Considering migrating a 41,000 member 200,000 post board to Xenforo from VB

[Khashyar]

Hi Guys...

We have a VB forum that has: 29,704 Threads, 206,073 Posts, 41,985 members, and we are considering migrating to Xenforo instead of upgrading to VB 4.

We have been with VB since 2003, but we are thinking that Xenforo is the future, and personally, I don't like depending on a big corporate owner to do what's best for customers.

So, thank you for helping me with these questions:

1) I looked on the Xenforo home page, as well as within the forum, and I cannot find a definitive list of Xenforo features all in one place. If I missed the detailed feature list, can you please post the link for me. Thank you.

2) I have read on this forum that Xenforo has a built in importer for VB 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8. Will the importer work with VB 3.0.x?

3) Are there currently any conversion bugs or known issues when importing from VB to Xenforo? I was trying to look for a screenshot of the importer, saw it once, but could not find that again. Can you please post that link. Thank you.

4) I have read about the VB lawsuit, and know that the first round of litigation was decided in Xenforo's favor last Spring. What are the chances that VB could win the later rounds of the litigation and shut Xenforo down? I know that you need to be sensitive and careful about what you say, but I just want to feel comfortable that if we invest the money, time and goodwill of our forum members in the move, that Xenforo will be around for years to come.

Thank you for helping us with these questions so we can comfortably make the best decision for our community.

Khashyar
Los Angeles

 

[Khashyar]

Thank you, KKM...

1) The "Have You Seen" page was very helpful. It does present a number of features, and they are at least organized in one forum as separate threads. I do like what the good people at Xenforo have done so far.

2) We would probably upgrade to VB 3.6 before migrating.

3) Perhaps it would be better to wait for 1.1.

3.a) So, are you saying that the current importer does NOT import and preserve the custom profile data, and the importer will be revised in 1.1. to import the custom profile data?

4) I also feel pretty confident about the Xenforo developers, and am disappointed in the direction VB is going, and how they treat customers.

1) I looked on the Xenforo home page, as well as within the forum, and I cannot find a definitive list of Xenforo features all in one place. If I missed the detailed feature list, can you please post the link for me. Thank you.
Have You Seen...? is your place to go most features are there + you can see it yourself don't forget to try the demo

2) I have read on this forum that Xenforo has a built in importer for VB 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8. Will the importer work with VB 3.0.x?
I don't think so. but, possible

3) Are there currently any conversion bugs or known issues when importing from VB to Xenforo? I was trying to look for a screenshot of the importer, saw it once, but could not find that again. Can you please post that link. Thank you.
No, but i have to alert you if you are going to import at this stage. You'll loss all of your albums and social group. not yet, but v1.1 would carry thread prefix and custom profile.

4) I have read about the VB lawsuit, and know that the first round of litigation was decided in Xenforo's favor last Spring. What are the chances that VB could win the later rounds of the litigation and shut Xenforo down? I know that you need to be sensitive and careful about what you say, but I just want to feel comfortable that if we invest the money, time and goodwill of our forum members in the move, that Xenforo will be around for years to come.
This is actually how I got to know xf. I was so worry at first but i did purchase this product during the pre-sale for two reasons

• the pre-sale
• XF looks and feels different (totally different than vb) base on this observation. I really felt confident about the developers. hey its looking good so far ...

if you need any help, ask? we are here to help ...
I do recommend this software one advise for you, wait for v1.1 and than take some action base on what you see..

** xf is currently using v1.1 but many features has not been carry out ...

 

[Khashyar]

I'll put it on my to do list...but it's a fairly big list at the moment anyway

1.1 was rolled out here on XenForo.com last Friday. New features are being gradually implemented over a short period of time.
Shortly after it will be made available to customers.

Hi Brogan...

Please spend time on the new features, and compile the feature list later

I really look forward to the release of 1.1.

I have been having detailed conversations with our website team, and I am almost certain we are going to migrate to Xenforo. I feel sad to leave VB because we have had such a close relationship to it for so long, but... companies, software and needs change.

One more question:

In 1.1, where there be a user postbit feature where we can add more data, images, add-ons to the user post-bit area? At the moment, all I can see in the user post-bit area is the username and "rank."

Thank you all for your dedication and effort on making Xenforo the very best community software possible, and helping us serve the needs of our online communities.

 

[Paul B]

The message user block (postbit) can be customised per style.

Select the Kitchen Sink style using the style chooser in the bottom left to see what else can be added.

Images, etc. can be added using user group mark up, as well as other tricks such as conditionals in the templates.

For example, I do this on my site:

 

[kkm323]

3.a) So, are you saying that the current importer does NOT import and preserve the custom profile data, and the importer will be revised in 1.1. to import the custom profile data?

