Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : vbulletin across multiple sites?

[myusername]

Maybe this belongs in Hosting Software and Control Panels, but I figured it is not strictly hosting software, so I have posted here.

(WHT.... where you should always apologize before posting!)

Anyway....

If the database server lived on the licensed IP address, and the forums all related to the same topic, but one wanted to have a different skin for say 2-89 sites, all using the common database server, can it be done or does each "skinned site" have to have a license?

I should likely ask them but I figured I'd ask here since the sales rep and I almost got into it about 2 months ago before we even started the conversation. It was a really strange phone call, which ended before a question was even asked.

Basically I want to run the forum across several sites all pertaining to similar topics, but maintaining the theme of each individual site.

[Captian_Spike]

You would have to modify the code itself. I'm guessing the skin is determined by the database. It would require finding the code that asks the database for the skin, then simply hardcode the correct skin in.

Thats if you can edit the vbulletin code.....

[RyanD]

gump, that isn't legal vbulletin is limited to one *URL* or *HOSTNAME* not one database instance, please review the license

[myusername]

I see. Well multiple licenses are not a problem then.

The next issue then would be when:

A site admin replies, they should submit a generic reply.

Based on which site the user was viewing, custom Title (this site admin, that site admin) should be displayed.

Essentially the same post, but based on the site in the browser, custom descriptors to retain the brand name being displayed to the user.

Does that make sense?

Is it a possibility with this system?

[poolking]

Gump,

Why don't you ask your questions in the pre-sales forum over at the vbulletin support site?

[myusername]

I was bored, and per the original post, had a bad experience there.

Just looking for friendly insight from other users who have tried the same.

A sales pitch is not the same as someone trying or who has already done the same.

[poolking]

Originally posted by Gump
I was bored, and per the original post, had a bad experience there.

Just looking for friendly insight from other users who have tried the same.

A sales pitch is not the same as someone trying or who has already done the same.

What was the bad experience?

[bear]

I could be wrong here, but doesn't VB allow for the admin to force users of a particular member group into using a particular skin? And perhaps only allowing that member group to access the related forums?
If that's the case, then you could send users from each of these sites to the one that has VB on it, and based on their membership group, display the skin you want...
Just speculating here, and that would satisfy the licensing as well.

[AHFBWEB]

You are allowed one vbulletin installation per license except for the instance of a non public test installation.

As Bear points out it could probably be done with some imaginative if statements, though I would swallow your pride and ask on the forum that can really be of help, vb itself.

edit: regardless you would have to install parts of the script on seperate domains making this fall outside the TOS...in other words no there is not any way to do this legally

Dave

[ub3r]

I actually had an idea to do this with my invision board. Just writing a different templates for each website, and using mod_rewrite to make each website look different.

I'm not sure how vbulletin would handle it. You should probably ask this question in their pre-sales forum.


if it's all the same installation, and database, it seems like it abides by the AUP/TOS

[AHFBWEB]

It would require multiple installations even if it is only 1 database. It is pretty cut and dry when you think about it.

Dave

[myusername]

Well if one opened a third party site like generic-tricycle-forums.com (or whatever) then it sounds like it would fall fine in the AUP/TOS if I am not mistaken then as bear says users coming from one site could be template group a, from another site, group b, and if they just happen to wander in off the web, group c.

So now I guess I need to find if template group "x' admins/mods can have custom signatures in their posts based on what template set is being displayed.

any thoughts on that?

Thanks for the comments so far. If nothing else it has pointed me in the right direction of what to ask and how to ask it if/when I have to go back there.