suggestion: allow non-clients to post in Add-on Requests forum

[User]

Suggestion: Allow users who have not purchased XF to create threads and make posts in the Add-on Requests forum.

Rationale: Some (many?) potential XF buyers are not currently buying XF because some specific add-on they have been using does not yet exist for XF. If those potential buyers are given the opportunity to request such add-on, and then an add-on developer (or K&M) actually picks up the request and delivers the add-on, the potential buyer is more likely to convert to an actual buyer. Without the ability to request the add-on this conversion isn't going to happen.

 

[Digital Doctor]

I don't think everyone in Pre-Sales that is looking for "something essential" before buying is a pirate in disguise.
What is the situation here ? Nobody knows.
I certainly know someone for whom I reposted one of their requests in the Addon section is waiting for Ignore and then will be migrating to xenforo.
Please keep in mind, I never offered myself as a Topsite courier.
I was more investigating exactly what he wanted.
If he wanted something to improve his xenforo because it was having problem X ... I was going to ask for a URL.

 

[Dominion]

I don't think everyone in Pre-Sales that is looking for "something essential" before buying is a pirate in disguise. What is the situation here ? Nobody knows."

Doctor, that's exactly the problem: nobody knows. I don't think that XenForo are assuming everyone is a pirate; I think they can't afford to assume that they aren't. That's entirely reasonable.

I certainly know someone for whom I reposted one of their requests in the Addon section is waiting for Ignore and then will be migrating to xenforo.

If it's someone you know personally, then you may well be in a position to judge their sincerity. But talk is cheap, and anyone can insincerely claim to have a sincere interest in purchasing. Again, nobody knows. XenForo have no way of distinguishing the truly sincere from those who are only feigning sincerity. And I can understand if they would rather not have other people (no matter how well-intentioned they may be) making such judgements on their behalf when after all it's their resources that are on the line.

 

[User]

Basically you're saying is this: I suspect their may be at least one XenForo non-customer who has a valid need for this resource, hence you should assume that all XenForo customers have a valid need for this resource. That's just as ludicrous a fallacy as the one you've of which you have accused Bogus.

Except that in my case reality has already proven my point. Conversion rates to XF are low in comparison to how many forums are out there. Now, there are of course any number of reasons why people don't want to abandon their existing system, but one of the vibes (sorry for the non-empirical term) one can get when one looks at XF discussions out there on the net is that there are a number of folks out there who say: "XF is cool, I'd use it if only it would do the X that my current forum does."

How many prospective customers like that are out there? I don't know. What I do know is that K&M want 3rd party developers to code add-ons because frankly the long term commercial success of XF depends on a large add-on library. The suggestion I made was to allow anyone to put in requests to enlarge that library.

Just because a non-customer could post in the appropriate area to request an add-on doesn't mean the same non-customer would be allowed to download the requested add-on. Why I even need to mention that is beyond me, yet quite a few people in this thread seem to imply that I am either asking for that (which I have not, neither directly nor indirectly) or that allowing non-customers to download is somehow mandatory.

 

[Peggy]

Conversion rates to XF are low in comparison to how many forums are out there.

Pardon my asking, but.... exactly how would you know this?

 

[Shelley]

Bad idea. The moment a transaction goes bad, or money exchanges hands so to speak then xenforo become s a place for heated arguments. Yes, we know this can happen to people being ripped off by licensed customers but the person paying/requesting has a good idea what the licensed person is all about.

Members making requests and a dev coming forward can provide their xenforo portfolio so to speak where a non licensed customer couldn't. Nothing stops a person registering, ripping off a member requesting an add-on and then doing a runner. Again, yes this is possible by licensed customers but it's drastically limited as licensed customers want to preserve their rep and members know who the reputable people are around here not a member whom just registered with 1 post.

 

[Dominion]

Except that in my case reality has already proven my point. Conversion rates to XF are low in comparison to how many forums are out there. Now, there are of course any number of reasons why people don't want to abandon their existing system, but one of the vibes (sorry for the non-empirical term) one can get when one looks at XF discussions out there on the net is that there are a number of folks out there who say: "XF is cool, I'd use it if only it would do the X that my current forum does."

