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)

 

[Mark.B]

Hi everyone,
<snipped>
Alicia Navarro
CEO - Skimlinks.com

Alicia, thank you for posting that.

Reading between the lines I would judge that potentially Kier *is* considering some sort of similar integration with your company in the future.

Certainly the fact that there's an XF affiliate link suggests Kier sees your company as reputable.
For many I suspect that may cast a somewhat different light on things, insofar as Kier's reputation carries a great deal of weight in these circles (as in - if Kier says something's ok, the chances are it probably is).
I make no further comment beyond that at this stage. Be interesting to see how this pans out now, here and *elsewhere*.

Who says the forum software market isn't interesting or dynamic any more?

 

[Shelley]

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.

What's the general feedback by vbulletin customers regarding this? is it welcomed or met with scepticism? I'm still not entirely sure why this is relevant towards xenforo unless I'm reading the title correctly and people may be worried that xenforo will do the same. Because I've never used ads on my forum I'm thinking wouldn't an owner choose their own ad company rather than have the product company choose it for them? As stated, my experience with this is vague at best.

 

[FredC]

Reading between the lines I would judge that potentially Kier *is* considering some sort of similar integration with your company in the future.

Glad you said it first.
So forum software developers can potentially make more money from my owned forum software license and future endeavors then i can make.

 

[x4rl]

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

It's not Your Company (skimlink's) at all.. its the fact vb has over 9000 bugs and yet there bring more and more extra's out tho anyway's this is xenforo sorry about that. sorry if you felt it was you ( imo anyway) (yea the 9000 is a joke.... meaning alot!)

 

[FredC]

What's the general feedback by vbulletin customers regarding this?

Its of course negative as usual, but the reasons are all over the map..

 

[Mark.B]

Glad you said it first.
So forum software developers can potentially make more money from my owned forum software license and future endeavors then i can make.

I don't see a problem with that, as long as they are not taking part of YOUR income.
If you, as a forum owner, can get a better percentage return (as is the case with the vB deal) then you could by "going it alone", what does it matter if the software developer also gets a completely separate payout?
*If* I was into monetising my forum, (which I'm not), I wouldn't have a problem with the above as long as it was entirely transparent, as with everything.

 

[gfc]

What's the general feedback by vbulletin customers regarding this? is it welcomed or met with scepticism? I'm still not entirely sure why this is relevant towards xenforo unless I'm reading the title correctly and people may be worried that xenforo will do the same. Because I've never used ads on my forum I'm thinking wouldn't an awner choose their own ad company rather than have the product company choose it for them? As stated, my expereince with this is vague at best.

Let me quote one customer what's the general feeling about it:

Who the hell needs bug fixes when you can have CASH instead?

Most forum owners are not complaining about skimlink first, but about that ib is focussing on everything but bug fixing.. even me and myself don't like the idea of having such a feature within the core of a product I owning..

 

[Mark.B]

Let me quote one customer what's the general feeling about it:

Who the hell needs bug fixes when you can have CASH instead?

Most forum owners are not complaining about skimlink first, but about that ib is focussing on everything but bug fixing.. even me and myself don't like the idea of having such a feature within the core of a product I owning..

Whilst the bugs comment has validity, the plugin thing is just general hysteria.

Seriously, just disable it. Even Kier's said so now and he'd know. Though this comment is really for "elsewhere"....

 

[Dan]

This is definitely a trust issue between IB and their customers. If XenForo was to implement this, great, awesome. Good Job again KAM! But the way IB has/is implementing these types of software, we/I can't help but to assume it is benefiting IB more than me.

 

[Mark.B]

This is definitely a trust issue between IB and their customers. If XenForo was to implement this, great, awesome. Good Job again KAM! But the way IB has/is implementing these types of software, we/I can't help but to assume it is benefiting IB more than me.

I'm not here to defend them, but I would say that they HAVE been entirely upfront about what it is.
They aren't going to disclose their exact income from it and nor should they be expected to.

