What is Xenforo's Stability as a Company? Will it be around in the future?

Francisco Meza

Francisco Meza

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I like the Xenforo software and am interested in purchasing it. My main concern is since Xenforo's a new company, it might not grow the subscriber base large enough to stay in business. I am giving my next project 100% of my efforts. Can anyone share something on the stability of Xenforo as a business (not as the stability of the software) to help us prospective buyers?
 
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SchmitzIT said:
Honestly, if you have to start worrying about people passing away or getting divorced, why even bother at all? Are you also worried about the consequences of the building where all the IB management sit getting hit by a meteorite? Should Mike and Kier start avoiding getting on the same plane or sitting in the same building, just to be on the safe side?

You are buying a license for forum software. The two guys building it are in their early thirties. Yes, if something would happen to one of them it would be a major blow, but I am not sure that it would mean the end of XenForo.

Sometimes you need to take a risk. The question you should ask yourself is what you prefer; the most innovative forum software that offers the best experience to your end-users, or the assurance that whoever is building the lesser product you end up settling for has plenty of resources available to ensure stability even in the case of <insert horrible event here>.
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Hi Schmitz, I started this thread because I really like Xenforo. I also wrote it because many people like me do research before buying. As you are probably aware, there is a LOT of chatter on the internet regarding Xenforo. It's mainly good reviews though.

I figured by asking the question in the pre-sales, other people who may have the same question may convert into sales for Xenforo.​

I am not "worrying" about people passing away, "getting divorced" or "getting hit by a meteorite". My question was about stability (longevity).
You say "I" need to take risks? Most of us here on the forum are likely to be risk takers. I have taken my risk and left corporate world. Now I work from home. I take risks all the time.
By asking this question, I am providing Xenforo great insight for its prospective buyers. Wouldn't you want to know what questions your prospective buyers ask to convert prospects into buyers? Reality is Xenforo is only 1 year old (maybe 2 yrs old). SchmitzIT, help me overcome that concern and convert me into a Xenforo buyer and don't answer "Sometimes you have to take risks." Other prospective buyers are on the verge of buying and they are reading this thread.
 
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Francisco Meza said:
Hi Schmitz, I started this thread because I really like Xenforo. I also wrote it because many people like me do research before buying. As you are probably aware, there is a LOT of chatter on the internet regarding Xenforo. It's mainly good reviews though.

I figured by asking the question in the pre-sales, other people who may have the same question may convert into sales for Xenforo.​

I am not "worrying" about people passing away, "getting divorced" or "getting hit by a meteorite". My question was about stability (longevity).
You say "I" need to take risks? Most of us here on the forum are likely to be risk takers. I have taken my risk and left corporate world. Now I work from home. I take risks all the time.
By asking this question, I am providing Xenforo great insight for its prospective buyers. Wouldn't you want to know what questions your prospective buyers ask to convert prospects into buyers? Reality is Xenforo is only 1 year old (maybe 2 yrs old). SchmitzIT, help me overcome that concern and convert me into a Xenforo buyer and don't answer "Sometimes you have to take risks." Other prospective buyers are on the verge of buying and they are reading this thread.
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What got me was, I saw the product, what it could do, the community behind the product...and realized it was everything I needed to make a great community even better. If production were to stop today, I know it would have enough tools for me to use and not have to worry about anything much after that. I could also just hire a coder to modify a few things here and there but for the most part, default xF 1.1 beta 4 is everything I need for my site.
 
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AzzidReign said:
What got me was, I saw the product, what it could do, the community behind the product...and realized it was everything I needed to make a great community even better. If production were to stop today, I know it would have enough tools for me to use and not have to worry about anything much after that. I could also just hire a coder to modify a few things here and there but for the most part, default xF 1.1 beta 4 is everything I need for my site.
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AzzidReign, thank you for sharing why you became a Xenforo customer. Your reply helps. Maybe you should start a thread in pre-sales where current users share there reasons for subscribing to Xenforo.
 
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Francisco Meza said:
By asking this question, I am providing Xenforo great insight for its prospective buyers. Wouldn't you want to know what questions your prospective buyers ask to convert prospects into buyers? Reality is Xenforo is only 1 year old (maybe 2 yrs old). SchmitzIT, help me overcome that concern and convert me into a Xenforo buyer and don't answer "Sometimes you have to take risks." Other prospective buyers are on the verge of buying and they are reading this thread.
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As Brogan stated, nobody other than you can take the decision.Everyone will have different considerations, and we do not know everything that makes you tick. The reason I used the wording I did was mostly because I thought some of the comments made earlier were a little over the top. Yes, of course there is a chance that Kier gets hit by a bus.

But if that is how you reason, you would be worrying all the time. Fact is that when it comes to that kind of stuff, you just cannot possibly influence it. In that way, you "will have to take a risk".

XenForo might only be a year old, but you yourself mentioned the momentum it already has gained is strong. The reason for that is simply that it's fantastic software.

