an important developer like Chris Deeming or8wayRun.Com might be not engaged anymore. But I'am afraid, vB5 has a much more dangerous future. Probably the xenForo community will take the job and keep their addons alive.

 

[TPerry]

• MemberMap - ok, there is one with GeoIP, but the membermap plugin I used with vBulletin is missing. This is the first real lost, because it would be quite expensive, to individually let program such a big feature. Maybe we should start some kind of cloud resourcing for big features. Eg. for the most wanted CMS

Actually, the one you are referring to is more an online user locator than a member map. I miss having a member map from myBB also... but then you have those users that put there location as "Home" or "Someplace nice" that really messes them up.
What would be nice (and would work well for me since I don't allow proxies in) is have an add-on that detected their location via GeoIP and plugged it in and then offered to let them change it. If they changed it so something like "Home" or a location that GeoIP did not recognize then not allow them to change it.

 

[Triops]

The membermap I am refering to does not force all users to take part and tell their location. Its not using the regular member field "location". Everybody who wants to take part has to give 3 more information: country, zip, city. That works really fine. Maybe only 20-30% of the users are using it, but this is already working great!
Maybe we should really organize cloud resourcing / collecting money in a new thread to invest in a good membermap with our wanted features!

 

[TPerry]

The membermap I am refering to does not force all users to take part and tell their location. Its not using the regular member field "location". Everybody who wants to take part has to give 3 more information: country, zip, city. That works really fine. Maybe only 20-30% of the users are using it, but this is already working great!
Maybe we should really organize cloud resourcing / collecting money in a new thread to invest in a good membermap with our wanted features!

Not that different than the myBB one was, but you did not have to enter extra fields for it as it used the location data at registration (and the same thing would apply - if you put in trash location it ignored it). The only thing it did not allow was placing of POI's (and with events add-on you can already pretty much do the equivalent when you enter an event).
Cloud sourcing has apparently never worked that well. Looking at the online mapping mod it looks like someone somewhat familiar with XF could code one fairly easily (but that would not be me! as I'm just learning).

 

[ehd]

The membermap I am refering to does not force all users to take part and tell their location. Its not using the regular member field "location". Everybody who wants to take part has to give 3 more information: country, zip, city. That works really fine. Maybe only 20-30% of the users are using it, but this is already working great!
Maybe we should really organize cloud resourcing / collecting money in a new thread to invest in a good membermap with our wanted features!

View attachment 48801

Yes, this in one thing I really miss. It would be even greater to have the old data from vbulletin imported into the new map.

Here's someone developing a map, but he seems to be stuck at some point

http://xenforo.com/community/thread...oro-usermap-different-to-digital-point.61012/

Here is a sample from the old vbmembermap-data:

9xx;xxx;DE;72488;Sigmaringen;48.086;9.202;1251574493;0
xx30;xxy;DE;72147;Nehren;48.417;9.069;1275391935;0
xxx9;xxz;DE;53797;Lohmar;50.841;7.217;1251574843;0