Usual questions of a beginner
Hi, I've been attracted to Vanilla by its design and appearance. Just about to install my first forum software. Before I begin, let me ask the following questions:
- I was going to use discourse, but it dawned on me vanilla might be more economical on the resources (always a problem on budget ventures) and it looks just as good or even better. Do you think it is really the case?
- Is there a beginner's guide other than the Readme file?
- I've seen large gains in speed offered by utilising the Varnish cache here https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/21044/vanilla-and-varnish-cache-some-lessons-learned. Could somebody provide a working configuration for 2.3 for a typical install scenario (1 domain, 1 server)? That'd be extremely helpful.
- Can vanilla do hidden categories, forums, threads? I mean really hidden, even if somebody has a link. Couldn't figure from docs. I've seen a "Premium zone" plugin, but it's flagged as "not stable".
- Last but not least, what's the current status of wordpress integration? I've seen some daunting remarks next to the WP plugin. I guess I can set up a feed on a wp site using the universal method?
Best from a white Kraków, Poland
Best Answers
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vrijvlinder
Papillon-Sauvage MVP
I was going to use discourse, but it dawned on me vanilla might be more economical on the resources (always a problem on budget ventures) and it looks just as good or even better. Do you think it is really the case?
Both are different. Vanilla is for communities. It is a stand alone Forum. People can create discussions not just post comments. It has many features and customization capabilities. User friendly .
Is there a beginner's guide other than the Readme file?
Of course there is , under documentation. There is also a Tutorial category and millions of discussions that serve as documentation as well.
Could somebody provide a working configuration for 2.3 for a typical install scenario (1 domain, 1 server)? That'd be extremely helpful.
What does this mean ? Are you asking how to install ?
Can vanilla do hidden categories, forums, threads?
You can do this via permissions and there are plugins to aid in this. Plugins that can redirect a user without permissions even if they have the link.
Last but not least, what's the current status of wordpress integration? I've seen some daunting remarks next to the WP plugin. I guess I can set up a feed on a wp site using the universal method?
This is called embedding , when you are going to embed your entire forum into a wordpress page. Comment integration, only uses the comments aspect of the forum.
It can be tricky but can also be successfully done.
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R_J
Ex-Fanboy Munich Admin
With PHP7, OpCache and memcached enabled, your forum should be pretty fast already.
Here are some links to varnish discussions
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/21044/vanilla-and-varnish-cache-some-lessons-learned
https://blog.bigdinosaur.org/adventures-in-varnish/
I know that @Kasper had a varnish config on his GitHub page, but it seems to be gone...But this might also be of interest:
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/210645/#Comment_210645
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/232436/#Comment_2324365
Answers
Both are different. Vanilla is for communities. It is a stand alone Forum. People can create discussions not just post comments. It has many features and customization capabilities. User friendly .
Of course there is , under documentation. There is also a Tutorial category and millions of discussions that serve as documentation as well.
What does this mean ? Are you asking how to install ?
You can do this via permissions and there are plugins to aid in this. Plugins that can redirect a user without permissions even if they have the link.
This is called embedding , when you are going to embed your entire forum into a wordpress page. Comment integration, only uses the comments aspect of the forum.
It can be tricky but can also be successfully done.
❌ ✊ ♥. ¸. ••. ¸♥¸. ••. ¸♥ ✊ ❌
Thanks for joining in @vrijvlinder
Basic configuration shouldn't be a problem. I just wished to know how to do some advanced caching to squeeze as much as possible out of the server. At the moment I'm on OVH's basic VPS SSD 1 with 1 core and 2GB RAM just to get the project going, which I intend to scale up as the project grows.
1. How many concurrent users can a server like this accommodate (if used for vanilla forums only)?
2. Should the next step be something with lots of RAM or lots of cores? What's an ideal ratio?
Thanks
With PHP7, OpCache and memcached enabled, your forum should be pretty fast already.
Here are some links to varnish discussions
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/21044/vanilla-and-varnish-cache-some-lessons-learned
https://blog.bigdinosaur.org/adventures-in-varnish/
I know that @Kasper had a varnish config on his GitHub page, but it seems to be gone...
But this might also be of interest:
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/210645/#Comment_210645
https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/232436/#Comment_232436