I don't think a developer would build a software with a footer link in mind and make it his business model for pricing. This is the most ridiculous argument I've ever read.
Members don't pay licence fee so why would they care? I pay fee and I don't want to link them after paying fee. This is extortion. WordPress.com removes branding link if you purchase their paid subscription. It's a normal thing to do.
If they want to keep the branding in footer then they...
What's the point? All the optional features are basically the main requirements.
Why do someone will pay a license fee and keep link to them?
There are plenty of plugins which are essential and can't be optional so here you go and hence my original question.
**** no, I'm not paying $250 to remove link. It's a pid script for **** sake so they shouldn't force us to keep this link. This is the reason I never purchased XenForo.
XenForo is forum software full stop. WordPress is a blogging platform full stop. You can mess with any script and try to make something else out of it for which it is not intended and you will end up in a big mess.