Xenforo right for a new site?

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beabillionaire

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Hi, after much thought, I was thinking of going with Xenforo if I had to choose a paid forum option. I am creating a brand new site, so there will be no members, posts etc. Do you think spending money on a forum software is right for a new site? I am looking for a feature rich forum, hoping this is it.

The one thing I recently noticed that every forum has but I do not see it with Xenforo, is the avatars when you post, they do not show things like post count, reputation (optional), perhaps member level. I feel like post count is always something people want to see (but I dont see it).

is this a feature of Xenforo or should I go with some free software for awhile? The main thing with free vs. paid is I assume free gets hacked more often as the code is open source.

thanks
 
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beabillionaire said:
...Do you think spending money on a forum software is right for a new site?
Click to expand...
Well of course I do :)

beabillionaire said:
The one thing I recently noticed that every forum has but I do not see it with Xenforo, is the avatars when you post, they do not show things like post count, reputation (optional), perhaps member level. I feel like post count is always something people want to see (but I dont see it).
Click to expand...
Admin options. Go to the lower left part of this site, click on "Default" (or something like that) and select "Kitchen Sink" for the style option.
 
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1) Items in the postbit are available if you want them, take a look here: http://xenforo.com/community/threads/style-properties-ii-a-closer-look.3690/

2) Free vs paid is an age old debate, neither is more secure than the other, it comes down to the quality of coding. XenForo is exceptionally high quality, and has only ever had 1 known problem, and that was with a 3rd party module used by xenforo and not xenforos code itself.

3) Is it right for you? Well building a forum from the ground up is a lot of love and effort. XenForo will give you a great platform to do that on. So it depends, personally I would never use a free platform for any new project. But thats just my opinion.
 
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Dean said:
Well of course I do :)


Admin options. Go to the lower left part of this site, click on "Default" (or something like that) and select "Kitchen Sink" for the style option.
Click to expand...
Oh nice, there it is!

I haven't checked yet, but does XF have a decent amount of add ons yet? I don't even know what I would want to put in my forum, but down the line if there is a fun plugin that say vbulletin has, just hoping there isnt only like 3 add ons but a community building stuff (even though I know it is new)
thanks
 
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There are two approaches to building a new site. The competition in the topic will really dictate the best approach.

1. Hide everything until ready; launch a select beta, modify to feedback, launch with a lot of content. Add content hourly (minimum). Try to be the first to publish.

2. Start, build, arrange, re-arrange, tinker, twist as you find new ways to present good content. Watch analytics to adjust stories published, etc.

I was a fan of option 2 for almost 15 years now. Why? I believe(d) that visitors like to see changes. The challenge now is that the big sites have learned to change things numerous times in an hour. This dynamic feel attracts visitors. You will never be able to compete on that scale without a good developer helping you automate things. You'd also need very good writers - going beyond the 300 word link-n-comment approach. You'd also have to attract a following during a "closed beta" period.

XenForo can help you give users a reason to spend more time on your site - but - only if they feel there are others spending time on the site. It's a catch-22. There is a great thread on this site discussing admin / moderator interactions. Some think too much posting by an admin scares off visitors.

Anyway - plan - plan - plan - and feel free to always adjust when the plan doesn't work.

Good luck on your site.
 
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Nasr said:
I recommend that he waits. To be honest, once he moves to xenforo and realise all the missing features and without a road plan, it is unfair to tell him to switch back to another software that has the features.
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Isn't that the same for any software? You shouldn't buy it unless you're happy with the current features. I know even if vBulletin told me they had "X feature" coming down the road I wouldn't buy right now based off that.

What is fair is to comment on how great XenForo is at the current time, yes there's massive problems with the developers but the software itself is top notch in my book :)
 
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beabillionaire said:
Hi, after much thought, I was thinking of going with Xenforo if I had to choose a paid forum option. I am creating a brand new site, so there will be no members, posts etc. Do you think spending money on a forum software is right for a new site? I am looking for a feature rich forum, hoping this is it.
Click to expand...

The XF you're using here now is the core software so you can see exactly what the standard features are.
You can then add more to specialise your own version by using addons. This prevents the standard version being "bloated" - burdened with lots of stuff you dont want and you have to switch off but it slows down your site.