• xf developer don't like to publish too many unstable releases. therefore i would assume they'll have it.

so far we have 14 releases counting beta stages one year long now thats impressive

 

[Khashyar]

Thank you for the clarification, Brogan...

The message user block (postbit) can be customised per style.

Select the Kitchen Sink style using the style chooser in the bottom left to see what else can be added.

Images, etc. can be added using user group mark up, as well as other tricks such as conditionals in the templates.

For example, I do this on my site:
View attachment 18659

 

[Khashyar]

That's great that the Xenforo developers have been so committed to improving the software, and releasing updates often.

In our forum, we have perhaps 20 custom profile fields for 40,000+ members, so it would be great if the new import script would recognize and migrate that data as well.

3.a) So, are you saying that the current importer does NOT import and preserve the custom profile data, and the importer will be revised in 1.1. to import the custom profile data?

• In xf developer don't like to publish too many unstable releases. therefore i would assume they'll have it.

so fare we have 14 releases counting beta stages one year long now thats impressive

 

[Khashyar]

Hi Brogan,

If your site is public, would you mind please sharing a link to your website, so I can see how you've implemented Xenforo?

The message user block (postbit) can be customised per style.

Select the Kitchen Sink style using the style chooser in the bottom left to see what else can be added.

Images, etc. can be added using user group mark up, as well as other tricks such as conditionals in the templates.

For example, I do this on my site:
View attachment 18659

 

[Paul B]

It's in my signature and my showcase thread is here

http://xenforo.com/community/threads/clip-the-apex.19440/

Bear in mind it's very basic though, with very few changes to the default style.

 

[Khashyar]

It's in my signature and my showcase thread is here

http://xenforo.com/community/threads/clip-the-apex.19440/

Bear in mind it's very basic though, with very few changes to the default style.

Thanks, Brogan... I didn't see your signature since the "Clip the Apex" link was to the far right.

Nice work on your site.

 

[CTXMedia]

As a previous vB3.8.4 site owner I moved my largest site (CycleChat) away to IP.Board 3.x series in June 2010, after being disappointed with vB4's release and the problems that came after it. Months of watching and waiting didn't seem to improve things very much, so I took a leap and moved.

When the buzz started around XF I came to have a look. I heard about the court action, and - liking the software and how it operated - bought a license to support the guys (GeeksChat).

In the time I've used it (as a member here, and as the Admin of GeeksChat) I have come to appreciate the simplicity of its operation and the (virtually) bug-free operation of it on my sites/server. So much so, that I've now suspended updates to my IP.Board site and am now looking to move it from IP.Board to Xenforo. I like what the guys here are doing and feel XF is the future for my forum sites. (Oh, and I bought a couple more licenses too, just because!! lol)

I'm "on hold" at the moment to see what v1.1 brings (large boards need those little "extras" to better manage their communities), and I'm also awaiting the "big board" search application that has been talked about, which will hopefully be a more efficient replacement for Sphinx.

I also need replacements for the IP extra modules such as gallery, blogs, chat, etc. - but so far I think I've managed to find some good quality third-party add-ons here that will do the trick.

XF will work differently for my members, mods, and for me - and we won't have absolutely everything we have at the moment - but (and its a but I'm pretty confident in) - we'll get them in the longer term. We just need to give KAM some time to come up with the goods.

As for the lawsuit - my personal take on it (having invested in three licenses already, and soon to be four) is that I cannot see the courts ever shutting the XF company down or declaring that Kier and Mike stop programming. Damages to be paid; maybe - but not the handing over of the software and/or company, and TBH as time moves forward I just see IB's position becoming weaker and weaker.

Plus, there's no guarantee that ANY software company will be there next month, year, etc. - there are all sorts of things that can happen to stop development of a product, so nothing is risk free.

I think the main concern needs to be for you and your community. Does XF have what you need right now, and if not, can you live without a few things until they are added later?

If it isn't ready yet - keep watching as it'll only get better.

If you think you can get away without all the "extras" for the moment - dive in!!

Cheers,
Shaun

 

[Marc]

1) I looked on the Xenforo home page, as well as within the forum, and I cannot find a definitive list of Xenforo features all in one place. If I missed the detailed feature list, can you please post the link for me. Thank you.

Would be very very wary of going down that route. One thing I have learnt through moving to xenforo from an invision forum that was running every function, is that these things matter very little. The useability in xenforo far outways the features in other software in both mine and my members opinions. On top of this if Im honest there has been very little I have not been able to replace in one way or another. I migrated a 460k forum over to xenforo and if I was still on invision or vbulletin (which we have also used on the same forum) knowing what I know now, I would definately make the same move again without a second thought.

