Former vBulletin lead developer Kier Darby to develop new forum software?

[steven s]

I was among those to be very upset with 4.0. I am a developer and I can tell you that as far as I am concerned, 4.0.4 put vB back on the map. In fact I am really impressed with the amount of flexibility that I now have. All my scripts tremendously beneficiated from vB4.0.4

Granted some bugs remained. But what do you expect from over hundreds of thousands lines of code?

Back on the map? It's being erased from the map.
Some bugs? I fear installing every update. And I use the word update, not upgrade.
After installing vB4 on one site, my main vB3 hobby site was never going to be subjected to v4. I'm glad to see xF progressing. There is hope.
I will say, Adrian is doing a better job at communication and getting IB back on track than anyone else. But it's going to take a lot to restore confidence.

[Lionel]

Back on the map? It's being erased from the map.

Apparently not for you. You still find your way here

[steven s]

Only because xF is not out of the oven yet.
Even though I have 3 licenses, I don't see myself moving on from what I have seen so far.
Time will tell.

[Boofo]

virtually every IE issue has a solution with jQuery.

Exactly! The comma issue can be fixed with one line of code. I did it for one of my hacks and it works right in ALL browsers.

[Boofo]

I was among those to be very upset with 4.0. I am a developer and I can tell you that as far as I am concerned, 4.0.4 put vB back on the map. In fact I am really impressed with the amount of flexibility that I now have. All my scripts tremendously beneficiated from vB4.0.4

Granted some bugs remained. But what do you expect from over hundreds of thousands lines of code?

I think I benefited more than any of my hacks as I have had to learn some things in vb 4 that I took for granted in vb 3. It may be back on the map, but it still needs to find the right direction and continue going that way, instead of getting side-tracked in the bug territory.

[Lionel]

it still needs to find the right direction and continue going that way, instead of getting side-tracked in the bug territory.

You handed them the way: jQuery!

[Boofo]

I need to get the code I used to David and let him handle it from there.

Well, actually, I found the one-line comma code fix and Mert helped me implement it so it took both of us, to be honest.

[Shamil.]

It's currently faster, and more innovative than vBulletin. At the rate, it's going much faster than over here, but then again, I'm not seeing proactive development, only behind the scene.

[AmericanForum]

This whole thread needs a reality check... vB's biggest and best competition with a full suite and a bucketload of improvements in various areas over vB is still not good enough for pretty much all of you still posting here to consider switching over to, yet Kier's bare-bones pre-alpha is enough to start gushing over and talking about switching to? Heck, if he had a whole team of 10+ working on it it'd take him over a year just to match v3, let alone expand on to the point of v4. Not to mention the bugs - ironing the bugs in the millions of lines of code takes YEARS and thousands of people using the software, constantly reporting bugs. And where's the ImpEx equivalent, the business background, support system, staff... none of this is even remotely realistic unless an investor with a big sack of cash steps in to fund Kier's baby.

Call me pessimistic, but the best that Kier & co. can hope for is is a niche product that only his biggest fans will buy and possibly those who need a product that just happens to match his design and feature philosophies that you'll only start seeing glimpses of over the next few years as features start being added. There are already around 30 PHP-based forum solutions on the market, so just finding a niche not already filled would be hard enough.

Sorry guys, but this ain't 1995. Kier & friends could code day and night for the next decade and never catch up to vB or IPB. The romantic days of solo/duo software developers scoring international hits are long gone.

(And just to clarify, I'd like nothing more than to have an alternative to v4. But I'm not even that hot on IPB, let alone xen, which at best needs another 5 years to be anything more than a curiosity to watch.)

This ain't 1995 and times are a changing ... in can be argued that VBs biggest competitor is not another forum developer but Facebook.

[pspmodandcfw]

This whole thread needs a reality check... vB's biggest and best competition with a full suite and a bucketload of improvements in various areas over vB is still not good enough for pretty much all of you still posting here to consider switching over to, yet Kier's bare-bones pre-alpha is enough to start gushing over and talking about switching to? Heck, if he had a whole team of 10+ working on it it'd take him over a year just to match v3, let alone expand on to the point of v4. Not to mention the bugs - ironing the bugs in the millions of lines of code takes YEARS and thousands of people using the software, constantly reporting bugs. And where's the ImpEx equivalent, the business background, support system, staff... none of this is even remotely realistic unless an investor with a big sack of cash steps in to fund Kier's baby.

Call me pessimistic, but the best that Kier & co. can hope for is is a niche product that only his biggest fans will buy and possibly those who need a product that just happens to match his design and feature philosophies that you'll only start seeing glimpses of over the next few years as features start being added. There are already around 30 PHP-based forum solutions on the market, so just finding a niche not already filled would be hard enough.

Sorry guys, but this ain't 1995. Kier & friends could code day and night for the next decade and never catch up to vB or IPB. The romantic days of solo/duo software developers scoring international hits are long gone.

(And just to clarify, I'd like nothing more than to have an alternative to v4. But I'm not even that hot on IPB, let alone xen, which at best needs another 5 years to be anything more than a curiosity to watch.)

You would think. As long as there is a creative mind behind something, there is no limit to what they can reach.

[Shamil.]

Gladius, maybe you haven't noticed, but there are significant changes in the way XenForo is, and vBulletin. Right now, all I want is a functioning system, that is not plagued with issues (both corporate and code).

I'm not a fan of the way IB is doing business, and from my point of view, everything here is management-driven. From a user's POV, the software looks more decent, easier on the eye, and is refreshing. Additionally, it doesn't follow the classic model which most forums are hung on. One of the key to developing software is to have experience in the industry and software. I don't fully believe that IB has reached this potential. Furthermore, the developers are building on the successes of vBulletin 3. We're seeing a shift in the crucial paradigm model. The software is built more of form over functionality, but the basics components are already in place. The software presents an alternative way of doing things, and for most of the part, is successful. If you're this pessimistic, then Apple would be no-where with the iPhone.

The software in its current state is always improving. Since there is complete open feedback, the pace seems faster, but additionally, potential clients and customers are very positive. The general atmosphere is positive, which is more than can be said about this board.

Remember that more code and more developers actually slow things down, significantly. More cooks spoil the broth, as to say. I currently have 8 vBulletin licenses. Floris has 20+ and many others have as many or few. Many of us multi-license holders haven't upgraded to vBulletin 4. I certainly have no intention of updating these licenses, and nor do many of these people. I will invest my money into positive development.

The business background is taken care by Ashley Busby. Remember him? From what I can remember, the support system will be built either custom, or using a pre-known software, however, the general responsibility will not be shifted from people to software, e.g. Jira.

I should also add that the number of lines and coding hours dedicated to a piece of software is not indicative of its ability, potential and performance.

[Shamil.]

Wow, I killed the thread activity :/

[Boofo]

It's currently faster, and more innovative than vBulletin. At the rate, it's going much faster than over here, but then again, I'm not seeing proactive development, only behind the scene.

That's like comparing a Volkswagen Rabbit to a Cadillac. Less bells and whistles means less code. Sure it is going to be more stream-lined and faster in its present state. But I also remember times when Kier wasn't so open and understanding about support. He has more to lose now.

[ManagerJosh]

That's like comparing a Volkswagen Rabbit to a Cadillac. Less bells and whistles means less code. Sure it is going to be more stream-lined and faster in its present state. But I also remember times when Kier wasn't so open and understanding about support. He has more to lose now.

What do you mean "support" ?

[Boofo]

Maybe support wasn't the right word. What I meant was listening to what the customers want.