So what's all the hype about?

[Turt]

I've been an active user and researcher of various forum software currently on the market (both free and paid products) and have only recently heard about XenForo. I bought an IP.Board license less then two years ago and have been extremely pleased with it as it provides me with everything I need and more.

Why are you here then? Well I am always on the lookout for something more I guess. Something that can possibly "beat" the likes of IP.Board/IPS and so I stumbled upon XenForo.

What is it though that makes this new forum software stand out from the crowd? I have heard about the court case; is there more official documentation or updates about this that I can read about (possibly from the XenForo developers/staff themselves)? I am definitely interested in giving it a go and will be requesting a free demo early next year but I just wanted to get the small talk out of the way and see what all this stuff really is about. I have noticed some good features and I have heard a bit about the developers who are doing fantastic work to bring about this new product and provide support which is definitely a plus. But another thing I have noticed is the price. At US$140 (plus $40 a year for continued support and upgrades) a pop compared to the US$150 (plus $25 $50 a year for continued support and upgrades) that I paid to IPS, what is it that will make me use XenForo?

I'm not hating on XenForo at all and do not intend to start a war because of this, I am merely asking you what it is that makes you stand out from the rest of them and what it is that will make me use this software. Hopefully I can get mature answers to this topic as people saying "This is just the best forum software ever!" is kind of pointless without any evidence or statement to back up that claim.

Let the discussion begin.

 

[JVCode]

This is just the best forum software ever!

 

[Turt]

Hmph.

I saw that coming...

 

[Mike54]

Turt, I have been right where you are. Back in November of 2009, I converted all my vB/vBSEO sites to IPB. And to be honest, for about a year, I was tickled with how well IPB worked out. In November 2010, IPS released IPB 3.1.3 and everything went sour. I ended up sifting through some of the 3.1.4 core files and found a frightening amount of code that was really ill-considered. I edited a lot of files and saw my sites improving again. I made the mistake of updating (???) when 3.2 was released and started seeing the same rotten results.

I upgraded to XenForo, a little over a month ago. After just 30 days, I was already seeing amazing improvements. The site is running faster than ever, my search traffic is returning, some inactive members are participating again (after admitting they simply did not like the IPB UI) and my revenue numbers are better than I could have imagined.

When I tried to provide IPS with my recorded data, to show what I was experiencing, exactly nobody showed any interest. A few weeks back, IPS was suddenly admitting there might have been some changes that had caused some negative results. Might have, mind you. Maybe my expectations are exceedingly high, but I felt I had paid for more than lame excuses, long after the fact.

When I moved from vB to IPB, I was dismayed at the lack of community on their company forums. Everything felt so stilted and strained over there. Spend some time on these forums and you'll quickly see the difference.

Everyone is going to have different expectations, ideas and opinions, but I'm finding XenForo is satisfying all of my own.

 

[x4rl]

It's a dam good forum software with a golden core, other than that support is ok to boot. Browse here and make your own mind up

 

[netrix]

At IPs you have to pay $50 per year, better say $25 every 6 month.

 

[Andrej]

At IPs you have to pay $50 per year, better say $25 every 6 month.

That is fairly incorrect phrased. You are not required to pay 25$, you can still run the software if you don't pay 25$, you just loose access to Customer Sections like in here and software download.

 

[Blue]

I don't mind not having download access but when they cut off your read ability in the support forums unless you have a current subscription, well that was the deal breaker for me. I still have an IPB license but until they change their policy I don''t I will ever renew it.

Xenforo does what I need it to and my members love it.

 

[kkm323]

Have You Seen...?

 

[netrix]

@Andrej What do you mean with "Customer Sections", and software downloads also means purchased addons in marketplace as far as I'm aware.

 

[Andrej]

@Andrej What do you mean with "Customer Sections", and software downloads also means purchased addons in marketplace as far as I'm aware.

You loose access to IP.Board Technical/Application Support and other active client sections I assume, along with the Community Resources (including purchased ones).

 

[mrGTB]

That is fairly incorrect phrased. You are not required to pay 25$, you can still run the software if you don't pay 25$, you just loose access to Customer Sections like in here and software download.

You would lose the Anti-Spam feature IPB offers to use, if you don't keep it going. Believe me, without that you'll not be running an IPB forum for very long once the spammers start invading your forum like crazy Vikings without it used. Been there, seen it happen first-hand.

 

[Taylor J]

You would lose the Anti-Spam feature IPB offers to use, if you don't keep it going. Believe me, without that you'll not be running an IPB forum for very long once the spammers start invading your forum like crazy Vikings without it used. Been there, seen it happen first-hand.

I've run an IPB forum without having an active license account, never had spammers, Q&A, and a different version of reCAPTCHA made sure of that.

 

[mrGTB]

I've run an IPB forum without having an active license account, never had spammers, Q&A, and a different version of reCAPTCHA made sure of that.

Tried the same thing, even used same Q/A I'm using now that's stopping spammers on my current forum and one before it. Not sure why, but IPB was a spam magnet for me personally with them getting in. Had no problem when using the Anti-Spam IPS service, but once my license expired and had to use what was there, it just didn't stop them getting in. And worse still, there's no StopForumSpam plug-in you can use as a free alternative.

I avoid using reCaptcha now, it doesn't work very well these days I've found and Q/A is much better if you use the right questions and answers.

If it worked well for you using Q/A, fair enough. I found it didn't make that much difference and still got spammers joining daily. Most likely human ones however.

 

[Taylor J]

Tried the same thing, even used same Q/A I'm using now that's stopping spammers on my current forum and one before it. Not sure why, but IPB was a spam magnet for me personally with them getting in. Had no problem when using the Anti-Spam IPS service, but once my license expired and had to use what was there, it just didn't stop them getting in. And worse still, there's no StopForumSpam plug-in you can use as a free alternative.

