Xenforo to Discourse: The Path & The Plan

[Son of Hobbes]

Xenforo to Discourse: The Path & The Plan​

Background and Context​

The forum software currently powering our community is called XenForo. Prior to that, the forum originally operated for about the 1st 5 years on vBulletin, and we migrated to XenForo around 2015. That timeframe aligns with the earliest records I can find discussing the transition (I was involved in that migration.)


At the time, XenForo held a significant share of the forum software market and represented a meaningful step forward in terms of features, performance, and overall capability compared to what was available previously. It was, by all measures, a solid decision. We have now been on XenForo for nearly 11 years, and we are very familiar with the platform. Historically, our experience was largely positive, with issues being addressed in a timely and reasonable manner.


However, in more recent years, we have observed a noticeable decline across several critical areas. These include a slowdown in meaningful software updates, a substantial reduction in the quality and responsiveness of support, and shrinking development of third-party add-ons.


It is important to note that we are paying for a cloud-hosted, managed XenForo solution—specifically to minimize our need to handle technical issues internally—yet that expectation has increasingly gone unmet.


From a performance standpoint, the site has been experiencing persistent and inconsistent issues, including intermittent lag and unpredictable load times. These problems occur regardless of user location or device. Despite providing extensive documentation—screenshots, logs, and user reports—we have repeatedly been told that the issues cannot be reproduced on their end. This has led to growing frustration, compounded by the broader reality that the platform itself appears to be aging rapidly and is no longer performing at a level we consider acceptable.

The Path Forward​

Over the past several weeks, the staff and I have been actively discussing a transition to Discourse. As of 2026, Discourse is widely regarded as the leading forum software platform in the world. One of the most prominent communities built on Discourse is Reddit, a name nearly everyone is familiar with, even if they do not actively use it.


I completed the 14-day trial, was thoroughly impressed and have since subscribed to the Pro plan. This instance is currently operating as a test environment and represents the future direction of the Autoflower Network.


The decision has been made, and it is final. We will be moving away from XenForo. Continuing to invest time, money, and energy into a platform that no longer meets our needs—or the needs of our community—is not a viable path forward. Even if certain performance issues were resolved immediately, they would not address the broader, long-standing limitations we have encountered.


Discourse is purpose-built for modern, large-scale communities, and I am confident that this transition will be a positive and necessary step for the long-term health and growth of the forum.


There are a few additional points I would like to address next:

First: a grounded framing (this is important)​

Forum migrations fail less often because of tech; they fail more often because of:

• split attention
• unclear deadlines
• no “line in the sand” moment
• too much nostalgia for the old platform
• too long of a dual-running period

We're going to commit to a PLAN, and a PATH, and a TIMELINE, and I really need everyone on board with this.

---

Option Analysis (the blunt & honest)​

Option A — Fresh Start​

Taking everything that we know and building it out with a fresh slate.

Pros
✔ Cheapest
✔ Clean slate
✔ No migration risk
✔ Forces engagement now

Cons
✖ Lose post history as active content (but not as archive)

Reality:
This is the easiest, least plan of resistance.

Option B — $6,000 Migration​

We are actively taking quotes for migration services, which are not cheap. The average price I have seen is between $250-350/hour for migration work; and our database + attachments is very large to work with. Discourse themselves offers a managed, hosted solution that INCLUDES up to 24 hours migration work as part of the cost, but they regular the Business plan hosting ($500/month) and for it to be paid up front for the year (so it's $6000, but that includes their Business plan hosting for the entire year.)

Pros
✔ Keeps everything
✔ Familiar for users

Cons
✖ Massive upfront cost
✖ Old baggage imported
✖ Doesn’t guarantee engagement

Reality: Worth it only if:

• We have sponsors lined up (of which we really do not)
• Guaranteed revenue recovery (of which we really do not)
• We can fund raise the costs (a possibility)

Option C — Long-Term Dual Running​

Attempting to run both sites temporarily, but with emphasis on Discourse for that actual community, and leaving Xenforo up in locked state for archival reasons until we can pull the information in a meaningful way.

Pros
✔ Safety net

Cons
✖ $200/month bleed
✖ Kills urgency
✖ Splits community
✖ Delays Discourse success

Reality:
Good for 2–3 months max, not indefinitely.

Suggested Path​

Hybrid of Option A + Option C (short-term), with Option B deferred or avoided unless we want to talk about an aggressive fund raising campaign.

