Got Banned from vBulletin.COM today

what should I say?
GREAT JOB or BLOW JOB to IB, vb.com?
the staff of vb.com: if they feel they were unable to answer your question, they'll ban you.
the license holder, the user who had bought license from vb.com had no right to complain.
the license holder, the user who had bought license from vb.com had no right to ask.
the license holder, the user who had bought license from vb.com had no right to know.
if you do that, you'll get banned from vb.com.

I've owned vb5c but I'm unable to use it because it's full of bugs, slow.
I run a brand new site.
I don't want to get the negative impression from the users when they visit my site for the first time.
it's been seventh month since I bought vb5c.
it's like married with the woman that you can't sleep with her.
it's really sucks.

 

I have thought about moving to Sphinx but was speaking to a sys admin who felt it wasnt supported well enough. That being said we didn't get too far into it so perhaps he wasn't referring to the DP version / setup via the vB option vs whatever else it could have been... I was trying to get a grasp on it before considering it. DP I am not premium so couldnt see what it would take to install it.

I am on vB3. I could not imagine the undertaking of recoding the stuff we have added. And to hire someone to do it, scary. If and when XF gets something similar to albums I may consider it but it would only be a consideration. I don't know what it would take to jump ship and I don't know how much longer I can last on vB3.

Not sure if there has been anyone storing vB3 templates as files but I can see that being helpful. I utilize CDN for a ton of stuff.

Using Google speed test I get :
The page RCCanada got an overall PageSpeed Score of 75 (out of 100).
your forums score significantly hire at
The page Online Internet Marketing & Search En... got an overall PageSpeed Score of 96 (out of 100).

Almost a 25% increase which is certainly good.

That being said I serve slightly more images @ 515.4 KB in 3.32s (onload: 2.93s)
vs
58.5 KB 2.66s (onload: 13.6s)
Note sure how the sprite css impacts this if it does at all.
That all said, I would love to increase the speed but couldn't sacrifice the images I serve. :/

 

Sigh...

Still banned...

 

Well, at least you have an idea, when your ban will be lifted. They put me on global ignore (aka harveyed or sent to conventry) and I don't know if I'll ever be able to post again/ be seen there again. I would have rather they banned me, but then I guess all my posts, which were only the truth as I saw it, will be viewable again. I guess the unadulterated truth is something they just don't want to handle there at IB.

If you ask me, how things are being handled in general with vBulletin and the current outbreak of customer dissension on the forums at vB.com is all a really bad sign of cowardliness from IB's upper management and the fact they aren't facing their customers and just stating their intentions just shows that nothing will really get better in the near or distant future. Nothing!

Scott

 

With the state of vb5 they have probably predicted customer dissent even bigger than the vb4 disaster. This time around they have Xtreme marketing in place and do enforce a strict policy. In this perspective they are doing fairly well, as I had expected the support forums to be up in flames already.

Still their hide and seek / catch me if you can tactics in regards to customer support is very user unfriendly at best. I dont think that the Xtreme marketing can safe vbulletins reputation / brand value.

 

You know whats funny for a site that does not support ForumRunner, they now have a ForumRunner Support Forum on VB.COM!

And yet I am still banned.

 

ain't that a b*tch
http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/forum/vbulletin-5-connect/vbulletin-5-forum-runner

 

Hehehe....what a joke. I mean, it is good they started the forum. What is being written in that forum and the fact you are still banned, are both ridiculous. Just more signs of them being kaput.

Scott

 

And after all of this if you go to the ForumRunner site and it tells you to upgrade your plugin, it still asks you the version of vBulletin you are running and if you select 4.2.x (which is actually listed BEFORE 4.1.x) there is still no place on the page it takes you to, to download the plugin.

If you want to download the new Plugin you need to select 4.1.x.

So in my words still broken.

 

Oh, shut the [****][****][****][****] up! There's nothing I hate more than a corporation that tries to get cute with it's customers. Worse than that, I hate people who try to get cute by going around the subject, and issue.

