This is nice and all, but...

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.
 

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.
 
I agree this is going to get to the point where you will want to make that move, for certain when it gets to the choice of upgrading to vB5 in a year or two or going to xenForo my existing forum will definitely be changing heck I may do it even sooner than that.

But xenForo does pose as the best option for a new site at the moment, and for trying to revive those old sites... For definite this forum software has some serious addictive functions and I hope that carries over to our communities :D
 
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.
....

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.

I disagree, vBulletin being the best available is purely an opinion that it meets your needs the best. Personally I find IPB far superior, except in bug counts, security flaws, and horrible communication. vBulletin hands down has the market cornered in those area's.

Also, if XenForo gives the general interface similarities between vBulletin, then it could easily be passed off as an upgrade to 4.1 :D
 
I've not actually forced my users to get used to vB4 yet. I was just about to make the decision to make the upgrade. But then I heard about XenForo. So now I'll just keep vB3.8 for a while longer. When xF is released for sale, I'll convert at least one vB 3.8 forum to it.
It would be two - but that other one has many addons from vb.org which people wouldn't want to do without.
 
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.
Well looking at it from a user and moderator's (not admin or owner) perspective I can say I'm excited about it :)
 
I guess, invite your members to come register and browse around a bit, and report back after an hour. See what their honest first impression is. Keeping your site in mind, thinking about what they want out of your site, browsing, posting, and socializing with others.

At the end of the day, use what works.
 
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.

vBulletin 3.8.3 was by far the most superior product thus far. vBulletin 4 is a disaster, a nightmare, and simply isn't vBulletin. Too many flaws, issues, half-baked features, and security-issues.
 
I disagree, vBulletin being the best available is purely an opinion that it meets your needs the best.
Thanks, I didn't realize I was voicing my opinion. So that's what that is! Man, it's so exciting! I'm all tingly.

I've used Invision and phpBB and SMF and every other forum package, going all the way back to the cgi horror that was Phorum 1.x. Invison was particularly painful to admin, and not as flexible as vB. If you like it, that's so wonderful I can't even find words to express my happiness for you. God bless you, IPB and the United States of America.

My point was that 99.99% of the people here on this forum are likely current or recently current vB users, and that is valid. All you have to do is read the threads to see that. And if they are current users - current meaning vB4 - they are likely to have some of the same concerns. If this is the vB sucks forum, I guess I took a wrong turn somewhere. Forgive me.

If this turns out to be good, flexible and affordable, then people will switch no matter how painful it may be. I'm no different.
 
It's quite refreshing to read a forum admin expressing concern for his user's wishes, that's quite a rare event. We as forum owners and admins know what's best for us but how often do we consider what's best for our users? Upgrading from vB 3.x to vB 4.0 can be a positive experience for users if handled correctly but it's a huge pain in the backside for admins who need to bug fix, skin and locate compatible mods in an effort to provide some continuity between versions.

If I feel XenForo will give a better experience to my forum users then I will migrate to it, not because I like it but I think my users will benefit from it. I have forums running on four different platforms because I feel each one suits the particular needs of that forum's user base and at the end of the day forums are for users not for admins.

I am very excited about XenForo, even at this early stage it's clear it has huge potential. I will be first in the queue to make a purchase but I'll freely admit that first purchase will be for me and not my users. If I think my users will benefit from it then I will deploy it.
 
I actually showed this to a lot of my users on another forum, and they already say they much rather have this then vB4 (Even if it means switching, and them paying for fees).
 
Not wanting to state the obvious...our users, who happen to be (mostly) owners and admins, seem to be enjoying the user experience offered by XenForo...I take that as an optimistic sign for the users (not owners and admins) of XenForo!
Hear hear.

I might be a forum owner elsewhere but here I am just a member and I love how it feels.
 
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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