Invision community Vs Xenforo

[AjayJunkies]

let me get this straight, when I say that XF has been stuck for years you always attack me and say I'm a troll because in reality it's fine the way it is and now that you've seen a beta of invision 5 which is basically still the same as 4 except for the fact that it has a new graphic design and a structure more suited to 2024, are you all getting excited?

This is a valid point, and goes to the heart of what many of us are thinking. What makes a forum different in 2024 than 2004, if any? In 20 years of development, what has fundamentally changed to forum posting?

This also goes back to the OP, who basically asked: why should I pay premium (to another developer) for basically the same forum?

 

[Suzanne O]

@Ricsca

You get called a "troll" because of the way how your posts come out. It's not nice. Try and be polite.

 

[Forsaken]

let me get this straight, when I say that XF has been stuck for years you always attack me and say I'm a troll because in reality it's fine the way it is and now that you've seen a beta of invision 5 which is basically still the same as 4 except for the fact that it has a new graphic design and a structure more suited to 2024, are you all getting excited?

There is a difference between arguing the same point endlessly over multiple topics until everyone is fed up with you, and people who actually attempt to give insightful feedback or criticism. Criticism is helpful, you are not.

That's interesting! You were probably ahead of your time.

What I think is challenging is that users don't want to configure their optimization (certainly not at the level of detail that some platforms might provide). We've become so accustomed to optimized and personalized content.

That's usually the case; the people who make full use of extended features or customization tend to only be around 5-10%, whereas the remaining users are willing to settle for whatever is available.

 

[zappaDPJ]

What makes a forum different in 2024 than 2004, if any? In 20 years of development, what has fundamentally changed to forum posting?

In my view the basic structure that a forum provides is enduring and has never been bettered by any other format which is a positive.

On the negative side forums in general have been slow to adapt to technology. It took an age before forum software started to respond to changing viewport sizes. Push notification is still a little flaky even today and everyone, including Microsoft, talks in terms of apps. How many forums are app based?

I'd argue the format is fine, it's the way it's presented on modern devices that could do with some updating.

 

[Ricsca]

In my view the basic structure that a forum provides is enduring and has never been bettered by any other format which is a positive.

On the negative side forums in general have been slow to adapt to technology. It took an age before forum software started to respond to changing viewport sizes. Push notification is still a little flaky even today and everyone, including Microsoft, talks in terms of apps. How many forums are app based?

I'd argue the format is fine, it's the way it's presented on modern devices that could do with some updating.

Just think that to date smf does not have url rewriting and they said a few days ago that it is not something they have taken into consideration yet...
I would say that invision 5 for the first time (super late) seems to have at least been presented a fronted based on what users are used to using on the web in 2024... let's hope xf follows quickly...

 

[Arantor]

Just think, I’ve been arguing with the SMF team for more than a decade about what should be in there. I should add that I ultimately quit their team because debating changing 2 words on the board index was a multi page debate. Arguing over pretty URLs is a lost cause by comparison.

 

[Opus X]

Just think, I’ve been arguing with the SMF team for more than a decade about what should be in there.

am a member of a smf site that supports a software package.
really it is ok but feels very out dated.
i hate how it does attachments that you put in a message.

but that is almost all forum i go to now including mine that feel like something from the 1990 time period.

 

[Arantor]

They spent 10 years debating what version 2.1 should be and went through I think 4 complete changes of development team in that time. And much of the team was deeply insistent about it remaining a forum.

You think XF isn’t trying to innovate? The SMF team - certainly historically, it is better now - had a habit of actively arguing against change. Even getting likes in (and I added that in 2013) was deeply controversial.

 

[Suzanne O]

I wouldn't mind seeing some things from smf on xf.
There are awesome little features that work with xf.

 

[Arantor]

Curious what they might be. Depending on what they are, it’s entirely possible I helped write them!

 

[Suzanne O]

Curious what they might be. Depending on what they are, it’s entirely possible I helped write them!

The shoutbox, cms features, etc all would work well with xf.

 

[Arantor]

And literally none of those are core SMF, they’re all plugins.

 

[⭐ Alex ⭐]

invision has their alpha site online to to preview.

Invision Community 5

it does not look like all the stuff is available yet though.

how do I find the forums? all I see are articles

 

[Opus X]

how do I find the forums? all I see are articles

not that hard.

they do need to work on the style and some presentation.

 

[Reflect]

If I take off my forum owner hat and put on my forum user hat, thinking about the forums I frequent asa user:

All I care about really is that:

• I get notifications of replies
• ...

I have a wheelbarrow to push here, but the first thing in your list is notifying users of replies. This is something my users have been very unhappy with regarding XenForo since moving from vBulletin. If you watch or post to a thread, you get an email about the next reply. And then nothing again before the heat death of the universe unless you somehow happen to find their way back to that thread.

My threads are long-running discussions my users engage in over weeks and months. The fact that XF doesn't try to remind a user with a smart re-engagement email about a missed email (eg: after 3 more days, a week, a month), has driven many of my users to complain about XF not working correctly. I've investigated, using email logs, and my investigations suggest that in each case they just missed the email or failed to click on the email. Some smart re-engagement email logic that reminds them about things they missed but doesn't overwhelm them, would be most appreciated.

Obviously the most important job of the forum is to facilitate discussions. The second most important job is to keep users aware of new replies. IMO (and many of my users' opinions) XF's weak spot is that it doesn't do a good job of the latter. Re-engagement is non-existent other than the activity mail, which I have turned off. I have it turned off because it does not personalize the content to the forums/tags/topics users are interested in and would result in users unsubscribing due to non-engaging content.

There are no 3rd party plugins that resolve this issue (I found one which would sent an email for every post, but that would be way too spammy). I started a suggestion on email outreach this last year, which got a few likes, but doesn't seem to have gained any official recognition.

I hope XF finds a way to provide intelligent re-engagement logic, as well as personalized content recommendations, in the near future.

 

[RandallC]

Just coming into this post and not reading everything, I chose Xenforo for a reason and I am not to pushy on updated so 2.2 to 2.3 to 3.0 does not bother me at all. I like Xen due to the coding and available addons and the people that are behind the designs and addons.

 

[Taylor J]

how do I find the forums? all I see are articles

At the bottom you can also choose between two themes, one of which is the classic type of forum view to add on to what @Opus X showed.

 

[Opus X]

all i know is i have been saving up for a 10 pack of opus x cigars.
got to thinking about using that money to upgrade my xenforo license and get some plug ins.
now after seeing the invision site i am wondering if it may be better to go with them.
i run xenforo because i got it for $25.
but if i am going to spend more to keep it going i need to consider what gives me the most for what i pay.
i have not been running a site long enough to really know yet.

 

[Davyc]

all i know is i have been saving up for a 10 pack of opus x cigars.

Go with the cigars - you'll get more enjoyment from them

 

[Opus X]

Go with the cigars - you'll get more enjoyment from them

for a short time.
that is the killer with them.
yes you may get to enjoy them for an hour or so at a time but once they are gone they are gone.
at least with the software i can keep running it for a year or so.
after playing with xenforo i think i might like to learn about invision.
it does seem to offer more in its package than xenforo does at a decent cost.
the only concern i have is the one tracy has told me about after this version i would have to go to their cloud offering.