Being inquisitive always tends to spark spiralling conversations! I think we've had some good input in this thread, and I feel it's no surprise that they both have their advantages and disadvantages.

To exemplify, I don't particularly like the way vBulletin is coded, but because its open-source I trust its security - although I don't trust the security of the third party hacks (aptly named), but whenever a security hole is found within vBulletin, it gets patched very promptly. It's a hell of a lot cheaper of an option than coding a forum package from scratch - although we may well do eventually, when the time's right!

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The man who comes back through the Door in the Wall will never be quite the same as the man who went out.