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Where are the large IPB 3.x + websites?


altenerg

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The reason you don't see very many large IPB sites is because IPB does not really support active communities, at least the notification system doesn't.

Once a topic/forum hits 300 followers, the notification system delays new reply and topic submissions to 15 seconds. The delay goes up as the topic followers go up. At 2000+ followers, expect 30+ second delays on new submissions.

You'll notice that on the few large IPB sites that do exist, the admins have to set topic notification defaults to "NO", otherwise their members will experience extreme posting delays.

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We came from VB3. It didn't have inline notifications, but our users didn't have to wait 15+ seconds, wondering if their posts are going through or not.

Also, inline notifications are kind of useless on active sites because notifications aren't grouped. Imagine if Facebook did it like IPB. It's even a problem on here, even though its not one of the larger IPB sites.

Screen%20Shot%202013-07-31%20at%207.55.5

Neowin, one of the largest IPB sites had to take matters into their own hands with notification grouping. I dont know if they have a solution to the post delay problem.

post-2-0-61408900-1372151445.png

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The reason you don't see very many large IPB sites is because IPB does not really support active communities, at least the notification system doesn't.

Once a topic/forum hits 300 followers, the notification system delays new reply and topic submissions to 15 seconds. The delay goes up as the topic followers go up. At 2000+ followers, expect 30+ second delays on new submissions.

You'll notice that on the few large IPB sites that do exist, the admins have to set topic notification defaults to "NO", otherwise their members will experience extreme posting delays.

Frankly, and I don't mean to sound rude - but you're wrong. :) There are many active IP.Board sites with millions of posts and this issue has only recently been brought up less than a month ago.

Every site utilizes every feature in different ways. Some sites do not rely heavily on subscribing to topics. Clearly, your site does. This is fine, and we strive to make the software adaptable to many different scenarios, but to claim there aren't large sites using IPB because of __insert x here__ is just downright incorrect.

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This is fine, and we strive to make the software adaptable to many different scenarios, but to claim there aren't large sites using IPB because of __insert x here__ is just downright incorrect.

You are not striving to make the software adaptable the scenario where a few hundred people are subscribed to a topic. This is a completely reasonable scenario that any active site which hasn't disabled auto-topic subscriptions will face. Of course, any large site will have to disable auto-topic subscriptions or face huge posting delays and database bloat.

You are right, I have no idea why there aren't many large sites using IPB, but things I do know for sure:

  • the notification system does not support large sites by creating huge posting delays and database bloat
  • your key staff members (including Charles) will not reply to messages regarding this issue
  • your newest big-board community is completely underwhelmed by your support and the community suffering because of it

Frankly, and I don't mean to sound rude - but you're wrong. :smile:

I don't mind if I sound rude, but your support is absolutely atrocious.

Do you not care about your customers? Why would not attempt to contact me privately or respond to my inquiries?

You can dance around the issue all you want, but until you guys work with me directly on this. I'll be right here, making sure forum admins know the truth about IPB and it's defective notification system. I'll be awaiting your message.

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  • Management

Cheapy: I realize you are very, very, very, very unhappy about the notification email delay. You have posted in every topic possible, the bug tracker, and so on over and over. I am extremely sorry that this one issue somehow makes your experience so dire. All I can say is that the notification system will be completely rebuilt in 4.0.

However, it does not mean that our software isn't suitable for large sites. We host sites with millions of posts and thousands of online users. There are also many other extremely large sites out there - larger than yours - that use our software without issue and are very happy.

I must ask you to accept that we acknowledge the problem that a few clients have with notification emails causing delays and refrain from using it as an excuse to beat a dead horse at every opportunity.

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Imagine if Facebook did it like IPB.

I wouldn't know since I'm not on that site.

I don't mind if I sound rude, but your support is absolutely atrocious.

To be fair this is a topic about finding big IPB sites in a feedback forum.
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Cheapy: I realize you are very, very, very, very unhappy about the notification email delay. You have posted in every topic possible, the bug tracker, and so on over and over. I am extremely sorry that this one issue somehow makes your experience so dire. All I can say is that the notification system will be completely rebuilt in 4.0.

However, it does not mean that our software isn't suitable for large sites. We host sites with millions of posts and thousands of online users. There are also many other extremely large sites out there - larger than yours - that use our software without issue and are very happy.

I must ask you to accept that we acknowledge the problem that a few clients have with notification emails causing delays and refrain from using it as an excuse to beat a dead horse at every opportunity.

Well, I posted in every topic possible because you still refuse to address this issue with me privately and have still not replied to my message from July 11th. Yes, I am very upset that your notification system fails large sites. IPB fails large sites in other ways too, but I'd rather focus on this one first.

