vBulletin Forum Script Review & Tips

Welcome to our review and tips for vBulletin. Don't hesitate to ask about this product in our Webmaster Issues Forum. Don't miss our brand new review section of other Boards using vB. Then, please use our link at the top or bottom of this page to purchase vBulletin today.

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Written in php with a blazingly fast mySQL database, this is a very powerful Bulletin Board script. Primarily designed for medium to large boards, it features over 400 templates to customize the look and feel. Jam packed with dozens of useful features to enhance the visitor experience and save valuable time performing your Administrative functions.

I migrated my geek/talk Forums to this powerful application in July of 2001. Members love the increases speed, ability to customize the BB to suite their taste, and the Private Message feature. The Admin/Moderator features have saved us lot's of time and permit us to offer an even higher quality environment.

A friendly and helpful VBulletin community of experienced users will help answer your questions and provide numerous enhancements.

vBulletin Tips

Tip 1: Regular backups of your vB mySQL data is required. This procedure can be automated via the use of a shell script and a crontab. The following shell script can be modified to suit your server:

#!/bin/sh

echo<<header "
#####################################################
#         ---> ATTENTION funky duck ONLY <---       #
#                                                   #
# ---> HAVE YOU DOWNLOADED YOUR BACKUPS? PLEASE!    #
#                                                   #
# Makes multiple backups of my vB mysql data        #
# Makes up to 7 backups and then starts over        #
# test and run from root as----> sh filename        #
# Archives are located in /bath/to/archives         #
#####################################################
"
header

# List all of the MySQL databases that you want to backup in here,
# each seperated by a space
databases="mydbname"

# Directory where you want the backup files to be placed
backupdir=/path/to/store/backups

# Directory where you want an extra backup placed at a specified interval
extra_backupdir=/path/to/store/backups

# MySQL dump command, use the full path name here
mysqldumpcmd=/usr/bin/mysqldump

# MySQL Username and password
userpassword="-uname -pyourpassword"

# MySQL dump options
dumpoptions=""

# Unix Commands
gzip="/bin/gzip -f"
uuencode="/usr/bin/uuencode"
mail="/usr/sbin"

# Maximum number of backups to keep around
max_backups=7

# Backup number at which an extra backup should be made (set to
# zero if you don't want extra backups)
extra_backup=0

# Send Incremental Backup?  Would you like the more frequent backup emailed to you?
# Set to "y" if you do or n
sendincbackup="n"

# Send Extra Backup?  Would you like the extra backup emailed to you?
# Set to "y" if you do
sendextrabackup="n"

subject="vB_Database"
mailto="webmaster@yourdomain.com"

################################################################

DAY=$(/bin/date '+%Y.%m.%d-%H%M')

for database in $databases
do
    sequence_file="${backupdir}/${database}.seq"
    if [ -e "$sequence_file" ]
    then
      read backup_count < $sequence_file
    else
      echo 1 >> $sequence_file
      backup_count=1
    fi

# Dump out the database
    echo "Working on ${database} database:"
    echo -n "-> Dumping database............... "
    $mysqldumpcmd $userpassword $dumpoptions $database >${backupdir}/${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}
    echo "done."

# Compress all of our backup files
    echo -n "-> Compressing database dump...... "
       $gzip ${backupdir}/${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}
    echo "done."

# Make the additional backup
    if [ "$backup_count" = "$extra_backup" ];
    then
       echo -n "-> Creating additional backup..... "
       cp ${backupdir}/${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}.gz ${extra_backupdir}/${database}.sql.$DAY.gz
       echo "done."
       if [ $sendincbackup = "y" ];
       then
          echo -n "-> E-mailing additional backup.... "
          #$uuencode ${extra_backupdir}/${database}.sql.$DAY.gz ${database}.sql.$DAY.gz > ${extra_backupdir}/${database}.sql.$DAY.gz.uu
          #$mail -s "$subject : ${database}.sql.$DAY.gz" $mailto < ${extra_backupdir}/${database}.sql.$DAY.gz.uu
          #rm ${extra_backupdir}/${database}.sql.$DAY.gz.uu
          echo "done."
       fi
    fi

# Send the incremental backups via email
    if [ $sendincbackup = "y" ];
    then
       echo -n "-> E-mailing incremental backup... "
       # $uuencode ${backupdir}/${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}.gz ${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}.gz > ${backupdir}/${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}.gz.uu
       # $mail -s "$subject : ${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}.gz" $mailto < ${backupdir}/${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}.gz.uu
       # rm ${backupdir}/${database}.sql.backup${backup_count}.gz.uu
       echo "done."
    fi

backup_count=`expr $backup_count + 1`
    if [ "$backup_count" -gt "$max_backups" ];
    then
       backup_count=1
    fi
    echo $backup_count>$sequence_file
    echo "Finished with ${database} database! --> funky duck, don't forget to download your archives. PLEASE!"
    echo ""

done

Use Pico to create the above shell script from root. Make sure you edit it for your own server. Then "chmod 700 filename" this script and test it via "sh filename". If the *.gz archives are created properly it's time to write a crontab to automatically run this script. Use Pico and create this:

