Pre-purchase questions for current Dolphin users

I have a client who wants me to build him a social network. He has been using Yahoo for years, and has over 100,000 members. He would love to make some money doing this with his current members, and wants a Responsive social networking site that has the option of monthly, quarterly, 6 months and yearly membership fee. I have been researching for the last month, and I am between the upcoming version of Dolphin 7.2 and PHPFox Neutron.

I have built custom HTML sites for 15 years, and have also been building responsive Wordpress sites for 3 years. I really like what I am seeing with the Dolphin 7.2 Online Demo, but I am concerned with some of the posts in the forums about owners of past versions of Dolphin getting support, and a lot of the posts are over a year old. One recent post included the question, "Is Dolphin Dead?" Truthfully, some of the posts in the forums are making me a bit nervous to advise my client to purchase the software, but I keep coming back to Dophin because it sure does look like it has huge potential to be exactly what he needs, and I love all the additions that are available in the Market.

My client would also like a game room and a chat room, which I have found several of those in the Boonex Market, but because I am unfamiliar with these products, I have no idea if these plugins will work with the new Responsive 7.2 Dolphin or not. I even tried to contact the developer of the Game Pack, but got a message that I was not allowed to do so, because I have not purchased the software.
 
I submitted a ticket with some prepurchase questions 4 days ago, but have yet to get an answer. I totally understand if the developers are in the process of testing and improving 7.2, but my client is really concerned that no one has answered his questions as of yet, and I can't say that I blame him.  This is why I thought I would reach out to some members of the forum for advice. If you would like to email me privately, that is fine too. Just let me know and I can send you my email address.

Thanks so much for any advice you all may have.

Tracey 

I'm very happy I chose Dolphin 7.1 about 18 months ago. I too kept coming back here throughout my decision making process. Needed a social platform + something I can customize (been doing web/html design for 18 years).

Dolphin is not dead. Far from it. I read the same silly thread that get's brought back to the forefront every so often. That particular thread pisses off some long-timers here. That said, it's been a while since a major upgrade and excitement. 7.2 has me thrilled. What I found 7.1 lacking, 7.2 will include (including responsive design, paid membership levels and a lot more user friendliness).

I now have 3 websites running Dolphin and another I am converting from Wordpress when Dolphin 7.2 is ready. I will never use Wordpress again thankfully.

Getting official support is one hiccup, but I have ALWAYS gotten an answer/solution from very smart members and developers (including from the company itself) via this forum.

Boonex Market: I must have about 20 mods from several different developers. I've emailed them all with questions and issues. Haven't had a problem there yet. Always get a reply. Then again, I can be a pain in the ass if I don't. :).

Overall, very happy with my decision over the other platforms I looked it (some were free, others not).

Thanks so much for your quick reply, Launch3. It's great to hear from someone who is actually using the software and very happy with it, because it sure looks like exactly what we need. Do you happen to have any idea when 7.2 will be released? My client wants the site live by October 1st, and I will have to go with PHPFox if Dolphin 7.2 is not ready soon : (

First of all, don't wait, start building the site now with the current release; you have lots to do that will carry over when 7.2 is released.  When 7.2 is released, then you can add in the updates to the current site.

I'm guessing 7.2 in the next several weeks.

In the meantime, when 7.2 beta 2 is downloadable (very shortly?), that is when I will start looking at the updated coding and start to customize for my sites.

Thank you Geek Girl and Launch 3.

GeekGirl, when you wrote:  

First of all, don't wait, start building the site now with the current release; you have lots to do that will carry over when 7.2 is released.  When 7.2 is released, then you can add in the updates to the current site.

Do you mean work on the beta version that is available now here:

http://get.boonex.com/Dolphin-v.7.2



I wasn't sure if I got 7.1 how it would work as far as 7.2 being a responsive design? Thinking maybe the interface is different? 

Thanks to you both for helping a newbie 

Yes. Download and work with the beta version of 7.2 (not 7.1). Familiarize yourself with all the css files, locations of files, how everything works, the admin area, and customizations you'd like to make.

By the time the final 7.2 is out, you'll be ready to go and wasted no time.

No, don't start with the beta; start with the current stable release, you don't know what will change in the beta code.  Beta code is only for testing, not for building a site.  You have lots of things to work on.  Dynamic; which is what responsive use to be called before that arsehole called it responsive and no one called him on it, is your least worry when building the site.

