Have XenForo secretly sold out to IB?

I know, it's from that anti XenForo site, but it's being discussed all over other admin forums:

http://xenforosucks.com/2012/09/29/xenforo-sell-internet-brands/

Apparently the rumours goes that kier and co have surrendered and all profit from the software goes to Internet Brands. Apparently something about secrecy and pretending the case is still going to avoid people staying clear.

Not to mention the lawsuit topic on XF is now locked! Could this really be XenForo preparing for shut down/giving up?

 

I'm pretty sure I know who owns that URL and I wouldn't believe a word that he says
With that said, that would be an interesting move if it were true.

 

I have to admit, I'd quite like it to be true. Why? To watch the meltdowns on XenForo's forum. It'd scary the fanboys half to death.

 

BURN SUCKER BURN​

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lol ​

 

I think vBulletin has a lot more drama going on currently with vBulletin 5. Both boards are hard to watch and read sometimes.

This site is purely a link bait campaign to me. Why not? @Brandon

 

This is just one of those situations you could see coming from the day it Xenforo started. Why mess with a large corporation? Now, they are likely incurring a cost somewhere and the users who purchased Xen will be stuck.
Xenforo just seems like a bonehead move. The timing & players involved just made for a bad recipe, everyone flocking to it may turn out to be another bad moved.

Now, I am not saying Xen did anything wrong, perhaps they didn't. You can sue anyone for anything, so they may be in the right but again, I think some people seen this coming.

 

I honestly couldn't care less who owned XF, be it KAM, different directors/shareholders, IB, IPS, or some other company as long as it serves the purpose I bought it for (a very light social forum software with low maintenance). If IB brought it and ruined it or some other company did the same, or XF had to close, then I would look into other options.

The best thing to do is to ignore all these speculations and rumours and hope for the best as I would assume everyone bought it knowing what the software offered at the time and the ongoing lawsuit IMHO

 

I don't think they have sold it out? Why would they sell it to IB who did shit with vBulletin?

 

Well, this wouldn't be a conscious choice to sell, more like giving up the court case before they run out of money due to Internet Brands and their somewhat thuggish behaviour. They'd just be trying to cut their losses and run.

 

If you feel someone has infringed on your material then I can't see how it is thuggish.
You know, there are 3 sides to every story, IBs, Xens and the truth. You can guess which one we will never get

Last I heard the case wasn't thrown out / dismissed, some aspects of it may have been excluded but there was merit according to a judge to move forward? I don't have the legal brief and perhaps someone else has read it and can tell us.

I would be very reluctant to use Xenforo at this stage of the game.

 

I have always been wary of Xenforo. When something seems too good to be true, in more cases than not, it is

The more I hear of the praise heaped on it, the more wary I became. I am a cynic

Anyway, I am playing around with the idea of switching forum softwares and I am 98% sure if I decide to take the leap, it'll be to IPB. There is a reason why they've thrived for this long.

 

i love your way of thinking

 

No. You couldn't! You seem to favor Internet Brands a lot lately, this is just one of those posts.

First of all, I don't like the wording you're using here "Why mess with a large corporation?" Second of all, I don't think they intended to 'mess' with a large corporation, I think Kier, Ashley, and Mike wanted to give forum owners an alternative to vBulletin. And who the [****][****][****][****] does Internet Brands/vBulletin think they are? An invisible corporation? NO! The world does not work that way!

Once again: I don't like your wording here. The timing isn't the bad recipe - this was personal. Kier, Ashley, and Mike must have pondered when the time is right to launch xenForo. Only to be hit with a lawsuit by iB? No, that was corporate bullying.

You are contradicting yourself here. You say "xenForo was a bonehead move" then you say "I'm not saying xenForo did anything wrong."

But this isn't about infringment of material! This is personal.

 

Well, while some people waste time with drama and finger pointing, others are running active and SUCCESSFUL communities on Xenforo and enjoying every minute of it. In the end it doesn't matter who's doing what. We're having a pretty solid platform to play with and I personally am thrilled with what it provides me with. All I need now is to keep on working on establishing my community, since at the end of the day my content and members matter the most

 

I am not a lawyer, but from the court document that was posted recently in the other thread, it looks as if Kier (and the others) might have violated his/their work contract. There's something in there that looks like an anti-competition agreement.

Anti-competition clauses in software development contracts are pretty much standard, I have to sign them with every new work contract. And usually, I'm not allowed to create a competitive product for at least 5 years. Plus, even afterwards, a secrecy agreement might strike if I do happen to develop a competing product after that period.

 

I understand that, I'm not stupid.

I read that document, and KAM did wait until the contract was "expired." Like I said, this is not about doing the right thing, ethical kind of thing. This is personal.

Too bad the court system is probably going to be blinded by Internet Brand's money. Making the court system game'd. iB has that whole home location advantage.

 

Sorry if I trod on your feet, it's just that I routinely do a lot of explaining of tech stuff to non-tech people! No offense intended!

 

Apology accepted.