Have You / Will You Upgrade to 2.0

[Amphicar770]

Hi All,

I love my XenForo system, especially since it was previously on VB. Still, I am having a tough time justifying if or when I will move to 2.0. While those things "behind the wall" may indeed me more robust, it seems like it will be a huge investment in time and money. Many of the add-ons are no longer available and the developers are long gone. Add-ons that were free or fixed price in 1.x now all seem to be $$$ and many of them a subscription.

Have you migrated to 2.0. Will you be doing so and when.

Thx,

Mike

 

[Oblivion Knight]

I'm undecided whether to start a new community on XF1 or XF2.

As you say, there's currently not many add-ons (especially freebies) - and while I have a bit of PHP/MySQL knowledge, I've yet to start even looking at creating my own.

That being said, I will probably go with XF2.

 

[RobParker]

Already planning our migration and have been for a while.

Now that @Pixel Exit have released their updates styles I've pretty much got our design refreshed and updated which has only taken a few days.

There are a lot of addons we used for XF1 that I'm hoping that we won't need any longer. For example, rather than using a portal/news addon, we can use the widget system and a page to accomplish what we need. That and the increased functionality in XF2 means we've dropped a lot of addons and at the minute basically just have Content Ratings (which we found to be vital) and a few widgets.

We're missing a few of the niche-specific addons that we use (e.g. @Bob's sports addons) but I think we have to live with that for now and bring them back when available.

In regards to your pricing comment, you might not realise that you've kind of answered your own point. The reason that the developers are long gone is that there was no market for selling XF addons and they weren't making any money from it. If you want a thriving addon market you have to pay for addons. Anyone buying an addon they NEED for $25 is getting an amazing bargain, given it'd cost hundreds/thousands to get it developed specifically for you.

 

[Alien]

I've already upgraded, and the experience has been great...

Already had a design taken care of by ThemeHouse to go with it. Today with 15 minutes of time I was able to create a completely new one (named "Nether") with the simplified color palette and approach that 2.0 provides. It blew me away. Both are visible in the style chooser on my site.

Obviously we removed several add-ons that have not yet been updated (featured threads, Awards, etc.), but we'll get there..

 

[Optic]

I moved my main community to IPS as that niche was better suited for it. I also sunk hundreds of dollars in XF 1.5x custom development (2 of the devs have since left the XF community) which I was not going to do again for XF 2.

Having said that I still really love XenForo’s approach (very lean and efficient) and want to use it again for another project.

 

[Suzanne O]

If you haven't done so you would be better off upgrading your forum to version 2 as there are a lot more features in it and it's better so that you don't have to put up with people trying to mess up your apps.

 

[Bonsai Coder]

I'd love to hear from someone who has a larger established forum, say 500,000+ posts, and who had a lot of customization - and what the process was like.

I fortunately have only a few add-ons, but I do have a custom portal page I would hate to lose as well as some other little tweaks.

 

[Alien]

I'd love to hear from someone who has a larger established forum, say 500,000+ posts, and who had a lot of customization - and what the process was like.

I fortunately have only a few add-ons, but I do have a custom portal page I would hate to lose as well as some other little tweaks.

Hey,

Almost everything you've done on the site in your signature can be replicated with XF2 right now. The widgets front page (portal), the shoutbox, and the overall look. You don't have many customizations at all that can't be easily replicated.

You should go for it.

 

[Amphicar770]

I do understand the time and effort that developers invest in their add-ons. I can say that I have paid for or donated to pretty much every add-on that I use in XF 1.x. As a small community board that does not create revenue, having to pay annual subscriptions for all or most of my add-ons is just not feasible.

For me, the biggest missing add-on feature in 2.0 is the one that allows users the option of receiving the full text of every message via email and (while less important) being able to reply by email. Beyond that, I do wish there had been more features introduced that would make end-users say, "wow". As is, and some may argue this is a good thing, I doubt the average user would notice anything changed other than potentially missing add-ons.

