VBulletin Tags vs. Zoints Tags

sinjix_media · 12-25-2007, 12:48 AM

Just wanted to take a quick poll as to what our users are using.
Do we all think there should be a Zoints tag importer?
Which one is better?

Code Monkey · 12-25-2007, 08:33 AM

I haven't looked at the 3.7 tags yet. Haven't had time with the Holiday and everything. They gave up the whole search.php didn't they? I'm sure someone will create an importer of some sort. Maybe even jelsoft might creat one.

I think the advantage of Zoints is there is a central tag db so you get a link back from that. I'm not sure how many people look at it but as long as the SE's do who cares. With vBulletin there is no central database of tag links other than your own internal pages.

Zaiaku · 12-25-2007, 02:07 PM

Through a few test that I've done. and Taking a few things into consideration Zoints its still better over all. More features then the intergrated version. Also the Tag system in v370 is only really useful for Search Engine Optimization, not really all that useful for members, atleast not without doesn't extra modding. Since the v370 version doesn't show on FORUMDISPLAY as I would like it too is another reason why I don't like it as much as Zoints. Not the mention that links from Zoints.com or atleast the option to use external links to its system. I would really like to deal with the Zoints system only becuase I don't have to worry about it's compatability during updates. That's really the only advantage that I see for using the v370 version.

amenadiel · 12-26-2007, 05:15 AM

well at least there is an importer for forum prefixes, that's a big plus for me.

amenadiel · 12-26-2007, 05:13 PM

I've never used zoints centralized tag service. Is it any good? I always felt it was kind of uncomfortable to rely so heavily on them. It's like installing zoints local and then sharing your members profile with zoints central.

DJ RRebel · 01-01-2008, 09:14 PM

I find this sort of debate to be the biggest challenge for a middle of the road admin like myself who generally can figure out how to do things, but is not a coder.

It's really difficult to judge what to use for things. I mean the 3rd party option might often be better ... BUT ... is it better enough to justify all the hassles and extra work. There is something to be said about a feature being integrated directly into vBulletin and supported by Jelsoft, even if the feature is not as powerful as the 3rd party option. Plus there's the fact that there's a good chance they could make improvements to the feature *IF* there is demand for it. But unfortunately at the end of the day, 3rd party options are often the more powerful as they concentrate specifically on the one feature.

I was hoping to see more debate in here as this is a question I was asking myself. Not only for the tags, but also for blogs. I don't think there is a "global" answer, as each feature vs 3rd party add on is a unique debate, and unfortunately it's even worse in that the best solution for one site might not be the same for another. I guess it's good that we have options .. but it's unfortunate that comparisons are not easier for lower-technical-level admins like myself who often spend countless hours reading and researching trying to figure out what option to take, but still not being completely sure after it all!

Anyhow .. I'd love to see more pros & cons discussions about zoints here after more of you have instaled 3.7!