Nemanja Cosovic Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 First, I would like to point out that my knowledge of IP.Board is limited. I dont know its API, I rarely go to edit templates (only what I need). However, I am a professional web developer, and as such I think I can give a honest opinion on IP.Board and IPS service to the customer. SALES As everything goes, sales is pretty much rock solid. You dont have to think 15 times over if you need something or not. You are here to buy a board system. They sell that. If you ask them anything you will get a vague answer at best, and you will be pointed to some location on their website. In my book, this is FAIL. SUPPORT I hate moron-answering support with no human "contact" behind it. In several cases when I needed support, the support persons were outright rude, and they got nothing better from my side as well. Most of the time you will get cliche replies and they will almost never follow up their answer with any aditional info. There were cases when that proved not to be tha case, but that was coincidence. Again a FAIL. IP.BOARD Since I ran vBulletin,SMF, phpBB and few others less known, I like to think that I know bulletin boards, well, at least to find my way around. God is the IP.Board confusing. First time when I've seen vBulletin a lot of years back I thought this was a bit strange at the first glance, but this is outright confusing. The documentation for IP.Board is a mess, a complete and utter mess. I dont know how anyone would find what he needs. The forum runs smoothly, all options work, and for the most part I am quite happy with it. To elaborate, I am a kind of happy as one would be if he bought a rock and put it on the table and just look at it. Its a rock. If you even try to modify a single thing, may the Lord help you when there is time for upgrade. UPGRADES AND PRICING I consider vBulletin and IP.Board a premium type of software, and they are just that. However, charging the $175 for the forum. Not to wonder why people go around and look for nullified versions or go for free solutions. What is this cocamamey policy of upgrades avaliable for six months only? WTF IPS! WTF! Are you that money hungry? I had a question for support, I asked it and the answer was, as said moronic in type. So. If you purchase IP.Board today, you will have SIX MONTHS of upgrades available to you. OK. Now, I asked a question. I purchased a IP.B, never updated it, those SIX MONTHS are over, and... And I go to my account page and I want to download the LAST UPDATE that was AVAILABLE in the TIME PERIOD of those SIX MONTHS. Do you know what the answer was? Well, sorry there sir. You can go and purchase an upgrade. O.o Why do I need to purchase an upgrade, when it WAS AVAILABLE in that six month period I had it, I just didnt downloaded it? Its not the LATEST update, its the LAST update that was availalbe for me in that time span. UN F-IN BELIEVABLE. WTF! SSI (SERVER SIDE INCLUDE) Yesterday I wanted to do something with the SSI, as I do remember seeing it in a lot of BB systems, and I knew that IPS had one, as I've seen couple of Q and A's on the board. So, I went digging for SSI, and I couldnt find it if my life depended on it. You know what? THEY REMOVED IT! Why has the SSI been removed? The official story is that users were not using it. Oh, you poor stupid users. You should have used SSI, now its removed. BUT WAIT! THERE IS A SOLUTION! Of course there is, a $50 solution that is! :) IPS figured they could milk some money from users if they removed SSI from the story and create something simillar to that, but not exactly so they can sell it. Well, ladies and gentelman from IPS I am not drinking that kool aid you thought to showe. Its not gonna work. I will accept if you give me an IP.Content for free, but I AM NOT PAYING for something that was there and now its removed. And I dont want to dance around with your API. I was totaly mislead as a customer and I am confirming that more and more as time goes on. I am completely disapointed in IPS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan H. Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 IPS is a business. Businesses need to make money, and they price their products and support accordingly. As a professional web developer, I would expect you to be more aware of this than most. Regarding SSI... what exactly are you trying to do? There's probably a way to do it in IP.Board that just uses some different techniques and terminology. Regarding ACP complexity... you learn your way around eventually. Until you do, use the search box liberally. Everything can be found through it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avro Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 IP.BOARD Since I ran vBulletin,SMF, phpBB and few others less known, I like to think that I know bulletin boards, well, at least to find my way around. God is the IP.Board confusing. First time when I've seen vBulletin a lot of years back I thought this was a bit strange at the first glance, but this is outright confusing. The documentation for IP.Board is a mess, a complete and utter mess. I dont know how anyone would find what he needs. I agree, this is pathetic. UPGRADES AND PRICING I consider vBulletin and IP.Board a premium type of software, and they are just that. However, charging the $175 for the forum. Not to wonder why people go around and look for nullified versions or go for free solutions. I disagree, you get a lot for $175. You can always sell the license at a later date, so you will recoup some