What differences should I be aware of XenForo/vB4

grc

Member
Alright, I'm on track to make the move in the next few weeks. Our online community is smallish and established. We've been on vB for several years. From a user's standpoint, what are the selling points? What differences are there that might cause a problem for some?

From an administration standpoint, the same questions: selling points and differences that we should at least be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any helpful replies.
 
From a user's standpoint, I think it's just more fun.
From an admin's standpoint, I think it's just more fun.

I think it might depend what mods you had and what mods you will miss.
 
I'm not thinking about mods - just the basic program. It's easy for me to look at the mods I've added and see if there is anything like it in place for XF - but other things are easy to overlook. For instance, I just saw a post about customized registration questions. That's something I would really miss. What else is there that a potential buyer should be aware of?
 
Is there anything in particular you would need before you would consider switching?

That might be an easier way to approach it.

I guess I'm not expressing my question well. The other day I was browsing the forums and found that the ability to add customized registration fields isn't yet in place with XF. That's a feature I would miss and it's also one I wouldn't have thought to check on.

So, I'm asking people who have made the switch in the real world to tell what differences they found. Based on what I see here I'm sure there are some positive ones. I also wouldn't be surprised if there are some capabilities some have missed. I'd like to know what those are as I prepare to move forward.

I don't really need to ask about mods - I know what mods I use and it's easy enough to check out that particular feature. However, it's nearly impossible to think of every single feature I use and rely on in my current forum package and check on it here.

If that doesn't make sense, I'll just keep cruising the forums here and try to pick up on things people are asking about.
 
I get your question, and I've wanted to do a full comparison between vb4, ipb, and xenforo.

In a nutshell though, xenforo seems to be missing some of the basic features you would expect to find in a modern forum package. That said, I have no doubt that many of the items will be added in time.

Mostly though, imho, its the little things. While little features may not be in xenforo yet, the overall experience is certainly better feeling from both a user and an admin perspective.

Does XF have an admin demo yet? If not, I have a test board up you could play around with (no access to the files, just the admin area on my server).
 
...I'll just keep cruising the forums here and try to pick up on things people are asking about.
That would be the easiest because only you know what is important, to you.

  • Custom profile fields are missing at this time - that is my issue at the moment.
  • The permissions system, once you 'get it', is far more intuitive than vb - until you 'get it', it is a difficult concept. Easiest way to learn would be to play with the admincp.
  • Albums, tags, thread prefixes do not exist. And of course the blogs/cms if you are using them.
  • If you display ads, the main ad presentation manager is not quite released but it will be soon.
  • Actually the largest thing missing in xf is the number of queries. My test forum, and xf.com, has 1/2 of the queries of my vb3.8 forum, and 1/4 of vb.com.
  • I am sure there are other things.
Perhaps you should have some of your key people join xf.com and take a 'test drive'.
 
I'm missing Profile Fields, Thread Prefixes, thread rating & a calendar.
I can't switch any of my boards, until this features are available.

Also i'm really missing a "3rd party developer documentation / tutorials".
With an official documentation, it would be IMHO much easier, to create add-ons and to switch faster.

But, this is still beta software, so let's see what the feature will bring...
 
That would be the easiest because only you know what is important, to you.

  • Custom profile fields are missing at this time - that is my issue at the moment.
  • The permissions system, once you 'get it', is far more intuitive than vb - until you 'get it', it is a difficult concept. Easiest way to learn would be to play with the admincp.
  • Albums, tags, thread prefixes do not exist. And of course the blogs/cms if you are using them.
  • If you display ads, the main ad presentation manager is not quite released but it will be soon.
  • Actually the largest thing missing in xf is the number of queries. My test forum, and xf.com, has 1/2 of the queries of my vb3.8 forum, and 1/4 of vb.com.
  • I am sure there are other things.
Perhaps you should have some of your key people join xf.com and take a 'test drive'.

As I've tried to explain, it's almost impossible for me to list every single feature I use on my current package. It's easier to ask people who are working on both packages what differences they've found.

Thanks then, for your list. Custom profiles have been helpful in how we handle new registrations. I'm fine with a different permissions system. No worries on albums, tags, thread prefixes, blogs, etc. - we aren't using any of them. No problem on ads - we're fully funded.

Thanks for the input.
 
I don't think that question can be answered fairly until the first stable release.

I understand - it's not fair to compare what's supposed to be "gold" software with beta. At the same time, we are talking about spending real money and taking considerable effort in preparation for a possible transition. Surely it's fair to try to identify possible problems as well as possible selling points.
 
without a doubt the feature my members are complaining about most is there is no 'ignore user' option.
i am missing usergroup promotions, and the granularity of usergroup persmissions in general.
 
we are talking about spending real money and taking considerable effort in preparation for a possible transition.
I know. I've already moved. But the issues I faced won't be the same as those someone faces a month from now, or 6 months from now with a stable release. All these threads do is provide another place for people to talk about what they feel is missing, and what they need and what they want.

Buy it, mess around with it. It isn't exactly "real money" we're talking about. It's pocket change. People talk about buying this like they're evaluating a new car or signing a mortgage for a tarpaper shack in whatever backwoods holler they live in. It's hardly the big ticket purchase of the year. I spent more on dinner with a friend last week.
 
I know. I've already moved. But the issues I faced won't be the same as those someone faces a month from now, or 6 months from now with a stable release. All these threads do is provide another place for people to talk about what they feel is missing, and what they need and what they want.

Buy it, mess around with it. It isn't exactly "real money" we're talking about. It's pocket change. People talk about buying this like they're evaluating a new car or signing a mortgage for a tarpaper shack in whatever backwoods holler they live in. It's hardly the big ticket purchase of the year. I spent more on dinner with a friend last week.

*cough* to some of us, $140 is a helluva lot more than "pocket change". geeezes if you have that kind of money to spend on dinner with a friend, wouldja mind throwing
some in the direction of this single mom??

I thank you in advance.
tiphat.gif
 
vB is run by a vision-less poorly run Profit Mongering corporation.
IB bought vBulletin because they ran alot of car forums and wanted control of the product.
Well, low and behold, they don't know jack about Forum software, and vB4 shows that.

Instead of making vBulletin 4 a solid release, they released it waaaayyy too early. Everyone hated it.

If you liked vB3 you should buy xenforo. If you liked vB4, I'd say ... well .... I'd say why ?
Xenforo is like vBulletin5 RC2 - coming out 2 years early.
 
Folks, I'm not trying to debate the price. I'm just looking for some information from people who are familiar with both XF and vB4 so I can get my head around potential problems. I think $140 is a good price for software that will be used by our active online community. At the same time I think it's foolish to pay out $140 for software that's lacking some features we've come to rely on.

Also, if I end up spending a huge amount of time figuring out work-a-rounds for features I didn't realize were missing, I'll have a much greater investment in time than the initial price. Frankly, that's what's driving me away from vB - their "upgrades" cost me more time than I think is reasonable and their forum support is a joke.

So far, most of the "missing" stuff is stuff we don't use. A couple of things (already mentioned) do matter. Once I evaluate that, and knowing we're talking about a package still in beta, I'll be better prepared to make an informed decision.

I'm certainly in no position to tell people what or what can't be discussed, but when I started the thread I did ask a fairly specific question and whether or not $140 is a lot of money wasn't included in it.
 
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