I own a Call of Duty Forum... people break the rules sometimes, and they play the victim when in fact, the rules were there for that "food for thought."

What you don't seem to understand is the difference between the services that you mention.

Adsense is owned by Google, Inc. You even spelt it out "Google Adsense."
Skimlinks is owned by Skimlinks, Ltd.
VerticalResponse is owned by VerticalResponse, Inc.
PostRelease is owned by Nativo, Inc.

vBulletin is owned by Internet Brands, Inc.
ForumRunner is owned by Internet Brands, Inc.
vBulletin and ForumRunner is supported by who? *puts right hand on right ear* Who? vBulletin. Why? Because it's still under the same [****][****][****][****]ing umbrella! Do you get it!?

If you do not get it, then you guys need to sit down with your management and start brainstorming how you guys are going to appease your customers who buy the same [****][****][****][****]ing product from your company. You guys are acting like vBulletin and ForumRunner is separate from one another. No. No. That's the wrong way to think about acquisitions. You (Internet Brands) bought it, you're supposed to treat it one and the same. Not separate.

A lot of companies are integrating their acquired companies and brands with each other, your teams need to work together to help your customers feel comfortable with your brand!

Even though that vBulletin and ForumRunner are different brands, it's still owned by you. You've created that consistent feel, that it's owned by the same [****][****][****][****]ing company. Go to any one of the networked companies (and you are one) and ask if they think all of their websites are separate. Answer: No. *Puts hand to face, and nods the finger back and forth.*

No. The whole point of a network of brands or websites is to create a feeling, that it's owned by the same company, the same team that runs the site(s) or product(s), and by the end of the day, those visitors, or customers "trust" that brand.

What are you guys? A bunch of [****][****][****][****]ing idiots who don't work like a team, or a family? Huh?

A lot of companies dream to have acquired products like vBulletin, and ForumRunner. Because honestly, you can manage development [and customer service] better that way. You can strengthen a newly acquired application such as ForumRunner, and help your customers run their forums efficiently and without too much headache. But, hey, you've effectively done 10x worse than the company that acquired a small phone app like Tapatalk, or something else. (I do realize Tapatalk is quite a big company/brand. I'm using it as an analogy.)

Let me put it in another way so you understand.

Sony had many divisions of their company. Many different companies.

They used to compete with themselves, and it has worked for a while until it didn't. You wanna know why? Because we are living in a brave new world: Everything is integrated. Everything.

Before Sony thought about "hey, let's pool our resources together" Sony's Movies, Music, Video Games divisions all acted independently. That was the wrong way to go about it if they were to launch the original PlayStation. But, it only worked for a while until the end of PlayStation 2's lifecycle, when they transitioned into PlayStation 3. By the time it was too late... All the divisions failed. All of them were starting to lose money. It was in the middle of Sony's PS3 lifecycle, they said "[****][****][****][****] it. Let's restructure, and let's pool our resources together to create an integrated software/hardware/media corporation!"

And so, they did. It was too late though, the economy hit hard on everyone. Sony was the one hit hard all across the world. They invested millions, if not billions into the Blu-Ray technology. So, by the time everyone stop bullshitting in Sony divisions, it was too late. PS3's brand was tarnished, the music division was falling behind, way behind. And the only division that has been doing the best in the worst possible economy in years, it's Columbia, and the smaller Sony Studios.

They were once the technology kings, the hardware kings, they're no longer that "king." They used to be the best at Walkmans, those TV's, those SDTV's, the beginning of the HD war with HDTV's with the Bravia line...

Their secret weapon, though is the Movies division, and bunch of companies. Why? Because they make money off the movies - from theatres, to disc release (starting with Blu-Ray), then back into their pockets, because they no longer have to pay royalities for each disc sold.

PlayStation 1, 2, 3 and now 4 all doubles as a DVD/Blu-Ray player, so they make even more money.

So, you see where I'm going? You guys saved yourself a lot of money through the acquisition of ForumRunner! But you're only shooting yourselves in the foot for not treating your customers like they're your biggest fans!

