So what's all the hype about?

Turt

Member
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. :sneaky:
 
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?

The bottom-line, as I'm sure you already know. The court-case is still ongoing and could be yet for a long time to come - who knows? If that's the one thing bothering you the most from buying and using XenForo, really you've answered your own question the way I see it. Nobody here can tell you when the court-case will end, or who will win it. None of us have a crystal ball to look into the future and know what the final outcome will be.

So you've got to make your own decision based on that?
 
Silly question by me, despite the sarcasm.

It's just the fact that I don't want to pay for a license, XenForo get done in court by its competitors, and then all of a sudden it's $140 down the drain... I'm sure you can understand that fact I guess... Unless there is an agreement by XenForo to its customers that some sort of refund can be issued? No word of that I assume?
 
Of course I understand that and were your coming from, I own an XenForo license and took that also into consideration when buying it.

Unless there is an agreement by XenForo to its customers that some sort of refund can be issued? No word of that I assume?

Not seen anything like that mentioned, I doubt you will either considering XenForo is new and still small yet for a company, having to put a lot of money into defending themselves in court against that nasty one-eyed giant monster named "Internet Brands".
 
And you still went ahead to purchase the license? May I ask what made you do that? No negativity intended. ;)

I've just contacted a member of staff so hopefully I can get some official answers.
 
And you still went ahead to purchase the license? May I ask what made you do that? No negativity intended.

Why did I purchase an XenForo license? Was just my decision, even if after 12 months they lost the court battle. The way I look at it, paying $140, which in UK money is around £80. I'll have had my money's worth over a 12 months period even if the worst came to worst. I smoke, I throw £10 a day down the drain on cigs, so what's £80 over a year?

I only wish my car insurance cost that much only a year. ;)
 
Not only that but the software is safe, secure and works wonderfully. If XF loses the court case your worst case scenario is a software platform that works but won't ever be able to be changed. So your site will continue to work perfectly.

The court case should be a consideration, but not a real huge one unless your site is a commercial/sales site where upgrading to take advantage of the latest trends is a big deal.
 
It's just the fact that I don't want to pay for a license, XenForo get done in court by its competitors, and then all of a sudden it's $140 down the drain... I'm sure you can understand that fact I guess... Unless there is an agreement by XenForo to its customers that some sort of refund can be issued? No word of that I assume?
Even if the lawsuit goes unfavorably, I doubt IB would kill XenForo. I bought 3 xF licenses just to support Kier & Mike. Have yet to use them.
 
Silly question by me, despite the sarcasm.

It's just the fact that I don't want to pay for a license, XenForo get done in court by its competitors, and then all of a sudden it's $140 down the drain... I'm sure you can understand that fact I guess... Unless there is an agreement by XenForo to its customers that some sort of refund can be issued? No word of that I assume?

Such a scenarios is, IMHO...and lengthy experience....so unlikely as to be down in the "less than 1% realm", which puts it below MANY other scenarios, such as a company (any) deciding to simply close the door and abandon a piece of code.

There are so many "if's" involved, but the basic story would be to assume that judges and other mediators are human beings. They look at a situation like this, and even if they find (highly doubtful) that XF is "guilty" of something or another, they are more likely to say "pay the other guy $20 per copy for the first 2 years " or something of that nature.

This is pretty much common sense. Take it to an extreme - you invented a new airbag which keeps drivers safer. You patented it, but a couple years later a competitor puts something in another car which could be construed as overlapping with your claims. A million such cars are produced and used. Would a judge tell the competitor to take each car into the dealers and disconnect the safety system? Of course not! They would say "pay $50 per car to the company with the patent, and either stop making them after the end of the year or work out a licensing agreement".....

All conjecture, of course...especially since it is highly doubtful that any code lifting was done here. The real stretch which could be imagined is that some looney judge or jury thinks that "vague ideas" are somehow IP, and therefore has XF pay a little penalty per copy for the first year or two.

You might want to think of it this way - maybe you are paying $100 for the SW and $40 for all the legal defense and eventual settlement or lack of such....of course, the SW is intrinsically worth much more.....
 
