How Do you Handle Forum Sales?

Qwest

Qwest

Member
I am in the middle of a really ugly situation with vBulletin and I'm wondering how the Xenforo support will handle it (because I know I'll likely end up selling a forum or two in the future not matter what platform I launch on).

Please before anyone replies: I am not at all interested in a vb vs. xenforo discussion and I am not a disgruntled vb customer come here to post a thinly veiled jab at vb. I like vb, even vb4 and I also think I take some fault in the situation for mis-understanding (ok I didn't thoroughly read it) the license agreement. I just want to know xenforo's take and how I could expect a similar situation to be handled.

So, I sold a vb forum 2 years ago. The new owner and I agreed that the license didn't come with the purchase and that I would keep my vb license registered to the domain for up to 6 months giving him time to buy his own. I kept it there for a year... I recently bought an upgrade to vb4 and for the first time in years I used the support ticket system for a few minor things (update to my newest email address, asked questions about Impex, etc). vBulletin told me they won't support my support tickets and suspended my license (locking me out from downloading anything: security updates, mods on vb.org, anything).

They stated the site (the one I sold) was running on my license number but wasn't licensed and that I needed to take the site down or buy a new license. I explained that I no longer own the site, it's not on any server I control, and I don't own the domain. They didn't care, they stated that my license will remain suspended until the site is down or is licensed. I tried contacting the new owner, sent a take down request to their hosting provider, everything I could think of to do and got nowhere. I explained to vb that I'd done everything I could possibly do to be in compliance. They stated my license is still suspended. So now my license that I recently paid to upgrade to vb4 is suspended and useless to me. There is nothing I can do about it, vB knows there's nothing I can do about it, and their response is literally indifference.

Would Xenforo handle this situation the same way?
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
@Qwest - Do you know who the web host is? Perhaps if you try contacting them and explaining the situation, they could verify with vBulletin whether or not the license is issued to said URL. When vBulletin informs them that the site is not authorized, they may take it upon themselves to delete the files. Unless, of course, this particular individual is hosting them. But it might be worth a try.

Jake Bunce said:
Are we talking about accidental distribution? How should the vendor handle that?
Click to expand...
I don't think innocent customers should be held accountable and have their licenses suspended. It may cost time and money, but that's how it goes when you fight piracy.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
there are hundreds of forums that runs vb without buying single license. The costumer (the base of the software) who actually purchase it , Now have to pay for that kind of illegal behaviors . :cry:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
kkm323 said:
ban or report the sites that are using my copy, not me ( I have no power over that)
Click to expand...

They already do that.

jmurrayhead said:
I don't think innocent customers should be held accountable and have their licenses suspended. It may cost time and money, but that's how it goes when you fight piracy.
Click to expand...

Then we are in agreement. The innocent should not be punished. But we are talking about specific situations here:

1) A forum is sold to a third party. The original license is then used on a different site such that two sites are now powered by one license.

2) A copy of the software is accidentally leaked to pirates.

The popular opinion seems to be that the vendor should report the offending sites through DMCA, and that the original license should not be revoked.

Can anyone think of a better solution than DMCA? Many countries don't respect copyright laws.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Kevin said:
I think what is happening is that the OP sold his site (DomainA) and kept his license associated to DomainA for a year with the assumption that the new site owner would eventually make arrangements to get their own license. However, the OP must have changed his license details so that DomainA is no longer on file with his license. With that situation DomainA is still up & running with the OPs license information but DomainA is not associated to any valid licenses. As far as vB is concerned, DomainA is now a pirate site and the person responsible is the OP since it is his license being used...
Click to expand...
Qwest said:
What Kevin said is exactly right...
Click to expand...
Here are the Licensing terms, you can interpret them, I know what my interpretation would be. Or use the contact form at the bottom of every page to ask a detailed sales question:

3. Restrictions

This license is granted to You alone. You may not redistribute the Software in whole or in part. You may not rent, lease, sublicense, sell, assign, pledge, transfer or otherwise dispose of the Software in any form, on a temporary or permanent basis, without the prior written consent of XenForo Limited.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yeah I read it. It's almost word for word the same as vBulletin's. Basically you are just buying a license to use the software, you don't own it. Therefore you can't sell it unless vb or xenforo says you can.

