xenforo 1.2 delayed i talked with mike

I tried to post this on the xenforo forums but mike removed the post and has now blocked me from posting on the forums.

i will let you make up your own mind on whats going on over at xf.

 

Mike is probably not happy with you posting up what was maybe assumed to be a private conversation, I can understand it being deleted, but if you have lost your posting rights because of it, I don't understand that part. On the other hand, when the co-developer is asked if RM and 1.2 are being released this quarter (as promised) and the answer is "I don't know" then that's in the public interest, because it has a material and significant impact not just on existing customers but on prospective customers too; it also lends support to what some of us have been saying, something is WRONG. It suggests that active development is NOT ongoing.

 

Don't want to read too much into that, but interesting none the less. Especially when he asks Mike if there will be no RM or 1.2 in Q2 and the reply back is: "I don't know". Not the kind of answer you'd expect to see.

Was wondering what got deleted after just catching up on that thread posted on XF. That was a private discussion though in Skype, so not surprised it got removed really.

 

He only said "I don't know", that's not at all the same as saying it's delayed, just that he doesn't know.

If the product isn't ready yet, that's what I'd expect him to say and frankly that's how it used to be when they an development at vBulletin. So i wouldn't say there's anything "bad" in that conversation.

To be perfectly honest...posting up a private conversation is pretty poor form and I'd be a bit miffed if someone did that to me. Mike has taken the time to at least give you an answer and that has been abused, I'm not surprised the developers keep quiet when this happens. You can bet your life if anyone else asks them in private now they'll probably not even respond.

I don't think the situation at XF is good....but this sort of thing is just not helping.

 

For everybody commenting on the fact that it was a poor choice to post this private "conversation"... I agreed (I read the thread first) until I actually looked at the screen shots... Mike made a grand total of three statements, all of which provided no information and had no substance. "I don't know" and "there's no update for me to give" are both ways to avert the pestering the OP engaged in. Yes, to be frank, it is pestering... you're bombarding him with questions and empty threats immediately after he says "hi."

This wasn't a conversation at all and it's meaningless.

 

I think he could have avoided it all by simply saying "coming months will be really interesting for xenForo, but I cant say much " but I am no longer sure seeing how some guys turn matter of new release into life or death scenario.

 

You know what, having my own PC problems the last few days has left me not that interested really with what's going on at XenForo. To be honest, your right in that the only reason that person used Skype was to question Mike and you can't blame him saying what he did, in fact I might have been incline to cut the chat off right away myself knowing the person was just fishing from the start for information.

You shouldn't post private conversations in public on a forum, it really in bad taste doing that. And noticed the guy ended the chat saying he was going to do it to Mike. I like Mike, think he's an OK guy and comes across as being a nice genuine person to me.

 

I'm sure in a few months time we'll all be running 1.2 and having a laugh at this (trying to see the glass half full).

 

I honestly dont think we will. At the end of the day I dont see this as rocketscience. Whether they should or shouldnt post is irrelevant, but its now been well over 6 month since there has been any decent posting for Kier. I understand they have problems clearly, but yeah its bound to worry people. As said myself on xenforo Im actually moving my forum away from their software and I foresee others doing the same. I am now the second forum on the top xenforo forums list who will no longer be on xenforo after this week. This much seems to be missed. All may well be good and proceding as planned, however its not the impression that they are giving their customers at present.



EDIT: Just to add, I too feel its extremely bad form to post up a private conversation with Mike on a public forum. Regardless of how much people want information, underhand tactics like these just make you look bad.

 

Bob, you should moderate this guys post...it's the right thing to do. I've talked to Mike this afternoon personally and this guy is no XF customer so I have no idea what his deal is.

 

Well as from now, it looks like anymore threads asking questions will "NOT" be allowed. Not sure that's such a great move, many will interpret that as trying to shut customers up - "while they still say nothing". Have a feeling some are going to feel miffed about that, and it's all well and fine using the excuse those threads keep turning into arguments between members. But they could nip it in the bud by simply posting an announcement. Jeez, they've only got themselves to blame really for it happening because they keep refusing to say anything, even after 2 threads spanning many pages!

You can argue there's nothing to say maybe, but they could post some-kind of announcement to try and quiet things down. It's only going to get worse the longer they remain silent, surely they can see that much. And bet at some point today another thread is started complaining about this new one posted by Brogan. Good luck, but have a sneaky feeling that thread will result in a back-lash coming from some members!

Link: http://xenforo.com/c...70/#post-354819

Looks like "Floris and BamaStangGuy" got that other thread locked with their personal argument between one another, fools! Also read Floris has been running around on Regedit posting negative comment about XenForo staff not giving answers, but trying to act totally the opposite on XenForo itself. That guy has more sides to him than a Chameleon changes colour.

Link: http://xenforo.com/c...-11#post-354816

 

Are you talking about me? i am a xenforo customer with one of the most active forums around....

 

That's not what I was told. I was told you're a vB user who was recently hacked and lost everything except a not so recent backup. What's your username at XF? Better yet, what's your forum?