It's just the fact that I don't want to pay for a license, XenForo get done in court by its competitors, and then all of a sudden it's $140 down the drain... I'm sure you can understand that fact I guess... Unless there is an agreement by XenForo to its customers that some sort of refund can be issued? No word of that I assume?
There's nothing wrong with examining all the angles involved. I've done all the same research, myself. (And still managed to end up using IPB for a time, if you can imagine. :confused:)

The one thing most people never consider is how long a company is going to be in business. I had no guarantee Jelsoft or IPS would be around tomorrow. Yet I still traded dollars for their licenses, the same as I have with XenForo. No one knows what tomorrow holds for any of us, so any time you invest money in anything, there are elements of risk involved.

I've seen no offer of any refunds made by XenForo and I'm quite certain there will be none forthcoming. And that's quite alright by me. I understood and accepted the risks, going in.
 
I have allowed Turt limited Admin access to one of my (abandoned) sites so he can poke around and see how things look and feel. Sort of a more complete demo experience. Hell, I may offer it up as a demo site for anyone else to use if they want it.
 
Short version or long version?

Short version is I don't have the time or effort to put into it to make it a viable site.
Long answer is I don't have the time or effort to put into it to make it a viable site at all.

(There's actually more to that which is a bit more personal, but I won't get into it unless asked in a Conversation.)
 
Fair call then mrGTB, thanks for your comments.

Edrondol, I did get told that even if the court case was to go against XenForo, the actual software would still work, it just wouldn't receive updates; a point I missed stupidly. And thank you very much for allowing me to gain access to your installation of XenForo. I will take advantage of the opportunity as soon as I can.

Thanks for your post craigiri. A simple metaphor that made so much sense.

So true Mike54! Well, it definitely seems like I'm convinced. Now it's just a matter of me saving up the money to get the license. Having a casual and unreliable job doesn't help the situation at all. I've got some divine ideas for some new communities that need a better home then being on paper. I own my own hosting service so the forum software is the only thing missing in the equation. I'd be right in saying that XenForo doesn't have any payment plans available; all licenses must be paid as a lump sum? In regards to the refund, Ashley has told me that "it's impossible to provide guarantees based on what if scenarios". I've either gotta step up to the plate and purchase a license, otherwise miss out on what could be the best forum software to date. I wonder which one I will choose... :sneaky:
 
While this is true about the lump sum payment, I know of no other software company - forum or otherwise - that works like that. But $140 is an extremely good deal for what you get and the customer service here is frankly amazing.
 
I thought so. It is most definitely a good deal by the looks and sounds of things. I've been here for about two days now and in just that time I am convinced that this is definitely a fantastic piece of forum software by XenForo's customers and am willing to purchase a license as soon as possible.

Now it's just time to get the money together. :cautious:
 
I thought so. It is most definitely a good deal by the looks and sounds of things. I've been here for about two days now and in just that time I am convinced that this is definitely a fantastic piece of forum software by XenForo's customers and am willing to purchase a license as soon as possible.

Now it's just time to get the money together. :cautious:

Paypal often has little specials that allow you to buy something now and pay later - I've never taken advantage of them...but see them flash across the screen.

Another thought - if you are strapped for cash and want to start a community, perhaps you should use a decent open source forum. They are very good and will certainly do the job! This way you can judge whether the community will be successful. IMHO, the software should make little difference in that regard - my very successful community uses an ancient forum....folks care about CONTENT and not as much about the forum SW>

And, you can pick a program which allows easy import into XF.

Just saying...that's what I would do in most cases if I was experimenting.
 
Really? Looks like it's something worth reading into then. Thanks for that craigiri.

Whether the community is a hit straight away or not, I am always going to keep it so it looks like paying for a XenForo license would be of great benefit. I have used many free forum software before ranging from InvisionFree and ZetaBoards to open source software such as SMF and phpBB. All have served their purpose at the time but I have seen and viewed some negatives myself that I don't wish to continue with another project. They are definitely powerful and do their own thing, but for this new idea, XenForo is at the top of the ladder.

What ancient forum software do you use may I ask?

To answer to your last sentence, Edrondol has given me administrative access to his "demo" board so I've managed to get all the experimentation I need. Not to mention that I can also get a taste of the software from XenForo's own trial. I've loved each and every corner of the software so far and have no bad comments to give. The developers are doing an amazing job.
 
Turt the PayPal thing is essentially a credit card offer. Sign up for their credit card and pay later, with interest. I own five licenses and one vb3. The vb4 was sold to purchase an additional xenForo license. You just can't beat the ease with which you can work with this software.
 
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