This is nice and all, but...

HannahP

HannahP

Well-known member
I assume everyone here is or was a vB user, and whatever you think of the recent version or the company that creates it, it is still the best forum software available. Those of us who stuck with it through v4.x are going to be hard pressed to switch to a new software.

I know I've invested a lot of time in taming that ***** to approximate my vB3 layout in 4.x, and after much griping and sniping now the users are used to vB4. Dropping some new, simpler, completely different thing on them is going to give me another month of calming people down and explaining why change is good.

Most of you are looking at this from a forum owner's point of view, and from there, yeah, this is all great news and fun and sunflowers and candy canes. But I don't think your users are going to share your enthusiasm. Especially if you recently dragged them through a painful vB 4.x upgrade.
 
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Vilandra said:
I started using vb with version 1 lol, and I can say it is not today the software it was back then (well okay, maybe in version 2 lol). I'm on 3.8x and I have zero desire to continue on, and would welcome a software without the bloat that is today's vb, that runs well. And the kind of people who are developing a software makes a big difference I think
:)
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Nail on head there with the bloat comment. To me vB4 doesn't do things in a nice way - I experimented with it and it felt like what would happen if you felt CSS and OOP were good things to do while completely missing the bigger picture.

Any change will be painful for members and personally I'll give the software a fair time to become settled and have a proper look at it. But from what I've seen so far it looks a tempting way forward for vB3 owners.

I'd not have commented but it's fun to post here for some reason.
 
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feldon30 said:
People scoffed at vBulletin 1.0.
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Saying it looks like a toy for children isn't scoffing. ;) One of the thing my users complained about when we went to vB4 was the "cartoony" way it looked. I knocked a lot of the groovy, web 2.0 roundness off the thing, but this - to me - looks way more childish and goofy, that's all. Like we should be talking about Hannah Montana or what we named the stuffed animals we got for Christmas.

For what it is I just find all the over-the-top fanboy enthusiasm puzzling. That's not a criticism, it's an observation. A lot of people around here act like XenForo is going to save the world from the evil beast that is vBulletin. So far vBulletin hasn't screwed me or ripped me off or done anything but come out with a new version. I can see how you might not like the new version (especially if you use the crap CMS, which I do not), but to turn on the product or the company or whoever seems a bit premature. Just think back to the vB2 -> vB3 upgrade and all the weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. You would have thought it was the end of civilization as we know it. But now people here talk about vB3 like it's a sacred gift from the baby Jesus or something.

I think the majority of its users do not feel need to be rescued from vBulletin - life is fine in 4.0.5 land, I assure you - so these guys are going to have to show a compelling reason to abandon it. And Internet Brands is evil! is not a compelling reason. It's not even logical. All I'm saying is this - as it stands - is not enough. I know, it's new. Maybe it will be enough some day.
 
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vord said:
Nail on head there with the bloat comment. To me vB4 doesn't do things in a nice way - I experimented with it and it felt like what would happen if you felt CSS and OOP were good things to do while completely missing the bigger picture.

Any change will be painful for members and personally I'll give the software a fair time to become settled and have a proper look at it. But from what I've seen so far it looks a tempting way forward for vB3 owners.

I'd not have commented but it's fun to post here for some reason.
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We are seeing many people enjoying posting and "fun to post here for some reason" would be a wonderful philosophy on any forum! Am I allowed to say I can't stop myself from posting...
 
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Well I can only speak for myself, but the early days of learning vbulletin for me were a really fun time, where I was excited about building my communities and what would appear in the next version of vb. It hasn't been that way in a while for me, and I have lost confidence in the product. So seeing this (XF), by names I recognize (lol) and DO have confidence in, makes me nostalgic for 9 years ago when vb was new to me. So that's why I'M personally excited about this and actually posting on this board for a software that's not even available yet (which is really, really not like me at all). My 11 cents :)
 
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mjp said:
Saying it looks like a toy for children isn't scoffing. ;) One of the thing my users complained about when we went to vB4 was the "cartoony" way it looked. I knocked a lot of the groovy, web 2.0 roundness off the thing, but this - to me - looks way more childish and goofy, that's all. Like we should be talking about Hannah Montana or what we named the stuffed animals we got for Christmas.
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mjp,
I can understand where you are coming from, but you need to understand it is the thought and coding that as gone into producing a modern forum. The theme/skin from what as been mentioned on this forum can be changed very easily and once XenForo as been released I am sure you will start to see many themes/skins that are more to your liking.
 
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I went on an expedition to the UBB website to see if there was any discussion about XenForo. Regrettably, there was none. However, I did find a bunch of people still stuck in 1999. I would have procured a sample, but I had to make it back to 88 mph before the age started leaking through and decomposing my browser window.

Very curious species.
 
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Douglas said:

I have no intention of switching any of my existing sites to XenForo, but i'm excited about using it for new projects i'm working on.
For a while it's obviously not going to be able to compete with its well established competitors, and for many forums it will make no sense for owners to upgrade/downgrade to XF. But for small communities, dead communities in need of a new lifeline, and future forums I think it'll be perfect right from launch.
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same here, exiting sites will stay on vB for some time - my vB 3.8.x license members area still has 1 or 2 months before expiration, by then hopefully see how things are. Will use Xenforo on new sites though :)
Gill said:
There are a large number of ex vB ... or perhaps current vB customers who have chosen not to upgrade to vB4 because of the way it was handled and concerns about the quality of what was being offered. I am one of those. I hold 3 licences and all sit on 3.8. I was the sort of customer who automatically renewed - paid for whatever and actively promoted vB to others. Nothing in this world would have stopped me being part of what I considered an amazing piece of software. Well, something did ... and it was called IB! The moment the acquisition took place I became concerned. My concerns were realised a year later.

So, here is XenForo - I'm ready and waiting to upgrade. I imagine there are loads of people in my position waiting for the same. XenForo have a market just waiting for them.

I have shared the link here with some of the members of one of my forums and am getting very positive feedback. This is going to be a good move. So far, not one negative comment. I'm not surprised though!
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Yeah only thing stopping me from using my vB4 suite license is the style system - waiting for the revamp to stablize before putting effort into learning how to use it heh.
 
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