After contracting the Cloud service I … After contracting the Cloud service I was able to notice the only available version didn't have a supported and/or third party translation to Brazilian Portuguese. It wasn't 2 hours after confirming the purchase, I tried calling back but wouldn't get my phone calls answered (funny enough, they would answer almost immediately when I was having problems with the purchase part). After insisting, Joshua G. (vBulletin Sales & Account Support), picked up the phone. He was very rude due to my constant calls, saying they were unnecessary. He proceeded to say that I wasn't eligible for a refund and that the request wasn't even negotiable. I know the company is not breaking any laws or rights, but I would NEVER recommend it to anyone. Worst customer service I ever had from a company in the U.S. I had much better results with their main competitor.

Once upon a time... ...and as some have already mentioned, vBulletin WAS a good company! I've owned very version of their software since v2. I have been considering purchasing vBulletin 5 Connect to host a new interactive website I intend to launch. Today, before acting on that thought, I did a quick Google search to get an idea of what other vBulletin customers have to say about their newest release. I was disturbed, to say the least, to have found this thread. I've feared for some time now; probably since IB purchased the brand, that vB was going downhill. After reading the reviews here and at a couple of other sites, my suspicion seems to be confirmed. I would contribute more to the conversation, however, those things would only reiterate many of the points already made. I also own multiple prior releases of vBulletin software, which I plan to use until they discontinue support. Meanwhile, perhaps something will happen to make them "see the light" so to speak. I gave vBulletin 3 stars, based only on past performance. Perhaps I am an eternal optimist, but I believe they still have a chance to make a comeback. I am curious to know if others have found good alternatives to vBulletin, and, if so, what they are?

There is no better for forums There is no better for forums, would like something even better but alas

The worst experience I had with customer support ever The worst experience I had with customer support in my entire life. They created an update from vb4 to vb5 that is impossible to install, so we paid their support team for a "professional installation" to do it. Their own support and developers were unable to, and ofc I did not get a refund for the $150 for the service, either to $250 for the upgrade files. They are a scam, and their support/server experts are completely dumb.

My forum is the lifeblood of my business and I picked VB5 - Don't know if I was wrong. I bought VB5 looked like a slick finished product, got expensive hosting, got it professionally installed. I spent a lot of money generating content, driving traffic and then in one instance my forum collapses. I panic - I kept my VB5 stock, did not change a thing, except for follow all instructions for updates. Now, I have to buy support packages to fix my problems. If you are not a technical person, and you expect VB5 to be an investment, it's not. It's a liability. It's better to use an older version of VB or another solution. VB5 needs another year of bug fixes or everyone needs to anti-up and start a class action. I work for a major auto company that has released cars that fell under class action. It just takes one motivated pissed off person who knows a lawyer or a pissed off VB customer that happens to be a lawyer - maybe it will bring down and bankrupt the company, and give rise to a better solution.