Why:

• We cannot justify $6,000 upfront right now, at least not without aggressive fund raising. That doesn't mean we can't do it, it simply means it's going to require a lot of everyone coming together to make it happen.
• Paying $200/month forever for XenForo is a slow bleed. This would have to be capped with a reasonable time frame (couple months at most, like maybe 2 or 3 max.)
• Fresh starts can work if structured correctly
• Discourse thrives when early activity is concentrated, not diluted

---

Suggested Timeline​

High-Confidence Timeline (10–12 Weeks Total)
Official Start: February 2026​

This timeline assumes:

• Discourse Pro is already live (it is)
• We control XenForo fully (we do, albeit cloud hosted which imposes some file access limitations)
• We are willing to freeze discussion on XenForo at a defined point (we will have to, it's not sustainable to run two sites)

Phase 1 — Soft Launch & Seeding (Weeks 1–2)
Official Start: February 1st through the 14th​

Goal: Make Discourse feel alive before asking users to move

Actions​

• Staff + moderators create accounts on Discourse (that means everyone here that wears a staff tag today.)
  
  
• Seed:
  
  • Welcome post
  • Community rules / culture post
  • “What’s different from XenForo?” explainer
  • 10–20 high-value starter threads (grow logs, education, breeder discussions)
    
• Enable:
  
  • Badges
  • Trust levels
  • Likes
  • One-click auth (Google, Discord, etc.)

XenForo status​

✔ Still fully open
✔ Banner at top:

“AFN is building its new home on Discourse — early access now live.”

We would NOT restrict posting yet.

Phase 2 — Dual Posting + Incentives (Weeks 3–4)
Official Start: February 15th through the 28th​

Goal: Train behavior without force

Actions​

• Announce Discourse as:
  
  “The future home of AFN — XenForo will be retired later this year.”
  
  
• Offer soft incentives:
  
  • Early adopter badge
  • Special role or title
  • Access to Discourse-only threads (moving contests and anything "new" would be on Discourse.)
    
• Start replying on XenForo with:
  
  “Great question — we’re actively discussing this on Discourse now.”

XenForo status​

✔ Posting still allowed
✔ Replies gently redirect when appropriate

This is where we shape traffic, not cut it. This requires the staff starting to actively direct users from this site to the new Discourse site.

Phase 3 — Read-Only Announcement Window (Weeks 5–6)
Official Start: March 1st through the 14th​

Goal: Create urgency without panic

Big announcement (pin everywhere):​

“AFN is officially transitioning to Discourse.
New discussions will soon be Discourse-only.”

Changes​

• Lock creation of new threads on XenForo
• Allow replies only to existing threads
• Prominent call-to-action buttons:
  
  • “Start a new discussion on Discourse”
  • “Create your Discourse account”

This step alone should move on average 30–50% of active users.

Phase 4 — XenForo Read-Only (Weeks 7–8)
Official Start: March 15th through the 31st​

Goal: End split attention

Actions​

• Disable all posting on XenForo
  
  
• XenForo becomes:
  
  • Searchable archive
  • Read-only reference
    
• Add notice atop every page:
  
  “AFN discussions now live exclusively on Discourse.”
  

Discourse focus​

• Daily staff activity
• Reply fast
• Highlight good posts
• Publicly welcome migrating members

At this point, Discourse becomes the default.​

Phase 5 — Decision Point (Weeks 9–12)
Official Start: April 1st through the 14th​

Now we evaluate real data, not fear, not site lag, but moving things forward in a productive manner.

Look at:​

• Daily active users
• New threads per day
• Engagement per post
• Moderator workload
• Community sentiment

Then we choose:​

A) Kill XenForo entirely
B) Keep it read-only another 1–2 months
C) If Discourse growth justifies it → revisit paid migration if we haven't migrated already.
D) If possible, we pull just specific, agreed upon things instead of the entire database.

Most communities do not need full post migration once momentum shifts.

 

[Son of Hobbes]

@Cultivators @Global Moderators @Admin @Vendors

 

[Son of Hobbes]

I will do my best to answer any and all questions regarding this.

 

[Mossy]

I will do my best to answer any and all questions regarding this.

And I'll just sit in the corner..rocking.... ..but..we cannot go on the way we are ..

 

[Frankthetank]

I could care less about keeping any of my old data…like at all.

Hell, you can delete this post right now if you really want.

Tell me when to switch, I’ll switch. No drama needed.

$6,000 seems outrageous for content that rarely, if ever gets used… in my opinion.


Now, back to my regularly scheduled bong hits……

 

[MasonJarOG]

Seems very well thought out.

 

[Sawney_bean]

I'm on board. No problems

 

[tobe]

Hi @Son of Hobbes my friend
It sounds well thought. I have seen switches like that in the past, with similar time lines, in other communities.

Tell me when help is needed bro and big thanks to the admins and team for all the work.

 

[Entombed]

A.

Edit - I already forgot the new site name. I made an account but I only remember to go over there when someone posts the link in LS chat.

 

[Mossy]

@Sawney_bean @tobe ...seeing you here...if you breeders have any Special photos on site..copy them out.

We've never had a site change over where we haven't lost a load of mine..and with all the help in the world we've never been able to reinstate them...so if there is anything special cross photos on site...I'd stash them somewhere else until after the move.

@Antonio_DutchPassion @Jean-O @LaughingHyenaSeeds

Same with @Cultivators ...your favourite photos...or any links you would not want to lose...start thinking about it now.....