XenForo
Encyclopedia
XenForo is a commercial Internet forum
software written in the PHP
programming language
using the Zend Framework
. The software is developed by a team led by former vBulletin
lead developers Kier Darby and Mike Sullivan. The first public beta release of XenForo was released in October 2010. XenForo 1.0.0 Stable has been released on March 8, 2011
. The original owner of the software, Jelsoft, was acquired by the American new media
company Internet Brands
in 2007. Disagreements between the lead developers and the new management over matters involving the next big release of vBulletin, version 4.0 (including a rejection of their desire to make 4.0 a complete rewrite of the platform as opposed to Internet Brands preferring the use of agile development) led most of the original vBulletin developers to step down from employment at Internet Brands in 2009.
of property acquired by Internet Brands, that code in XenForo was re-factored from vBulletin code (despite XenForo's claim that the system was built from the ground up using an object-oriented framework
and the fact that a public release had not even been made yet, and thus IB could not possibly have had a look at the XenForo code), breach of contract
, and engaging in unfair business practices
. Representatives also claimed that XenForo "unfairly stands on the shoulders of more than a decade of development", development which had become the property of Internet Brands through the acquisition. In November 2010, Internet Brands sued XenForo and Darby in California District Court in the United States, additionally claiming that Darby had not returned confidential information from Internet Brands regarding the vBulletin software, though failing to provide evidence to back this claim. The XenForo team has denied the claims made by Internet Brands in these lawsuits. Additionally, Internet Brands also denied that the timing of the lawsuit was to coincide with the first public beta of the software.
On 7th February, Judge Manual Real denied all three motions by XenForo and its developer Kier Darby, to dismiss the case on grounds of forum non conveniens, non-subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction in California arguing that the California lawsuit is duplicative of the UK action. On 4th April, Judge Manuel Real
granted a motion by XenForo to dismiss the 7th and 8th claims of the litigation which dealt with alleged violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
and California Penal Code § 502
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
software written in the PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
using the Zend Framework
Zend Framework
Zend Framework is an open source, object-oriented web application framework implemented in PHP 5 and licensed under the New BSD License.-Licensing:...
. The software is developed by a team led by former vBulletin
VBulletin
vBulletin is a proprietary Internet forum software produced by Jelsoft Enterprises and vBulletin Solutions, both subsidiaries of Internet Brands. It is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database server.-History:...
lead developers Kier Darby and Mike Sullivan. The first public beta release of XenForo was released in October 2010. XenForo 1.0.0 Stable has been released on March 8, 2011
Development
One of the developers of XenForo, Kier Darby originally served as a lead developer for the community platform vBulletinVBulletin
vBulletin is a proprietary Internet forum software produced by Jelsoft Enterprises and vBulletin Solutions, both subsidiaries of Internet Brands. It is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database server.-History:...
. The original owner of the software, Jelsoft, was acquired by the American new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
company Internet Brands
Internet Brands
Internet Brands is a new media company based in El Segundo, California that operates online media, community, and e-commerce sites in vertical markets. The company also develops and licenses internet software and social media applications....
in 2007. Disagreements between the lead developers and the new management over matters involving the next big release of vBulletin, version 4.0 (including a rejection of their desire to make 4.0 a complete rewrite of the platform as opposed to Internet Brands preferring the use of agile development) led most of the original vBulletin developers to step down from employment at Internet Brands in 2009.
Internet Brands lawsuits
One day before the originally scheduled release for the first public beta of XenForo in October 2010, Internet Brands announced that it would file a lawsuit against the XenForo team in the United Kingdom claiming; copyright infringementCopyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
of property acquired by Internet Brands, that code in XenForo was re-factored from vBulletin code (despite XenForo's claim that the system was built from the ground up using an object-oriented framework
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
and the fact that a public release had not even been made yet, and thus IB could not possibly have had a look at the XenForo code), breach of contract
Breach of contract
Breach of contract is a legal cause of action in which a binding agreement or bargained-for exchange is not honored by one or more of the parties to the contract by non-performance or interference with the other party's performance....
, and engaging in unfair business practices
Unfair business practices
Unfair business practices encompass fraud, misrepresentation, and oppressive or unconscionable acts or practices by business, often against consumers and are prohibited by law in many countries. For instance, in the European Union, each member state must regulate unfair business practices in...
. Representatives also claimed that XenForo "unfairly stands on the shoulders of more than a decade of development", development which had become the property of Internet Brands through the acquisition. In November 2010, Internet Brands sued XenForo and Darby in California District Court in the United States, additionally claiming that Darby had not returned confidential information from Internet Brands regarding the vBulletin software, though failing to provide evidence to back this claim. The XenForo team has denied the claims made by Internet Brands in these lawsuits. Additionally, Internet Brands also denied that the timing of the lawsuit was to coincide with the first public beta of the software.
On 7th February, Judge Manual Real denied all three motions by XenForo and its developer Kier Darby, to dismiss the case on grounds of forum non conveniens, non-subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction in California arguing that the California lawsuit is duplicative of the UK action. On 4th April, Judge Manuel Real
Manuel Real
Manuel Lawrence Real is a judge of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. He was nominated in 1966 by President Lyndon B. Johnson. He is most well known for his January 22, 1970 decision ordering Pasadena Unified School District to adopt a plan to correct racial imbalance...
granted a motion by XenForo to dismiss the 7th and 8th claims of the litigation which dealt with alleged violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is a law passed by the United States Congress in 1986, intended to reduce cracking of computer systems and to address federal computer-related offenses...
and California Penal Code § 502
Release history
| Color | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Red | Pre-release beta versions |
| Green | Supported stable branch |
| Blue | Future versions |