Do you think xenforo is the 'future' of paid forum software?

The title says it all. Is Xenforo the future? Why, or why not?
Personally, I would say yes, simply because from a user's perspective (the only perspective I've seen so far), it's just that good. Integration with facebook is simple (as it should be), replies are very simply done, it seems to be more 'ajax' oriented, and designed very smoothly.

Of course, you can't ignore the individuals behind it, who have been doing work in the field for years so far, which adds to it's credibility and growth.

What do you think though, is it the 'future' of paid forum software? Or will something else come out and kick it down a bit ?

 

As I've said in another XF thread.
xenForo is VERY young, it will take years for me to seriously consider it the "future of forums".
I do look forward to watching XF grow, but right now it's just the VW bug of forums (IMO) It looks nice and runs okay, but really not the sports car I want to drive.

 

I'd like to get inside your brain and find out more about why it's not the sports car you want to drive. Other than its young age, why else do you feel you have to wait to consider it "the future of forums?" In other words, if it looks nice and runs okay, what exactly is it missing?

I'm just curious about what others are thinking because obviously, not all of us are going to agree.

 

I don't think XenForo is the future of anything at all. At the end of the day "it's just another forum software package", no matter how you try and wrap it up. Much the same as vBulletin 4 and IPB 3 (along with many other community software) packages both free and paid.

Forums are not doing well anymore today, you know that yourself here Nick. And using XenForo won't change the simple fact forums are dead now! More people will just waste money buying it and then later find they still can't get their community active.

And that's when you'll start seeing XenForo licences being sold in the future, the same as IPB 3 and vBulletin 4 ones now.

 

I don't deny that forums are dead, but there is life that can be breathed back into them, which is one of the things I think Xenforo attempts to do here. It's not just about the forum, but the fact that the forum can be so much more, which is a good thing!

 

Like I said, XenForo is (just another forum) and a basic one at that. Wrap it up with a pink bow if you wish, but it's still a forum board and nobody is that interested in using them anymore very much. Surely, you can see that's all XenForo is, just another forum board?

There are already loads of Beta 1 XenForo board live on the web now run by people who purchased it. But do you see your average Joe falling over himself to join them because it's using XenForo? No, you don't and you won't!

Honestly, and no offence. But some of you forum GEEKS need to come back to reality once in a while and accept some hard truths.

 

The hard truth here is that there are PLENTY of just forums that are live and kicking, doing extremely well.

Granted, forums are not the way of the future, they aren't dead yet. And IMO, the reason they are on their way to endangerment of extinction is because they are so out-dated. None of them do the "cool things" that today's contemporary applications do - like Facebook, for example. XenForo changes this. XenForo reinvigorates the passion for discussing and socializing by way of new and appealing techniques of making forums more accessible, usable, fun, and attractive.

I'm not sure what you're trying to imply here, but regardless, I'm not quite sure how it would apply to anything...

Wrong. There will always be a hunger, thirst, desire, passion, or whatever kind of impetus you want to call it, for discussion and interaction with others about a particular subject or topic. This is an obvious fact. This urge will never go away.

In today's digital age, the computer is perhaps the most common method of these social interactions. There are a variety of methods of communication on the computer -- mailing lists, web rings, forums, Facebook groups. I tried to order those in order of existence, but if you notice, the oldest two are essentially out-dated and hardly used. Why? Because there is no room for advancement within those communication mediums. A mailing list is a mailing list; you can't really enhance it or revolutionize the user experience of a mailing list. Forums, however, can evolve and morph to suit the modern technological expectations that web users have.

XenForo does this. It is fresh, new, different, and greatly enhances user experience. It certainly can (and probably will) help prolong the life and existence of forums and discussion boards.

Wrong again. The use of XenForo or any other forum solution has very little bearing on a community's success. If such wasn't the case, you wouldn't see any successful forums running what we would consider ancient forum platforms -- which we do.

A community's level of activity and success depends mostly on how the forum is managed, what the community offers, the amount and breadth of content, but hardly on what the forum is powered by.

 

You're wasting your time with GTB Nick, I've tried and failed with this one.

Just because HE can't get a forum going from scratch he presumes this is because nobody wants forums any more. I'd advise people who think that to go and look at Paul M's Cable Forum for starters, or any of the other amazingly busy sites that exist and thrive based on a forum concept of some sort.

Sure if you simply plonk a new site on the internet it's going to be hard to get people to come. BUT IT ALWAYS HAS BEEN LIKE THAT! Similarly if you just open a Facebook page, nobody will come either.

XenForo is a modern take on the forum concept that gives people who are now more used to the "Facebook" way of doing things something more to their liking. It won't be everyone's cup of tea but it's a good piece of software. Just as Invision isn't really my cup of tea, but I don't deny it's a good piece of software.

 

I guess it has to do with the age more then anything, it's very young and for me to declare it a success already or a "forum leader" already, that would be premature on my part.

Also there are several parts of xF that I don't care for, all the popups and mouse overs would be the first things I would change if I was to start a forum running off xF.

 

It's funny mrgtb says forums are dead, and he's on one debating the future of them. :ironic:

I think just the opposite. I think forums are alive and well. I think that they need a new feel, something fresh, some new wow factor. I think and hope XenForo might make that happen.

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