Transitioning from paid to free software: a Community killer or saviour?

[Ravenfreak]

I mentioned that I did this with my old community, Mighty No. 9 Universe in the thread listed in the OP. I don't think that ultimately killed my forum, it was already doomed since the official forums were public for everyone and not just backers of the Kickstarter project by the time I made the switch from paid to free hosting. I think if the host has all the bells and whistles for the community to thrive, and the community has consistent activity then the switch shouldn't ultimately kill the forum. It's okay to make that switch if you can't afford the costs for running your forum and still want it to remain online and under your control.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

I think if the host has all the bells and whistles for the community to thrive, and the community has consistent activity then the switch shouldn't ultimately kill the forum.

This is true if you're close enough friends with your community for them to want to support you.But just bear in mind the possibility of mutual friends gathering off to a more user friendly forum within a similar niche.

 

[Tracy]

Way too many hobbyist admins complain about not being able to afford paid forum software

Now, let's be realistic... MOST that I've seen are complaining is primarily about one software package that wants to chase the "commercial business". I really have to wonder exactly how much of their current clientele is actually hobbyist.... and what happens when they price that hobby portion out of their price offerings. How much is it going to "kick" them?
But the base fact is... you want a site that encompasses more than simple forum posts (and maybe the odd gallery) it's going to cost.
And not everyone can afford to play in that field... and I know of several that "statement" tends to upset - but it's simple fact of life. Not everybody can afford the same "hobbies".

If you don't offer anything beyond a forum, than chances are you're not getting far.

which in and of itself can kill the "open source/free" scripts.... as with most of them, that's pretty much all you get unless you pay to have bespoke add-ons written or there might happen to be a paid 3rd party add-on.... and once you start down that road, what's the difference in using a paid script?

If visitors find something of great interest in your community, then they will likely join.

This... and the irony is.. I'm getting quite a few new member signups... they don't post, they don't appear to be spam due to their custom field answers... and the irony portion is.. they can see everything as a guest that they can as a member so there is no need to sign up.
EDIT: On this... figured out what it is... I grabbed some software before the author took it offline (it's free software) that is real popular... and hosted it for download on my site... turns out, I didn't have permissions set to allow guests to download it, so they had to register to grab it. I've opened that area up for guests to be able to download from.

 

[SoluDome]

Hobbyists admins are indeed complaining a lot lately, with the price change of Invision Community -- while no one is forcing them, and most people gain advantage of it -- there's still a few that might be better off with a free software.

Currently, you have no idea what is going on at Invision. The problem for many is not the money, but their cheap tricks to move clients to use Invision Cloud. Sooner or later, you will find out that there is no self-hosted version for IPS, and the third-party developers are completely gone (Check the number of likes and activity by 3rd party developer on development blog by IPS). IPS seems to be hiding their true intentions behind short-term releases and goals, and telling clients that they don't need to worry right now is like saying, "focus on short goals and not long term." It's a cheap money grab technique they have started using. That's from my business experience and point of view. Either you tell everything, or you don't do anything.

That is the reason why I have started the development of the Pages application for XenForo to convert all my sites to XenForo.

 

[Tracy]

That is the reason why I have started the development of the Pages application for XenForo to convert all my sites to XenForo.

For some of what Pages was used for (at least by me on IPS), you can use many of Bob' add-ons to do a better job of offering product. The only downfall is tying them all together... was a little easier in Pages.

 

[Empire]

I moved from free to paid and if I was ever going to move again I end up moving to and from paid software. The only reason that people may move away from paid software is if they do not have the funds to able to keep it going and go to free forum software which then cuts the costs down.

I would end up staying as I am, that's if I can able to keep it going I mean shared hosting is cheaper than anything else. Also if paid software that I was using becomes crap and not licking the ideas lately then I would end up moving to XF. But that's another story that would never happen.

 

[Tracy]

But that's another story that would never happen.

Maybe not for you.. but it did for me. IPS, without a LOT of work simply does not offer what my current site (granted, using some GREAT 3rd party add-ons) can do.
One (with ANY script) simply needs to look at what they need, what the script (or 3rd party developers) offer to get you there, and then make a decision.
Granted... my site is not large.. but it is steadily gaining members (even though they aren't participating, but joined to access resources)... I did modify my site so that accessing those resources don't require joining. The simple fact is.. for my niche.. I'm more concerned with sharing that "getting users". I could have easily set up my site as a Blog, but I wanted others to be able to (if they chose to) easily participate also.
It all goes back to that basis of "it's a hobby, and if you can't afford the hobby then you need to simply recognize that fact". If you are trying to get into it as a business.. then you simply should have funds set aside (as ANY business does) towards getting to where you want to be.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

Maybe not for you.. but it did for me. IPS, without a LOT of work simply does not offer what my current site (granted, using some GREAT 3rd party add-ons) can do.
One (with ANY script) simply needs to look at what they need, what the script (or 3rd party developers) offer to get you there, and then make a decision.
Granted... my site is not large.. but it is steadily gaining members (even though they aren't participating, but joined to access resources)... I did modify my site so that accessing those resources don't require joining. The simple fact is.. for my niche.. I'm more concerned with sharing that "getting users". I could have easily set up my site as a Blog, but I wanted others to be able to (if they chose to) easily participate also.
It all goes back to that basis of "it's a hobby, and if you can't afford the hobby then you need to simply recognize that fact". If you are trying to get into it as a business.. then you simply should have funds set aside (as ANY business does) towards getting to where you want to be.

You may be surprised at the number of users willing to pay for vip benefits if you have a loyal community.

 

[TwitchisMental]

I think if they are able to replicate everything they were doing with the paid option, the main issue would be users having to learn the new software and possibly finding a similar theme.

If there are features that are not available on the free software that were on the paid, even in the shape of plugins/mods/addons, that could certainly lead to issues.

All in all it would be circumstantial.

 

[Tracy]

You may be surprised at the number of users willing to pay for vip benefits if you have a loyal community.

Not really... but you may be surprised by the number of people that actually run a site as a "community benefit" with no desire to have others subsidize it.
As I commented... if you get into it with the expectation of having others "help pay" either by donation or "selling features"... you simply need to treat it as you would any other business.

 

[Nomad]

When someone decides to move from paid software top free software the only reason I see here is the owner is trying to save his community as he is no longer able to pay the subscription charges. If you have loyal users on your community, it will not make big difference.

 

[~ True Legend ~]

When someone decides to move from paid software top free software the only reason I see here is the owner is trying to save his community as he is no longer able to pay the subscription charges. If you have loyal users on your community, it will not make big difference.

Communities are often close-knit on multiple forums. Users may find a different forum but the community is the same as many of the same ppl are the same.

Never forget that!

 

[Reverie]

I've thought more on this topic. I think it also depends on the activity of the community. If you are able to pull the content and put it on your free site would also be a factor. Some people wouldn't like having to rebuild, but being able to continue like always I think that would also be an easy move over.