No.. I'm not trying to sell the site. Unless of course someone has cash. I like money, but no. Not this time.

I'm really trying to figure out what -- if anything -- to do with the site to attract new users and expand it.

What I'd like to do is build a fun "Ars Technica meets drudge" type site, but not particularly around tech or anything specific. Just a good news site with a forum to boot.

That leave me with the same old options of a Xoops clone, or vBulletin CMS, or...?

Xoops is dead. We all know that. vBulletin costs $285 for a license but is so new that custom themes are not yet available for the site. Other solutions like using PHPBB have their own problems (spammer control is non-existent) or really great news but really crap forums (drupal).

The idea even came to me to use vBulletin with a Wordpress bridge, but you're still back at the same problem of compatibility and cross-site users and all that.

It's a real dilemma and I'm curious as to what everyone here thinks, given the drive for "more juice"?

Wayne

I guess not.

Well, this is really your baby Wayne. You bear all the risk and and potential profit. And for it to be profitable you'll need to gain many times the number of users the board has today. Meaning we users right now would make up just a small minority of the site you're dreaming of.

Point taken, but just like with AO and others, you guys pretty much make up the site and help me to determine what is, or should be. First on the list to be upgraded to first class as is it were.

Just curious as to an opinion.

Wayne

The most cost effective solution would be to use PHPBB and set it up so long time members can immediately flag, delete or ridicule the spam posts.