Hi guys,
I've been looking into forum softwares recently, and actually just started making my own, which I hope to be able to sell for maybe twenty bucks per pop.

There are tens thousands of forums out there running one of the major paid forum systems - (IPB, VB, BB, WSN, UBB), all of which cost close to, or above, $200 for a license and then some for continued support. But then I look, and see that there are tens of thousands of other forums running some of the big free forum softwares (phpBB, SMF, MyBB). For the most part, either through default functionality or mods written by the community, come pretty close, if not surpass the paid softwares (e.g., MyBB has a built in AJAX quick reply).

So, both for reference of my new project, and for my own intellectual curiosity, why do people go with the expensive paid softwares? What can they offer which free forums can't? Why are companies like Invision Power or Jelsoft still in business - What makes their forums better?

Thanks, I'm very curious about the responses!
-Spear

Their forums have been around for a while and have mutated from a simple forum software to something that has most of the features that people want to have in their forums. This also makes it so you don't have to worry about making something yourself, which saves time, and also allows for the problems of bugs and hacks being someone else's problem. This is better when you have people that don't know what they are doing, or don't want to be at fault for personal information being stolen if the forum is hacked. Plus, having someone out there lookin for bugs and fixing them up on a regular basis while you are keeping your forum up and running.

So basically, if you pay for something like IPB or VB (both of whom are on GulfTech's client list) you know that it will be, for the most part, error free and secure? And that if you do get hacked and the software is at fault, you have somebody to complain to / receive compensation from? And then, on top of that... all of the features you'll want are already developed?

Did I capture the basic sense of what you're saying?

You also get the support. When you get something for free, you tend not to get support with it - whereas when you buy something like vBulletin(I hear, I never have), you get so many hours of support with your license - which comes in handy for non-technical users who are looking to get a forum up and running quickly. Sometimes they even include installation in the licensing fees for you.

I concur, with a paid forum package you get what you pay for, which is basically service. For non-technical folks it's an easy and effective alternative for getting a forum set up on their site. I don't know if you've looked at my blog, but I've worked on creating a forum package and it's no small undertaking. Not to mention the security issues and bugs that transpire. With payment you have people dedicated to that software. Without it you have people working of their own volition. I recently abandoned my forum software temporarily and I've gotten some people who've asked me for the source via e-mail to which I've had to reply I'm no longer offering it until I pick the project up again. Therefore, they're sort of stuck waiting.

Those are very good points, thanks! But to play devil's advocate... many of the major free softwares have about a dozen people actually on the team, and a very large community where support volunteers help out.

I'm guessing it's the fact that it's... professional support from somebody who knows what they're doing?

Exactly. No matter how strange your issue is, if you are paying for support, they'll do everything to fix it for you.

If you aren't paying for support? You're at the mercy of volunteers. And if they can't understand your issue, you won't get any help.

So let me again play the part...

If you are able to understand how a free software works by reviewing the manual / the code, wouldn't you not need support?

So if I pay for Microsoft support, & am unable to use something in Vista, Microsoft will solve the issue?

Or if I pay for support on XP, & I buy a laptop who's firmware takes only Vista Drivers, & I want to put XP on it, Microsoft will create XP drivers for me?

Just messing w/ you.

no2pencil, you've only sort of got a point there(jokes aside) - in that situation, you'd call up your vendor. It's why Dell/HP/etc. have support lines(however bad they may be).

spearfish, you're right - if you can understand the software, you wouldn't need support. Which is why you (at least typically) don't find people who understand forums paying for vBulletin/etc. when phpBB will do the job.

Interesting... what I can glean from that last post is that you're saying Windows is to IPB as Linux is to phpBB. But why then, does this forum run IPB?

Businesses that have people that understand forum software may still want to pay for a supported version. From a companies perspective, you can either pay $200 for a license that includes support, or pay for your own employees/contractors time to install,manage, and fix any bugs in your free software. These both cost money, and in many cases, it may be cheaper to pay for the license then invest your own time or your employees time. This is why Red Hat is still in business, despite offering a free version that's pretty damn good.

This post has been edited by mocker: 25 Sep, 2008 - 02:18 PM