I really like this modern forum bullshit approach… People building platforms asking $300 for the shit, that is literally available for free.

Say, it is free. Define fucking free? Free to download? Free to use? What's free now days. Oh look at our cool demo, user ultimately like «Holly shit that looks great! Wowzers» Not. Let me explain.

Free to download.

In some cases it's free to download, BUT limited to how many users you can have or amount of conversations. Yes its free, but locked in. Want to unlock it? Pay = Bait!.

Another case of free. You downloaded it, no limits. Fine… Your sorry ass was looking at nice looking demo, guess what man, that was Premium theme you were looking at, that's $30. Fine! What's one time payment right? Wrong. That was a visual lie to get you in.

Why does your demo (or support forum) have Achievements and my forum do not? — Oh, that is our Achievements plugin — $15. That was an ability forum do not have — Another visual lie.

Well, and Personal profiles, rating, and so on too? Yes, any plugin is extra $10 each. Boom!

Bla bla bla, you sitting there like an asshole who spent $80 on «Free» forum. Congrats. Pay attention to updates, as they also «Premium».

It’s completely absurd to charge for core functionality that has been standard for over 25 years. If you look at the evolution of forums:

• Then:You installed phpBB, vBulletin, or IPB, and you got a full Admin Control Panel, user profiles, ratings, post editing, and avatars out of the box. It was a complete suite.
• Now:They sell you the «core» (which is essentially just a database-to-HTML bridge) and then gatekeep the things that actually make it acommunity. Charging for «user profiles» or «moderation tools» is like buying a car and being told the steering wheel and brakes are «optional premium features.»

Now you are in indefinite loophole of «Paid Subscription».