Any active IPB site that has a topic with a few hundred followers has this issue. Maybe other large sites never bothered to turn on auto-topic notification since its defaulted to off. Why is it defaulted to off, anyway? Why would I not want to be notified of replies to my topics? Most forum packages default this to on. Of course no large site can default this to on as it would cripple posting times.

Charles, my business which has supported me for 10 years is suffering because of IPBs issues and you won't even do me the courtesy of replying to me and seeing how you can help. That is even more upsetting than IPB's large community shortcomings.

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Maybe other large sites never bothered to turn on auto-topic notification since its defaulted to off. Why is it defaulted to off, anyway?

That's really subjective. I personally hate forums that default that to on because I don't want any emails from any forums that I join unless I manually opt into them myself. It sounds like what you've done is turn that to on and now every user who replies to a thread will receive a notification for that thread when they probably don't want one. Especially if they just registered with a spare email like I do on all forums. As you've been told before the way the system works now is how it's always worked and frankly I have a hard time believing that 300 users followed a thread of their own accord.

I don't really understand what you're after here. An answer in private won't change anything.

FYI you're treading on thin ice here. If you're annoying enough IPS will just give you a full refund and revoke your license. If you really want to reach a productive conclusion on your issue then I suggest changing your tone, because the one you're using now isn't going to make anyone want to cooperate with you. I'm not trying to be condescending, I'm just trying to help you get what you want. A little bit of courtesy can go a long way.

By the way, what is it exactly that you want? Everything will be changed and optimized in 4.0. It is impossible to fix in 3.4 without massive code changes. What exactly are you after?

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That's really subjective. I personally hate forums that default that to on because I don't want any emails from any forums that I join unless I manually opt into them myself. It sounds like what you've done is turn that to on and now every user who replies to a thread will receive a notification for that thread when they probably don't want one. Especially if they just registered with a spare email like I do on all forums. As you've been told before the way the system works now is how it's always worked and frankly I have a hard time believing that 300 users followed a thread of their own accord.

Nobody is auto-subscribing anybody to emails. We are talking about inline notifications. Yes, email notifications cause the problem too, but obviosuly im not sending out unsolicited emails.

If you want to learn more about this issue that can easily affect any popular IPB site, read this.

By the way, what is it exactly that you want? Everything will be changed and optimized in 4.0. It is impossible to fix in 3.4 without massive code changes. What exactly are you after?

The proposed fix doesnt really fix anything. See the above link for more info.

I want them to provide information on a real fix. I'm trying to run a business here. This is damaging my business. I'm not trying to fight with anyone. I need to know if IPB really intends to take this issue seriously and really fix it.

Also, all current and potential customers of IPB should know this issue exists. Its a serious issue and it will affect any IPB installation that has a topic with 200+ followers. The only reason it hasn't come up before is that IPB staff have defaulted auto-topic following to "off". If we had known of this, it would have saved us and our userbase a lot of frustration.

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Nobody is auto-subscribing anybody to emails. We are talking about inline notifications. Yes, email notifications cause the problem too, but obviosuly im not sending out unsolicited emails.

If you want to learn more about this issue that can easily affect any popular IPB site, read this.

The proposed fix doesnt really fix anything. See the above link for more info.

I want them to provide information on a real fix. I'm trying to run a business here. This is damaging my business. I'm not trying to fight with anyone. I need to know if IPB really intends to take this issue seriously and really fix it.

Also, all current and potential customers of IPB should know this issue exists. Its a serious issue and it will affect any IPB installation that has a topic with 200+ followers. The only reason it hasn't come up before is that IPB staff have defaulted auto-topic following to "off". If we had known of this, it would have saved us and our userbase a lot of frustration.

Okay, your use case lies way outside of the realm of typical users BUT you know they don't have a fix and intend to fix it in 4.0. Seriously dude, you need to take a step back and rethink that particular aspect because no amount of complaining is going to fix your situation. All sites that are large may push the limits of particular subsystems and those will require re-engineering.. but for them to dedicate resources to quickly solve a fringe case like yours is a pretty unrealistic expectation.

You are using IP.Board like a mailing list.. you know what works better than something that isn't a mailing list? A mailing list.. Here's a solution:

1. Post deals to the forum

2. Send out deals to a mailing list filled with all your thousands of subscribers

3. Link the deal back to your forum post so they can comment

Try this: http://sendy.co/

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Okay, your use case lies way outside of the realm of typical users BUT you know they don't have a fix and intend to fix it in 4.0. Seriously dude, you need to take a step back and rethink that particular aspect because no amount of complaining is going to fix your situation. All sites that are large may push the limits of particular subsystems and those will require re-engineering.. but for them to dedicate resources to quickly solve a fringe case like yours is a pretty unrealistic expectation.

