Xenforo - Do you guys want it here?

So earlier I was talking to elegee earlier about the possiblity of doing a 'christmas gift' to QQ that I would be willing to at least fund in part to in whole, depending on how things go. What I want to know is if you guys would like the possibility of upgrading the SMF board we have now on QQ to Xenforo - the forum software that is commonly used on other communities that most of us are apart of such as SB and SV.

The reason I am asking about support, is this would be a 140 dollar purchase on my part and not exactly cheap by any means. Further if we wanted Elastic Search it would cost us an additional 50 USD. So 190 dollars total.

I am good for about half of that or about 100 dollars all in all. So anywhere from forty to ninety dollars short for the first license depending on whether or not we want Elastic Search - and my instincts say we probably do.

Finally it would have an annual cost of 40 dollars (or fifty due to a 10 dollar additional fee for elastic search) for license renewal which would have to be paid every year. While I am probably good for contributing that to at least a small degree (would not mind pitching in ten dollars a year or something for this end) I could not cover that expense every year myself, and elegee has informed me he can't either due to being mad broke.

So.

Would this be something you guys would be:

A. Interested in.
and
B. Be willing to chip in for to make happen?

 

Can you tell me what you mean by this?

 

I don't see why that wouldn't be doable. I mean, there are plenty of free ones out there for use. And designing a custom one shouldn't be hard either. I've looked at it, and the Xenforo theme creator is simple enough to use.

 

Well, I hate to say it like this, but honestly come the end of the year next year for the reoccuring fee, and worst case scenario I pick up an extra shift during the holidays and I can clear the fifty bucks in an afternoon if it comes down to it. But I would prefer not to have to carry that burden myself.

 

Well here is the initial response I got from the elegee when I first talked to him.

So he already has a paypal for the site set up, so that is good. Though he would need to post it for us to be able to send in the funds, at the very least.

As for the issue there, apparently there is an importer for SMF -> Xenforo importer that is up to date as of this mo, the only thing is its in beta right now, but that would be something to test first on a test import before dealing with it for realsies that it could work. And the beta state as noted by the Xenforo devs was mostly a 'permenant' one simply because its the pet project one of the staff that works there.

 

Since the process would be long, and I think that QQ works just fine as it is, then I don't think it is necessary, and at least, in my opinion, I don't want it either.

 

They do have one. But its 'in beta' even though supposedly it works well enough now, and the last update for it was on November the 20th so its not exactly being set out to linger.

Where did you get the process being long from? I don't believe anyone in the thread or outside of it have even talked about possible downtimes yet.

EDIT:

So according to the webhost that LG uses here they handle xenforo installation for free, so they should be able to do an import easy enough, given the import software (while in beta) is bundled with the licence so its not like they shouldn't be able to do it painlessly and for free.

 

The only complaint I have with the current site is that the default color scheme is impossible to read on my phone and the lighter one makes pinks and other bright-colored text impossible to read without highlighting them.

 

My main complaint is how 'simple' SMF is (ha!) and the general capability of the actual WSYIWYG reader. I want something better, and even the basic XF one is a hundred times nicer.

 

If you set up a paypal account or something, I would be willing to cover the renewal fee. While I can't cover the additional $90 fee in the time remaining in the year (Christmas is coming after all), I can put $20 towards the initial fee right now. If you delay until after new year I could cover the rest of it. As for the renewal fee, I can cover that by myself without help so long as I can pay you in installments or something. $50 isn't a huge burden to me. I'm not rich or anything, but setting aside ten bucks every paycheck won't put me in the poorhouse.

I love this site just as much as SB and SV, but I admit that I would prefer a Xenforo interface to the one currently available.

Edit: Wow, completely missed the part where it said a paypal had already been setup. Great going eyeballs! Still, given the post below me, I'll wait before throwing my money at elgee.

 

What needs to happen from your end to get the okay to move funds into place?

 

i am interested but don't have any means to contribute

am beyond broke and gone straight into debt ie not sure if I will make decembers rent XD

stupid tuition fees...

 

Well, broadly speaking, we really only have a single disenting voice thus far from overmind with his primary issue being downtime but no real issues with Xenforo itself.

How long would you give it to form a concensus before you would consider a 'course of action' settled?

 

Is there a particular need for this? I haven't noticed any real problems with what we have right now.

 

I rather like what we've currently got, but if we do decide to shift to XF, I'll throw thirty bucks at you once I've got the funds, sometime around the tenth. Can't promise a recurring payment, though.

 

Off the top of my head?

• I hate the PM system here. It's clunky and feels old, and I like the conversation system better on XF. It feels more dynamic and responsive.
• Even the 'basic' WYSIWYG editor (the posting interface) is a hundred times superior on XF, and it does not screw up BB code as badly.
• With an XF move it will make crossposting posts with SB and SV easier due to using the same base engine.
• Alerts on here would be beautiful and I want them. I don't like not being able to keep track of all the threads I am in at once, and this would help.
• Performance-wise XF is nicer then SMF due to being a proprietary constantly developed piece of software which is constantly getting refined versus what we have now doe to SMF being open source freeware.
• I think XF handles creative writing better over all, due to the ease of the posting-editor. I touched on this before with regards to the WYSIWYG, but it bares repeating.

And that is just what I can think of now.

 

I agree with most of those points, though I don't think SB and SV much care for direct links here.

How about we have a thread poll, or a vote where we can have a clear tally? And along with votes, pledges from people willing to foot the bill?

I do have some concerns about shifting to a paid system:

First, the people who pay may feel entitled to special treatment. Avatars or custom designs are fun, but what if they want privileges? Will they hold the forum ransom for their likes?

What if the money dries up? Would the forum shut down entirely? Is there going to be an archive made of all this?

QQ is a pretty ranchy place. Would the guys who provide the XF license take offense to any of the material here and refuse to let it be hosted on their software?

 

Of course they don't. QQ is the dirty little secret of the BROB community, but its hardly there business if we upgrade our site's software.

Probably a good idea, and I think the elegee would be the best one to make the 'official proposition topic'. This one right here is just shooting the breeze and discussing the idea.

Of course not. Nothing 'special' I would imagine aside from possibly like what SB has such as more people can be added to a conversation, larger avatar sizes (maybe), and a banner of some sort like 'Board Supporter'. I would leave the details up to the elegee.

If the money dries up, the board will continue to exist, it just won't be able to receive further upgrades to the software or support tickets. We don't lose access to the board just because a subscription were to hypothetically lapse.

Checked this out already, actually.

https://xenforo.com/license-agreement/

The above is there licensing agreement with XF. There are no stated 'content clauses' or the like or anything they would have any right or reason to refuse service. So we are good on that front.