Another "Should I, Shouldn't I..." [vBulletin to XenForo]

[RoyalRumble]

Hi All,

I registered way back in October 2010 (where does the time go?!) and always expected to migrate from vBulletin to XenForo for obvious reasons but it's always been about timing. I'm hoping I can ask a series of questions in this thread to determine whether I can migrate now...

The forum in question is this one, ran on vBulletin since 2007 (Currently vBulletin 4x -22k Members, 60k threads, 2.4m posts - with 1.4m in the past year). It's not the biggest forum but it's well established and has a very loyal core membership - hence my anxiety over a potential upheaval.

I spoke to the owner of a similar forum called RedCafe who went through the same process;

http://www.redcafe.net/threads/site-changes-coming-this-summer.368644/
http://www.redcafe.net/threads/the-switch-to-xenforo-happens-today.372152/
http://www.redcafe.net/threads/welcome-to-redcafe-net-on-xenforo.372202/
(Links useful to others anxious over switching?... Particularly the membership praising the new look forum)

... He was very complimentary of XenForo and recommended the switch. Before doing so, I began by compiling my 'essentials' and to my disappointment, most "standard" mods on vBulletin seem to incur a cost on XenForo.

Take 'Ban Users from a thread' as an example, an important add on for my forum, one which is readily available for free on vBulletin. It was this type of feature I hoped would be default on XenForo but to my surprise, it's £19 on here?

I digress slightly, but I would be very appreciative if someone could kindly review the below 'Add Ons' I have on my vBulletin forum and advise if they're possible, and if so, whether they occur an added cost.

Moderation Queue - New members placed into a moderation queue. Their first 5 posts are moderated (via a front, forum facing notification), and afterwards, they're automatically 'Promoted' to another usergroup and can freely post?
Paid Subscriptions - Does XenForo allow for subscriptions that allow access to a private forum/small added perks - PM quota etc
Word Links - The option to auto link selected words to any destination you choose.
Advanced Reporting - A user reports a post. Their report can be viewed somewhere with an update supplied by a moderator.

 

[Jeremy]

What a user chooses to price their add-ons as cannot be helped. If you do not like the price, it is possible to develop your own version or commission one to be made.

Moderation Queue is possible.
Yes, Paid subscriptions are possible. PM quotas are not.
Yes, word links are possible.
Moderators can see reports, but users cannot. However, it is possible to send a resolution alert to the reporter.

 

[RoyalRumble]

Thanks for the prompt reply Jeremy.

What a user chooses to price their add-ons as cannot be helped. If you do not like the price, it is possible to develop your own version or commission one to be made.

Well, of course...

My point there was a basic (fair to argue, should be a default moderating tool) "add on" is £19 on XenForo, but 3 versions of the matching product on vBulletin is free, making me wonder if there is a hidden cost that I may need to research further. The Thread Ban mod was the first I checked, so slightly discouraging.

Moderation Queue is possible.

Thanks, is this standard/is there a cost?

Yes, Paid subscriptions are possible. PM quotas are not.

Great, what permissions are currently able to achieve for Paid subscriptions? Currently we offer increased avatar sizes, PM storage, signature rights etc to Paid Subscribers set against Usergroup permissions.

Yes, word links are possible.

Thanks, is this standard/is there a cost?

Moderators can see reports, but users cannot. However, it is possible to send a resolution alert to the reporter.

Thanks, is this resolution alert via PM/email advising of outcome to their report?

 

[Jeremy]

Everything I said is standard. If you would like to see available permissions (and mess with reports, etc.), you can create a demo:
http://xenforo.com/demo/

As for the resolution alert, it is sent via an alert, the same as a tag or quote alert would be.

As for the price, you should research what features you want and need to evaluate extra costs. XenForo is sold "as is" for features, with no hidden costs.

 

[RoyalRumble]

Wonderful.

Thanks very much

 

[DBA]

Even if you have to pay a little for some of the mods it's only a one time thing. If needed I'd pay hundreds of dollars too switch from vB to XF.

The alerts are one of the best features that XF has, it increased the user engagement considerably. Higher user engagement = more pageviews = more revenue (to offset the cost of those addons).

One thing that most members say is that the software/forum just works, it's very intuitive.

 

[RoyalRumble]

So then, a quick update on this to anyone who is in the same position as I was - debating migrating from vBulletin.

Simply, do it. You won't regret it. My community loves the change as much as I do.

Thanks massively to everyone at XenForo - you have a customer hopefully eternity.

 

[wedgar]

So then, a quick update on this to anyone who is in the same position as I was - debating migrating from vBulletin.

Simply, do it. You won't regret it. My community loves the change as much as I do.

Thanks massively to everyone at XenForo - you have a customer hopefully eternity.

I am in total agreement with you. Did this last month and haven't looked back.

 

[Moshe1010]

So then, a quick update on this to anyone who is in the same position as I was - debating migrating from vBulletin.

Simply, do it. You won't regret it. My community loves the change as much as I do.

Thanks massively to everyone at XenForo - you have a customer hopefully eternity.

Welcome.
Just a note about the add-ons debate. In vB, developers would publish free add-ons, but then vanish when new, incompatible, versions of vB came out. It would break many things, and there was zero support from free add-on developers. Not to mention feature addition or bug reports.
When you pay for your add-ons, you get several things here (usually):
1. Fast support. No more waiting months from a free add-on at vB to respond for your inquiry
2. Constant updates when things are breaking due to XF version change. These updates are usually out during the beta phase of XF, so when a final version of XF is out, you're good to go with all your paid add-ons.
3. For the most part, paid add-ons have features added up to them regularly or from time to time (if appropriate of course. There are add-ons that are good as is).
4. For the most part, you get quality code that wouldn't run unnecessary queries and have a major effect on page load (which was the major problem with free add-ons at vB).


To sum up, it would look like a very expensive move, but you will save, and even earn money (from ads due to more engaged community = more visitors = more $$) in the long run.

 

[RoyalRumble]

Welcome.
Just a note about the add-ons debate. In vB, developers would publish free add-ons, but then vanish when new, incompatible, versions of vB came out. It would break many things, and there was zero support from free add-on developers. Not to mention feature addition or bug reports.
When you pay for your add-ons, you get several things here (usually):
1. Fast support. No more waiting months from a free add-on at vB to respond for your inquiry
2. Constant updates when things are breaking due to XF version change. These updates are usually out during the beta phase of XF, so when a final version of XF is out, you're good to go with all your paid add-ons.
3. For the most part, paid add-ons have features added up to them regularly or from time to time (if appropriate of course. There are add-ons that are good as is).
4. For the most part, you get quality code that wouldn't run unnecessary queries and have a major effect on page load (which was the major problem with free add-ons at vB).


To sum up, it would look like a very expensive move, but you will save, and even earn money (from ads due to more engaged community = more visitors = more $$) in the long run.

Agree completely. Ive found the resource quality and support on here considerably better and well worth any cost.