You are using IP.Board like a mailing list.. you know what works better than something that isn't a mailing list? A mailing list.. Here's a solution:

1. Post deals to the forum

2. Send out deals to a mailing list filled with all your thousands of subscribers

3. Link the deal back to your forum post so they can comment

Try this: http://sendy.co/

This has nothing to do with EMAIL. Its regarding the notification system. The issue persists even if users only use inline notifications and 0 emails are sent.

Is it that unreasonable for a user to want to receive an inline notification (and/or an email) when someone replies to a topic they created or are following? Well, if your IPB installation has more than 200-300 users who find a topic worth following, you can expect delays when any user posts to that thread. We are not talking about thousands of followers...it only takes 200-300 followers to delay new posts to active threads.

I'm not asking for an immediate fix. I am asking them to reply to a message so we can discuss this like two companies trying to run their respective business. I don't think that is an unreasonable request, do you?

Doing nothing is simply not an option. This is how I make my living. What would you do?

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Unfortunately as you are the ONLY person that is making a HUGE (uncalled for) stink about this they are not going to fix it for you. Maybe they MIGHT look into doing something if your attitude was a little different than it currently is.

Yes, you're a customer but sometimes changing a bunch of code for 1 person isn't exactly a smart business choice. Since you "run a business" you should know that you can't always accommodate everyone. Unfortunately that is the case here, and you are that ONE person that they can't accommodate. They said the "issue" that you have is going to be fixed in 4.0. Simple as that, don't like it then move on to something else. They answered your questions and told you what they are doing to fix it.

Seriously though, enough already. . get off your high horse and relax a little bit. Or as you said, go find someone else who will fix it for you. You sitting here screaming like a little kid is not going to get you anywhere, and again. . as someone who runs a business you should know that already. I'm certain you don't bend over backwards for people who throw tantrums right? So why should they do that here?

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This has nothing to do with EMAIL. Its regarding the notification system. The issue persists even if users only use inline notifications and 0 emails are sent.

Is it that unreasonable for a user to want to receive an inline notification (and/or an email) when someone replies to a topic they created or are following? Well, if your IPB installation has more than 200-300 users who find a topic worth following, you can expect delays when any user posts to that thread. We are not talking about thousands of followers...it only takes 200-300 followers to delay new posts to active threads.

I'm not asking for an immediate fix. I am asking them to reply to a message so we can discuss this like two companies trying to run their respective business. I don't think that is an unreasonable request, do you?

Doing nothing is simply not an option. This is how I make my living. What would you do?

They actually responded already in shockingly large detail. You just didn't like the answer bfarber gave you that the fix will occur in version 4.0 rather than patching the existing system. You are handling this news in a very caustic way that if I was IPS I would simply refund your money, cut you loose, and never do business with you again.

Now what is your realistic option? It's not one you are ready for because you are too mad that they aren't jumping to fix your problem now (again, I don't blame them) by re-engineering the notification system. Anywho, here goes..

CHANGE the way you are doing things. Stop using notifications as a way to inform people of new posts. Build a big mailing list from your user email list instead of having members subscribe to individual posts. Gain a huge twitter following, get lots of facebook users.. and link every single new deal to a forum post.

Or just keep alienating this entire community here.. they told you it will be fixed in 4.0. Now you have to accept that and find a real solution. And if it matters I do have a business that relies on IPS software at http://www.gamedev.net/

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No, they have not said it will be fixed in 4.0. The "fix" is not actually a fix at all.

http://community.invisionpower.com/resources/bugs.html/_/ip-board/huge-amount-of-follows-causes-extreme-posting-delays-r42623

Yes, I'm asking for individual customer support. I'm asking for somebody, anybody to reply to a private message and discuss the situation with us.

I'm not asking for anything more. It is IPB who is escalating the situation by simply not hitting a reply button on an email. I can give them my phone number if that is the preferred method of communication.

The only thing I can't do is sit and wait for something to happen.

You have a nice site there, mat206. I see you don't have too many large threads, but you do have 1-2k users using the notification system to follow specific forums. I'm not sure if the delay occurs on new threads in forums with many followers as well. I need to double check with my admin.

I apologize as I posted (and changed the title to delete me) a test thread on your forum. There did seem to be some delay, but not as bad as the delay on thread replies.

Can I ask why you don't turn on auto-topic subscriptions (inline only) for your users? Don't you think your users would like to receive an inline notification when someone replies to a topic they post or post in? Besides the fact that it breaks your site after 300 follows, why would a user not want an in-line notification like that? I noticed that not many of your recent threads are very large. Most of the large threads are many years old. Do you know why that is?

If the notification system did its job properly, it would definitely improve community engagement.

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Cheapy - you are way off topic.... Perhaps take your moans to a more relevant topic?

Incidentally although we have only 10,000 members and 2 million posts, we have never noticed any issues.

Now back to the topic...... (please!)

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