Software Maturity

[Shamil]

We're getting to that stage where the software is going to become mature enough for public beta, at which point, I assume will be the feature-lock stage.

To what extent though, do you feel that this software is a competitor to others, given its early stage in product lifecycle, and, given that other competing software have had years of experience, 10,000s lines of code etc.?

Obviously, the staff team will need to grow to sustain the produce: support, business development etc.

In 5 years time, how do you envisage XenForo to be?

 

[Lost]

The way I look at Xenforo is that already from a starting point Xenforo outshines all products when they first started.

So true! It's like this pc I'm building. Although it's not finished yet, it already outshines my friend's pc that I built for him 2 years ago.

 

[AmericanForum.com]

Very interesting comments and I'm very excited at swing the prospect. Is there anyone who is slightly worried that competitors will outdo XenForo?

Anything is possible with the internet ... IPB will be their main competitor

... vB has been stagnant for years so we can remove them as a serious competitor.

 

[Shamil]

Anything is possible with the internet ... IPB will be their main competitor

... vB has been stagnant for years so we can remove them as a serious competitor.

What I now need from XenForo is a working CMS and a blogging system. With that in place, I'll be using the software for my intranet, but also, other forums.

 

[Jeremy]

The way I look at Xenforo is that already from a starting point Xenforo outshines all products when they first started. To compare xenforo to a mature product isn't giving you a good insight what they have developed already. Again, can not be stated enough, and if you look back, if we look back when all products where in their infancy I think xenforo pips them all with the features they have already and I'm betting there are still some surprises to come before it's released.

That's all relative. Yeah, XenForo can do some crazy amazing stuff that vB wouldn't have thought about when they first started, but features like relative timestamps (which are awesome) are something from today's society. They are taking different standards, and using them. We'd never have thought to do a framework way back when vB/IPB started, but its now basically standard / widely available. Using JQuery (or any JS library) is also a great move, and vB tried to do it with YUI, but there was too much legacy code to make it efficient / worthwhile. But I think XenForo will blow the competition out of the water in roughly a year.

 

[Grover]

But I think XenForo will blow the competition out of the water in roughly a year.

I truly, madly, deeply hope so indeed. In 2011 I need to make a software-choice for 2 platforms (one new, and one running the excellent solid vB3.8).

 

[Onimua]

The way I look at Xenforo is that already from a starting point Xenforo outshines all products when they first started. To compare xenforo to a mature product isn't giving you a good insight what they have developed already. Again, can not be stated enough, and if you look back, if we look back when all products where in their infancy I think xenforo pips them all with the features they have already and I'm betting there are still some surprises to come before it's released.

I'm not entirely sure that approach works well either. When vB and IPB started, the developers behind it weren't as near experienced and knowledgable in the field as they are now.

For XenForo, that experience and knowledge is being applied from the start, which is an unfair advantage when comparing it to other products when they first started.

 

[Shamil]

I'm not entirely sure that approach works well either. When vB and IPB started, the developers behind it weren't as near experienced and knowledgable in the field as they are now.

For XenForo, that experience and knowledge is being applied from the start, which is an unfair advantage when comparing it to other products when they first started.

Very true, and that's why I believe that other solutions may be potentially catching up in the future.

 

[Tigratrus]

I'm not entirely sure that approach works well either. When vB and IPB started, the developers behind it weren't as near experienced and knowledgable in the field as they are now.

For XenForo, that experience and knowledge is being applied from the start, which is an unfair advantage when comparing it to other products when they first started.

Exactly right. It IS an unfair advantage, and because of that XF has a fundamentally superior platform. That's a tough thing to beat when you've got a ton of legacy code and upgrade issues you that you have to drag behind you like the proverbial millstone around your neck.

Back when Kier was talking about vB 4.0 being a total rewrite, I remember thinking that it would probably be better in the long term to basically just cut ties with the old system legacy support wise. IOW, instead of an upgrade to vB4 make it a migration process where you import your forum into the new system. Ironically, that's kind of what happened here, except that there's even less chance of fallout over the changes, as it actually IS a new forum package .

