Dear vBulletin Forum Community - vBSEO is Suspending Operations

Also see Brian's reply above:

 

We have to investigate further Sanjeev. I don't think our site going offline will cause vBSEO to stop working. I need to get confirmation.

The key problem is that no further support would be provided, no updates, and no further versions. This would prevent you from upgrading to future vBulletin versions without doing some customization to keep your URLs in place, or redirect the search engines to the new URLs.

This is the same as what would be required whenever you choose to move to another platform such as IPB or xenForo.

 

Thank you for confirming this Brian.

Is there any situation that would ever force them to submit a new key?

 

Your point of view is biased by your experience, as it is with us all. You're thinking entirely about legalities. Although all legal options are not off the table, it does not mean that customers should be kept in the dark about the status of the company.

 

Exactly.

 

1. Upgrading to a new version.
2. Needing to uninstall and re-install vBSEO for some reason.

 

#1 would not be applicable.

But #2 could be a real concern. Can anyone think of situations that might require a re-install?

 

It might be. You'd be surprised about how many people are still using older and unsecure versions of all sorts of software, including vBulletin and vBSEO.

• Getting hacked and having to do a fresh install.
• Server crashes and having to do a fresh install.
• In some cases, moving the forum to a new server.
• A file corruption or viral infestation somewhere.
• etc.

Some people aren't aware that there is a relatively recent update released since vBSEO 3.6.0 -- 3.6.1 -- although if they don't still have a current support license they may not be able to download it since trying to pay your yearly support fee at this point may well prove to be impossible.

 

If the end result is closing out, we'd need to make sure the update is available to all for free before the system closes down.

Likewise, I'm sure there are many coders out there who would be capable of disabling the phone home feature, and that would have to be officially distributed.

This is if the final decision is to completely close down. If we went open source, I'm sure the community would remove the phone home function.

Keep in mind, this is not the final decision (yet), but this is the kind of stuff that we need to be thinking about.

 

By the way, if you don't have a backup of your licensed copy of vBSEO, and your support status hasn't expired, you might want to download copies of 3.6.0 and 3.6.1 soon, just in case. I've had no problems with 3.6.1 but some have reported issues and obviously support is a bit patchy lately, so I'd grab both.

 

DJ, if you don't mind, could you post that as an announcement on vbseo.com?

 

I might. Frankly, with the trolls taking over there, that place isn't a happy place to visit.

 

I've noticed that too.

 

I'm stepping out of this soap opera.

Brandon, e-mail me when your site is back to "normal."

 

Maybe a moon shot. But we'll try to at least fail gracefully, and keep customers in the loop.

 

So ILIA, this thread was just to let the people know that there is a great possibility that Vbseo will be closing down the site and if you or your friends are thinking about buying the product please be aware of that fact ?

 

I'm informing you all that the current CEO has told me he intends to shut it down.

Since he has left vbseo.com largely abandoned, and I know him from personal experience to be unreliable in communication, I am bringing it to everyone's attention.

I do not recommend buying the product at this stage, until after such time as a formal announcement that I've endorsed is made at vbseo.com.

This thread was also to answer any questions anyone has, to ask for your support, and to brainstorm about potential options, should there be any way to avoid an abrupt and unannounced closure.

At the very least, I would like the company to transition with a graceful failure.

There are other parties that have expressed an interest in taking it over, as well as many suggestions on how the company might adapt and move into new areas. There's also discussion of open sourcing. No decisions can be made until my co-founder decides to start communicating and cooperating.

 

I use vbseo on my forum, and a few of my friends where thinking about buying the product for there forums but now we will hold off until a formal announcement. Thanks hun for letting us know

 

Yes, let's make sure we know the future of the company before you invest your money. That's the best decision for now.