heheh... was just joshing you with that last reply - you got a sore spot there?
Of course poorly written html/php will adversely affect server load - that's a given. Put the wrong doc-type in there and your members using Macs will slow to a crawl as it tries to spit out the right files. A lot of things make a difference - only a few of them are controllable by the software makers. You gotta admit that too many queries are one of, if not the major affector of server load tho on php/mysql forums - and threads does it better than any of the other forums out there that have this info available.
I really don't know anyone at jelsoft to ask, I am sure I am not on any of their Christmas card lists
What I would do tho is relatively simple and easily verifiable. Importing the same forum into both on the same server should eliminate any other aspects that could make a difference. A report of queries and generation times for all major sections of a forum with links to the pages tested wouldn't be the be-all end-all for testing, but would be a good first start, and show both companies where bottle-necks are in comparison to the other. Up to you guys - I am sure I could get a copy of vb, but not so sure of an import script - for testing purposes only, there shouldn't be a problem with copyright then
