Worth investing in xF?

[danielwerner]

Hello all!

I'm hoping you can shed some light for me. I'm thinking of switching a major community from vB4 to xF, but the only thing which keeps me from not doing it is a few things.

1. Is it wise to switch right now? I'm thinking mostly because of the ongoing lawsuit (I don't want to be stuck with a beta-software which are restricted of being further devoleped).

2. Is the beta software relatively stable?

3. Generally - and please be objective - how is xenForo VS vBulletin 4? Sorry if this has been asked several times before, I would like a quick resumé of the greatest differences.

4. Most importantly - Is xF understandable for someone who has limited php/css-skills? For example if I would like to change ranks, max allowed uploaded pictures, change the profile tab order. Stuff like that.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Walter]

Short: yes.

Long:
1. Ignore the lawsuit. It's all FUD.
2. Yes.
3. Lighter, faster, more user friendly.

But to be honest, I wouldn't switch a large community to XenForo now, simply because it's a beta version. Wait a bit but buy the license now (no, I don't work for XF) and make yourself familiar with it.

 

[iTuN3r]

1 : It's your own choice but i have seen other board moving from vb to xf with some large community and they seems to be happy .
2. It's more then stable
3. Xenforo is future of Forums .

 

[Blandt]

1. No it's not wise to run a 'major' community on a beta software. not because the of the lawsuit, that's irrelevant to us customers.
2. Beta is pretty stable, however, because it is beta, code could change .. and things might not work the way they are now ... so ...
3. at the core level Xenforo is coded differently than vB. different architecture (MVC), performance is much much better, on the usability level Xenforo offers new social interaction gizmos out of the box, although you can install hacks to get the same thing on vB.

BUT most of all and this is the best reason to switch is that Xenforo is the new cool thing So just grab a license and play with it, and start planning your move to when the product is labeled stable

 

[Elizabeth]

Hello all!

I'm hoping you can shed some light for me. I'm thinking of switching a major community from vB4 to xF, but the only thing which keeps me from not doing it is a few things.

1. Is it wise to switch right now? I'm thinking mostly because of the ongoing lawsuit (I don't want to be stuck with a beta-software which are restricted of being further devoleped).

While I wouldn't switch a large community yet, I would go ahead an buy it, and probably put it up as a playground for your staff and trusted members to get use to it.

2. Is the beta software relatively stable?

It's on beta 3, and it's far more stable than what you are coming from.

3. Generally - and please be objective - how is xenForo VS vBulletin 4? Sorry if this has been asked several times before, I would like a quick resumé of the greatest differences.

Well, comparing forum to forum, XF wins hands down, but remember, VB4 has so much other stuff added to it that you won't find as part of the package that is XF. Like the CMS, the Blog, the ability to add a chat, having a gallery available, etc. But those are coming. The mods ARE being developed. The core of the forum is much more stable.

4. Most importantly - Is xF understandable for someone who has limited php/css-skills? For example if I would like to change ranks, max allowed uploaded pictures, change the profile tab order. Stuff like that.

Thanks in advance!

For simple color changes on a theme, XF is a dream. And just search or ask away on anything you don't understand, the threads either already there cause we've been asking LOTS of questions or we just haven't gotten to that one yet.

You will enjoy XenForo.

 

[danielwerner]

Thanks for your replies guys! I forgot an important question though, edited my post. Is xenForo relatively easy to manage, change settings etc, or will I need to know more advanced php to be able to change aspects of my forum? Are there many admin friendly options?

I found vBulletin to be quite easy to understand, although with a bit of googleing at times.

 

[Blandt]

Thanks for your replies guys! I forgot an important question though, edited my post. Is xenForo relatively easy to manage, change settings etc, or will I need to know more advanced php to be able to change aspects of my forum? Are there many admin friendly options?

I found vBulletin to be quite easy to understand, although with a bit of googleing at times.

Xenforo Got BIG pictures at the back end that say CLICK ME to do this

The concept is different than vB ... but it is logical, no worries there, you will get it right the first time

 

[iTuN3r]

Thanks for your replies guys! I forgot an important question though, edited my post. Is xenForo relatively easy to manage, change settings etc, or will I need to know more advanced php to be able to change aspects of my forum? Are there many admin friendly options?

I found vBulletin to be quite easy to understand, although with a bit of googleing at times.

