Sincere feedback after 1 month of use

[Hareon]

I took a look at the Invision Power Board and saw that they are preparing new visuals for their board. I already think the default Invision style is beautiful. But the new one they are doing with the side navigation bar seems VERY FUNCTIONAL to me.

Will one day have Xenforo as an option for the core to have our board in the same way as they are doing there? I think some features that we see on other platforms that are interesting would be cool to see on Xenforo. Everything that is good has to come here!

I don't know why, but for some reason the general look of IPB appeals to me. Otherwise, I've already seen some Xenforo themes and I've only seen one (which is inspired by iOS) that I found more interesting, but in general, the default Xenforo Theme I think is even more beautiful than most of the themes out there and the basic theme is beautiful to me, even though it doesn't have as much appeal as IPB. On my board, I only saw the need for some specific adjustments, such the page width and some colors, which Xenforo already offers. The vast possibilities of adjusting this in the core theme easily is wonderful

Maybe it's my opinion, but at least when it comes to Profiles, I think Invision is better. But when it comes to choice, price and community, Xenforo easily outperforms IPB. I would like to one day see more Gamification and profile customization options in the Xenforo core. (I love that Profile Cover effect that slides and gets animated in IPB).

The last thing that I think stands out about IPB is the animations. The system itself has smooth animations and this makes the look seem more "premium" to the end user. Obviously the forum's features are the priority, but it is a priority for whoever administers the forum. The end user really likes and values the possibilities and fluidity of a responsive and animated design that brings a feeling of something modern and I used IPB as a reference because it was my alternative to buy (I was about to decide between Xenforo and IPB as they were the best visually).

Well, that was my feedback and I hope that Xenforo evolves more and more. Since I bought it, I like this platform more and more and I hope it always evolves and the community grows even more.

 

[CedricV]

Sounds to me you chose the wrong software. Jokes aside, the difference between XenForo and IPB is that XF has a very good 3rd party add on market.

If you're like me and like to customize your community to your own taste, you'll choose for XenForo.

Both IPB and XenForo have aspects where one is better than the other. I have always loved IPB, but they destroyed their own 3rd party market.

In terms of innovation, I must admit IPB has something really interesting going on with v5. But I'm not sure if that will ever overcome the greatness we see in XF's 3rd party market.

 

[zoldos]

I used Invision ages ago. It was okay, but when I got a taste of Xenforo (at original release), it's all I've used since!

 

[Suzanne O]

Xenforo > IPB

I used to love Invision free when it was available.
It's sadly no longer available and it's more for kids with arcade games and stuff now.

IPB was similar. Until the management became too strict causing many people to leave due to jacking up the prices.

Xenforo is here and it's a breath of fresh air.

 

[zoldos]

IPB was similar. Until the management became too strict causing many people to leave due to jacking up the prices.

That was my issue. It was in 2006 when I was using "Invision Power Board", and if memory serves me, I was told I had to pay more money to keep using it. What?

 

[Hareon]

About Invision, I like that they have Pages, Blog, Badges and Social Groups officially. This makes the forum more complete. But that's not a problem because Xenforo may have this in the future (I believe), just as it already has the Resource Manager which is an incredible addon.

Regarding visuals, it seems that there will be a new look in Xenforo 3.0. I'm really looking forward to meet. I no longer use Theme on my board exactly so I don't have to deal with compatibility. That's why I think more about the Default Theme than the possibility of switching to a third party theme. I think the same with Addons.

Having addons made by third parties is cool, but I always prefer that the Official offers the possibility. I think this because I came from phpBB where absolutely everything is supported by the community and depends solely on it.

This means that, with phpBB updates, it depends on the community to continue developing Addons and over time they are abandoned. Being an official addon, it is better because it will always have support and compatibility. That's why I prefer it. Invision has this, but I believe the Xenforo community is better. So even if Invision has "more factory content", in the long run Xenforo is more worth it.

I am patient about this and am currently satisfied. When I talk about other forums it's about features that I want for Xenforo because I really liked it here and I want this software to become the most complete of all.

 

[Davyc]

As is often said, beauty is only skin deep. Had you gone for IPB, you 'may' have realised a mistake was made? Look beyond the beautification, you can make XF look the way 'you' want with a little patience and a little creativity. IPB is more Corporate focussed now, and the restrictions they impose often cause more problems than they solve for the hobbyist. Take this from someone who used IPB and got burned, in more ways than one. XF is solid, flexible, caters for almost every possible use case, has a brilliant third party community (IPB destroyed theirs) and generally a fantastic, helpful first party user base. IPB will, eventually, become even less friendly towards the hobbyist community as they progress to their new version which will be geared to be more favourable to their hideously expensive cloud consumers options.

The other negative aspect is their intransigent management, who can come across as dictatorial not to mention patronising. This, alone, has contributed to many users jumping ship, as well as third party developers; but they don't care because they are hobbyists. When a business forgets its roots, and those that helped to bring them to where they stand now through their loyalty, and then discards them like unwanted relics of the past, it's time to move elsewhere. For me, that place is XF and the wonderful third party developers who add so much flavour to the stew which I like the taste of very much. This is my online home, and it always will be for as long as it's around.

 

[FTL]

@Hareon IPB doesn't have post numbers - does that bother you? It's a complete dealbreaker for me. Post numbers are really important for me, so I refuse to pay good money just to lose them.

I talked to them about it and I got some (polite) BS about number tracking issues when posts are deleted (not really, depends on how one looks at it) and they refuse point blank to restore them, as it used to have them, even as a switchable option. Heck, they even had an official add-on to restore them, but then pulled it.

Why are they forcing their own ideology on their customers, and especially when the software is so expensive? What a disgrace.

 

[Hareon]

Price is a problem at IPB. Is too expensive. Dear. Very expensive.

The problem with having expensive software is that it will be a barrier for new customers who will think twice, three times, four times before purchasing. Just like I did. And it was by thinking and researching alternatives that I discovered Xenforo.

So thanks to IPB being expensive, it made me look for forum alternatives. I didn't know about Xenforo and only then did I discover that the GBATEMP forum uses Xenforo (in fact, I would love to have that Leveling addon they have).

I think another problem for the Invision community to grow is also the price. With a smaller community, there will be less activity on the official forums, less interaction, less interest from third-party developers in creating addons and consequently the company itself loses money over time.

I think that's why they are abandoning good and interesting features. Cost cuts to save money (even with such an expensive board). If it is expensive, it becomes unsustainable.

 

[Opus X]

if i had to pay full price for the program instead of getting xenforo for $25 i would probably had ended up with the invision commununity
in the long run might be cheaper for what i want to do with my site after adding in plug ins.
but since i am on limited income i used the cheapest offering at the time.
i can always move to something else when i can afford it.