I own 3 (three) lifetime licences, Please explain?

[+media 429]

I need clear explanation on my options to continue using IP Board?

What will happen to my LIFETIME IPBoard licenses after IPB 4.0 release?

[sijad 666]

>this post

Hello,

...

...

...

Incidentally, IPS is in the process of finalizing plans to migrate legacy licenses to thew new structure. In doing this, most customers would be entitled to up to $100 account credit for the switch, so if you do decide you wish to take advantage of the offer prior to it being announced in the future, please submit a ticket and we will be happy to assist.

Thank you for your support!

I interested to know more details but i guess we have to wait till IPS 4 release

[+media 429]

Well, in that post, I already know those...

I would like to know what happens after IPB 4.0 release?

[+AndyF 5,267]

I'm quite sure information will be posted in advance so you're aware of your options etc in plenty of time to make any decisions as to what to do. As mentioned in the quoted post it might be advantageous to 'switch' early. I do have one too just not on this account.

[+media 429]

I'm quite sure information will be posted in advance so you're aware of your options etc in plenty of time to make any decisions as to what to do. As mentioned in the quoted post it might be advantageous to 'switch' early. I do have one too just not on this account.

Thank you for the clarification AndyF, but if I do not want to take that deal, what happens???

I bought them because they were lifetime licenses... It does not mean that I am not paying anything, I have 2 gallery apps, one blog app attached to those lifetime licenses and I am paying those which I am quite OK with....

[Lindy 8,413]

The licensing system both in the software and on our side is being revamped to better suit the plans moving forward for IPS4. As such, legacy licenses (lifetime and perpetual) will be able to use IP.Board 3.4.x indefinitely per the terms of the license. Under those licenses, you would not be able to use IPS4 without upgrading the license to the new license structure. This change is free of charge and in fact, you can receive an account credit up to $100 (the equivalent of 2 years under the new structure) provided the account is in your name - legacy licenses are non-transferrable, so if you obtained one through a third party, it would not be eligible for an account credit, but we may be able to work with you on upgrading.

We will have an automated opt-in system for this soon, however, you are free to contact customer service at any time if you'd like to upgrade.

[+media 429]

looks like If I do not agree on those terms (going further with IPB 4 and Pay), no other option (staying with 3.4 only the option)!

Well, looks like I need to ask what my legal options on this case to a professional on this matter...

Thank you for the explanation Lindy.... :)

[+Misi 181]

Well, looks like I need to ask what my legal options on this case to a professional on this matter...

Lawyers are not cheap. They might be able to help you, they might not.

A lawyer died and arrived at the pearly gates.

To his dismay, there were thousands of people ahead of him in line to see St. Peter.

To his surprise, St. Peter left his desk at the gate and came down the long line to where the laywer was, and greeted him warmly. Then St. Peter and one of his assistants took the lawyer by the hands and guided him up to the front of the line, and into a comfortable chair by his desk. The lawyer said, "I don't mind all this attention, but what makes me so special?" St. Peter replied, "Well, I've added up all the hours for which you billed your clients, and by my calculation you must be about 193 years old!"

[+Pete T 1,632]

The licensing system both in the software and on our side is being revamped to better suit the plans moving forward for IPS4. As such, legacy licenses (lifetime and perpetual) will be able to use IP.Board 3.4.x indefinitely per the terms of the license. Under those licenses, you would not be able to use IPS4 without upgrading the license to the new license structure. This change is free of charge and in fact, you can receive an account credit up to $100 (the equivalent of 2 years under the new structure) provided the account is in your name - legacy licenses are non-transferrable, so if you obtained one through a third party, it would not be eligible for an account credit, but we may be able to work with you on upgrading.

We will have an automated opt-in system for this soon, however, you are free to contact customer service at any time if you'd like to upgrade.

In my view this could look lot better i understand many us that have the old style feel that we have no option to move to new system if like keep using the software this in my view wrong as many us have spend lots money on the old style but that my 2 cents and will remain that.

[+media 429]

Lawyers are not cheap. They might be able to help you, they might not.

A lawyer died and arrived at the pearly gates.

To his dismay, there were thousands of people ahead of him in line to see St. Peter.

To his surprise, St. Peter left his desk at the gate and came down the long line to where the laywer was, and greeted him warmly.
Then St. Peter and one of his assistants took the lawyer by the hands and guided him up to the front of the line, and into a comfortable chair by his desk.
The lawyer said, "I don't mind all this attention, but what makes me so special?"
St. Peter replied, "Well, I've added up all the hours for which you billed your clients, and by my calculation you must be about 193 years old!"