2) I have read on this forum that Xenforo has a built in importer for VB 3.6, 3.7 and 3.8. Will the importer work with VB 3.0.x?

Not sure as I converted to invision from 3.8 initially then went on to xenforo later on.

3) Are there currently any conversion bugs or known issues when importing from VB to Xenforo? I was trying to look for a screenshot of the importer, saw it once, but could not find that again. Can you please post that link. Thank you.

From what I have seen from other members, people seem to be rather pleased with their conversions. One thing I will say is that the community on here you will find is a lot more willing to help than you would get elsewhere. There is very much a feel of the customers wanting xenforo to succeed as well as its staff.

4) I have read about the VB lawsuit, and know that the first round of litigation was decided in Xenforo's favor last Spring. What are the chances that VB could win the later rounds of the litigation and shut Xenforo down? I know that you need to be sensitive and careful about what you say, but I just want to feel comfortable that if we invest the money, time and goodwill of our forum members in the move, that Xenforo will be around for years to come.

I dont think anyone can give you an honest answer to this realisticly. Its a court case and therefore by nature until it is concluded nobody will know. It does however look to be very much in favour of not being a problem from what I have read.

 

[Khashyar]

Thank you, Shaun, for your informed and thoughtful feedback, and for sharing your migration experience.

As a previous vB3.8.4 site owner I moved my largest site (CycleChat) away to IP.Board 3.x series in June 2010, after being disappointed with vB4's release and the problems that came after it. Months of watching and waiting didn't seem to improve things very much, so I took a leap and moved.

When the buzz started around XF I came to have a look. I heard about the court action, and - liking the software and how it operated - bought a license to support the guys (GeeksChat).

In the time I've used it (as a member here, and as the Admin of GeeksChat) I have come to appreciate the simplicity of its operation and the (virtually) bug-free operation of it on my sites/server. So much so, that I've now suspended updates to my IP.Board site and am now looking to move it from IP.Board to Xenforo. I like what the guys here are doing and feel XF is the future for my forum sites. (Oh, and I bought a couple more licenses too, just because!! lol)

I'm "on hold" at the moment to see what v1.1 brings (large boards need those little "extras" to better manage their communities), and I'm also awaiting the "big board" search application that has been talked about, which will hopefully be a more efficient replacement for Sphinx.

I also need replacements for the IP extra modules such as gallery, blogs, chat, etc. - but so far I think I've managed to find some good quality third-party add-ons here that will do the trick.

XF will work differently for my members, mods, and for me - and we won't have absolutely everything we have at the moment - but (and its a but I'm pretty confident in) - we'll get them in the longer term. We just need to give KAM some time to come up with the goods.

As for the lawsuit - my personal take on it (having invested in three licenses already, and soon to be four) is that I cannot see the courts ever shutting the XF company down or declaring that Kier and Mike stop programming. Damages to be paid; maybe - but not the handing over of the software and/or company, and TBH as time moves forward I just see IB's position becoming weaker and weaker.

Plus, there's no guarantee that ANY software company will be there next month, year, etc. - there are all sorts of things that can happen to stop development of a product, so nothing is risk free.

I think the main concern needs to be for you and your community. Does XF have what you need right now, and if not, can you live without a few things until they are added later?

If it isn't ready yet - keep watching as it'll only get better.

If you think you can get away without all the "extras" for the moment - dive in!!

Cheers,
Shaun

 

[Khashyar]

Thank you for your feedback, Marc...

1) I looked on the Xenforo home page, as well as within the forum, and I cannot find a definitive list of Xenforo features all in one place. If I missed the detailed feature list, can you please post the link for me. Thank you.

Would be very very wary of going down that route. One thing I have learnt through moving to xenforo from an invision forum that was running every function, is that these things matter very little. The useability in xenforo far outways the features in other software in both mine and my members opinions. On top of this if Im honest there has been very little I have not been able to replace in one way or another. I migrated a 460k forum over to xenforo and if I was still on invision or vbulletin (which we have also used on the same forum) knowing what I know now, I would definately make the same move again without a second thought.

I understand what you mean, and agree that a forum member's ease and pleasure of experience is more important than a specific set or list of features.

And, I have been looking in the plugin section, and there are features that we have in VB that I can see being able to replicate.

From what I have seen from other members, people seem to be rather pleased with their conversions. One thing I will say is that the community on here you will find is a lot more willing to help than you would get elsewhere. There is very much a feel of the customers wanting xenforo to succeed as well as its staff.

Yes, I see that too... I used to feel that in the VB software forum, and to be honest, it's sad how there seems to be a corporate mentality at VB now. I like being with the passionate small guy, then the money-is-the-bottom-line giant. And this is sad for me to say, because I really like the VB software (3.x, at least).

Thank you again for your thoughts.