# Looking for vBulletin alternatives (self hosted)
**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294
**Category:** Self-hosting
**Tags:** hosting
**Created:** [August 31, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294 "2019-08-31T17:16:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 13
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@rewebmaster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rewebmaster)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 5:16pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/1 "2019-08-31T17:16:34Z")
we used to run a large forum and shut it down several years ago. Just tried installing vBulletin 5.x and it’s total garbage!
I’m looking for alternatives (self hosted only)
A couple of things that matter to me:
Compatibility with current stack: I want to install at [domain.com/community/](http://domain.com/community/) but I do not want to have to change our server config (we are not a ruby shop in any way, we’re mostly LAMP I’m not a techie, but I’m sure my guys can figure it out)
SEO Friendly (including speed + WPO), matters probably more than anything to me given the purpose of the board
Forms to SalesForce: We use Salesforce / Pradot and would like registered verified new accounts to go into salesforce / Pardot.
Customized permissions: I want to be able to have some forums public, some member only, and some very specific user permission only. How flexible is the permissions system on Discourse?
Customizability (design) we have a large design team and want to skin in unique ways, I’d prefer they did not have to learn Ruby / JS in order to manipulate skin.
Anyways, what are your thoughts, love some feedback.
Thanks in advance.
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### Author:  [@Falco](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Falco)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 7:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/2 "2019-08-31T19:31:35Z")
> [@rewebmaster](#):
>
> Compatibility with current stack: I want to install at [domain.com/community/](http://domain.com/community/) but I do not want to have to change our server config (we are not a ruby shop in any way, we’re mostly LAMP I’m not a techie, but I’m sure my guys can figure it out)
Well this is tricky. Discourse is not a LAMP app, so that will be different. However, that is the reason of Docker, all the Discourse stack is confined to the container image so you don’t need to install anything else on the host. Changing the default install to listen to a unix socket (so you can use your reverse proxy at `domain.com` and proxy requests to `/community` to the socket) is just a couple of lines of configuration.
> [@rewebmaster](#):
>
> SEO Friendly (including speed + WPO), matters probably more than anything to me given the purpose of the board
Not sure what is WPO but Discourse ranks great on search engines out of the box, as long as you have actual content on the forum.
> [@rewebmaster](#):
>
> Forms to SalesForce: We use Salesforce / Pradot and would like registered verified new accounts to go into salesforce / Pardot.
As long as those tools can handle a webhook, or you can quickly write a translation layer in your LAMP app it’s an easy task.
> [@rewebmaster](#):
>
> Customized permissions: I want to be able to have some forums public, some member only, and some very specific user permission only. How flexible is the permissions system on Discourse?
Every category can have different permissions, this is a basic feature.
> [@rewebmaster](#):
>
> Customizability (design) we have a large design team and want to skin in unique ways, I’d prefer they did not have to learn Ruby / JS in order to manipulate skin.
Discourse is a “Single Page Application” so if you want more deep customization you will need to write JS code. However, there is a lot you can do with just HTML+CSS, so you it depends more on what is your expectation.
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### Author:  [@rewebmaster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rewebmaster)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 8:18pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/3 "2019-08-31T20:18:47Z")
Tried to reply via the reply via email feature (which seems like a cool feature!) got this (not off to a compelling start)
Is this feature enabled on this board?
Anyways, on the config, when you say it’s basic feature - does that mean that it’s common and everyone has it, or that it’s not very robust?
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### Author:  [@rewebmaster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rewebmaster)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 8:20pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/4 "2019-08-31T20:20:18Z")
Is there a screengrab or anything somewhere that showcases the permissions system?
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### Author:  [@merefield](https://meta.discourse.org/u/merefield)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 8:31pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/5 "2019-08-31T20:31:38Z")
> [@rewebmaster](#):
>
> that it’s not very robust?
Discourse, in general, is extremely robust.
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### Author:  [@rewebmaster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rewebmaster)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 8:32pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/6 "2019-08-31T20:32:44Z")
Got it. Is there a walkthrough somewhere on permissions?