 

I'm not surprised that thread was closed GTB, I can't see any other option with the way it had degenerated. Brogan is right, any threads of that nature do end up a mess like that. Yet again I do feel Brogan is stuck in the middle, he's dammed if he closes those topics (we all whinge that we can't have our say) and dammed if he doesn't (it ends up a very childish slagging match which does not reflect well on XenForo). He's one of the best forum moderators I've come across and it can't be easy (or enjoyable) to have to moderate this sort of stuff. As you quite rightly say, this issue lies firmly at K/M/A's feet - they are the ones who need to post up something and deal with the unhappy or concerned customers in an open, honest and understanding way. Not just keep ignoring it. On a brighter note, Kier seems to be slowly coming back to life on the forum, so I can only hope this is a positive sign that he is moving in the right direction. Moving forward, we can only pray that in a few year's time the legal case and all this hassle will be a distant memory and Xenforo has shed these teething problems to become a respected and ethical company.

 

I'm NOT calling Brogan for what he did closing it, I agree Floris and BamaStangGuy left him no option in the end, well sort off. The only thing I would say though, why didn't Brogan delete all their posts? He does with other threads to keep them open, but didn't in this case with - Floris and BamaStangGuy? I read all their replies to one another earlier. I don't have an issue generally with how Brogan moderates things there, none at all usually. I think he does a good job overall and tries to be fair keeping them open of late. Just think it's a bad move on the part of XenForo as a whole to say no more discussion about things, any development news questions now not allowed.

For me that says one thing, and one thing only. They want to try and shut customers up!

That of course will suit the fan-boys to a tee now, you only have to look who LIKED his post. The usual suspects like "Forsaken, Slavik, Robbo, jadmperry, Floris and BamaStangGuy (interesting those two should like it, they got it closed)". But this will not suit customers wanting some answers still, they just split the XenForo community even more with that one, now there will be friction for sure!

The fan-boys have got exactly what they wanted to happen, and at the expense of other concerned members wanting to know the script still? Fair enough, nobody will ask any questions and the fan-boys will have nothing left to argue with other members about anymore. Let see how long they last before finding something else (once bored shitless), with nobody left to argue with.

 

I have never understood the moderating technique of "behave or the thread gets closed", it just encourages people to misbehave even more so they can get threads closed at will.

Far better to simply keep deleting the offending posts, and put them in premod if needs be (which is a technique Brogan himself announced he had used only yesterday).

Closing threads is pointless. Floren was making a perfectly valid point.

vBulletin use this technique too, it's completely ridiculous.

Brogan doesn't have a wonderful way with words I'm afraid, as a neutral customer his posts recently are coming across as aggressive..."This community has proved that it can't be trusted" or words to that effect. Beg pardon? I'm part of "this community". Are you talking to me? Hang on a minute, I spend money here, you don't talk to me like that.

It's a right mess. Arguably a bigger mess than vBulletin ended up in now. The difference is, vBulletin is gradually recovering, XenForo is slipping down the cliff. And the worst part of that (and it's also primarily the root cause) is that the owners *appear* not to care.

 

He could have removed the offending posts from Floris and BamaStangGuy, let's be honest. It's not like I've not seen Brogan do it many times in that "Court Case" thread to clean it up keeping it running, never mind others he's done it with. I don't know, sometimes it seems to suit removing posts from some threads and not others. I just wonder, was they itching for a good excuse really to close it - then blame on members for it happening taking heat away from themselves? They should have removed the offending posts, there was some valid questions in that thread. It was obvious also other members we're airing their concerns more than we've seen before, some even changing their tune from previously.

Like also how that other thread created since saying "No More Questions Allowed", was locked right away so nobody can answer back in that one either. I mean, why don't they just stick a GAG on us naming us "Donkey" and be done with it.

I bet Floren was livid when he saw that thread get locked. You know what he's like when something eats away at him like this, he got banned before from vBulletin for losing his cool. He's like an Italian black stallion on fire when his head pops! He won't be best pleased at all.

 

A private chat is a private chat in my eyes. Never should of been posted.

What needs to change is Brogan's attitude, and a few members at xF that just watch the forums and swoop down on any possible question pertaining to xF development. A couple of lessons.

1. The customer is always right.
2. Be nice.
3. Don't get aggravated.

I don't want to put blame on him, but if you look at the forums its a general mess always being harped down upon by Brogan. He makes a stickied topic, but then links to two forums that haven't been posted in 4 months -_-

Why not link to the thread Kier posted? Or the various other threads that reached 200 replies.

 

A private chat has no place being posted in public. And to be honest, I'd close the chat the moment the client started with the threats. It's simple: you don't like the product, you switch. I agree that currently the XF team doesn't seem to do too well with the communication, but this aggressiveness from the clients is surely not OK. I would cancel any work with anyone, if I was treated like garbage. You have a WORKING solution. Very good, if you ask me. There's many plugins to work with, so many features have been replicated anyway. Why would you guys keep on pestering them to give you news? Maybe they're still working on the release. Maybe it's buggy. I'd rather wait for 2 years for something that's close to perfect, than have to upgrade my site weekly.

What if the new version comes with a price tag? Are you pleased to pay 130 for instance for something that has some new bells and whistles and maybe messes up most customizations you've done? I went through a lot of such 'upgrades' and they messed up my forums, screwed plugins and made me work again for the themes to be re-implemented. Not to mention additional costs, previous versions badly supported etc.

Many were angry on VB for releasing 4.x which is not better IMO than the 3.x series and now you're waiting for a RC that will probably mess up your forums for good, cause downtimes and money losses

 

So why not say that, along with confirming it's coming soon. That's all customers are asking for, why the shroud of silence?