 

[Shelley]

Some fair points stated whom quoted me. In anycase. Enjoy the software (when it's released) for what it is and in X years amount of time we can see if the growth of development, quality assurance etc etc is what we are expecting (which I think it will be).

 

[Tigratrus]

Forgot one factor to figure in when weighing XF against competitors: XF comes with what should be uber effective SEO out of the box, so it's like getting VBSEO for free with every XF purchase! That's one less licensing expense and maintenance issue you have to worry about when operating a network of sites.

 

[Onimua]

Some fair points stated whom quoted me. In anycase. Enjoy the software (when it's released) for what it is and in X years amount of time we can see if the growth of development, quality assurance etc etc is what we are expecting (which I think it will be).

Personally I've learned to shudder at the term "Quality Assurance."

 

[Shamil]

Forgot one factor to figure in when weighing XF against competitors: XF comes with what should be uber effective SEO out of the box, so it's like getting VBSEO for free with every XF purchase! That's one less licensing expense and maintenance issue you have to worry about when operating a network of sites.

But additionally, the platform is there for us build on

 

[Tigratrus]

But additionally, the platform is there for us build on

Exactly!

 

[Shamil]

Exactly!

And thus build richer, more optimised tools - and if the plugin is community supported, then it'll be easier to add more features, and easier to fully optimise.

 

[James]

If XF isn't maintained properly and updated as technology updates, XF will also have a ton of old code preventing them from upgrading in future. This is why I hope Kier & Mike update XF as technology updates!

Other than that, the above posts cover it perfectly!

 

[Shamil]

If XF isn't maintained properly and updated as technology updates, XF will also have a ton of old code preventing them from upgrading in future. This is why I hope Kier & Mike update XF as technology updates!

Other than that, the above posts cover it perfectly!

I have no reason to believe we'll be discussing this potential issue.

 

[Brandon_R]

But additionally, the platform is there for us build on

You basically nailed it with that. If we cannot build then we cannot progress and that is what we need if we are to bypass the competition, Progress. Without that we would be right back where we started with all the others. No innovation or ingenuity, just a bunch of features they deemed should be in a forum application.

 

[Shamil]

You basically nailed it with that. If we cannot build then we cannot progress and that is what we need if we are to bypass the competition, Progress. Without that we would be right back where we started with all the others. No innovation or ingenuity, just a bunch of features they deemed should be in a forum application.

From what has been reported, making a plugin is laughably easy. Apparently, it is easier that writing for vBulletin.

 

[rastaX]

Wow.

At the risk of being pilloried, I'd like to inject some reality.

[devil's advocate mode] vB and IPB are very aware of the potential loss of market share this software poses. If they remain static and change nothing, sure xenForo has a shot at gaining a huge amount of market share very quickly. That is most unlikely to happen. vB is already bleeding, mostly to IPB right now and potentially to xenForo very soon. But, their market share is huge. They can sustain a good bit of loss and still maintain the number one slot. For all that is wrong with their product, they have a lot of money behind them and the resources to protect their position. They are not without the ability to turn things around. They don't need complete and total redemption for their current customer base to hold, most people dislike change. It is quite a leap for most people to change forum software. IPB is fairly innovative and has a great advantage as far as already having a mature product. Make no mistake about it, xenForo is innovative, wonderful software that should do well, but to take business away from the established players is no easy task in any business scenario. I see them creating a three way race in the commercial forum software business which is better for the end user that a two way race. I just can't see them racing to the front that easily. It's gonna be a very competitive race with three strong competitors. Not a runaway. [/devils advocate]

 

[Brandon_R]

From what has been reported, making a plugin is laughably easy. Apparently, it is easier that writing for vBulletin.

Heard that here also. Can't wait to see what the xenForo minds can come up with