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### Author:  [@merefield](https://meta.discourse.org/u/merefield)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 8:34pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/7 "2019-08-31T20:34:03Z")
Does this help?
> [@Understanding groups and category permissions](https://meta.discourse.org/t/how-to-use-category-security-settings-to-control-access-to-content/87678):
>
> bookmark This guide explains how to manage category visibility and user permissions using groups in Discourse. person_raising_hand Required user level: Administrator Groups and category permissions are crucial for managing access and content creation within your Discourse community. This guide will help you understand how to use these features effectively. Summary Category permissions control visibility and user actions Permissions are managed through group access lists Different perm…
Also see
> [@Understanding Discourse Trust Levels](https://meta.discourse.org/t/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/90752):
>
> Originally published at: [Understanding Discourse Trust Levels](https://blog.discourse.org/2018/06/understanding-discourse-trust-levels/) The user trust system is a fundamental cornerstone of Discourse. Trust levels are a way of… Sandboxing new users in your community so that they cannot accidentally hurt themselves, or other users while they are learning what to do. Granting experienced users more rights over time, so that they can help everyone maintain and moderate… For a detailed list of trust level permissions, please see [Trust Level Permissions Table (inc Mod…](https://meta.discourse.org/t/trust-level-permissions-table-inc-moderator-roles/224824)
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### Author:  [@rewebmaster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rewebmaster)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 8:38pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/8 "2019-08-31T20:38:01Z")
That does help yes. Thanks.
We actually have a very unique use case, I’m wondering if it has been done or whether it is possible.
Imagine a customer posts a very specific post (which really only applies to them), we would like to flag it so only admins and the user who posted can read and reply, thus taking the discussion private if you will (The whole community does not always need to see your discussion around a support issue for instance)
Is this something you can do with default feature set or will we need to code it?
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### Author:  [@merefield](https://meta.discourse.org/u/merefield)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 8:46pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/9 "2019-08-31T20:46:14Z")
> [@rewebmaster](#):
>
> Imagine a customer posts a very specific post (which really only applies to them), we would like to flag it so only admins and the user who posted can read and reply, thus taking the discussion private if you will (The whole community does not always need to see your discussion around a support issue for instance)
You can private message a group. You could configure that group how you want.
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### Author:  [@rewebmaster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rewebmaster)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/10 "2019-08-31T22:25:00Z")
That is not what I was asking for, let me clarify. A customer starts a “thread” on the forums (not a DM or group etc) and we determine that thread is only relevant to that customer. Without deleting the thread or moving it, we’d like a toggle to have it so only that poster and the board admins can see it. Make sense?
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### Author:  [@Dannii](https://meta.discourse.org/u/Dannii)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 10:25pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/11 "2019-08-31T22:25:36Z")
You can convert a regular topic into a personal message. That’s the best and simplest way to make it private like that.
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### Author:  [@rewebmaster](https://meta.discourse.org/u/rewebmaster)
#### Post date: [August 31, 2019, 10:54pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/12 "2019-08-31T22:54:18Z")
IC that might work, thanks for that
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### Author:  [@angus](https://meta.discourse.org/u/angus)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2019, 2:14am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/looking-for-vbulletin-alternatives-self-hosted/127294/13 "2019-09-02T02:14:36Z")
@rewebmaster Just for your context, Discourse is often used for handling support requests. See for instance
> [@Using discourse as ticket system, so no balls are dropped woman\_juggling](https://meta.discourse.org/t/using-discourse-as-ticket-system-so-no-balls-are-dropped-woman-juggling/82698):
>
> I know there are other topics here floating around about using discourse as a ticket system, but I thought I’d start a fresh one to give a fairly complete picture of how we think discourse can be used with the current functionality, known issues, and what fixes/new functionality might help. This might also be faq material. Would be psyched to discuss with others trying to do the same thing and any workarounds you’ve found that I am missing so far. Also quite pleased to discover a whole genre of…