Do you think paid forum softwares are overpriced?
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Forum software overpriced
- Thread starter Smithy
- Start date
Shortie
Well-known member
I wouldn't say all forum software is overpriced but some are. Xenforo seems to be the one that is the most affordable for many.
I would say that Invision is the more expensive one which is a shame as it is great.
I would say that Invision is the more expensive one which is a shame as it is great.
XenForo is affordable and the layout of the forum is better than any other forum software.
IPB is overpriced for what it is.
Cpvr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2024
- Messages
- 466
It really is. I don’t see too many forums using IPB unless they’re major companies.
I see more people using Nodebb or discourse instead of IPb.
Axel Slingerland
Wordy Blues Rocker
It depends. As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." If you want free you can get it, free forums, even free hosting. But along with the software comes many things you may not want. Ads, viruses, malware... That makes free cost too much for my taste.
I used IPB for many years and I liked it. I set up a copy for the PC Pitstop forum, which I ran for four years back in the early 2000s. But later on IPB got to be less and less like a Forum and more and more like a Content Management System. CMSs are great for businesses, not so good for forums. So I don't really like it that much anymore. I have an IPB license that the owner of PC Pitstop gave me when I worked for him. It's still good, the last time I checked, but if I want to update it I would have to pay $25. But that was 10 years ago. I haven't used it since.
I suppose the real key to deciding whether you should buy forum software or use a free one really is about community. If you don't have a community, you really don't need any kind of software. What good is an unused forum? If you do have a community, you can pay for it yourself, ask for donations, etc. I know a guy who makes YouTube videos to pay for his forum. I've considered that. I could make videos telling people "Just say no to Clickbait!"
I used IPB for many years and I liked it. I set up a copy for the PC Pitstop forum, which I ran for four years back in the early 2000s. But later on IPB got to be less and less like a Forum and more and more like a Content Management System. CMSs are great for businesses, not so good for forums. So I don't really like it that much anymore. I have an IPB license that the owner of PC Pitstop gave me when I worked for him. It's still good, the last time I checked, but if I want to update it I would have to pay $25. But that was 10 years ago. I haven't used it since.
I suppose the real key to deciding whether you should buy forum software or use a free one really is about community. If you don't have a community, you really don't need any kind of software. What good is an unused forum? If you do have a community, you can pay for it yourself, ask for donations, etc. I know a guy who makes YouTube videos to pay for his forum. I've considered that. I could make videos telling people "Just say no to Clickbait!"
Cpvr
Well-known member
- Joined
- Dec 23, 2024
- Messages
- 466
How big did your forum get? IPB is now known as invision community and they’re more designed for business owners, but their cms system makes it easier for a lot of people.It depends. As the old saying goes, "You get what you pay for." If you want free you can get it, free forums, even free hosting. But along with the software comes many things you may not want. Ads, viruses, malware... That makes free cost too much for my taste.
I used IPB for many years and I liked it. I set up a copy for the PC Pitstop forum, which I ran for four years back in the early 2000s. But later on IPB got to be less and less like a Forum and more and more like a Content Management System. CMSs are great for businesses, not so good for forums. So I don't really like it that much anymore. I have an IPB license that the owner of PC Pitstop gave me when I worked for him. It's still good, the last time I checked, but if I want to update it I would have to pay $25. But that was 10 years ago. I haven't used it since.
I suppose the real key to deciding whether you should buy forum software or use a free one really is about community. If you don't have a community, you really don't need any kind of software. What good is an unused forum? If you do have a community, you can pay for it yourself, ask for donations, etc. I know a guy who makes YouTube videos to pay for his forum. I've considered that. I could make videos telling people "Just say no to Clickbait!"
I prefer xenforo. VBulletin also offers a Cms system but it isn’t the same as it used to be.
Axel Slingerland
Wordy Blues Rocker
PC Pitstop had over 50,000 registered members when I quit in 2005. 99% of whom got help with whatever they came for, and were usually never heard from again. There were about 250 regulars that at least 1/3 of actually helped people with their computer problems. But the thing that drove me out the door was the never ceasing list of people who came in offering bad advice to people and since they didn't know any better, when that bad advice messed up their PC's, sometimes they would take it out on me.
After 20 years, my old Boss Rob Cheng decided he had had enough of that sort of thing, his people getting accused of all sorts of nonsense, he shut the forum down. I lasted the first four of those years, and I tried to warn him. He told me after he closed it that he didn't know exactly how many registered members he had in the 16 years after I quit, because he switched from IPS hosting to self hosting, and the people running the servers quite frequently lost the database. He said if he had to guess, it would probably be somewhere near 200,000.
I stopped using my IPB software just as Invision Power Services was botching IPB. I still have all the software for the last good version, and my license is still good. I loaned it to friends a couple of times, but the problem for them was they had little or no community. So it was hardly worth the cost of a hosting site. And I finally got tired of jumping through IPS's hoops to change the domain.
I actually never heard of XenForo until I signed up for the Senior Forums back in January.
After 20 years, my old Boss Rob Cheng decided he had had enough of that sort of thing, his people getting accused of all sorts of nonsense, he shut the forum down. I lasted the first four of those years, and I tried to warn him. He told me after he closed it that he didn't know exactly how many registered members he had in the 16 years after I quit, because he switched from IPS hosting to self hosting, and the people running the servers quite frequently lost the database. He said if he had to guess, it would probably be somewhere near 200,000.
I stopped using my IPB software just as Invision Power Services was botching IPB. I still have all the software for the last good version, and my license is still good. I loaned it to friends a couple of times, but the problem for them was they had little or no community. So it was hardly worth the cost of a hosting site. And I finally got tired of jumping through IPS's hoops to change the domain.
I actually never heard of XenForo until I signed up for the Senior Forums back in January.