vBulletin cut off my account short

[Fred]

I bought a leased license on exactly July 25, 2000 ( I have my email notification).

It's February, and my account is deleted. When I try to login, it says invalid password and username. But the username and password are correct.

This is the biggest jip! I've been waiting months for vBulletin 2.0 to come out, when it finally does, what happens? I get my account deleted!

I paid $65USD for this damn licence.

[Joe]

woha, calm down bud. Liscense info has changed, theres a link under the log in area to get your current info. Just put in your email addy that you purchased vB with, and you will get a email with your new username / password.

BTW, where did you get vB for $65?

[Me2Be]

Did you ask it to resend your password and license number to you? If you haven't, why don't you try that first to see what license # you have on their files. John & James implemented a new license system so it has probably changed.

[Fred]

Well, this won't work now. I bought this account through my friend, she used her credit card and her email address. I don't correspond with her anymore, so I dont have access to the mail.

What can I do ?

BTW, I ment $85USD. Not $65.

[Joe]

email [email protected] , tell him whats going on, include your URL, acct# & password, he should beable to help you out.

[Seeker]

And another question

What exactly is the point of owning an "owned" license if you will not be able to download updates at the end of a one-year period, according to the new member page? I don't recall the original license terms saying that. In fact, the license link at http://www.vbulletin.com/license.html says this:

By installing and using vBulletin on your server, you agree to the following terms and conditions:

A vBulletin license grants you the right to run one instance (a single installation) of vBulletin on one web server and one web site for each license purchased. Each license may power one instance of vBulletin on one domain.
After the expiry of a leased license, vBulletin must either be removed from the server, or another license purchased.
All customers must submit the URL where they are using (or plan to use) each license. The URL can be submitted via the vBulletin members area.
vBulletin source code may be altered (at the owners risk), but the software (altered or otherwise) may not be distributed to entities beyond the license holder without the explicit written permission of Jelsoft Enterprises Limited.
All vBulletin copyright notices within design templates must remain unchanged (and visible).
Registered users may modify the vBulletin code for their personal use (at their own risk), but any altered code must not be redistributed or resold in any form.
If any terms are violated, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited reserves the right to revoke the license at any time. No license refunds will be granted for revoked licenses.
License fees are non-refundable. We encourage you to download the freeware version of vBulletin to verify that your server supports MySQL and PHP before purchasing the full version. For complete system requirements, please visit the features page.

So why exactly did I pony up $160 for an owned license not once, but three times for three different sites when I could have done it for half the price and not have to worry about getting updates? This is (to put it mildly) quite irritating to me. I like vbulletin. I do not like what appear to be shady business practices.

[Mike Sullivan]

Track vB for say 3 years.

Leased:
$85 + $85 + $85 = $255

Owned:
$160 + $30 + $30 = $220

That's why
Plus, I know for a fact that it has always worked that way.

[Seeker]

OK, that's all fine and dandy for you, but how am I supposed to know that 1) that "it has always worked that way", because I've only had these licences for under a year and 2) that the pricing for owned licensees is only $30 (because I can't find that anywhere until I go into the "Renew" option)? Are you trying to piss off people like me or are you unaware that for a place that is supposedly devoted to helping people communicate, current dissemination stinks? In fact, I got no notice that 2.0 was even out until I happened to pop over here - somebody said "you should have gone into the members area when you got the license info mail". Why the heck would I do that if I didn't think the new software was out to download? It's a nice little catch-22 going on here.

[Joe]

Leased licences expire after a year of use. With a owned licence, you can continue to use your forum for as long as you like, you receive one year of free upgrades for both licences. To recive an additional year of upgrades / support, its $30 for thoes with owned licences. Leased licence members will have renue there lease at $85 a year, or purchse a new license for $160 to recive another year of updates.

As for the no email for v2, that's because v2 was released as public beta, not a final / stable product. once jelsoft declares v2 as a stable product, they will email all members and let them know.

[Mike Sullivan]

First, vB 2 is beta. When it's listed as stable there will be a notice that's it's been released.

I'm sorry you feel that way about the current system. If you have a significant problem, I suggest you email sales at [email protected] . However, I must say that this is listed right here on the order page: http://www.digibuy.com/cgi-bin/order.html?vbulletin

Owned License - $160

An owned license grants you the right to run on one web server and one web site for each license purchased for an unlimited time. Each license may power one instance of vBulletin on one domain. Included in this package is one year's access to the member area, where you can download updated versions of the software. If you require access to the member area after the year has elapsed, you can renew your access for $30 per year.

[Seeker]

Joe, thanks for the informative answer. Appreciated.

And Ed (or Mike), I bought those licenses last year sometime. Did you think I just got them tonight or something? I expect, once I have a product and the viable license information (for this, the original registration email with the now old user id and password) that relevant information will be posted as plainly visible. It's not that I don't "like" the current system. I don't like being greeted with surprises like that and having to dig for the information I might need.

[Mike Sullivan]

Ahh, ok, I think we're on the same page now I think.

I didn't think that you bought the license yesterday, but I'd consider the the sales page pretty visible such that when you bought the software you would've known the differences. However, your main gripe is that it's not visible enough throughout the rest of the site, correct? Would adding additional info to any emails and/or the members' area eliminate this concern?

(Note: These posts reflect my personal opinion, not that of vBulletin or Jelsoft.)
(Note 2: I hate these disclaimers )

[chrispadfield]

out of interest, say you have 2 owned licenses, you only need access to the member's area for one don't you? so say you bought two owned license when it came out, you would only have to pay $30 at the end of the year to get continued access but would be able to upgrade them both to vb3.0 when ever that is.

Is that right?

[Joe]

I think the morally right thing to do would be purchase one year of upgrades for each license you own.

[Nicholas Brown]

I think the morally right thing to do would be purchase one year of upgrades for each license you own.

We, but not everyone goes by the book. In effect, what Padders said is correct though