For those planning to convert an existing forum to XenForo...

thedude

thedude

Well-known member
...how do you think your users will react to the change?

Some users don't like even the smallest change so it's risky doing something big like this. We plan to open a test XenForo so they can play with it and give us feedback before converting the main site.
 
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jeffinj said:
Is someone getting ready to be hired for vB to xF conversion? There could be a demand there..
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What conversion work is needed? There is already an importer. There will need to be additional tools to import data created from plugins like iTrader and the Arcades. But these will come with the Xenforo plugins themselves, surely.
And there will probably be a need to do some styling (matching colours etc.), but I can't imagine many forum admins will be daft enough to want to make XenForo *look* like *any* version of vB.
Changing software will be the perfect opportunity to get rid of the old crap and adopt all the good practises of XF.
 
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thedude said:
...how do you think your users will react to the change?

Some users don't like even the smallest change so it's risky doing something big like this. We plan to open a test XenForo so they can play with it and give us feedback before converting the main site.
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We've been picking up regular users with the invite to check this site out. And they all responded in the same way: Will it have this or that feature? .. and .. It looks awesome!

So I suspect the majority will either adapt, like it, or really like it.
 
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anotheralias said:
Well here's my suggestion along those lines: once they're ready to sell the software, they ought to create a separate board that admins can send their board members to, to test out the software (without disturbing the company site). I think the software will take it from there - it sells itself.
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Well... there is an idea! I just thought the other day... how am I going to give my Moderators a chance to test this XenForo if I can not buy it yet (due to missing functionality like Blogs, CSM and Albums)? How to do it? Asking XenForo Ltd. for an install just to test it behind closed door on my server with my Staff? Uhh... think again ;). But there lies exactly the problem... how to do it then? I mean, your idea is really creative and could be a solution!
 
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I've asked my staff to come check out XenForo.com. They were pretty impressed and excited. I think the rest of our community will be pretty pleased, as well. For a community of programmers, web designers, etc...we're pretty social. So, the social functionality will be very welcomed.
 
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You must have a very small site (traffic) to think that members will not cry.
It's a fresh new interface that most likely will carry the same "look/design" as your previous installation.

Yes, members will like the new features but they will also miss the features that helped them get around - features that they have learned and can take from one forum site to the next.

To run a successful site you need to put your reader's needs up front and center.

Small sites have nothing to worry but large sites have a lot to consider.


I tried a minimalistic approach before and members did not like it.

My goal is to upgrade to XF but add all the frequently used items that are missing. This will at least guarantee a smoother transition.
 
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thedude said:
...how do you think your users will react to the change?

Some users don't like even the smallest change so it's risky doing something big like this. We plan to open a test XenForo so they can play with it and give us feedback before converting the main site.
Click to expand...

What's the difference to changing from vb3 to vb4? This is very risky, too.
If XF will work properly, after all there should be no reason NOT to change.

Besides: there will be plans to make regarding URL style (for vbSEO-enabled boards as an example).
 
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I'm one of those users who resist change. I'm still using Paint Shop Pro 7 as my main graphics software - I only switch to something else when I need a function it doesn't have. I'm still using Flash 8. When Vista came out and you couldn't buy a new laptop with XP anymore, I bought a used laptop. When Windows 7 came out, I kept my mail on the ancient XP laptop because I can't stand the not-Outlook Express mail systems. I could go on and on and on. Hell, the reason I bought vB in the first place was that ezBoard was changing from their comfortable old format to some jazzy new mess that I couldn't stand, and I figured that if I owned the license and could customize the software I wouldn't be at the mercy of a company's stupid notion of progress ever again. (Cheap irony there.)

But I would be thrilled if every board I used switched to this forum software, so I'm not so sure that "people resist change" will apply to it. Sometimes, change is good.
 
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I have a sub forum on one of my sites that is not really related to that site's content. I cant get rid of the sub forum, so I will make it read only and ask members to register and post new content on the XF powered site related to that sub forum. This will give me the opportunity to test out XF, convert mods and get feedback, before converting my VB 3.8 sites.
 
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My primary community has no interest in a forum without threading. But I'm also in touch with a startup community and xenforo looks promising. The startup community members have cognative problems to varying degrees and xenforo's clean look makes it an ideal candidate. A few tweaks would be needed. For example, larger fonts. The quotes will have to be toned down. I've asked them to come over and look.

What I'm waiting to see is how email subscriptions will be dealt with. I remember test driving a forum years ago where the emails looked like an extension of the forum. IOW, they put thought into the features and ergonomics of the emails. The forum was fudforum.
 
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Princeton said:
You must have a very small site (traffic) to think that members will not cry.
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Unfortunately, you are absolutely right.

I inherited a forum several years ago, around the time vBulletin was at version 1. The forum was running with a truly diabolical colour scheme. Now it's running vBulletin 3.8 and every attempt I have ever made to change the colour scheme to something that doesn't result in ocular trauma has been met with forceful resistance from the embedded membership.

However, they are a community that loves posting more than anything - they don't have access to blogs or galleries or any of the other stuff that forum software has grown over the years, so they are going to love XenForo when I upgrade them.

But they won't let go of the colour scheme though, so I may be faced with the very real prospect of running the ugliest XenForo installation on the web :eek:
 
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Kier said:
Unfortunately, you are absolutely right.

I inherited a forum several years ago, around the time vBulletin was at version 1. The forum was running with a truly diabolical colour scheme. Now it's running vBulletin 3.8 and every attempt I have ever made to change the colour scheme to something that doesn't result in ocular trauma has been met with forceful resistance from the embedded membership.

However, they are a community that loves posting more than anything - they don't have access to blogs or galleries or any of the other stuff that forum software has grown over the years, so they are going to love XenForo when I upgrade them.

But they won't let go of the colour scheme though, so I may be faced with the very real prospect of running the ugliest XenForo installation on the web :eek:
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According to my girlfriend, I'm probably buying a XF license for her gaming guild, and she has a preference for pink on pink skins.

Nothing can be worse then pink on pink skins, nothing :(.
 
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