This sounds reasonable, but XenForo 1.o was only released on March 9, barely more than two months ago. I don't think you're in any position to judge whether the conversion rates are what they should be, let alone whether they are meeting the expectations of the developers.

How many prospective customers like that are out there? I don't know. What I do know is that K&M want 3rd party developers to code add-ons because frankly the long term commercial success of XF depends on a large add-on library. The suggestion I made was to allow anyone to put in requests to enlarge that library.

And you received your answer. People are already allowed to make such requests.

Just because a non-customer could post in the appropriate area to request an add-on doesn't mean the same non-customer would be allowed to download the requested add-on.

Just because you've chosen to assume that the Add-on Requests forum is the appropriate place for add-on requests from prospective customers doesn't make it so. This forum is the appropriate place.

You've got what you wanted (and always had it, in fact). You may as well stop flogging; the horse is dead.

 

[User]

Pardon my asking, but.... exactly how would you know this?

Good question.
Let's say you would want to get an estimate on the conversions. How would you go about that? Assuming that you don't have access to the sales data and the download stats for the converters.

 

[Russ]

Good question.
Let's say you would want to get an estimate on the conversions. How would you go about that? Assuming that you don't have access to the sales data and the download stats for the converters.

...

Anywho, I personally too don't see the need for non-customers to be able to request mods, they wouldn't even be able to test the mod to make sure it's up to their standards... and they won't even be able to open the full sized image of the preview of the mod

 

[Peggy]

Good question.
Let's say you would want to get an estimate on the conversions. How would you go about that? Assuming that you don't have access to the sales data and the download stats for the converters.

I do believe that I asked you first.

 

[User]

I do believe that I asked you first.

Fair enough.
I formed my opinion based on observing discussions about the differences and whether to go with one or the other. A new product to the forum market does bring those discussions up especially considering that the XF team is ex-vB. Then I went to Google and asked it how many XF pages it has indexed vs. vB and IPB pages (not comparing it to SMF/phpBB since those are free). Are those numbers a precise measure of conversion? Nope, but that's all there is for the average consumer.

Russ makes a good point in that non-customers can't actually try the mod. In my view the request would have been by someone who would want to try XF but doesn't because it lacks some functionality they need. They would then post and describe what they are looking for. If someone picks the request up the requester would need to buy XF, but they would also more likely to be willing to it since there's someone out there who is working on the functionality they need.

In terms of paid mods and disagreements between client and dev, that's entirely between those two parties. XF has nothing to do with it. In any type of commissioned work there's a contract that outlines the terms. If the parties didn't enter into a formal contract then that can't be helped, but that really doesn't relate to the request forum. Drama can occur regardless and needs to be moderated regardless.

I agree with Dominion on at least the point that the horse is dead. I see merit and growth, other's see rampant piracy and anarchy. We can agree to disagree and just move on.

 

[Shelley]

In terms of paid mods and disagreements between client and dev, that's entirely between those two parties. XF has nothing to do with it. In any type of commissioned work there's a contract that outlines the terms. If the parties didn't enter into a formal contract then that can't be helped, but that really doesn't relate to the request forum. Drama can occur regardless and needs to be moderated regardless.

Which I stated in my post. And yes, xenforo does need to be accountable in some shape or form their clients being ripped off passes onto the other forums whilst the non customer who may have ripped them off is left Scott free to register another account. Obviously (which I stated in my post) licensed members are capable of ripping people off but then the average person will do their home work, check their posts, their sites, their xenforo portfolio which limits the ripping off part.

The image xenforo has to portray across is that they care about their clients, the moment customers feel that the owners don't (well we know what happens in those situations) disgruntled members asking why non customers are allowed to post. There will always be fingers being pointed if the basic, fundamental precautions are not taken.

Simple, people want full access dig deep though it really isn't that deep if time is money.

 

[Peggy]

All of what you posted has, in no way, presented a good reason as to why the pre-sales forum isn't a good enough venue.
All one has to do is to state in their thread title - "XX needed to move to xenforo".

Coders around here are looking at these things all the time.