And you STILL want it?

Ok, well I am NO vB user, but from what I have been reading, vB seems almost impossible and filled with people who may treat the users bad if they ask for support.

I get that the forum software is good, I've read/heard many complains about customer service and how they get treated in the forums. People get banned randomly, warnings, etc. After the *rumor* of them actually forcing some aspects of the product which people have to pay ridiculous amounts for something that some already have and just want to upgrade and being that you have to pay for ever 4.x series upgrade...

And you STILL want this software? I never understood... I get that the software is good...

 

Well, there is a learning curve (especially with the template system, in my opinion), but I've never run afoul of the admins there.

 

I've personally never had any sort of "bad experience" with the team over at vBulletin, and because of this, I am not going to turn my back on a software script that has treated me so well (so to speak). I thoroughly enjoy both the script and the community - for those of you who have had bad experiences, that's horrible and I apologize.

Unless I experience some sort of horrendous scenario and/or situation, I am not about to stop using the script. Hell, even if I were to have a bad experience there, I'd continue to use it.

 

Me too - it would take a lot to make me use IP.Board or MyBB instead (probably MyBB). The quickest way to lose me as a customer would be a lousy attempt at fixing what isn't broken in the software itself - a shitty community (and possibly license agreement and price) can be dealt with.

 

Plus, you all have vBulletin mentors here if push comes to shove.

 

I've had no real issue with vb until recently. My issues are 1) Kerry-Anne banned me because she bears a grudge from years ago when I banned her from my site, and 2) I dislike the plans they have for extracting more money out of leased licence holders, effectively pushing us off the platform due to the cost.

Actual support was and is ok though.

I don't yet know what I'll do. I'd like to stay with vB but that depends on what happens with the pricing. If not, then it'll be either IPB or MyBB. I've got a test/second site running on MyBB and I am *mightily* impressed by it.

 

Okay, this obviously is very confusing to somebody who isn't "in the loop" so to speak.

These problems have only become a problem ever since the leak. Members of the community decided to post screenshots of the leaked information and badmouth the company and its employees.
To make a long story short, no company wants this bashing or leaked information posted all of their company support forums - because it confuses potential customers (like you, for example). So they closed the repetitive threads that went along the lines of "is the leak true" and "you guys are idiots, your leaked plans are so stupid, you're going to lose all of your customers".
They did make a move in the positive direction, and that was to create a new forum for licensed customers only. It's a place where we can discuss the leak and share our thoughts on things that are happening. It's called "Licensed Customer Feedback". Some nice advancements have been made, and some of the IB employees are actually getting involved in the conversations, addressing dire issues and answering a few questions.

If you go back to pre-May 15th, the support forums were fantastic. Members are nice and the community is supportive (in general).

One staff member there is commonly referred to as being uptight, rude and snarly, but that's because he answers hundreds if not thousands of questions per day - and most of them are probably asked 98545 times each. It gets repetitive answering the same question, so you can't expect a sweet 500-word essay of a response every time.

Other than that, I don't see any flaws. It's just this whole vB 4.0 / leak that has caused some harsh feelings and hastiness arise.

 

I would like to point out a couple of small things here...

vBulletin is used by over 40,000 customers around the world and powers many more websites. At last count it serves pages to over half a billion unique users every month. The great majority of those customers do not have problems with support. I'll admit it isn't perfect but we do our best to make everyone happy.

No one should be banned randomly and if a ban is not justified, than it will be overturned. Access to the community forums is a priviledge not a right just because they are a customer. Our primary support is handled via a support ticket system open to all customers.

Also I guarantee that none of the leaked information has upgrade prices in it. It has proposed prices for new purchases but doesn't say anything about upgrading existing licenses except that a nominal fee will probably be charged. It also states that there will be a removal of any annual fees for using the software. Trust me when I say I wish they would finalize the pricing and publish it. The support staff has been pushing for that since April.

That said, as a customer, I would continue using the software. I currently own four licenses myself and haven't found a community solution that can beat it. I have tried all of the ones that I can legally get my hands on.

Finally, I do have to say that threads like this make me just want to turn off the computer, get a job at Wal-mart and be done with it all. I have spent 10 years working on vBulletin and getting the knowledge that I have today and to constantly be attacked is not something that I want to deal with. 1.7 million posts in the forums and at least 300,000 have been made by support staff over the years. I have 30,000 there and that is only because I spend a lot of time on the phones every day. That doesn't count the fact that we are fast approaching our 1 millionth support ticket. That is another million threads if they were in the forums. 1000 tickets on a slow day. There are 7 support staff.

 

Sounds like you need to get a few more

 

FullMetalBabe, have you ever had the opportunity to really try vB, not as a user but from the back end? The control panel is a little daunting at first, but after some experimentation I found I quite liked it.

 

Only a slow day!??!

 

Sadly, I haven't. I always wanted to though.

 

In my opinion, the vBulletin support staff are some of the best in the business, if not the best. The only issue I've ever had was with a support staff member who gave me an infraction a couple of years ago for something that was so off the wall, I couldn't even believe it, lol. Who knows, he might have been having a bad day and I was a good scapegoat.

I've never seen any staff member be 'mean' to anyone on the forums. And in the very few times where I've seen them talk 'sternly' to anyone, it was well deserved. They're support staff, not doormats.

 

Wayne, for my part I will reiterate I've never had (or seen) an issue with the actual vB support and I think all off the support do a really good job of it. Never been able to fault that side of it and still can't.

If you take the Licencsed Customer Feeback out of the equation, the forums seem to me to be much the same as they have always been.

 

It's unfortunate, but the posts you are seeing about complaints and such are from the few users who find everything and anything to complain about. A vB Staff member could say the sky is blue and these users would argue about it. They are very, very vocal and some days I get so sick of them that I just leave the site. It isn't as bad now as it was a couple of weeks ago because I think the Staff are finally getting through to them that their behavior is just not acceptable. It may seem like random bannings and a lot of infractions, but you are just seeing them complain about it - you aren't actually seeing what they did since the thread/posts are gone. I've seen some of those posts/threads before Staff dealt with them and these users deserved any infractions or bannings they got. They can be just plain RUDE. There is contructive critisism and then there are the posts these users have made. There is a big difference.

 

I think the entire staff is doing an incredible job. :thumbup:


I really don't understand what all the fuss is about regarding whatever changes might happen in the future. Life marches on and changes happen.

 

What's the old saying, you'll always hear the bad, never the good?

 

Well said, Rizzo - that is indeed the case sometimes.

 

I have only ever had the best experience with vBulletin support staff. I have never experienced better and more dedicated support staff anywhere. Maybe it sometimes depends on how you speak to them.
There is a German saying that (in translation) means:
The way you scream into the forest is the way it sounds back at you. Or: Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.

Rumors are rumors. At the end of the day, there is no point in complaining about these things even before they have become facts. Nobody knows what the licensing will look like in the end.
If it's crap, I'll go to MyBB - simple as that. But until then, what's the point in pissing and moaning?

I don't want it, I have it. :p And I intend to keep it unless the licensing is not agreeable to me. It's not about vBulletin, it's about good software and great customer support. As long as vBulletin gives me that at a price I can afford, I am going to stay with them.
If that changes, I'm leaving.
I think it's the same for many other vBulletin owners.