Please tell me you will never... Do this....

[Adam Howard]

Skimlinks and VerticalResponse

So they've added adware and spam into the core product. Nice going Internet Brands.

1) Internet Brands decided to rely on a 3rd party product, rather then code something

2) Internet Brands decided we should be paying a 3rd party provider to use the product we already paid for from Internet Brands (vBulletin)

3) Security software does not like their 3rd party service provider (some individuals will get a warning or not even be able to access the 3rd party provider's site).

4) Use of their services (the 3rd party provider) has been blocked by some mail servers and by association, your community could also be blocked or classified as spam.

5) Some of the ads by Skimlinks have been flagged by security software, so using it can also get your site flagged

A job well done Internet Brands.

So I just want to know... That XenForo.... Would never do this to their customers?!

(The quote is from a post I made on vBulletin's Support Site)

 

[jmurrayhead]

Please tell me you will never... Do this....

Right

I think it's a valid concern held for XenForo. Despite my dislike of this community's moderation and censorship, I think it still falls within the rules.

 

[Kier]

Kier, I think the problem is that Forum Product X is full of bugs not being fixed, is being devloped in the wrong direction, and yet integrates products rather than fixes it's core is the main complaint.

Sure, but if our hypothetical forum product is virtually bug free and customers are happy with the development direction, and they introduce a product such as Skimlinks in addition to everything else they are doing, that can only be a good thing, surely?

 

[x4rl]

Sure, but if our hypothetical forum product is virtually bug free and customers are happy with the development direction, and they introduce a product such as Skimlinks in addition to everything else they are doing, that can only be a good thing, surely?

If it was a addon... where we could "pick" to use it Sure!!
Not added to bloat it up for people who will not use it. than aye thats a great thing!

 

[FredC]

Sure, but if our hypothetical forum product is virtually bug free and customers are happy with the development direction, and they introduce a product such as Skimlinks in addition to everything else they are doing, that can only be a good thing, surely?

Are you asking if its ok to make money off the back of your customers own hard work? If thats the case then no its not ok, esp the route vB goes about things.. (behind closed doors and in secret)

Now if your asking if the products introduced add to the overall value of the product.. Then i suppose the answer would be Yes (IMO) but again the way IB conducts business just make some peoples skin crawl..

 

[Elizabeth]

Sure, but if our hypothetical forum product is virtually bug free and customers are happy with the development direction, and they introduce a product such as Skimlinks in addition to everything else they are doing, that can only be a good thing, surely?

Yes, IF it were, and kept optional. Also adding Vertical Response as Optional MIGHT be a good thing as well, IF it were bug free and the customers were happy.

 

[x4rl]

3 posts within a minute all the same <3 that

 

[FredC]

At this rate IB's next move regarding vB will be to have all the admins moved to a new usergroup titled Pimp and all the members usergroup titles changed to.... well you know where im going with this.

 

[Floris]

I'm rather perplexed by this reaction. Ignore the fact that it's vBulletin for a moment and consider a more abstract case.

If Forum Product X is well maintained, feature rich and continues to develop at a good pace, and then it integrates a product such as Skimlinks, which allows customers to quickly and easily generate income from their forums, that's a bad thing?

I wonder how that Google download .zip is going over there ..

 

[gfc]

it's not disturbing to me that a forum software is integrating 3rd Party Addons. But in this case the thing is something different:
1) if the added functions is not a fundamental core function there should always be an opt-in, not an opt-out to the function.
2) priorisation is king. If the core is working properly: hey, please add new features. if the core is broken, please fix it first.

But as mentioned above: What are we discussing here vb topics? That's what's needed to say at vbulletin.com ..

 

[FredC]

But as mentioned above: What are we discussing here vb topics? That's what's needed to say at vbulletin.com ..

I tend to agree but its frustrating that you cannot speak up in the pre sales forum. and all such discussions of discontent are hidden behind the iron curtain.

 

[Shelley]

Exactly what does this all mean? Have they integrated adds with a 3rd part company and the admin hasn't got the ability to switch it off?

