From phpbb to xenforo

[Lower]

After several years of using phpbb I am considering possibly going to xenforo possibly but first need to be convinced.
Why I am not happy with phpbb anymore is that I have noticed that it is not SEP friendly which affects the forum's ranking and visibility. But what speaks for phpbb is that it is free, plugins are free and that it is very safe to hack. So now you have to convince me to switch to xenforo.

 

[Matthew S]

All software has issues. XF will be different to what you have, so don't expect it to be phpbb on steroids. There are numerous add-ons and developers available.

For me, I'm here because of the XF development team. The XF guys own any issues, they take suggestions on board, give straight answers (except for "when?" ), and interact with their licensees here one on one.

 

[Halluinoid]

wow that is the reaction to "possibly going to xenforo possibly but first need to be convinced."?

boy I bet Lower was impressed

don't expect it to be phpbb on steroids. haha that is brilliant , dont create any false expectations for sure!!

I was going to post Lower's question myself but found this thread on a search, okay I am still in Lower's category "possibly going to xenforo possibly but first need to be convinced"

Lower , where did you get to mate? still on phpBB?

 

[gerryvz]

I find the OP's attitude "you have to convince me to move to your product" amusing.

Sure, put all of the onus on the other guy, and don't bother to do any research or homework (perhaps just one hour with Google would help with the "convincing" aspect) yourself. Because you're too lazy to actually figure things out, so it's up to everyone else to do the work. I wonder if he demands that other people wipe him up after he goes to the bathroom, too.

 

[Halluinoid]

no need for that Gerry, up until now there was just 1 reply on here

its a valid thread and lets remember it all started with phpBB in 2000, a lot of people are still with phpBB all the way back from there (or thereabouts)

 

[gerryvz]

I used phpBB for several years, from 2008-2012. It worked well, no complaints, though it is not update that often with new features. Then I upgraded to vBulletin 4.x. It also worked well. But by 2014 or so, development was completely frozen.

I purchased a XenForo license and started test migrations to XF 1.4/1.5 in the 2015 time frame. But I also decided to wait until XF 2.0 (a MAJOR upgrade/update) came out to migrate. Then, I decided to wait until XF 2.1 (another MAJOR update) came out, and I finally migrated in March 2019. And haven't looked back since.

There is so much information out there about the pros and cons of various forum software, that NO ONE should be requiring others to do their homework for them.

XF stands very squarely on its (many) merits --

1. the forum industry's most knowledgeable and experienced developers
2. the best technical architecture/foundation of any forum software out there
3. very active and responsive tech support (as well as forum-based support here)
4. very active third-party developer ecosystem for add-ons
5. regular updates and new capabilities (typically every two to three months)
6. great support for importing from other forum software

Just look at the market share growth (and migrations from other forum software) to XF over the past few years.

XF is not a bloated "everything and the kitchen sink" type of forum package. That's what vBulletin did with version 4, and it turned into a literal hairball of code. XF is developed thoughtfully, and methodically.

Certainly there are some other great forum platforms out there. Some cost money, others are free or near-free. If you need "convincing" as to the right forum software for you, the first and best thing you can do is to have a clear picture of your own goals for your forum, and for the needs and desires of your forum members. And once you have that, a forum software solution choice will become obvious. And maybe your decision is to stay with phpBB or whatever forum software you are already using -- that is a very valid solution for many people !!

 

[Martok]

lets remember it all started with phpBB in 2000

Whilst phpBB has been around for a while, other forum software started before this, including vBulletin (1999), Phorum (1998) and Ultimate Bulletin Board (1996). Then of course some will remember bulletin boards prior to the world wide web.