*Grabs eraser and edits post.* Awesome post!

That sentence should left alone in it's own place, but you went into detail. Good job. A like coming your way...

*Ahem, tilts, and stands up.* I.. you mean... *cough* They don't care about quality, or quality service!

Just like the jerk in the bar. Just ya know, trying to be something they're not.

My. [****][****][****][****]ing. head. hurts, man. Are you guys really this dumb?

How hard is it for you to understand that: Internet Brands owns both vBulletin, and ForumRunner. And on top of that, ForumRunner is included, and bundled with every vB4/vB5 license sold.

Yes, we get that.

Oh, just because the customer doesn't have a "license" for ForumRunner, you're going to treat him as if he's a separate customer from FR? That's shitty thinking, man. In the first place, you guys have a premium vB mobile app, and you're treating ForumRunner as a premium service on top of what you have? Really?

ForumRunner was a free app. All you guys are doing is making everything complicated for the end user. If a customer has a question about ForumRunner, he/she should be able to post on your [vB.com] forums for that ease of access, and quick support questions.

Thing is, ForumRunner forums looks like it's lacking activity. Therefore, there's no way to really get a good answer. And since the actual ForumRunner developers are on... vB.com forums, you're more likely to get better results, and better answers. It helps even more that there are other customers that are willing to answer the question for the support (or higher) employees.

So what if he was wrong that Internet Brands owns ForumRunner and vBulletin. The problem you're not getting is: vB =/= ForumRunner (you said it yourself)

It's still under the same corporate umbrella. So, essentially, the OP was right when he said "vBulletin took over ForumRunner."

Because, because.......

Internet Brands =/= vBulletin
[Internet Brands, Inc. =/= vBulletin Solutions, Inc.]

Internet Brands > vBulletin + ForumRunner
Internet Brands > vBulletin / ForumRunner

I have converted 2 different websites with "big data" and it worked perfectly. In fact, I was expecting to wait 2 hours or more just for EverythingHalo to transfer to xenForo. But you know what? I didn't. 30 minutes, and it's done. I was surprised by the speed of a 50,000 posts conversion. Like "holy [****][****][****][****]ing shit" surprised.

With CODForums I didn't even have to wait an hour, just a speedy 5 minute conversion of a 2,100 members, 3,000 posts site. I dunno man, it's fast. I dunno about you, but that impressed me on it's own. With EverythingHalo, I was on my 6th xenForo "instance." I know the data behind the back of my head.

I'm calling it right now: xenForo was the best $100/$140 [on a Forum Software] I've ever spent.

Yeah, that's quite evident thus far. The fact that they don't understand that their "division" is actually a part of the overall corporate structure.

They don't really need training. They were actually "trained" during their ...retail days. Ya know, back in high school, where you had to handle questions from customers. I never paid attention to this back in those days. My wake-up call was a few years ago (2005, actually), when I was just a guy that stocks products, cleaned things up, did errands for other employees, upper management, and whatnot. I'm a quiet person, so when people come to me for customer help at my art store. I never really connected to the customer. In retrospect: I feel guilty now, I feel bad. I feel like I did a bad job. But in the end, the management did a bad job of telling the employee "hey, you need to try and sell products through customer service." That's the case here. vBulletin upper management didn't go and say "treat each customer as your first sale, your big client sale, your favorite sale - connect with them, go above your job title to really appease that customer." That's what this boils down to.

Not everyone can "hire" developers to do exactly what you want your forum software to do. It's like this. My company does not have one dollar in capital. Not a single dollar. So, I can't build a new custom skin, or build a mobile app or a clan ladder or an arcade. The end result is that I have to work with what I have.. I only have to rely on my own marketing strategy, and my own brand consistency.

These are limitations that I am working on solving. The point that I'm making is that it's better to work with what you understand, and if it makes your workflow feel better. Because your productivity is based on how well this "engine" or platform works. Wordpress for example, is a great program for blogs, but it's not so great for gaming websites, because it doesn't really have well-designed, well-supported plugins that make posts look like a gaming magazine. This is something I feel strongly limited in.