 

[FredC]

It can be switched off as my understanding but i would say its more of a moral issue of sorts. Id much prefer IB/vB spent more time fixing bugs and improving the core in functionality rather then adding half baked functions. Then using that time to figure out yet another way to pimp out our vB 4.x.x forums.
If they want to pimp out the forums they own wonderful, but i wont use this just for the simple fact that i swore id never give iB another dime. If IB had a few more ethics, i probably wouldn't mind kicking into the cause for a potentially useful plugin. But as said above this should be an opt in product and not an opt out product.

 

[Paul B]

I tend to agree but its frustrating that you cannot speak up in the pre sales forum.

Who said you can't?
This is from the forum description:

Any discussions related to or questions about XenForo should be posted in here. Please stay on-topic!

The more pertinent question is why do people want to discuss vBulletin in the XenForo Pre-Sales forum?
Incessantly.

 

[Kier]

Exactly what does this all mean? Have they integrated adds with a 3rd part company and the admin hasn't got the ability to switch it off?

The admin can switch it off with a single switch, after which the Skimlinks integration is fully disabled and has a footprint of only a few bytes' memory usage (the cost of the single ACP option).

 

[Kier]

if the added functions is not a fundamental core function there should always be an opt-in, not an opt-out to the function.

As I understand it, that is exactly how it works. If you don't have a Skimlinks account or have not entered your account details into the vBulletin ACP, the vBulletin integration cannot operate anyway. That has the same effect as expressly switching the system off.

 

[Mark.B]

Sure, but if our hypothetical forum product is virtually bug free and customers are happy with the development direction, and they introduce a product such as Skimlinks in addition to everything else they are doing, that can only be a good thing, surely?

If it is introduced in an entirely transparent manner, then yes. I don't have a problem with it. I wouldn't use such a product myself, but that's because my forum is not, and never will be, "monetised".

 

[Alicia Navarro]

Hi everyone,

My name is Alicia, and I'm the founder of Skimlinks. I'd love to address some of the valid questions and concerns raised here (with respect due to Kier, who was gracious enough to encourage me to do so):

1. The point of this relationship is to allow forum owners to make money. We already help thousands of sites around the world, and this relationship is just about making it even easier for forum owners to take advantage of our technology.

2. vBulletin does get rewarded for referring customers to us, but that comes out of our pocket, not the forum owner. We offer a referral programme for all our publishers, so anyone can get rewarded for helping us bring on new publishers. In fact, if you'd like to sign up to Skimlinks and credit Xenforo for the referral (which comes out of our pocket, not yours), you can do so here right now.

3. We do not share any information with vBulletin about publishers that sign up via their plugin/core. No information about the pages or links that are generating revenue, no information about the site's clicks or the revenue generated, no information about the forums' users. We are sorry this wasn't more clearly communicated, but please rest assured there are no privacy concerns for forum owners.

4. For those concerned about the weight of the addition to the core, it can be disabled via a single ACP setting, just a few bytes of memory, no extra files, etc.

Please do let me know if you have any other questions or concerns, about Skimlinks or how we work for forums or other sites. My team and I are just passionate about building great technology that helps forums and communities solvent and rewarded for the role they play in helping generate commerce on retailer sites.

Thanks everyone,
Alicia Navarro
CEO - Skimlinks.com

 

[gfc]

As I understand it, that is exactly how it works. If you don't have a Skimlinks account or have not entered your account details into the vBulletin ACP, the vBulletin integration cannot operate anyway. That has the same effect as expressly switching the system off.

You're right. But I'm forced to install a plugin even that I'll never use. It's not about "memory", it's about fair usage. For me it's the same as if I'm installing a pdf reader and one of these annoying browser-Toolbars is installed.

 

[FredC]

Who said you can't?
This is from the forum description:

Any discussions related to or questions about XenForo should be posted in here. Please stay on-topic!

The more pertinent question is why do people want to discuss vBulletin in the XenForo Pre-Sales forum?
Incessantly.

You misunderstand i meant the way vB moderates their own pre sales forum.. They make it look like vB can do anything and you cant even discuss the fact that vB may not be a good solution.. Its very narrow and one sided.

 

[Markos]

I think it's not evil a official integration...i hope to see soon on Xenforo good integrations with good services...
The important is that this integration should be after a mass customer request (it's not the case of "another forum software"...) and not simply a alternative system for creating revenue .