I'm with GG on this - start with the stable release and work on that. There are responsive templates and hundreds of modules and mods available, and it's been heavily tested and will receive the best support. Just make sure any custom file edits are tracked, and the update should be fine. You'll want to have a test site to test changes on first, to keep the production site clean of horribly-breaking issues. And when it comes time to update, run it first on the test site to make sure everything works and all modules are compatible.

I don't like the idea of constantly waiting for the next release. Dolphin 7.2 will be better in many ways, but 7.1 was also better in many ways when compared to 7.0. Unless you absolutely need something that's only in 7.2 (and responsive is available via dozens of free and paid templates in the market), it's best to start work on stable. You can try your luck with the beta, and it will be updated to stable, but there's a lot of work underway in the source tree - it's far from stable at the moment. If Dolphin 7.1 works for you, fantastic. If you can wait for another beta or to see where BoonEx is on release, hold out for 7.2.

Thanks so much for your support. I had a couple of people who also contacted me privately, but I keep getting an error message when I try to respond to them:

Your current membership level allows you to only contact with Market vendors you've purchased from.

Just wanted to let them know that I did try to respond but could not. 

Dolphin looks like a fantastic software, but where I am concerned is that the developers are in the middle of an upgrade, and the upgrade is really the way I'd like to go with it. My client wants a responsive design now, where his members can get on the site from their Smart Phone etc, and I don't really blame him. Since over 50% of all online searches are being done on smart phones, I have totally switched to all responsive design for my clients, and that in itself has been a large learning curve for me.

As suggested here, I am thinking about getting the current version of Dolphin and then upgrade when the new version comes out, but to tell you the truth, I am not so confident in my abilities to do this at all. I know how to upgrade Wordpress, which is fairly easy to do, but have no idea if Dolphin is similar or not? I would rather start with the new version and move forward from there, BUT who knows when the new version will be released. 

What makes Dolphin attractive to me over the other software I am considering, PHPFox, is that there is so much more that is available for it as far as add-ons in the market area. This brings me to another point: will the vendors actually upgrade their products to work with 7.2 or not, and that is also worrisome to me.

My client wants a chat room which I am sure a vendor will have an upgrade or new software for that, but he also wants a game room. The Dolphin Multiplayer Gamez and Game Zone that is available is pricey, $220, but includes a lot, but i have no idea if that vendor will update it or not. I tried to contact the vendor, but I was not allowed to do that, because I do not own the software--kind of a very big Catch 22 for me. I just did some digging and got to the vendor's demo site for the product and sent the following via a contact form, so I hope that he or she gets the form:

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I am wanting to purchase the new responsive version of Dolphin 7.2 as soon as it is available. People in the Dolphin forums are advising me to go ahead and purchase the older version of Dolphin and then upgrade later.

I would also like to purchase your Dolphin Multiplayer Gamez and Game Zone, but have no idea if you will have an upgrade for the 7.2 version of Dolphin or not?

If I purchase the current version of both Dolphin and your Dolphin Multiplayer Gamez and Game Zone software, and then upgrade to the new Responsive version of Dolphin, 7.2, will your game pack work with the new version, or will you have to do an upgrade of your software too? If you would also have to upgrade your software, would you have any idea when an upgrade like that would be available?
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If I do decide to go with the current version of Dolphin, I am not sure not sure which one to purchase? Dolphin Pro or Prime? If the software is going to be responsive soon. then I will not need the mobile apps. Will the new 7.20 update be available for free, or will my client have to pay more for it? How hard is it to do the update?

Lots of questions that I have no idea what the answers are, and after scouring the message boards, I am not seeing an answer about release dates for 7.2 there either.

Shoot, I have no idea what to do now....I am in deep water, and I am sure not a happily swimming dolphin at this point--more like a land-bound hermit crab picking through shells in order to find the best one for a new home : )

I am very familiar with Wordpress and their constant upgrades make me about crazy sometimes, so I would rather go with the 7.2 now, but again I have no idea when that will be ready. My client is saying he wants the website to go live in October. A LOT OF WORK in a short amount of time for someone who has not worked with this software before....

Anyway, thanks for your time and your consideration of my questions.  You all have been very helpful for sure, and I sure appreciate it. 

Tracey

If you just want to remove the attribution, then the Pro license will be enough.  Once you buy a license, it covers any future releases of Dolphin.

Now, you must realise; and this will go for phpFox as well, you will need a robust server; do not attempt to host it on a shared hosting unless you go with a vendor such as Zarconia which limits the number of accounts on the share hosting.

 Upgrade your membership from starter to advanced and you will be able to do more here. Like messaging.