 

[Alien]

For me, the biggest missing add-on feature in 2.0 is the one that allows users the option of receiving the full text of every message via email <snip>

While it doesn't (yet) allow for that, you can always make that suggestion...

It does however give an admin the option to turn on full text for watched threads and e-mails, but of course that forces it in all cases (whether or not the member wants them).

 

[andybond]

I have upgraded. It was seamless and any "functionality" that I thought I needed via multiple addons has either been integrated , or I really didnt need it.

I have purchased Andys addons package and dont need anything else.

Its as seamless and upgrade as I have ever done.

 

[usAdultAds]

I have upgraded. It was seamless and any "functionality" that I thought I needed via multiple addons has either been integrated , or I really didnt need it.

I have purchased Andys addons package and dont need anything else.

Its as seamless and upgrade as I have ever done.

I probably have less then you do with no addons....
I do not need members, posts, visitors or anything...
It serves the purpose I have set it up for....
and it loads fast, its perfect (at least for me...)

 

[Amphicar770]

While it doesn't (yet) allow for that, you can always make that suggestion...

It does however give an admin the option to turn on full text for watched threads and e-mails, but of course that forces it in all cases (whether or not the member wants them).

View attachment 166976

It has been a long standing request.
https://xenforo.com/community/threads/reply-by-email.1801/page-5

The ForumWatch AddOn from xfRocks is not full two-way but is a big help in this regard. It has not been updated in a vey long time but maybe he will support it in 2.x

https://xenforo.com/community/resources/bd-forum-watch-for-xenforo-1-2.660/

 

[Robust]

The reason that the developers are long gone is that there was no market for selling XF addons and they weren't making any money from it. If you want a thriving addon market you have to pay for addons. Anyone buying an addon they NEED for $25 is getting an amazing bargain, given it'd cost hundreds/thousands to get it developed specifically for you.

Whilst agreed, also depends on the size of the market. If there's lots of potential customers, you can charge a bit less ($25 would be reasonable), and if there's not many customers in the market then the developer will need to charge more to make the same level of profit. And when you charge more, far less are willing to pay the price of the add-on. Forum profitability also comes into play, a lot of forum owners aren't turning a reasonable profit to be able to pay a decent price for add-ons, most new forums might not turn a profit for a long time.

 

[RobParker]

Whilst agreed, also depends on the size of the market. If there's lots of potential customers, you can charge a bit less ($25 would be reasonable), and if there's not many customers in the market then the developer will need to charge more to make the same level of profit. And when you charge more, far less are willing to pay the price of the add-on. Forum profitability also comes into play, a lot of forum owners aren't turning a reasonable profit to be able to pay a decent price for add-ons, most new forums might not turn a profit for a long time.

"Need" is highlighted for a reason though. "Want" or "would like" are very different but if your site absolutely required a certain addon to run then getting something vital for so cheap is a bargain.

 

[uslfgr]

I upgraded my small board without issue. Some of the new functionality has replaced some of the version 1 addons I was using. Very happy with the upgrade, great work devs.

Did have a problem with the resource center upgrade, but found the solution on the forums, and it was probably user error that caused it.

 

[Mark87]

Hey,

Almost everything you've done on the site in your signature can be replicated with XF2 right now. The widgets front page (portal), the shoutbox, and the overall look. You don't have many customizations at all that can't be easily replicated.

You should go for it.

Shoutbox ? There's a shoutbox in 2.0 ??

 

[Mark87]

Getting ready to upgrade to 2.0 soon. I did a lot of reading here and the developers have done an excellent job on 2.0. With @Pixel Exit doing 2.0 stuff ( They are the BEST) along with AndyB and Themehouse I think my community will continue to thrive in 2.0. Great topic by the way.

 

[Ozzy47]

Shoutbox ? There's a shoutbox in 2.0 ??

Yes there is a addon available.

 

[Mark87]

Yes there is a addon available.

I thought he was saying 2.0 came with a shoutbox without adding an addon. I must have misunderstood his reply.