There are brillant addons here and more being added all the time. I dont know if as a member who has not yet purchased you can see "Resources" on the top toolbar? They are in there. It's searchable and categorised.
There are also developers who will adapt things to what you want.
XF is excellent at adaptability.

beabillionaire said:
The one thing I recently noticed that every forum has but I do not see it with Xenforo, is the avatars when you post, they do not show things like post count, reputation (optional), perhaps member level. I feel like post count is always something people want to see (but I dont see it).
Click to expand...

Something like that is easily added. On my sites for example under the avatars on the left I place a button to open a Personal Conversation. Again XF is easy to adapt like that. It's designed to be.

beabillionaire said:
is this a feature of Xenforo or should I go with some free software for awhile? The main thing with free vs. paid is I assume free gets hacked more often as the code is open source.
thanks
Click to expand...

I dont think hacking is an issue paid/ open source. I think support is. I want to know that when I come here asking a question I can get an answer within a few hours. That could also happen on open source. I do know it happens here. I've learned an icredoble amount here.
Ive used IPBB and VB and there's no comparision for elegance, user friendly feel, adaptable design and features, and fast skilled support.

My advice is dont rush your decision. You'll be living with it for a while.
When I was very new what I did was make column lists of all the things I wanted and compare several softwares to see which had the most. B ack then I chose VB because of a good modding/ addon community. But now that is not so good and this is better.
 
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Brad L said:
I think it's immoral to actually talk someone into purchasing a license with all the unknowns we currently face (n)
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I think it's discourteous and condescending to not answer the questions people choose to ask. New enquirers aren't stupid, forum admins are a clever lot. They know what they want to know so I answser that.

Facing unknowns? I have used online scripts since 1997. Software can suddenly disappear or support goes absent without explanation. It's always a risk. At least here it's openly stated what the problems are that XF faces. That;s been so from the start, unlike so many others.

Currently we have a software which is stable, yet flexible with a good range of extras and steady flow of more. Support is superb. Bugs incredibly rare and fixes get done. Kier as lead developer is on the forum almost every day and Mike arrives to troubleshoot where necessary.
The company is handling a big court case because VB has accused them of copyright theft. All the information about it the court allows (which is most of it) is made available here. From that it's clear the accusations are bad faith rubbish: it's a business attack on a rival who is too good for comfort. The other side has made so many mistakes it's laughable! The real game is to put people off XF as the other side takes every chance to slow things down and drag it out, not actually go to court because they know they'll lose if they do.
After two slow years it's very likely to stop soon as the judge now clearly gets what they are doing.
Once the other side drops it, or loses, the XF team can get back to what they do best: coding XF.
Of the three original owners both Kier and `Mike are obviously still interested in continuing XF becauyse they are active here now in spite of the huge stress of the court case in its last stages. If evreryone has got it wrong and the judge has a brain fart, and XF loses, we are still safe. We can still use our sites and worst case safety plans backup has been thought through. It's all there in the court case threads.

So speaking as a very high principled person, and very experienced in business, I have no reservations about trusting my family livelihood, and others I employ, plus my members on 3 successful sites, to XF. So I have no issues with recommending it to a newcomer.
Bottom line is I prefer the way here I KNOW what the issues are. On other software sites usuallly I get told nothing until it all goes wrong without warning.
 
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beabillionaire said:
Alright, well I bit the bullet and purchased a license + install :)
hope all goes well! My server says it can handle it (I put the requirements test page on)
Click to expand...

Hey welcome! Look forward to more contact with you.

Some addons you might like looking at - my core`list.
Stay Logged In - keep that pesky little box cticked!
Login as User - click the link put user's name no need for password. Great for checking permissions.
Converssation Essentials - lots of really usaeful additions to Personal Conversations.
Nodes as Tabs - amazing navigation design - create your own navbar aty the top/ incl. dropdowns/ permissions.
Library - add pages as Articles easy as writing a post/ allow trusted users to be Editors. Multipage Articles, uploads, link a forum thread.
Put these titles in the Resource search. I can recommend each of the developers`who do them.

See my signature for some useful basic tutorials (and not quite so basic)
 
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stewart1champ said:
If you purchased installation, why are you doing it? :confused:
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Looks like he's an active admin Stewart not one to sit around helpless.
Chris Deeming has answered his support request on the install forum.

beabillionaire sorry you've hit frustration on install which is unusual but you seem sensible and you have a helper, plus your install support thread. Looking forward to discussing the fun stuff with you.
 
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