Not necessarily lawyer my friend. There are websites and topics about this kind of subjects, I need to spend time to read and learn my rights and options... That's all...

Thank you for the warning though... :)

[+bferne 2]

Sounds like IPS are again breaking or modifying the clear-cut contract that was in place for lifetime and perpetual licenses at the time they were sold. Shame.

[Lindy 8,413]

In my view this could look lot better i understand many us that have the old style feel that we have no option to move to new system if like keep using the software this in my view wrong as many us have spend lots money on the old style but that my 2 cents and will remain that.

Most companies I've encountered sadly simply discontinue perpetual licenses altogether and you're stuck where you're at indefinitely. Naturally, we consulted with our legal counsel just as a matter of due diligence and the option to simply discontinue legacy licenses without any further intervention was technically within our right, but we did not achieve our position as a respected leader in the industry by being that company. After feedback discussion from customers and other parties, we devised and fine-tuned this solution, which we think is very fair.

The goal behind this change is to allow the software and internal systems to move forward without provisions and hacks from purchases made a decade ago. When these licenses were offered, we had limited product offerings, no spam mitigation, chat, etc. Since introducing those, we've incorporated hack upon hack to accommodate older licenses because we genuinely do appreciate those early adopters and their purchases. Further, we had IP.Board - which was everything - the core and otherwise. In IPS4, we have a forums app, which is an independent component of the suite, much like Gallery, Blog, Nexus, Content, etc. Search engines, file/storage handling, members/profiles and much more is all part of the community suite core that all applications share. With that, the time has come to press forward for the future and we would very much like to take our early supporters with us - hence the, in my opinion, appropriately generous offer which in some cases, more or very close to the original purchase price; again, even after a decade of usage.

I would note just for clarification, while you would not receive the benefit of unlimited and indefinite downloads without renewal, you do receive all current and future license structure benefits -- which are essentially free for 4 renewal periods. Throughout those 4 renewal periods, I'm hopeful and confident you'll find that the future renewal fees will seem like a minimal investment in exchange for what you will be receiving.

Please think about what the Internet has done in the past decade, how it has evolved and how we, as a company, have evolved. Ultimately, we need to move forward and we feel we've found a fair and just way for you to join us. We do recognize, however, that not everyone will feel that way and apologize for those ill feelings.

[Planetby 204]

Can only speak for myself but it sounds very fair to be offered $100 "cashback" instead of like with many companies it just becomes "end of life" and that's it.

Personally I have a licenece which in honestly is now surplus since I recently made the move to IPS hosting, so why would I want or need to keep a seperate licence ?

Good idea on IPS's part i'd say :)

[+media 429]

Shame.

We do not need to call names..!

And please please be constructive..!!!!!

[+Neil2 41]

The licensing system both in the software and on our side is being revamped to better suit the plans moving forward for IPS4. As such, legacy licenses (lifetime and perpetual) will be able to use IP.Board 3.4.x indefinitely per the terms of the license. Under those licenses, you would not be able to use IPS4 without upgrading the license to the new license structure. This change is free of charge and in fact, you can receive an account credit up to $100 (the equivalent of 2 years under the new structure) provided the account is in your name - legacy licenses are non-transferrable, so if you obtained one through a third party, it would not be eligible for an account credit, but we may be able to work with you on upgrading.

We will have an automated opt-in system for this soon, however, you are free to contact customer service at any time if you'd like to upgrade.

Well I have to ask since I own 3 perpetual licenses myself, my question to your above statement is when IPB cut off support to the ones that choose not to upgrade and stays with 3.4.6?

Also you are correct the internet has evolved, along with coding, etc. so how is "moving forward as a company" and not living up to the obligations of purchasing perpetual licenses that we purchased to help this company out back in the day?

When I purchased my licenses there was nothing that stated software upgrade, revamp, new structure, etc. was excluded and our perpetual licenses would be restructured, changed, modified, or no longer valid.

[+AndyF 5,267]

Can only speak for myself but it sounds very fair to be offered $100 "cashback" instead of like with many companies it just becomes "end of life" and that's it.

Personally I have a licenece which in honestly is now surplus since I recently made the move to IPS hosting, so why would I want or need to keep a seperate licence ?

Good idea on IPS's part i'd say

The 'spare' now you're on IPS Hosting is always useful just in case you wanted to setup a new 'self hosted' community at some future point, you already have the licence would just want the 'renew' or 'convert' (as applicable) I guess. :)

[+The Heff 1,170]

Also you are correct the internet has evolved, along with coding, etc. so how is "moving forward as a company" and not living up to the obligations of purchasing perpetual licenses that we purchased to help this company out back in the day?