With forums, it's a little easy to get away with it in features. Now, I'm not saying that it's easy to just install forum, and let it sit there. You have to work towards the success of the site, but what I mean is. In the forum world, people have lower expectation of what a community is, or what it's supposed to be. That's why xenForo succeeds where IB fails with vB4/vB5 lines. vB3/xenForo can be "bland" all it wants, and you can still extend it in little, but nifty ways that make a site attractive (e.g. points shop > ranks).

That's the problem here. It's not that the OP thinks that he doesn't know why he was banned in the first place, it's the way that the customer service rep telling him this and that, walk around the bushes, and then pull a stunt.

Better handling of customers' requests, or questions needs solving. This is bad attitude that needs adjusting from Joe or any other staff that acts this way.

 

Easy @Carlos... Joe is being very nice and answering questions here, I don't want him thinking we're here to pick on him.


I understand you may be frustrated but your first sentence telling him to STFU in bold even.. doesn't make me very happy at all.

 

Sorry. It's an expression. STFU is an exaggerated expression. I'm annoyed by the stupidity of IB, and Joe does not make it easy. He's confusing everything for the end user (that being the OP).

Sometimes, we have to push people. This is the way you do it.

Being nice to Joe so far hasn't worked so far, so a tougher approach is required.

Anyhow, back to editing post.

 

ya I hear ya man but I for one am very appreciative that Joe as well as the other vb staff have answered questions on Admin Talk.
I would rather we not be abusive to them, they don't have to post here.

Remember they are, in general, just doing their jobs. It would be great if the upper management would stop by as well, I remember @LawrenceCole made a post or two at one point.

I think we can be civil and still get our questions answered.

Also you don't need to edit the post, if that's really how you feel then I'm not going to censor it.
( I did remove the part where you called one of our members an a-hole, that was uncalled for)

Just please understand my stance on things.

 

Hey, don't get me wrong. It's great that they came over here to try and well, "appease" the situation, even if I think it's "bullshit." That's not the point, the point is, I appreciate they coming over and try. Problem is, when you're trying to alleviate a situation, you're supposed to make it easy for the user (again, the OP), you go and shoot your foot by saying things in a way that "beats around the bushes," it's appalling. If I was his boss, I'd fire him. That's just me.

Because honestly, if you treat your customer the right way, you can get their business back.

Upper management would be nice. But, uh, not gonna happen.

Whatchoo talkin' about! I was being civil, even though I threw out some outbursts!

Aye! Aye! Thank you, Senor Captain!

Understood!

 

As a newcomer here I respect him - Joe said. Very clear statement.

This really has nothing more to say. You kept creating thread as drunk user ignored Rule. You deserve to get banned.

Just my opinion and seems like this thread has done.

 

Problem with that statment is that IB owns both vBulletin and ForumRunner.

Those threads were locked without further explanation. That's what I got from this thread.

You're entitled to your opinion. Too bad you can't understand where the OP is coming from, thus is why you think he "deserves to be banned."

If I were you, I'd apologize for being offensive. ["You deserve to get banned" is offensive.]

 

IB is both yes. But Vbulletin.com is not, you can not accept it? When you ask in Vbulletin.com it should just only about vb, also depend on forums.

I'd rather message moderator of the forum to know. Not trying to post another and another thread with same contens. You're webmaster and I think you already know how annoying it would be?

You just went angry that's what I read.

 

If you own two products, and customers want better access to the staff... GIVE them that access!

FYI, 50% of the upper moderators have their PM's set to off. I know, because I've tried contacting a moderator before. And even if I got through, they get really [****][****][****][****]ing cute. Annoys me more than creating a thread and showing the world exactly what a dictatorship vB.com is.

I went angry? *snorts* hahahahahahahahaa.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.....

 

Oh not angry, sarcastic?

Both side are wrong. Nothing more to say as it just my IMO, vbulletin.com does its job and you shouldn't ask for another.

Depend. However they should. But in this case you do it wrong.
Okay.