The only way to be completely safe is to contact the software developer and ask if you can sell it before you sell it. Don't count on a yes response and don't buy a license from these companies if you think you might ever sell in the future because nothing is guaranteed. You don't own the software and the license specifically forbids you from selling it, even as part of a site sale.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Rather than rely on the letter of the law I was trying to lead a constructive discussion about piracy policies that addresses the concerns of both parties, the customer and the vendor. I misunderstood the purpose of the thread. Sorry. :(
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
IMO, the right thing for the vendor to do is to keep the current license suspended and give the customer a new one for free. Sort of a one-time courtesy to show appreciation to the customer, which also builds trust and loyalty in the company.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Brandon Sheley said:
How exactly does someone just "find your license"??
That doesn't happen unless your site gets hacked or compromised.
Click to expand...
I once gave all my account info to a guy who said he will make a forum for me, do all the work, as long as I fund it. I also gave him my credit card number. He seemed trust worthy. We actually IM'd me yesterday and said I should get my check in the mail any day now!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
fattony69 said:
I once gave all my account info to a guy who said he will make a forum for me, do all the work, as long as I fund it. I also gave him my credit card number. He seemed trust worthy. We actually IM'd me yesterday and said I should get my check in the mail any day now!
Click to expand...
I'd never ever ever EVER give my cc #'s out
glad it's working out for you, to risky for me..
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Kevin said:
I'm pretty sure that fattony69 is being sarcastic.

(Or, at least I hope he is. :cautious:)
Click to expand...
idk.. have you ever talked with him o_O :p
kkm323 said:
My computer is sometime use by co-worker or friends + I lost my USB with a lot of worthy files (VB folder is not worthy because i can re-download the file any-time) you get the picture :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

ya I guess, I generally download fresh ones when I need them :X3:
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jmurrayhead said:
@Qwest - Do you know who the web host is? Perhaps if you try contacting them and explaining the situation, they could verify with vBulletin whether or not the license is issued to said URL.
Click to expand...

Actually, I thought of another tactic: contact the host (better yet--the host's legal department) and tell them the customer who "bought" the forum is running pirated software on their domain. Don't send all the details--just tell enough to inform the host that this is just not an idle threat. I know my host would pull the plug if they knew I were running pirated software.

It might not be a permanent solution, but with the new site owner not communicating, having the site shut down would be a wake-up call that 1) action needs to be taken immediately, and 2) the former owner is not going to take this lightly.

vB needs to step up to the plate also, rather than just dish out the standard company rhetoric...
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
It is difficult to solve such matters without all of the detail. Working with the customer to find a way forward is best in the hope of a satisfactory outcome. Sometimes the outcome is not satisfactory to one or even both parties. Our approach is to work with the customer and I daresay it is similar to most businesses. Either that or we are doing it wrong ;)
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ashley said:
It is difficult to solve such matters without all of the detail. Working with the customer to find a way forward is best in the hope of a satisfactory outcome. Sometimes the outcome is not satisfactory to one or even both parties. Our approach is to work with the customer and I daresay it is similar to most businesses. Either that or we are doing it wrong ;)
Click to expand...

To emphasize on this, I've only had to submit 2 tickets which I was a little nervous about the answer I might of gotten but it turned out I was pleasantly surprised - they helped me out a ton.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Ashley said:
Working with the customer to find a way forward is best in the hope of a satisfactory outcome.
Click to expand...

Having worked in sales and customer service for 20+ years, I agree completely. Working with the customer includes listening to the customer to understand what they need, and how you can help them. Even more importantly, you want them to remain a customer, so even if the company has to take a small hit and give a little, it is a small price to pay compared to losing that customer's business.

There were times I had to give a customer a break on price (even if it meant selling at or below cost) or adding something extra (such as changing my schedule to deliver an order in person, or adding something extra to the order for little or no cost), especially if they were a major customer of ours. As for listening, this was working in industrial sales, so it was very important to listen to a customer's needs. You did not want to be the one responsible if a product you recommended shut down a steel mill or automobile assembly line and cost the company $10,000 per minute in expenses and lost productivity!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote

Similar threads

K
  • Question Question
Xenforo Migration Service?
Replies
14
Views
1K
webbouk
webbouk
D
XF 2.2 need suggestions for using license keys
Replies
2
Views
170
dsick
D
NHUN
  • Question Question
XF 2.2 How to handle attachment in a new forum?
Replies
10
Views
384
Opus X
Opus X
C
  • Question Question
plugin sso handle with jwt
Replies
0
Views
299
control1390
C
L
  • Locked
  • Question Question
nulled to license
Replies
1
Views
478
Paul B
Paul B
Top Bottom