Difficult Decision

K

kimikelku

New member
Hello everyone, sorry for my bad english.
Im new here and i have been checking the forums for a while now, and im really turned to buy xenforo for my forum community, the problem is, i have read that xenforo is going through some law problems, and some users are complaining about some lack/late support, and adding to this the 1.2v is delayd.
I would appreciate if someone could tell me if its safe to go ahead and get a license, im afraid the project may "tank".
For what i have used, the software really looks solid, and the backend is really user friendly.
I may sound stupid but since this is the first time im going to buy a forum software im a little concern about it.
 
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Interesting to point out that part of the claimed was that XenForo was using vBulletin's code, but that was tossed out when the people who vBulletin hired to prove this... Actually reported back that they were wrong and that XenForo is it's own standing product. Kind of funny when the people who you pay to discredit someone, actually comes back and discredits you.

This should give you some idea on how things have continued to go.... When people say there is a risk.... I often think to myself... Risk? What risk? Oh that... That's cry baby who is sad that a newer and smarter kid is on the playground.

Large sites and companies doesn't believe there is a risk either.
http://www.ign.com/boards/

Is just one of many examples.

SONY / Sony Playstation is now using XenForo for their up coming game, Planet Side 2

http://forums.station.sony.com/ps2/index.php

http://www.planetside2.com/

These are large companies who have placed their own names and reputations in association through investment with XenForo.
 
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TheBigK said:
IGN and a big number of LARGE forums have converted to XF. If big boys have done it; you can, too. But it's your decision, after all. No one here knows the future.
Click to expand...

"Big Boys" can make this decision easier because they can afford to pay for all the changes they need to run their forum. Also they can afford to pay for further development of the software, if the current version of Xenforo will be the last one (as it is widely speculated).

However the software is -in basic- the best forum software you can get. But plan a few extra bucks for addons you will need for features that should be in the core but isn't.
 
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Big boards have a different risk matrix. They probably already have accounted for a certain amount of custom work, so if worst comes to worst they can maintain it by them self. They are not putting their names at stakes, they just bought some software that is commercially available. The risk is very real, and you should just evaluate it your self and see if the software is worth the risk.
 
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The real question is risk compared to what?

Most, if not all, of the other forum software commercially available is not the Rock of Gibraltar either. That is, VBB is such a tiny (and probably troubling) part of the parent companies biz that they could decide to give up the ghost anytime. None of the other players are that big either.

Open Source is always an option - but that tends to be fickle also.

So basically the risk is not that much different with any forum package. For most people, the worst that could happen would be that eventually, usually with years of time to do so, they would have convert to another package. That's really not too bad of a downside, since conversion of smaller forums can be done quite inexpensively.
 
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kimikelku said:
Hello everyone, sorry for my bad english.
Im new here and i have been checking the forums for a while now, and im really turned to buy xenforo for my forum community, the problem is, i have read that xenforo is going through some law problems, and some users are complaining about some lack/late support, and adding to this the 1.2v is delayd.
I would appreciate if someone could tell me if its safe to go ahead and get a license, im afraid the project may "tank".
For what i have used, the software really looks solid, and the backend is really user friendly.
I may sound stupid but since this is the first time im going to buy a forum software im a little concern about it.
Click to expand...

oh no, will this "nonsense-panic-I-have-heard-that-and-I-fear-that" never end?

Just forget what you read regarding a so called unsecure future of xenForo. Read carefully the announcements use common sense and relax.

Which software are you using currently? Why do you want to change this? What do you want to achieve, that your current forum software can not offer? without that information, it is difficult to advise you in any kind of direction.
 
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snoopy5 said:
Which software are you using currently? Why do you want to change this? What do you want to achieve, that your current forum software can not offer? without that information, it is difficult to advise you in any kind of direction.
Click to expand...
He kind-of answered that:
kimikelku said:
I may sound stupid but since this is the first time im going to buy a forum software im a little concern about it.
Click to expand...
I dunno about you, but that sounds like he's looking to transfer from a free-forum solution such as PHPBB, MyBB, and what have you.
 
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kimikelku said:
I would appreciate if someone could tell me if its safe to go ahead and get a license
Click to expand...

No-one can answer this (other than the developers who do not post here anymore) for definite.

As others have said you need to do the research yourself and decide yourself whether it is "safe" depending on your circumstances and what your community needs.

But on balance I think even if you fear the worst, the software is inherently safe; the company is still trading, this community is still open and moving mostly forwards, communities are still converting over.

I think it is best to focus on whether the software in its current form meets your needs.
 
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kimikelku said:
For what i have used, the software really looks solid, and the backend is really user friendly.
Click to expand...

XenForo is arguably the best forum product on the market right now and probably for the next year.

If it does what you want now and your anticipated future needs are not going to include anything than other available and stable add-ons, then you should be fine.

I made that decision three months ago.

Worst case is this is as developed as XenForo gets and you outgrow it in a year plus. You will have an excellent template to work from in migrating to the best of breed forum software available a year or two from now.
 
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kimikelku said:
the problem is, i have read that xenforo is going through some law problems, and some users are complaining about some lack/late support, and adding to this the 1.2v is delayd.
Click to expand...

On those three points:

1) Most people agree that the lawsuit is frivolous and that it's just a matter of time until XF wins. No worries there.

2) There was a problem with slow responses to support tickets until recently. Slavik and I now have access to tickets. And support on the forum has always been good. No problem there.

3) Yes, 1.2 has been delayed. One of the big features in 1.2 is the mobile style. If mobile support is important to you then you may wish to wait. Or there is a third party mobile style you can use:

http://xenforo.com/community/resources/xfs-mobile-style.290/

Tapatalk is also a popular mobile app that supports XF:

http://tapatalk.com/

Tapatalk's support forum actually runs XF.
 
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1. Because of the lawsuit (ridiculous or not) there is an increased risk that you have to move to other software in future.

2. Xenforo is very good software, especially for beginners. Personally, I have chosen to ignore the risk mentioned in 1., especially because other software (I also still use) for me takes more time to style and make a decent site. I can simply make new sites faster. And also the backend for controlling the site is fun to use for me. Simply, its fun to administer a Xenforo site. Besides, sites can easily be moved, so for me risk is in reality nil.

3. When you buy computers, mobile phones, there is always, what if prices fall, what if competing model becomes standard in future etc, so we sometimes wait to buy. This way one never uses the new fancy stuff, you are always behind. I have decided, this stupid lawsuit shall not take away the pleasure for me to use this software now.

You have to weight the arguments. And also think about the very helpful community here at Xenforo. Look around and read posts. Do you want to be part of it? (Questions are answered very fast).
 
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Thx people, i made my decision, i'll go ahead and get a license.
But i have a problem, paypal doesnt accept maestro cards, and the online option that my bank has to create a temporary visa card is with some kind of bug.
Is there any other way i can pay?
 
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We can accept wire transfers from your bank which is when you would use the contact form. But the easier solution is usually to purchase using some one else's Paypal account (if you know some one).
 
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