{pre sale Q} Switch VB to XF : confused... some Q, please

[Trdc]

hi there

Ok I spent a couple of hours her and onto another xf forum, but it stays unclear for me, could you simply help?
to summarize:
vb 4.2.2 user (legit) with hacks and add ons, I don't use the CMS; 9 000 members/ 160 000 posts; recently vb forum migration (server migration) with lots of prob, now it's up again but with some limitations ,
I'd like to use a cleaner, more efficient Forum soft with :

• nice display ( latest posts, threads, members, what's goin on....) on home page for example
• efficient antispam
• chatbox
• simple galleries system

included, no more hacks/addons to update or disable , or conflicting/unsafe mods

• blogs' possibility is a bonus, but not really needed

so are these items included or can I enable 'em easily in XF, ?

I've seen lots of paid add ons even for simple little things ( who's online block or latest members online /24h) ... ???

1/ do XF need so much add ons ? in this case I will give up 'cuz that's what I want to avoid... I need a clean complete functional (with these previous req) out of the box soft
2/ did I follow wrong links or is there a free/donationware generous resources' directory?
3/ I've seen a demo here, but is there a way to be sure that import will work smoothly ( a limited time demo which can be used as test - offline)

Thanks

 

[Slavik]

1) The addons you need depend how many you install, I run 6 on my forum, others run 60. What you see here at XenForo.com is the default install with most features enabled, and only the Resource Manager and Enhanced search addon.

2) http://xenforo.com/community/resources/ 99% of all resources are here, free and paid.

3) No offline demo available.

 

[tommydamic68]

hi there

Ok I spent a couple of hours her and onto another xf forum, but it stays unclear for me, could you simply help?
to summarize:
vb 4.2.2 user (legit) with hacks and add ons, I don't use the CMS; 9 000 members/ 160 000 posts; recently vb forum migration (server migration) with lots of prob, now it's up again but with some limitations ,
I'd like to use a cleaner, more efficient Forum soft with :

• nice display ( latest posts, threads, members, what's goin on....) on home page for example
• efficient antispam
• chatbox
• simple galleries system

included, no more hacks/addons to update or disable , or conflicting/unsafe mods

• blogs' possibility is a bonus, but not really needed

so are these items included or can I enable 'em easily in XF, ?

I've seen lots of paid add ons even for simple little things ( who's online block or latest members online /24h) ... ???

1/ do XF need so much add ons ? in this case I will give up 'cuz that's what I want to avoid... I need a clean complete functional (with these previous req) out of the box soft
2/ did I follow wrong links or is there a free/donationware generous resources' directory?
3/ I've seen a demo here, but is there a way to be sure that import will work smoothly ( a limited time demo which can be used as test - offline)

Thanks

• nice display ( latest posts, threads, members, what's goin on....) on home page for example - with an add on or two- you can get a similar look and feel as VB. You will need add ons to have a look and feel that you are used to with VB. Xenforo does perform better than VB as far as add ons or "mods."
• efficient antispam - I have found the core spam protection works better than any VB mod I had installed with VB 3.8
• chatbox - Yes- add on-very similar to the most popular one offered for VB ( not free).
• simple galleries system - Yes- add on-There are two popular album add ons here on Xenforo ( not free) - they both lack the feature of being able to share your photos via the editor as most VB paid galleries offered. Other than that, they are similar in functionality. Note - read descriptions on both, one also does not automatically resize and causes frustration with members.

Overall, with add ons installed Xenforo uses less resources and performs better then VB with my personal experience with both forum software. Xenforo is different than VB and will take you and your members time to get use to.

Import from VB to Xenforo is very easy and straight forward.

Edit: Generally , The support structure and people willing to help here on this forum is second to none.