of license cost. What is this cocamamey policy of upgrades avaliable for six months only? This should be changed to a year and priced accordingly. I had a question for support, I asked it and the answer was, as said moronic in type. So. If you purchase IP.Board today, you will have SIX MONTHS of upgrades available to you. OK. Now, I asked a question. I purchased a IP.B, never updated it, those SIX MONTHS are over, and... And I go to my account page and I want to download the LAST UPDATE that was AVAILABLE in the TIME PERIOD of those SIX MONTHS. Do you know what the answer was? Well, sorry there sir. You can go and purchase an upgrade. O.o Why do I need to purchase an upgrade, when it WAS AVAILABLE in that six month period I had it, I just didnt downloaded it? Its not the LATEST update, its the LAST update that was availalbe for me in that time span. You should be able to download the last available version that you paid for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aiwa Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Sales, The pricing for each IPS product you purchased, if more than just Board, including renewals was detailed at the point of purchase... Paying the $25 renewal fee gives you continued access to IPS official Support, SPAM service, and other extras.. You should look at vBulletins 'upgrade' cost across major versions... They charge almost as much as the original license was worth... With IPS, you can let your license go inactive and only pay the $25 when a new major version comes out.. Then not renew again until the next... You can save a significant amount of money with IPS over vB.. Support, If you feel you were unfairly treated, or treated with disrespect during the process of a ticket, you should report that to IPS Management. IP.Board.. Personally, I find vB and phpBB confusing... Their structure of permissions and templates confuse me... IP.Board, at least for me, is easy to understand... If you can't find something, use the built in search, or ask on these forums.. Someone will lend a helping hand.. SSI... If all you're after is an app that allows you to have custom pages, there are free ones in the Marketplace that perform 'similar' functions to what IP.Content does.. They are no where near as powerful as IP.Content, but if all you're after is a few basic custom pages, they will do the job.. I see you have 4 posts here... That tells me that you've not even tried to search around here and ask for help in customizing your Board. There are loads of developers and clients alike that can assist you with pretty much any customization you'd want to do to your board... And speaking of customization, as long as you make modifications using hooks / Apps or custom skins, not the default, then they will generally survive upgrades across minor versions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimi Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Ahem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TracyIsland Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Ahem. Now that is newsworthy of a post in the news section!!!! Thanks Lucy. Notice all the updates that Charles made ... today??????????????? Why is this being kept a secret? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimi Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Now that is newsworthy of a post in the news section!!!! Thanks Lucy. Notice all the updates that Charles made ... today??????????????? Why is this being kept a secret? Probably because it's not done. Regardless this should finally put an end to all of that "IPS has terrible documentation" stu-OMG WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO THE ORGANIZATION OF THE DEVELOPER DOCUMENTATION? I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING NOW!!! I'M GOING TO DIE. FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT *explodes* I-I'll find a way through this...somehow...FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX ITFIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT FIX IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mat206 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Wow.. the dev docs took a huge step backwards. Kill that useless side column and increase the number of records per page. If you don't have a widescreen monitor it is pretty awful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rimi Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 I'm sure it's still a WIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Management Lindy Posted November 9, 2012 Management Share Posted November 9, 2012 I feel we pride ourselves on feedback and have a proven track record of taking aboard customer suggestions. I'm afraid this is just irate ranting because you're disappointed we won't give you free software and are unable to accomodate technologies that haven't been mainstream in over 5 years. Believe me, I resist change as much as the next person, but ultimately, progress prevails. I am sorry we have turned out not to be the right solution for you, but don't believe your references to the software as a "piece of ****" and the staff as "morons" are bringing you many favors. In the spirit of good faith, I will work with you via the client center to provide a partial refund, allowing you to find a more suitable solution. Thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts with us. If there's further constructive feedback, please feel free to start a new topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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