I invested in vBulletin and several modifications to it. In total, 3 suite licenses, 2 vBGallery licenses, 1 vBSEO license, Classifieds license, a skin, and various other paid or donated mods. I did not have to think long about whether I wanted to get an XF license or not. Heck, I think I bought 2 or 3 the first day they were available. Yes, of course there was the risk of the lawsuit, but I already got bitten by vB with their pre-sale event, and on XF I at least had the software in my hands straight away.

Judging by how things are going over at vB, I would say you probably would be off safer with XenForo. The fact it's a joy to work with is then an added bonus ;)

I did not mean any disrespect with my previous post, by the way. I just thought the thread was getting quite ridiculous with all the "what ifs" and "perhaps this-es".
 
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The only thing that bothers me and many others is vb's case. Other than that I don't see any other reasons why xenforo would collapse. Kier and Mike works shows that XenForo is the real change. And I love changes thats why I moved my site in xf beta 1 :) so far I'm happy with my decision. They are the only company that listen to its users suggestion and feedback. (y)
 
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Carlos said:
The amount of members is = the number of subscribers in my view.

Even though that xenForo is new as a company, their expertise is very strong. Mr. Darby founded and managed a 3D company before entering vBulletin as a software developer/lead developer. He and Mike Sullivan were responsible for the vB3 series of software, and to some extent the vB4 series, until he left the company.

What it boils down to is the on-going lawsuit with Internet Brands, that's it. Nothing else. But even with the lawsuit, xenForo seems to be doing a lot better than a lot of the forum software solutions that were sued by larger corporations.
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What other (LARGE) forum systems got sued? Never heard any news stories about this.
 
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NiCk Newman said:
What other (LARGE) forum systems got sued? Never heard any news stories about this.
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I am trying to remember... but there was a point in time that I saw an article about a lawsuit against a forum software company. I was thinking ikonboard, but a google search returned nothing for me. :(

But I do know that vB/iB against xF isn't the first of it's kind.
 
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Francisco Meza said:
Reality is Xenforo is only 1 year old (maybe 2 yrs old). SchmitzIT, help me overcome that concern and convert me into a Xenforo buyer and don't answer "Sometimes you have to take risks." Other prospective buyers are on the verge of buying and they are reading this thread.
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There is no risk at all. If the company gets closed by what reason ever (hopefully not) it should be no problem to convert your user base and forum posts to a competitor product. Or do you think all existing xenforo customers will close their forums if that improbably scenario happens?
 
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Carlos said:
I am trying to remember... but there was a point in time that I saw an article about a lawsuit against a forum software company. I was thinking ikonboard, but a google search returned nothing for me. :(

But I do know that vB/iB against xF isn't the first of it's kind.
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IIRC The iKonboard lawsuit was over ownership and not forum vs forum.
 
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Ikonboard is horrible, lol, Wasn't even worth the lawsuite,

As of right now, I think

Xenforo
IPB 1.3 (modified orginal final)
Punbb/Fluxbb

In that order, are the best versions.

IPB 3.1 and up is slow as crap, same for vbully

This isn't really an opinion either, Fluxbb is a tad bit faster then xenforo, but xenforo has way more features and it's FAST, so that's why it's ahead
 
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Ramses said:
There is no risk at all. If the company gets closed by what reason ever (hopefully not) it should be no problem to convert your user base and forum posts to a competitor product. Or do you think all existing xenforo customers will close their forums if that improbably scenario happens?
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Ok Ramses, so you are saying that I can transfer ALL my users and forum posts from XF to another forum software. If this is true, then there is no need for me to be concerned about the longevity of XF. Out of all these posts, your answer offers the most help.
 
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SchmitzIT said:
I invested in vBulletin and several modifications to it. In total, 3 suite licenses, 2 vBGallery licenses, 1 vBSEO license, Classifieds license, a skin, and various other paid or donated mods. I did not have to think long about whether I wanted to get an XF license or not. Heck, I think I bought 2 or 3 the first day they were available. Yes, of course there was the risk of the lawsuit, but I already got bitten by vB with their pre-sale event, and on XF I at least had the software in my hands straight away.
I did not mean any disrespect with my previous post, by the way. I just thought the thread was getting quite ridiculous with all the "what ifs" and "perhaps this-es".
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Thanks Schmitz, this kind of answer is what I am looking for; a "real" answer. Maybe I should start a thread and asking ALL hardcore members why they gave XF a chance.
Also, yes the thread was getting ridiculous with all the "what ifs". I was trying to respond some people who were giving, let's say subpar, answers.
 
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Francisco Meza said:
Thanks Schmitz, this kind of answer is what I am looking for; a "real" answer. Maybe I should start a thread and asking ALL hardcore members why they gave XF a chance.
Also, yes the thread was getting ridiculous with all the "what ifs". I was trying to respond some people who were giving, let's say subpar, answers.
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Welcome to the Internet.
 
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