New IPB (3.2)

Mmhhh. I really like the new style. What I would like to see in future xenForo releases is this:

View attachment 15793

A simple thread-icon on the left and the authors avatar on the right. This looks much more clearly in my opinion.
You could easily do that yourself, and it would only be a few edits.

The way XenForo does it is a bit more logical though, as if you're wanting to see who the author is you can to the right (almost immediately) rather than scan across the whole page to find out.

It also looks nicer here :).
 
Arrrr .... Okay, okay I seem to be alone with my opinion ;)
Nah, I am with you. I find the avatar to the left to be completely meaningless. It may have value for hardcore users who memorized which avatar goes with which users but for busy forums and most users there is exactly zero value in seeing the avatar of the thread starter to the left. I would much prefer a standard icon for a new thread rather than this circus show that's the current way of doing things.

I see a little more value in showing my avatar pic to signify that I replied to the thread, but even that value is marginal over just some other standardized style that would show that a post to that thread was made.
 
Exactly... I got so sick of useless things loading in forum software... images and icons... lets be honest, the damn things needed a further icon block to explain them all. What nonsense it all became. If it has no useful purpose, use the avatar... one single image that is cached vs. tens of images to achieve the same thing. YUK!
 
I like icons :O Especially for my IPB 3.1 website, it really helps emphasize the subject of my forum.

And I also like the little overlaying avatar for threads I have replies in Xenforo.
 
I love IPB 3.2 but I use XF and IPB for very different purposes. Personally I find XF easiest and quickest to use and my forum of choice. When it comes to covering all my bases, it's virtually there and I think that my workaround for one outstanding feature I need should work until the product matures (planned for a few months ahead). What I like is the ease of getting users involved ASAP, no fuss, no mess. I use IPB for a more regimented experience that involves multiple different pieces of media that must be organized and integrated, e.g. a more full fledged social network.
 
If I'm honest, I think IPB still looks very bland, and the similarities withXenForo I think were not done as well as they could have been. But, that's just my personal opinion.
 
If I'm honest, I think IPB still looks very bland, and the similarities withXenForo I think were not done as well as they could have been. But, that's just my personal opinion.
Looks super similar, but way to flat, and still looks like a deprecated design style.

I'm just glad they got rid of that wasteful padding and margin. Must have cut vertical scroll by at least a third.
 
I know, I styled my IPB 3.0-3.1 before. And it was not easy..... don't compare to Xenforo, styling Xenforo was a ton easier lol ....

I wasn't quite happy with IPB's style, nor could I found any style that clicked since 3.0. Hence my previous post.

Just a personal taste.
 
For the first time in history IP.Board looks better than vBulletin - especially version 4. This will be huge for them, and together with them basically ripping off the features that others introduce via innovation, they help themselves stay a player in the market. If they match the userbase that IB has for vBulletin, they will be back in the top 3 boards, but this time not because of lack of competitors, pushing vB down a step. The latter won't happen though, they need a few good years to get to the same numbers customer-base wise.

Is it not silly that XF can write things from scratch, innovate, and inject themselves in a market of outdated products, and do things well .. and IPB is already playing catchup?

They're the playbook to the ipad.

Good job Matt, just a shame you lose my respect *again* by simply waiting to see what others do (and publicly state that in tweets) to then just take those ideas to improve your own; seeing how being innovating or understanding the market appears to not be your strongpoint.

3.2 is a great new product, looks great, and it's worth installing if you just need a community product that people are somewhat familiar with and you need more than just a forum.

If you want a modern solution, bet ya cash on xenforo. Clearly. Because it's not about having half the features other products have build originally, or a pretty shell around it. It's about having an engineered product that understand it's market, customers, and the future it's in.

THAT is IPB 3.2
THIS is just version 1.0 of XenForo
 
At the end of the day it doesn't matter who took clues from whom, what matters is which product is more usable in terms of core features and add-ons. The future is meaningless till you get there and it actually turns out to be what you had hoped it to be.

Admins aren't going to stick to XF for ideological reasons, unless one is from Soviet Russia perhaps, admins are going to use the product that fits their needs. With the progress IPB made with 3.2 and given their broad add-on availability they did a good job in retaining/pleasing their existing customers and perhaps grab some new ones. That's all a company can hope for anyway.

It always makes me roll my eyes to read "XF's future is so bright it needs to wear shades!" as that somehow implies that everyone else will just stop development of their scripts right now while XF is the only script that will continue to evolve into the future.

This is very much a matter of who can outdevelop and outlast whom.
 
At the end of the day it doesn't matter who took clues from whom, what matters is which product is more usable in terms of core features and add-ons. The future is meaningless till you get there and it actually turns out to be what you had hoped it to be.

Admins aren't going to stick to XF for ideological reasons, unless one is from Soviet Russia perhaps, admins are going to use the product that fits their needs. With the progress IPB made with 3.2 and given their broad add-on availability they did a good job in retaining/pleasing their existing customers and perhaps grab some new ones. That's all a company can hope for anyway.

It always makes me roll my eyes to read "XF's future is so bright it needs to wear shades!" as that somehow implies that everyone else will just stop development of their scripts right now while XF is the only script that will continue to evolve into the future.

This is very much a matter of who can outdevelop and outlast whom.
(y) IPB will just always be behind then, XF is pretty much the only board doing something original.
 
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