Questions about vBulletin and/or uBB

[ironchef]

Hi folks,

I'm considering adding some forums to my work site - a non-profit health related thingamabob - and would like to know a little more about vBulletin or uBBB.

We're thinking that we want to have an "Ask the Expert" forum, where a person can submit a question and then one of our expert panel docs can answer.

But we need some control. I want the user to submit the question, we decide if it gets posted or not, and then only the docs can respond to the question (we want to avoid people telling others an occasional sneeze is a sign of colon cancer). To save the experts' time, I'd like an email automatically sent out to them when a new question is posted so that they may respond.

Does vBull. only run on a linux/unix environment? I've noticed that these forum pages are php. How's the setup? Cost?

Thanks for your help folks!

[Scojo]

I set up a UBB as part of a graduate project and it went really well. I used the free version of the code on a free server, so it didn't cost me anything but time. When I had a setup problem, UBB still gave me tech support and fixed it within a few hours, even though I wasn't giving them any money at all. As far as vBulletin, I've never used it, so I can't compare the two.
http://www.infopop.com is UBB's website and they should be able to answer your more technical questions to see if its what you need. I've had good luck in their support forums.

good luck,

scojo