But I agree that the trust issues do show up the differences in approach. If kier does put this on few people will have any complaints and THAT highlights where the competition has gone wrong, more than anything else - they have lost the confidence of many of their userbase.

 

[FredC]

This is definitely a trust issue between IB and their customers. If XenForo was to implement this, great, awesome. Good Job again KAM! But the way IB has/is implementing these types of software, we/I can't help but to assume it is benefiting IB more than me.

That pretty much says it for me.. My thing is if i want to or feel like id like to give XF ltd a kickback for a job well done im all for it. But i cant bring myself to use anything that would potentially put a dime of my money in IB's pocket.. This should be my choice. (and from the sounds of it, it might be?.. So i don't know what im complaining about anymore.)

 

[akia]

This is definitely a trust issue between IB and their customers. If XenForo was to implement this, great, awesome. Good Job again KAM! But the way IB has/is implementing these types of software, we/I can't help but to assume it is benefiting IB more than me.

I agree, I would only see this as a good thing, especially if you also had a choice of different providers.

 

[Alicia Navarro]

It's not Your Company (skimlink's) at all.. its the fact vb has over 9000 bugs and yet there bring more and more extra's out tho anyway's this is xenforo sorry about that. sorry if you felt it was you ( imo anyway) (yea the 9000 is a joke.... meaning alot!)

Thanks so much! My team have worked hard to make this launch successful for publishers, we are just trying to address any misunderstandings or concerns people might have.

 

[Dan]

I'm not here to defend them, but I would say that they HAVE been entirely upfront about what it is.
They aren't going to disclose their exact income from it and nor should they be expected to.

But I agree that the trust issues do show up the differences in approach. If kier does put this on few people will have any complaints and THAT highlights where the competition has gone wrong, more than anything else - they have lost the confidence of many of their userbase.

No need to defend. I actually don't mind if IB or Xenforo or any one else can make a few extra bucks on the side while helping their customers monetize their forum. I was trying to point out the general feel of adding something that could benefit said company when the core product is not up to "par". Just seems sneaky.

 

[SneakyDave]

but I would say that they HAVE been entirely upfront about what it is.

Except for the fact that they snuck it in without a beta test. Why not spend a little time and fix a bug or two instead? Is it that convoluted?

OK, I'm done.

 

[Floris]

"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."

So if you have a vBulletin forum but don't want to support internet brands, you can give the money to xenforo instead and still make money through the site on the vB powered board?

IB must be thrilled with that statement, unless I misunderstand the quote. If so, then I apologize.

 

[kilcher]

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?

In this case, "Product X" has not been well maintained or developed at a good pace. I think what most people, including myself, have a problem with is that "Product X" has not offered anything new for a long time and when we finally get something new it's a third party hack that comes off as a money grab.

I really couldn't care either way, it's an option, people can choose whether or not they want to use it. What I do have a bit of a problem with is that "Product X" took the time to integrate something that makes them money while bug fixes and new features have slowed to a crawl.

I do admit my reaction would be different if it were XF but I've been extremely happy with the development pace, product, support, etc. As you've seen your customers are more than happy to help you in any way that they can.

 

[Dean]

Unless I am missing something incredibly obvious, who gets the referral money is completely independent of where and how it is used.

And skimlinks appears to be completely independent of platform, wordpress, Mybb, static sites, anything.

 

[Mark.B]

"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."

So if you have a vBulletin forum but don't want to support internet brands, you can give the money to xenforo instead and still make money through the site on the vB powered board?

IB must be thrilled with that statement, unless I misunderstand the quote. If so, then I apologize.

I think you are correct, in which case, I can only say:

<Giggle>

 

[Stuart Wright]

We have had Skimlinks running on AVForums since March 2009. Alicia and her team have been very responsive to my requests for information and help, and their monthly payments have turned up bang on time.
Their online reporting tool is helpful, if a little slow to log in.
No complaints from here and they are a legit company.
All IB have done with vBulletin is slightly tweak the integration and sold it to us as a new feature of vB4.
If anyone objects to the way IB have killed off vBulletin then bypass their installation and install the plugin directly from Skimlinks.