If it's a different product entirely, which IPS4 is considering the changes that have been made, I doubt they can be accused of not living up to their obligations. I've had "lifetime" licences with companies before and they did exactly what Lindy states above; stopped supporting them. They left me no other path but to pay full whack for new software. IPS aren't doing this.

Ultimately there will always be somebody who thinks they're losing out or being unfairly treated, but that is life and you cannot please everybody even if you try.

[+Aiwa 4,108]

There will always be some that are up in arms about this.

To paraphrase Lindy's posts, IPS is trying to do right by those that helped get IPS going. They, IPS, don't want to just leave them, perpetual / lifetime licenses, out in the cold.

For those talking about IPS must follow the agreement they made to a T, indefinately, Keep in mind that most, if not all licenses likely include the following verbiage in some form or another.

IPS reserves the right to change the terms of this Agreement at any time.

I do want to say, I respect media's actions in this topic. Their level headed and constructive approach. It is refreshing to see clients that take a step back and analyze what's truly going on and try to absorb it rather than lash out and/or name call.

[+Joey_M 434]

I've settled since the original disclosure.

I still stand by my views then, though I'd like to IPS progress but I am unsure if I will be making the move to the upcoming version. I honestly don't like the changes and would probably need time to play around with it, this said Lindy did handle my concerns (despite not getting back to my last response).

Though that said, I was pleased to see him mention that there would be a review on how we are handled.

[+Tarun 211]

I was under the impression that Lifetime/Perpetual License holders would have access to the forum software downloads no matter what the license structure was. Part of being grandfathered in and all.

The licensing system both in the software and on our side is being revamped to better suit the plans moving forward for IPS4. As such, legacy licenses (lifetime and perpetual) will be able to use IP.Board 3.4.x indefinitely per the terms of the license. Under those licenses, you would not be able to use IPS4 without upgrading the license to the new license structure. This change is free of charge and in fact, you can receive an account credit up to $100 (the equivalent of 2 years under the new structure) provided the account is in your name - legacy licenses are non-transferrable, so if you obtained one through a third party, it would not be eligible for an account credit, but we may be able to work with you on upgrading.

We will have an automated opt-in system for this soon, however, you are free to contact customer service at any time if you'd like to upgrade.

What about pricing for those who had Lifetime or Perpetual Licenses? How much per year would need to be paid?

I have a Perpetual License and I pay $30 per year to IPS just in case I need support. Would that price stay the same or is it going to increase?

If someone only needs IP.Board are they not able to retain their Lifetime/Perpetual license and utilize IP.Board 4?

Is there an ETA for this change to take place?

After reviewing this thread it sounds like the price would go up from $30 to $50 a year, which is a bit unfortunate. But, I can discuss this in PM rather than here on the forums.

[Lindy 8,413]

I was under the impression that Lifetime/Perpetual License holders would have access to the forum software downloads no matter what the license structure was. Part of being grandfathered in and all.

What about pricing for those who had Lifetime or Perpetual Licenses? How much per year would need to be paid?

I have a Perpetual License and I pay $30 per year to IPS just in case I need support. Would that price stay the same or is it going to increase?

If someone only needs IP.Board are they not able to retain their Lifetime/Perpetual license and utilize IP.Board 4?

Is there an ETA for this change to take place?

After reviewing this thread it sounds like the price would go up from $30 to $50 a year, which is a bit unfortunate. But, I can discuss this in PM rather than here on the forums.

The issue is, there is no IP.Board 4. Yes, we could give you what you see in IPS4 as the forums app, but it wouldn't do anything. To progress and ensure continuity and an overall improved experience for end users across apps, key shared functions such as file handling, searching, member management/profiles, etc. are part of the new IPS4 suite core... they are not part of forums. So, yes, we could allow you to download just the forums app, but I don't think you'd be pleased with the end result. We're not trying to be sly, it's just literally not possible to give you just forums without giving you the suite core -- which on the surface is the easy solution, but then we're back into hacks and provisions for current and future planned services such as spam mitigation.

To answer your other questions, everyone would be on the same license structure -- so the renewal would be $25 every six month for the base suite (as described above + the forums app) -- in your case, you'd be paying $10 more every six months. We have no immediate plans in mind to increase the $25 renewal and in any event, it won't increase for IPS4. :)

Neil2 - we typically support the previous major release for roughly 2 years. So you can certainly remain on 3.4.x

[+Tarun 211]

Another question for you, if you don't mind. But if we change the license over now will that alter the old renewals? I'm asking because mine tend to come in October and I'd prefer to keep them that way; over the years I've gotten it locked in my mind that's the timeframe (month) to re-up for another year for support.