I avoid using reCaptcha now, it doesn't work very well these days I've found and Q/A is much better if you use the right questions and answers.

If it worked well for you using Q/A, fair enough. I found it didn't make that much difference and still got spammers joining daily. Most likely human ones however.

I used a reCaptcha where you had to put an image together with 3-5 pieces, like a puzzle.

Also: http://community.invisionpower.com/...rum-spammer-ip-email-check-via-stopforumspam/

 

[Hyperion]

I have heard about the court case; is there more official documentation or updates about this that I can read about (possibly from the XenForo developers/staff themselves)?

I assume you already read "A Statement Regarding the Current Litigation" in the Announcements forum? How about "California Case Update"? There was an update posted in that topic a few days ago.

 

[mrGTB]

I used a reCaptcha where you had to put an image together with 3-5 pieces, like a puzzle.

Also: http://community.invisionpower.com/...rum-spammer-ip-email-check-via-stopforumspam/

Hmm, I wasn't aware of that before when using IPB 3.0.5. That seems to use the SFP service as well.

 

[Turt]

Thanks for all the replies guys. It's been a good read so far and I'm starting to get quite useful information and decent opinions on why XenForo is the path so many of you have chosen.

Mike54, what do you mean by finding code that was ill-considered? I am glad to hear that ever since upgrading to XenForo, there have been so good things that have happened to your community. Is there any reason why your inactive members have been returning apart from not particularly liking the IPB interface? Is it really because of XenForo, or could it be plainly coincidental? Admittedly, I haven't particularly been an active member on the IPS support forum, but I have taken a look around here and things seem to feel more community-like. Not so formal and "upper class", but still maintaining a friendly and professional atmosphere. That's definitely a plus. So I guess I am right in saying that you are completely satisfied ever since moving to XenForo and haven't encountered any problems at all ever since?

Vodkaholic, thanks for your comment. It is only two sentences but gives me a very direct opinion. After taking a look through the Forum Showcase and Critiques, there seems to be quite a lot of people happy with the software. I never knew there'd be this many customers either, considering XenForo is only just a year old.

I've just edited the post, thanks netrix. My bad.

Have You Seen...?

No I haven't actually, but I will take some time when I can to dig into it kkm323. Seems like it provides a showcase of all features XenForo provides.

I assume you already read "A Statement Regarding the Current Litigation" in the Announcements forum? How about "California Case Update"? There was an update posted in that topic a few days ago.

I haven't read either, but I did Google it and read about the main points of what brought about the court case to begin with. I'll take a look at the topics when I have a spare moment and see what the whole issue is about; the real facts anyway.

I think that the whole court case issue and stuff is what's making me stand back a bit from buying my own license here. If it weren't for that, I'd probably have one by now. I have my current IP.Board license and am unsure on what to do with it, but as I continue using this forum and reading more about what XenForo has to offer, well, let's just say that you guys might have to make some room for another customer very soon (yes, I would like your comments on whether this court case is for or against XenForo as a whole and whether it could jeopardise the company).

Thanks once again guys.

 

[Mike54]

Turt, if you stand back and listen to the IPS propaganda, you'll hear them singing their praises about how well they've optimized their code for the search engines. I'm merely saying I found a lot of their code that proved otherwise. Although it was too little and too late for me, they are now admitting they made some mistakes and are working to correct them.

Some of my returning members have admitted to me they didn't like the IPB UI, but those same members are now happily posting away. The site is one made up of primarily retirement-age males, who really don't know hardware from software from underwear. So to see how many of them are once again using the site, after a change of software really speaks volumes to me. We always have those people who step right up to complain about things, but this has reminded me that many people quietly slip away, when they find things they do not like. I've tried to pin down what it is they didn't like about IPB and what they really like in XenForo, but it seems it's just something intangible. <shrug> As long as they are happy with XenForo, that's good enough for me.

I am 100% satisfied with my entire XenForo experience. There was not much of a learning curve with the XenForo Admin CP, which was a big plus. Things are easier to find and easier to accomplish. My members love the XenForo UI. I enjoy being part of the friendly community here, as opposed to the IPS forums. I've only had one issue I needed to submit a ticket on and Mike attacked it with a vengeance. He and I were exchanging messages via the ticket system at almost the same rate as you would expect via IM, until the problem was resolved. For me, it all comes down to a point of what's not to like?

 

[Turt]

I've always thought it to be a court case between vB and XenForo, considering the developers were ex-vB staff. No? Why have IPS decided to butt in? Or have I completely lost the point?

I am happy to hear that XenForo has allowed your community to get a lot more active, and bring about those members that were inactive. It's really good to hear from someone that actually takes pride in what they're writing and is taking the time to explain exactly what I need explained, not only to "convince" me to use this forum software, but to give me a general idea of what I should expect. So far so good I say! Seems to me that this software has been built from scratch to meet the standards/experience of all types of people, not only those that are gurus in a variety of different forums. I hear what you're saying about the SEO issues that IPS still haven't managed to fix up... Let's see if it gets sorted in the next update...

Like I said though, the court case is something that's bugging me. From quickly browsing around the topics linked to in this topic, I haven't managed to find out whether the court cases have ended or are close to ending. Nor can I make out whether XenForo are "winning" or not. Any help there?

Your experiences are fantastic and it really is music to my ears. Thanks once again for your posts Mike54, it's greatly appreciated and I hope more people can reply to the topic as well (oh, and don't see this as a dismissal or anything, keep on posting as well)!