Digital Doctor
Well-known member
I think an interim solution that allows TheVisitors to check if a domain is valid is a good idea.
TheVisitors: would that work ?
ATT: Staff ---- Verified XenForo Customers (request)
- Thread starter Adam Howard
- Start date
Cal
Well-known member
Why not just make the public areas non-support areas and moderate any support questions placed in there by moving them to appropriate customer access forums. Leave a redirect link. That way when the user comes back to reply or read the thread he/she will either be taken to the customer forum (proving they are valid) or presented with a insufficient permissions error.
Since only valid customers need support (non-valid shouldn't have the software thus should not need support) there is no reason support should be offered or given in public access forums. Pre-sales questions of course are fine.
Since only valid customers need support (non-valid shouldn't have the software thus should not need support) there is no reason support should be offered or given in public access forums. Pre-sales questions of course are fine.
Adam Howard
Well-known member
It's a temporary solution, but I know of some people who owned X valid copies, but hosted Z value.
That is the only issue I do not know how to get around or resolve (which I haven't even address in this thread, because of that and the privacy concerns around it).
edit: It also does not address the issue of people who purchased X version, did not renew, and are using Y version now.
Banana Pup
Well-known member
Another option could be a new usergroup, but it is secret and no way to know if someone is in it, cosmetics it looks exact to default group. You upgraded to this group when you enter your forum username in the members area. Those in the default group can only post in pre-sales section. Also blocking resources and support sections from guests and default group members would cut down a lot of the "can you go get me this mod" requests on warez sites along with helping pirated forums fix there broken forums. As for PC's, default group can only PC if sent a message first from staff.
Adam Howard
Well-known member
Personal Conversation / Personal Messages should be restricted to customers only in my opinion.
All none customers should have no problem speaking openly in public any ways. It is only customers who may want to privately and personally ask for help on sensitive or private issues (in my opinion).
XenForo.com is business site and so general chat for none customers isn't big requirement on a "private level"
skizzerz
Member
Just to play devil's advocate here, but personal messages could be used pre-sale in the event of license transfers (e.g. arranging the details of someone selling their license to someone else within the license terms). Other pre-sale personal messages can arise in arranging someone to install xF or find out the feasibility of other custom development before making the purchase, as the inability to do a particular thing might prevent that person from wishing to own a license.
On topic, I like the IPB system where the username is denoted by a red + for active customers, and I think it works much better than vB's system where you must simply post in the correct forum (because as mentioned before not everyone checks for "the correct forum"). To adapt the IPB system to xF, I think a badge (or whatever the things that are below your name in your posts are called) to denote active customers would be beneficial, perhaps only viewable by other active customers to address privacy concerns brought up above.
Luke F
Well-known member
Huge +1 - would help considerably with premium addon piracy etc.
Adam Howard
Well-known member
Selling 2nd hand licenses on XenForo isn't allowed any ways and technically, this would help prevent that from happening.
And if someone wants an install .... They would need to be a customer and could surely get a public quote before purchasing XenForo.
Forsaken
Well-known member
I tell people to post in the release thread, and I'll help them there.
I don't think PC's should be limited only because Kim and myself have gotten pre-sale questions by people debating about buying XenForo, and who are interested in custom themes before they decide on purchasing.
ashkir
Active member
Is verifying the license through the forums completely necessary? With the customer area of XenForo allowing us to give up to 4 people forum access here, that works brilliantly. How does the permissions work to do that? Does it give us a special secondary rank? If so, would it be a matter of displaying it publicly? To address the people whom want privacy, how about the forum listing gives an option for publicly showing the license or not? As in one secondary group shows publicly, the other does not. But: Both are verified buyers.
Adam Howard
Well-known member
And I'm sure they could just as easily go to your company site to ask those questions, if they are not already customers of XenForo.
Forsaken
Well-known member
They could, but not everyone does.
Might just be me, but I don't like the idea of punishing all non-licensed members to spite pirates. I don't even like having to doubt customers in the first place, but due to the nature of product selling for forums its pretty much required.
There are still valid uses of the PC system for non-licensed members, and that probably outweighs the amount of pirates trying to get support.
Adam Howard
Well-known member
Current solution (until or unless something else comes along)
http://xenforo.com/community/threads/manual-customer-verification.34054/
Should keep it all in 1 single thread as not to bump other threads, just for this single reason.
skizzerz
Member
The license terms are a bit shaky on that actually; the original purchaser of a license is allowed to transfer as per section 2 paragraph 3, but section 3 paragraph 1 states that no selling of licenses can be done without prior written consent -- so it's a bit unclear in my opinion as to whether or not the written consent in the license terms for the original purchaser to transfer once means the transfer must be done for free or if a monetary transaction is allowed. I'm sure that question has been asked and answered before if I do a search for it here (I really don't care what the answer is since I don't plan on getting rid of my license anyway -- I like XenForo!), but that just explains the train of thought I went through when trying to think of a counterexample.
I think your workaround works for now, but perhaps Slavik can shed a bit more light on what the timeline looks like for getting this fixed "for real" since he's been discussing it already.
EQnoble
Well-known member
i would take it as you can set about trying to sell your license but you can't give someone your software and take money(or not) and not stop using it yourself and as far as an official transferring I would take that as it is not official and xenforo does not acknowledge new owner of a transferred license until they have personally signed off on it in the legal sense.
MichaelDance
Well-known member
Why not a option in the usercp:
o Turn on Customer Status (Bold Username / Customer usertitle)
o Turn off Customer Status (No change)
o Turn on Customer Status (Bold Username / Customer usertitle)
o Turn off Customer Status (No change)
User
Well-known member
If you want to know whether someone is a paying customer before you help them then ask them. There is no need to create an additional class system that separates the users into those who have and those who have not paid beyond what currently exists. I can think of a number of legitimate reasons why a developer may be asking a XF related question before (s)he actually buys the software. XF has many problems but whether a user is paid up or not is imho not one of them.
CTXMedia
Well-known member
I think the key point of differentiating is so that community members don't inadvertantly give help to pirates or owners of nulled XF software.
MichaelDance
Well-known member
They need a Licencing software like WHMCS with a Ioncube encrypted php pages with a license checker in it. So it connects to xenforo dbs.I think the key point of differentiating is so that community members don't inadvertantly give help to pirates or owners of nulled XF software.
Therefore anyone without a licensed domain wont be able to use it. I think that would be the best option.
But again I don't want people to benefit from the support, when guys and girls like me pay for the software and they don't.
User
Well-known member
I really do understand that this is the rationale but I just don't think it's a good idea. If someone is not a paid customer they already do not have access to the majority of this forum, including not being able to post to the sections that would ordinarily be used for support issues. Making a more public display of who paid and who didn't will create far more grief for legitimate posters (whether paid or not) than it would do to discourage piracy.I think the key point of differentiating is so that community members don't inadvertantly give help to pirates or owners of nulled XF software.
It is inevitable that someone who is registered on the forum just to check out the community and get a feel for XF will be told that they are not entitled to their opinion (if it is critical) because they haven't actually paid for XF.
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What more is needed to keep priates from receiving support? Yes the formatting is jacked up, I cba to copy it to notepad first just because the editor (still!) sucks.
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