Major dilemma for a vB4 user

[Chromaniac]

OK, here is something that has been going through my mind for the last couple of hours.

It is now clear that XF Beta 1 should be out on October 5.

And it is also clear in my mind that I want to migrate my forum (broadbandforum.in) to XenForo.

But there are a couple of major issues.

The release is beta and the developers are not recommending it on a production site. That is fine by me. But the biggest problem remains that I cannot really test around with it without my vB4 database.

The current status is that Xfb1 would not ship with vB4 converter. I understand that the developers are providing a vB3 converter and I cannot expect them to meet demands for all the other forum solutions.

I also know that XenFans is providing a conversion service for a charge. I cannot blame them for charging for this service... but it has its own issues.

My forum database has around 380,000 posts, so I would be required to pay double the base fees. But since I would want to test out a migration first... that means either I turn off my board for the days I am testing the installation on a test domain. Or, I get the updated version of the database converted again when I am ready to take it live.

In all, I would probably end up paying almost double the USD 100 bargain price. And of course there are no guarantees and the risk is all mine...

Update: I should add here that I do not mind paying for the conversion. But around USD 50 per migration is a bit too much for me!

I am not really complaining about the lack of vB4 support here. I understand that users of IPB and other forum software are in a similar position. Just wanted to express my frustration looking for some feedback from users here who are probably more experienced in running forums!

The major question that comes to my mind is that, can we expect an official (free) database converter for vB4 by the time v1 stable arrive? Or would that become a lower priority now that a third party solution (albeit paid) is now available.

 

[John]

I'm sure there will be an official vb4 importer by the time the stable version is released. I do know the vb3 importer worked fairly well during the alpha. Also, check with Floris, I believe he is offering a vb4 - xen 1.0 conversion service.

 

[HannahP]

The major question that comes to my mind is that, can we expect an official (free) database converter for vB4 by the time v1 stable arrive?

They already said 'yes' to this question. Somewhere.

 

[Chromaniac]

i did mention about that part in the middle of that long post. the part related to xenfans.

 

[Chromaniac]

They already said 'yes' to this question. Somewhere.

i hope it does happen. because as of now, the only option for me is to buy it during the sale. have an empty test installation to play around with it. wait for the official converter and then start the proper testing before migration!

i really cannot afford to have multiple migrations done through xenfans. I would like to test for at least 2-3 days before migrating the primary board to xenforo without taking the board down!

 

[MilesDB]

But the biggest problem remains that I cannot really test around with it without my vB4 database.

There is a vB4 to vB3 downgrade service offered by Corolla at vB.com. I heard his fee is reasonable. At least get in touch with Floris.

 

[Chromaniac]

yeah i plan to contact floris once i get the beta and do a test install on my server to see if installs at all! maybe we can work something out.

and yeah, the other converter suggested by kier supported multiple migrations (of a single database i believe) for a single price. not sure if that service is still on.

 

[dzv3]

I'm on the same boat but i'm planning on coding my own vB4 converter based on vB3 converter (why pay if i can do it as well) that will ship on Oct 5, i don't expect it to take that longer, probably a week or two but ill release it for free if i manage to get a working solution, of course, at the user's risks.

 

[Chromaniac]

haha. i had do beta testing for ya if it works out well for you.

 

[Anthony Parsons]

I wouldn't stress about it to be perfectly honest, because I suspect a vb4 converter will be available real quick... days at most I would imagine.

 

[Chromaniac]

Should be good. I guess there are plenty of programmers who have experience with the database structure of vb3 and vb4 who would want to provide their own solutions once they get to know about XF database structure.

If nothing else works, XenFans is always there!

 

[Paul B]

i hope it does happen. because as of now, the only option for me is to buy it during the sale. have an empty test installation to play around with it.

I expect there will be more than enough for you to be getting on with such as setting up the options, configuring the style, creating pages, etc.
So instead of wasted time, just think of it as doing things in a different way; get everything ready and by the time it is the converter will probably be available and you're good to go.

That's how I plan to approach it as I expect a phpBB importer won't be available for a while.

 

[Chromaniac]

righto. i plan to install it on a different site (no forum there currently) and run it there as a full fledged forum. if that forum gets some traffic, i would probably buy another license for the primary forum that i want to migrate.

 

[Forsaken]

I expect there will be more than enough for you to be getting on with such as setting up the options, configuring the style, creating pages, etc.
So instead of wasted time, just think of it as doing things in a different way; get everything ready and by the time it is the converter will probably be available and you're good to go.

That's how I plan to approach it as I expect a phpBB importer won't be available for a while.

Thats probably because its much more rare for free forum users to convert to a paid solution.

 

[Floris]

We're still finalizing prices though, we need to build up experience (more than we have) and get average times and figure out how long issues take to resolve, etc. It's quite possible the 250k number becomes 300k, or additional 250k posts is not $20 but $15 or $10. Just keep an eye on the site. I am sure XF will eventually have a version 4 importer included. We just have the ability to help where we can.

 

[Chromaniac]

alrighty. i have you on twitter and rss reader. so i have my eyes on xenfans!

 

[Booth]

Sorry for going off topic but I need a Social Engine importer (www.socialengine.net)

 

[Ryan]

I think there is no doubt that K&M understand the importance of a vB4 converter...because they both know that if it weren't for vB4, XF would probably not exist

 

[Lycaon]

I think there is no doubt that K&M understand the importance of a vB4 converter...because they both know that if it weren't for vB4, XF would probably not exist

I don't fully agree with that. Yes there are a lot of people who hate vBulletin 4 and that will help XenForo but there are other softwares to covert to.

XenForo exists because it's a good piece of software and even if vBulletin 4 wasn't wasting bandwidth across the globe, XenForo would still be here.

 

[Forsaken]

I don't fully agree with that. Yes there are a lot of people who hate vBulletin 4 and that will help XenForo but there are other softwares to covert to.

XenForo exists because it's a good piece of software and even if vBulletin 4 wasn't wasting bandwidth across the globe, XenForo would still be here.

I think he meant the changes that lead to vB4 were part of the decision to create a new system which has resulted in XenForo.