I can't help it, but I fell very confused about all what is happening!
What is going to happend, and what am I to do?

I've been using UBB.classic since 98 and for the last years I've been waiting for the "Next Generation" of UBB to come, and now when it arrives my feelings are a bit.... odd?
There is no next generation of UBB! The announcement is that it will be a new version of UBB.threads.
I must say that I have not paid any attention for what has going on with UBB.threads, but for the last weeks I been reading a bit on a few forums and I must say that I do not feel comfortable with the situation.

My UBB.classic license will end in July and here I stand with the option to extend it, or change to something new...

My big thoughts about all this, is "What shall I do?", "Is this something that Groupee puts there heart into?" ????

Quite recently I saw the information that it was only four people working with the new generation product, and then right when the big news is to be released to the public, the guy (Charles) who said it leaves the company.
This leaves only three people...
Around the same time and before the big news, Groupee's only response is a message in the board that they offer all users to change product to their hosted solution.
More than a week later the big news comes... and it is nothing new but simply an upgrade of UBB.threads.
(OK, a lot of things is rewritten, but still it is "only" an upgrade...)

Why does Groupee offer us all to shift to their hosted stuff just before the big news?
Why can't I find anything about the next generation UBB on the groupee home page? Don't they want to be related to it or what?
I have so many why, why, why?

And almost no answers...

OK, I have the big news, where some features are listed.
[QUOTE]While the same basic user level design has been retained to maintain familiarity and continuity, UBB.threads has been streamlined for ease of use and made simpler and more intuitive. New features in Version 7 include: an optional portal page, an updated private messaging system, new calendar options, and new favorites-tracking. Administrators will also now have the option of locking the board into either linear or threaded mode.

UBB.threads administrators will appreciate that we’ve made a number of other improvements in design and architecture to enhance installation, maintenance, and updates. We’ve moved to using smarty templates, a popular template and presentation framework, for all front-facing pages. The database has been redesigned completely to make more efficient use of the MySQL server, as well as to add the use of FULLTEXT search.[/QUOTE]But, this leaves more questions, at least for me...
And then again, when? No actual date! Only an alpha release date.
[QUOTE]UBB.threads Version 7 will be released as an alpha (to a small test group) on May 10, 2006, with the release of a public beta version expected on June 15, 2006.[/QUOTE]As for the beta release date, my feeling is that it was promised a long time ago... so why should I trust it this time?

I am sorry for the negative feelings, but this is how i feel.

Will Groupee, or whatever company that develops UBB.threads, continue to develop and maintain this product?
Why should I stick with it?
What are the future plans for this next generation product?
I get the feeling the Groupee does not want to be related to this, so how can I be sure that they will continue with this next generation?


Why should I not move to another product, that has a positive "go" in it?
Why should I not move on to, for instance, FusionBB?
What will be better for me to upgrade to UBB.theads instead of changing to something else?


My license is soon to expire, so I feel that I must do something.
I doubt very much that UBB.threads 7 will be released before my license expire, so should I pay for something that still does not exist, or should I move on and abandon this for something else?

Please, help me...

Let me address a few of your points that I am able to address

[QUOTE]
There is no next generation of UBB! The announcement is that it will be a new version of UBB.threads.[/QUOTE]From the Announcement:
While the new product was originally designed to replace UBB.classic and UBB.threads, we wound up using much more of the core design of UBB.threads. Thus, we are now considering the new product an upgrade of UBB.threads, rather than a replacement.

[QUOTE]
My UBB.classic license will end in July and here I stand with the option to extend it, or change to something new...[/QUOTE]Just because your Member's Area expires in July doesn't mean that you have to renew on that date. You could wait until the release to renew your Member's Area. This is not the case if you are using a Leased License.

[QUOTE]
Around the same time and before the big news, Groupee's only response is a message in the board that they offer all users to change product to their hosted solution.[/QUOTE]I have not seen such an offer posted. The only thing close to what you are saying is that they were having a chat for those who were interested in changing. They never offered all users to change to the hosted solution.

[QUOTE]
Why can't I find anything about the next generation UBB on the groupee home page? Don't they want to be related to it or what?
I have so many why, why, why?
[/QUOTE]They want UBBCentral.com, soon to be UBBThreads.com to be the home for the downloadable products.

[QUOTE]
But, this leaves more questions, at least for me...
And then again, when? No actual date! Only an alpha release date.[/QUOTE]You won't see a release date until closer to the actual release. You cannot predict how many bugs you will squash during a beta period.

[QUOTE]What are the future plans for this next generation product?[/QUOTE]Groupee tends not to divulge anything beyond what has been announced.

Thanks Ron for trying to answer my doubts, but I still feel like a big questionmark...

If you are happy with .classic you could always stay with it until you see the new stuff in action and then make your decision about what you'd like to do - stay on classic, move to the new groupee software or to another brand. I plan to stay with classic on my personal site for the near future - it does what I need and my users (some who've been a member 7+ years) are familiar with it and why fix what isn't broke?

We'll continue to do (unsupported by groupee) development/support over at www.ubbdev.com as long as there's interest in it. Charles is one of our lead admins there so I don't expect things to change much.