0 1* * * /filename | mail webmaster@yourdomain.com
0 13 * * * /filename | mail webmaster@yourdomain.com

This crontab runs the shell script twice per day and sends you an email which contains the "echo" text. Make sure you "chmod 700 cronfilename". Ready for the final step? Installing the crontab on most servers is pretty easy. SU to root and issue the following command: "crontab -l" which displays any crontabs already running. Next issue "crontab -r" which releases/stops all crontabs. To start your crontab issue: "crontab cronfilename". You can check to make sure your new crontab is running with: "crontab -l"

If you already have crontabs running then you can combine them all into a single file. Remember you have to release/stop them first. Next, edit the crontab file and then start them again. Also, make sure that permissions for both the shell script and the crontab file are set to 700. Don't forget to download your *.gz archives from your server on a regular basis.

You might wonder how long this procedure takes. geek/talk currently has over 14K Threads and 81K Posts. The raw mySQL text dump is about 156 MB and the *.gz archive is about 26 MB. It takes about 45 seconds to finish my crontab. The only file which is created on my server is the *.gz archive. During this procedure, mySQL activity (post, reads, etc) from your BB is cued so their is no danger of database corruption or data loss. Special thanks to this community for this shell script which was written by the talented Chris Schreiber. Click here to purchase vBulletin

Tip 2: I suggest a regular backup procedure for your Styles. I perform these backups prior to any template edits and at the conclusion of my template edits. Log into your Admin and then select Styles > Download/Upload. Select each Style via the drop down in the Download one of your style sets section at the top of the page. Click the Download button to finish this procedure.

Tip 3: Bandwidth management will save you money and grief. Carefully study your logs and look for other sites "Hot Linking" to your Avatars and Smilies. If your install of Apache has mod_rewrite loaded place a ".htaccess" in your /forums/images/avatars and /forums/images/smilies and anywhere else on your server where other sites may try and steal your bandwidth.

The contents of your ".htaccess" file:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://yourdomain.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.yourdomain.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(gif|GIF|jpg|JPG)$ http://yourdomain.com/graphics/stolen.gif [R]

Create a large stolen.gif so it blows out the tables on the offending site and place it in your graphics directory. FTP your .htaccess file in ASCII format to the appropriate directory to finish the procedure.

If you don't wan't to deliver your "stolen.gif" to the offening site, use this procedure which will send a 403 Forbidden status code back to the illegal hot linker, making the image show up as broken.

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^$
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://yourdomain.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteCond %{HTTP_REFERER} !^http://www.yourdomain.com/.*$ [NC]
RewriteRule .*\.(gif|GIF|jpg|JPG)$ - [F]

Tip 4: Another way to save bandwidth costs is to insure that the "Googlebot-Image" spider does not index your vB images. Carefully read this page on Google for all the details. Create a "robots.txt" file and place it in the pubic root of your site. The contents of robots.txt are:

User-Agent: Googlebot-Image
Disallow: /

FTP this file in ASCII format to finish the procedure. Please note, this procedure only effects the Google Image spider and not the SE spider. It also prevents the Google Image spider from indexing all the images on your site.

Tip 5: Looking for a way to promote your Forums? ForumDirectory.net is a free service to list your vB Board. Includes a description and ranking via click tracking.

Tip 6: Coming soon. The secret of "implode". How to use SSI banner code inside vBulletin. Creating a "light" template for your dial-up members. And much much more.

Click here for Instant Community

We think it's a great idea to see exactly who is using a product before you spend your hard earned money. Study these great Forums which use vBulletin along with my review. Some may have installed "hacks" which also gives you a sense of the numerous ways you can custamize vB.

• WindowsBBS
All things Windows. Solve your OS problems and bond. I lurk in the Win2k Forum.

• SportsCentralBoards
If you want to talk sports, this is a nice Community. The Professional Sports Discussion area is my fav.

• EmailDiscussions.com
Who would have thought about a Board which focuses on free email? It even includes vendor support. Warm and friendly with good advice.

How do I get my vB Board listed in this section?
I'm only going to list 20 vBulletin Boards. You must be a Senior Member of geek/talk with posting privileges and a registered user of vBulletin and only vBulletin Boards will be listed. Your Forums must be a quality and civil operation suitable for a mainstream audience. I would like a link back to geek/talk in a similar place on your site. I am very picky on who I list. Please don't apply and waste my time if your forum contains any of the following: porn, warez, hacking, profanity, you are not using vB, illegal topics/content, and socially unacceptable subjects. I reserve the right to reject any Board for any reason. Having scared away most of you, click here and send me all the details of your vB Forums. Click here for Instant Community

vBulletin Forum Script Review & Tips

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