Paid Forum Software

[User500]

Hello all, I am thinking about launching a forum dedicated towards a game that is releasing in a few years.
I really think this is a nice niece.
What I was wondering was has anyone ever had experience in using the 'Hosted Service' from IP Board. Does it include the blog app plugin?
Is there any downsides to it?
I am looking for a powerful forum software that offers both forum/blog. Would I be better of picking up a full licence and owning it outright?
I am also wondering about second hand licences, What would they retail for?
I also looked at VB, I like the layout of VB forums but the price tag is crazy compared to other paid forum software.
I have also had a look at XenForo, I noticed its one of the cheaper paid forum software's. Anyone have any experience with it?
Any advice would be great!
Thanks

 

[HyperActive]

I have had experience with Xenforo and IPB before that.

Honestly, I enjoy Xenforo much more than IPB.

I suggest you take a look and find out for yourself,

http://www.invisionpower.com/demo/
http://xenforo.com/demo/

 

[User500]

I have had experience with Xenforo and IPB before that.

Honestly, I enjoy Xenforo much more than IPB.

I suggest you take a look and find out for yourself,

http://www.invisionpower.com/demo/
http://xenforo.com/demo/

Did you buy the licence out right or do you go with their hosting plan where you pay monthly? Xenforo has a more reasonable price tag. I will check out the demos in the morning. Thanks for linking them.

 

[CM30]

I would advise you always go with the license and hosting it yourself. It gives you full rights to modify the source code (but obviously not distribute it), it's generally cheaper in the long run and means you can run an entire site rather than just a forum or community.

 

[Yoda]

I have used XenForo based on the fact it was cheaper and I have no regrets. Its easy to customise, simple to use and you can get exactly what you want from it.

 

[Patrick W.]

I have experience with all 3.

-vBulletin is now the worst one of them. If you can get yourself a 2nd hand licence for a 3.8 licence then that would be version that I would choose as the software stands now. The ACP is terrible and hard to navigate (for me) and I have not found a decent, freely available, themes out there either.

-IPB is one of the oldest. I used IPB back when it was free (v1.3) and have used every version since. The progression has been amazing and they keep getting better. This would be my personal pick.

-xenForo is the newest of the commercial platforms. They have a powerful platform and revolutionary features that come standard that most platforms either need mods or don't have at all. They are also currently in a legal battle against the owners of vBulletin owners. Development has slowed to a stop and the future is very, very uncertain for this new company.

I hope that this helps you in your search for a commercial forum platform.

 

[Nathan-]

IP.Board for sure.