I will say the loss of a Lifetime/Perpetual license is a bit of a buzzkill for IPS4. I rather liked having my Perpetual license and knowing that should there ever be a time I could not pay for support for any such reason, that I would still be able to keep my forums up-to-date and not worry about security vulnerabilities, etc. That was a huge appeal to me when I got the Perpetual license was the lifetime ability to download the forum software any time it was necessary.

I understand from the perspective of the business and everything, though I wish there was a better way to still honor your legacy license holders into the new system. I admit, I always wondered why renewing for support didn't allow the extra features such as IPS Anti-Spam, etc. to be a part of features those with legacy licenses could enjoy. Is no better way to honor/grandfather those who are on the legacy licenses while still allowing yourselves to move forward?

[Tony 56]

I was under the impression that Lifetime/Perpetual License holders would have access to the forum software downloads no matter what the license structure was. Part of being grandfathered in and all.

What about pricing for those who had Lifetime or Perpetual Licenses? How much per year would need to be paid?

I have a Perpetual License and I pay $30 per year to IPS just in case I need support. Would that price stay the same or is it going to increase?

If someone only needs IP.Board are they not able to retain their Lifetime/Perpetual license and utilize IP.Board 4?

Is there an ETA for this change to take place?

After reviewing this thread it sounds like the price would go up from $30 to $50 a year, which is a bit unfortunate. But, I can discuss this in PM rather than here on the forums.

Well, it would be nice if us with perpetual licenses have the chance to be converted to a "modified version of regular license created for early supporters" and pay only 30$ per year for renewal, but instead of being able to still download latest versions of IP.Board after the license expires like it used to be before we would have to renew our licenses to be able to do that.

[+Neil2 41]

If it's a different product entirely, which IPS4 is considering the changes that have been made, I doubt they can be accused of not living up to their obligations. I've had "lifetime" licences with companies before and they did exactly what Lindy states above; stopped supporting them. They left me no other path but to pay full whack for new software. IPS aren't doing this.

Ultimately there will always be somebody who thinks they're losing out or being unfairly treated, but that is life and you cannot please everybody even if you try.

I understand that other companies may have done wrong, however my licenses are perpetual licenses and not the lifetime licenses which IPB also offered before the perpetual license.

This is the guarantee and selling point for my licenses and why I purchased them:

Upgrades for life
Telephone support and ticket support for 1 year - $30 per year thereafter.

There is not somebody who thinks they are being unfairly treated, it is somebody / along with others who purchased the perpetual license for the guarantee and to help support IPB are being unfairly treated.

There will always be some that are up in arms about this.

To paraphrase Lindy's posts, IPS is trying to do right by those that helped get IPS going. They, IPS, don't want to just leave them, perpetual / lifetime licenses, out in the cold.

For those talking about IPS must follow the agreement they made to a T, indefinately, Keep in mind that most, if not all licenses likely include the following verbiage in some form or another.

IPS reserves the right to change the terms of this Agreement at any time.

I do want to say, I respect media's actions in this topic. Their level headed and constructive approach. It is refreshing to see clients that take a step back and analyze what's truly going on and try to absorb it rather than lash out and/or name call.

NO that was not listed anywhere at the time of my purchases, if it had of been then I know I would not have purchased the perpetual licenses and I bet I am not the only one who would have not made the purchase.

It is easy for anyone to chime in here and make a comment, well that is okay, oh I understand, it will be fine, etc., etc., but if you do not own a perpetual license why are you commenting?

Non perpetual licensed / regular license members this topic does not pertain to you nor are you the one being told your purchase is not going to be honored and your licenses are changing.

[+Tarun 211]

This is the guarantee and selling point for my licenses and why I purchased them:

Upgrades for life
Telephone support and ticket support for 1 year - $30 per year thereafter.

The Upgrades for life is what appealed to me as well and was the key selling point on getting the Perpetual License. While the $30 a year for support was not something we had to do, I chose to renew every year as a way to say thanks for the Perpetual License, to help support IPS because of how it could risk hurting their company in the long run, and just in case support was needed, it would be there. Thankfully there were only a few times where I needed support to look at my forums.

I do hope there will be a blog post for this outlying things. This is a lot to think about and will surely add pressure to many webmasters. Stay on IP.Board 3.4.x forever, or continue to move forward.