Hello Everyone!

It's been a long time since I posted but I'm back with a HUGE dilemma.
I have used linksSQL and gForum on one of my major sites and links2 on two other sites. I am revamping the site with linksSQL and decided to move to a PHP solution because thus far, Perl products have seemed esoteric and more difficult to use than the PHP counterparts I have tried. For that reason, I have moved from gForum to vBulletin and to tell the truth, it is like ninght and day. As I have said many times here, I am not a programmer, although I think I have tackled PHP enough to have gleaned a rudimentary knowledge of how it works and when I need help, there is a vast community of PHP enthusiasts to pick from. I have found in the past that knowledgeable members of the GT community are often somewhat elitist - although I must say that Jack Ong has always been incredible and helpful whenever I have contacted him. After speaking with some of these guys I feel like a royal dufus and being a college instructor simply flies out the window! A perfect analogy is when English speakers assume that people who look a certain way need to be gestured at when spoken to and then it turns out that these people speak impeccable English. My point is that I do not like being made to feel like a nincompoop just because I do not know Perl.

I want to create a more professional directory with links from the open directory as well as links from my current directory. I have considered the ultra package from Ultranerds because it appears to have a lot of features.
Then I decided to look at a competing PHP links script. They are willing to set me up with the script, DMOZ dumps, linksSQL database extraction, thumbshots and phpAds integration for what I consider a pretty reasonable cost. Just a little over the cost of the purchasing the ultrapackage and having it installed.

But then.. I start thinking ... GT is so well established, has a bustling community and a core group of developers who live and breath the script. While I find some of these guys to be conceited (IMHO) I want to be sure that this does not deter me from continuing to use the script. My server admin who is a PHP whiz thinks that PHP would be less burdensome on the server. Then, I look at the fact that sites like hotscripts and linkdup (not quite sure about the latter) use linksSQL and my confusion grows even more. One issue that is of concern is that I'd like to create a universal login on the new site and except for the Article Manager (Interactive Tools) all other scripts - gallery, events, vBulletin are coded in PHP. I have been told that creating a universal login would be easier if all scripts were in the same language. I have paid programmers to work on the script, one programmer who is no longer here, even took payment and disappeared without doing the job -- did not even start.

I hope this would not be looked at as criticism of GT but constructive feedback coming from someone who would always wish this company well no matter what she decides. I need to make a decision ASAP and would like some other members of the community to chime in on this. The choice is between staying with LinksSQL with the Ultra Package or moving to a PHP links solution with modifications made by the development company.

Please don't hesitate to move this to a more appropriate category.

Best Regards and Thanks for your time...