General Do you purchase copyright removal?

[Cedric]

Most forum software lets you pay to remove their copyright notice - but is it really worth it? Have you ever bought copyright removal, or do you prefer to leave it as is?

Personally, I don’t mind keeping the copyright visible so others can see what software we’re using and where to get it! What’s your take? Are you for or against it?

 

[fdk]

I've personally never felt any need to remove a copyright on any software I've used - most of the software I have used has been free and open source so definitely not in those circumstances, but even if I was paying for a software, I don't see the need to hide the software that I'm using from others, so no need to pay for that kind of upgrade for me.

 

[CTS]

I dont have a choice on the XFcloud, but if an add-on is good enough, I don't mind paying the extra. But that's rare.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I never purchased copyright removal, I think this option is there for big businesses who want to keep their branding on the community and don't want branding from any other company listed. I prefer to keep the copyright information visible.

 

[CTS]

@Ravenfreak While I do agree with your sentiments, I am certainly not big business by any measure. But you know everyone that builds forums has their own pet peeves, mine is a trashy footer. I like it tight and neat as possible and as such I don't like footer data. I know I will always have footer data, but to me it becomes confusing when there are multiple copyrights down there.

That said, I rarely buy add-ons, but I feel the vendor is better supported with cash than just free advertising.

And that said (lol), it better be a pretty danged good addon to have a footer copyright placement in the first place.

 

[Cpvr]

Honestly, I keep the copyright in tact. I’d rather keep my money and invest it in other things that are more important & vital to my community. The removal of the copyright isn’t something that bothers me that much.

 

[CTS]

I feel I need to add, I currently have no add-ons or themes installed that require a copyright nor ask for a removal fee. Currently. But I felt compelled to post here as I am planning on purchasing an add-on that offers copyright and removal fee. And in that case, I will pay for the removal.

 

[frm]

I've removed the copyright footer on two XF licenses (and paid DBTech $300 or something for global on all their add ons for one forum).

There is a noticeable difference in spambot registrations with the copyright footer vs. forums without it. A forum with the copyright footer seems to be hit almost as soon as it's indexed in Google (as they can easily scrape new forums by searching that phrase, or for instance, "Community platform by XenForo"), while a forum without it can go months before seeing 1 automated spambot signup.

I've tested this across 4 different live forums and, since all use the same methods to prevent spam, I can only conclude it's the copyright footer that draws them in.

That said, if you launch with the copyright footer, it's probably not going to make a difference to remove it a year later because it'll already be added to spambot lists as a forum that can be spammed. But you will notice a difference when you launch one without the footer.

Prime example: FD was attacked almost instantly (copyright footer)... RS/ROFL hasn't been hit but by 1 or 2 automated bots (could be human) and 1 or 2 human spammers. FD was online for a much shorter period, but ROFL has been online since August 8, 2024 (nothing), and after the rebrand, and has yet to be attacked like FD.

Your forum (should) eventually become too big to ignore and get added to the list, making it moot. But, it's a lot less work in the beginning, where you could spend the time you would've been fighting spam to build more content.

 

[CTS]

There is a noticeable difference in spambot registrations with the copyright footer vs. forums without it.

Interesting you said that. My traffic is small reletive to most forums. But I have a domain link in the footer that just points to a theme based page within my forum. So it's really easier analyzing traffic and sources. And almost all of my hard and soft 404's come from that domain. And no, it isn't residual traffic from before I got the domain. That can be determined when you look at the strings they used when they entered the site.

 

[Ravenfreak]

I've removed the copyright footer on two XF licenses (and paid DBTech $300 or something for global on all their add ons for one forum).

There is a noticeable difference in spambot registrations with the copyright footer vs. forums without it. A forum with the copyright footer seems to be hit almost as soon as it's indexed in Google (as they can easily scrape new forums by searching that phrase, or for instance, "Community platform by XenForo"), while a forum without it can go months before seeing 1 automated spambot signup.

I've tested this across 4 different live forums and, since all use the same methods to prevent spam, I can only conclude it's the copyright footer that draws them in.

That said, if you launch with the copyright footer, it's probably not going to make a difference to remove it a year later because it'll already be added to spambot lists as a forum that can be spammed. But you will notice a difference when you launch one without the footer.

Prime example: FD was attacked almost instantly (copyright footer)... RS/ROFL hasn't been hit but by 1 or 2 automated bots (could be human) and 1 or 2 human spammers. FD was online for a much shorter period, but ROFL has been online since August 8, 2024 (nothing), and after the rebrand, and has yet to be attacked like FD.

Your forum (should) eventually become too big to ignore and get added to the list, making it moot. But, it's a lot less work in the beginning, where you could spend the time you would've been fighting spam to build more content.

Interesting take I never really thought about spambots making a search for the copyright text and then joining a bunch of Xenforo forums. I still wouldn't have the funds to pay for copyright removal for the paid software I use either way.