Is xenForo Dying?

You'll always get two different types of people, the "patient and the unpatient" ones. Who'll want to know something much sooner than the later type. It's a fact of life, you'll find it no matter where you go. Be it on forums, or in the workplace. Some need to get over that!

 

Not sure what going on at XenForo right now? There's two threads running side-by-side basically the same. One was started yesterday, the other today and I'm surprised Brogan (who it appears is now back) has not merged the two together. Good point's, is that they've allowed them to run. Brogan has even said he'll remove any silly post made, that gives me the impression that they want to keep them running to get feedback from customers. So far we've not seen an announcement still of any sort made, have a feeling though we will soon.

 

My 2 cents if anyone is willing to listen. Whoever is responsible for the PR sucks. At a time when they need to demonstrate a good product, superior customer service, and outstanding features. One has only to say they have some of it covered. With as new as the product is it's made a nice little niche in the market, but it still has to prove itself by being available say 2-3 years from now. I see to many questions with no 'official word' of whats going on. Leaves the talk about it under the 'he said, she said' battle. Which will actually be strike again for people wanting to renew a license or purchase a new/additional one.

If they don't post any type of update or explain what has happened they should be prepared by the time they do some might not be around anymore and have traded a quality product for a reliable one. And there is a different.

 

The first of the two is now closed, predictably. It's a real PR mess this. One can only assume now that it's on legal advice, but why would legal advice be to destroy your own business? Makes no sense.

 

Just read the posts missed before it was locked. Seriously, I cannot see a reason why it was locked? Nothing bad was said in the last post, nor the ones before it just read missed. 13 pages later and still no announcement posted about anything either, I think you might have a point Mark.
And your right, it doesn't make any sense at all. I'm buggered if I know what's going on there?

They had more reason to lock that thread earlier on when Matt Mecham started getting dragged into things with a few sly comments made by one or two, yet left it running and locked it now instead. For what appears no reason to me, other than they've got bored with it maybe?

 

My Opinion: XenForo is not dying, it is changing.

This IS a serious issue. They -as impressing coders- opened a new company by themselves, coded day and night for months at their software, started successfully and sparked massive add.on developer interest. There was a lot of energy and good mood in their project.

Then they were surprised by a very big legal action taken by their direct competitor and former employer.

First they didn't take it too seriously (because -as we all know- it doesn't have a real substance) but then they see the risk due to the massive amount of money needed simply to respond to it.

So they finally started thinking and found 2 solutions:

Solution 1:
Settle the case with IB and live along.
Analyzing how this case could be settled there are 2 likely possibilities:
* Sell the company/software to IB, leave and get more or less money compensation.
* Sell the company/software to IB, stay as much independent as possible and have a regular life again as their employees to further develop XenForo.

Solution 2:
Get a large financial investor to backup their company and out stand the legal proceedings to push IB back.

A solution to stop developing XenForo and simply go out of business is not very likely, because it would leave them with a huge financial burden for the rest of their lifes.
Also it is not very likely to continue just as they did until now, because the financial risks will take out the fun of coding and will make them ill sometimes soon.

So they do what they do now. They take the risk of harming their own company with all the chit chat going on because their disappearing from the public. And concentrate at working/negotiating in the background to find a good future for themselves and their company. We will hear from them, once it is done.

All we can do is to wish them all the luck they need to find it soon. The sooner it is found, the less harm will occur to their company.

For us license owners that means we cannot be sure if there will be another update. But the software works and can be used as is 4 ever. If you expect the software to get new features I would wait to buy until this issue is solved. But if you are satisfied with the current feature set: Go on and buy it to help them survive.

Just my 2c.

 

http://xenforo.com/community/threads/hello-again.30309/

Its all good now. I was getting worried.

 

Jesus Christ, people are arguing with one another already in that thread Kier posted over stupid things, not even read it all yet. Anyway, good to see Kier back and must admit I didn't think it was personal issues myself. Interesting to read him say money XenForo has been making is getting more put into fighting the court case against Internet Brands, even to the point they're not getting a wage out of it.

Unfortunate to read that's the situation right now.

 

Well now that the situation has been resolved we should really leave them to it. They've done what we and others asked, much more so in fact. So aside from my post thanking Kier for the information, that's my lot on the subject. There is no cause for concern over and above the pre-existing and morally bankrupt lawsuit.

 

Exactly.

 

That's all it took - one post to let us know what was happening. I'm happy now, case closed.

 

The tags you've chosen for this thread are really stupid to be honest. Sorry to say that.

 

That closed thread was entertaining. My favorite was the holiday excuse.



On a serious note, this comment should concern people:

"...virtually every penny that XenForo has made has been consumed by legal fees...".

That sounds like the company is (virtually) broke.

 

No it doesn't, it simply states that any profit they might have made has been used. Doesn't mean they aren't funded in other ways.

 

I see you got a shitty reply from "Mr. Attitude" on XenForo: http://xenforo.com/c...e-8#post-347574

Can't believe he said that, your a customer the same as him. Cheeky sod, questioning what your doing posting in that thread!

Edit, and now another pop at you: http://xenforo.com/community/threads/hello-again.30309/page-9#post-347692

 

There's a saying, that violence is the last resort of the incompetent. In forum circles, the equivalent saying would be: Accusations of trolling are the last resorts of bigots.

Those threads sadly are full of narrow minded people who don't have any room in their consciousness or souls for fellow customers who have opposing views. Well, they can carry on accusing other customers of trolling if they are too narrow minded to consider an alternative viewpoint. And when that viewpoint is carefully composed with evidence and fair reasoning, to call it trolling is plain and simple bigotry.

What they don't understand is this. It is people like you and me Mark, and GTB and others, who have persisted with our comments on there or on other forums, that has brought this to a head and finally gotten some kind of answer through an official response.

Let them go back to putting their heads in the sand. We will still be here as licence holders and concerned customers when the next crisis breaks.

 

Exactly, this thread was the sole reason that first one got starting on XenForo, which then lead to another the very next day, then on 3rd day Kier posting a response. The ball started rolling because somebody linked to: this thread in their first post. This is not about trying to take credit for anything, it's fact and they can't see it when putting this thread down on numerous occasions I've read from people there since.

If it wasn't for this thread, they'd all be scratching their heads wondering what's going on still. I've no doubt about that!

I've been thinking after reading this reply also about something, is what Kier posted actually something to celebrate or should we still be concerned about the future of XenForo? Let's face it, what he said was not good news really as a whole and confirmed what we'd suspected, they are struggling hard to continue on fighting the court-case, much harder than I thought to be honest. They won't carry on working for nothing if things look like dragging on for years yet, not when they have bills to pay like everyone else. They don't pay themselves after all!

I'm not trying to negative about things, I'm not so easily convinced everything is A-OK just because Kier suddenly shows his face on the forums. Not like fan-boys seem to be. Simply because, I don't feel now what Kier said was good news, and if anything it's rather sad news to hear.

 

I don't know GTB. Personally I only wanted a rational, open, honest and believable reason why an otherwise very active poster and the co-developer had apparently gone missing. We got that with Kier's post. Despite the negative aspects of my venting here, I read Kier's post as a positive one. I only saw doom and gloom when the company stopped talking to us.