Easier then anything to understand trust me it's worth investing . I had many questions on my head when it was out well once i see people listing their boards with some nice works i just went ahead and got my license and now i have already planned for second license after playing with xenforo for a while >)

 

[MGSteve]

I'm in a similar situation (See sig!) but until its got the features we need I won't be moving it. That said, I have bought a license and will be having a play with it.

 

[danielwerner]

Hi!

Thanks for your help, everyone. I just wanted to say that I purchased xenForo yesterday, and so far I am thrilled. So many solutions which are SO easier and more user AND admin friendly than vBulletin 4. I won't transfer my old community until there is a stable version, and perhaps CMS and gallery too, but I have a new "forum only"-solution which will be perfect for xenForo.

So, for you others who are sceptical, buy it and play around with it on a subdomain or something. You'll like it!

 

[Puntocom]

I have 3 licenses, very happy with them, the users love it. Also it's a pleasure to administrate.

 

[maidos]

well my board is based 3 million members and using ipb although im also concerned so its likely i will move my board when lawsuit has been settled down. if lawsuit favours ib and they want to brand all license as illegal that would mean wasted money and effort. This is just another scary scenario im thiking so for now i just use my xf license for some smaller board those that are less worth

 

[Puntocom]

well my board is based 3 million members and using ipb although im also concerned so its likely i will move my board when lawsuit has been settled down. if lawsuit favours ib and they want to brand all license as illegal that would mean wasted money and effort. This is just another scary scenario im thiking so for now i just use my xf license for some smaller board those that are less worth

That's precisely the effect IB want to cause, don't be afraid, I think it will never happen! anyway, in that case, there are many of us with XenForo and I'm sure something like XenForo 2.0 with importer will come.

 

[el canadiano]

The least it'll do is get people converting out of vBulletin to some other platform, so who cares?

 

[Mark.B]

Hello all!

I'm hoping you can shed some light for me. I'm thinking of switching a major community from vB4 to xF, but the only thing which keeps me from not doing it is a few things.

1. Is it wise to switch right now? I'm thinking mostly because of the ongoing lawsuit (I don't want to be stuck with a beta-software which are restricted of being further devoleped).

2. Is the beta software relatively stable?

3. Generally - and please be objective - how is xenForo VS vBulletin 4? Sorry if this has been asked several times before, I would like a quick resumé of the greatest differences.

4. Most importantly - Is xF understandable for someone who has limited php/css-skills? For example if I would like to change ranks, max allowed uploaded pictures, change the profile tab order. Stuff like that.

Thanks in advance!

The answer is YES!

Point 1: Buy a license, but do not switch your live site yet, it's still a beta. Instead, upgrade a test mirror, and, err, tets it.

Point 2: reasonably, but do not run beta software on a live site, ever.

Point 3: usability is far better in XF then vB4, however featureset is not there yet. It will come though, with time.

Point 4: Yes. Obviously if you want to completely restyle your board then CSS/PHP/HTML skills are needed, for minor changes it's fairly simple, and there's loads of help on here.

 

[Decent60]

I've downgrade from vB4 back to vB3.85 and since then, been looking for something that was better than vB just because it seems that they've gone down hill (5 or 6 patch releases in a matter of a few days means that they are not doing a good security test on it) since it's release of vB4.
I stumbled upon this site while looking for some new skins for my vB3.8 installation and I am most certainly glad I did.
The functionality, features, and performance topples that of both my vB3.85 and and vB4 installations, all running the exact same database backup (different names though) on the same server.
Styling is much easier than it was with vB and apparently just as easy to code as we have many excellent skins for this Beta installation.

 

[steven s]

My vB3 forum is doing just fine for now. I have bought one license to eventually replace it.
It gives me time to learn to do some styling, be sure the import works and to determine what mods I can't live without.
Downloads is one. So I have some time to convert that over.

I have another license which is perfect time to do a startup.
After getting comfortable a bit I will convert my vB4 site over.
There is needs some form of CMS, downloads and event registration.

So I see no reason not to at least play around with XF in preparation of converting.
Be first on your block. All the hip kids are doing it.
For the first time since 3.8.5, I consider XF an upgrade, not an update.

I'm just looking for excuses to create more forums.

 

[Michael Dance]

yeah i just paid for one i was so tempted to wait until the stable lol but couldnt help myself