UBB.threads PHP Forum Software Community Forums General Suggestions and Feedback so if this is the last ubbt, where with the suggestions?

[]
2. 'Edited by' control. Would be useful (in my case vital) to have more control over this. [/]

I fully agree! <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

My wish: edited by AND (for moderators): reason why

If I may add more one request, or rather a suggestion to include a current feature in UBB.fusion ... it's the display IP function. As an Admin I find it extremely useful to see the IP number next to each corresponding post.

Back in the day (when using Classic) I had to click on a certain link in every post just to bring up the IP... so annoying and time-consuming.

any news on a shortly release?

The normal forums aren't the big problem, people were heavily annoyed but I could live with that, although I shouldn't take it that easy, since they're my basis for anything I do.
Anyway, the real problem is, we've also been using internal forums like a fake intranet, to discuss and plan things. This "mark all read" bug made some team members, including me, miss some crucial information at the wrong time, several times.

In my opinion this bug alone was worth a hotfix.
I don't know about individual cookies size limits, but with firefox it's just a pain when you have over 10 internal forums for different topics, plus over 20 publicly available forums, and everything gets a reset once a hour or so.

It has never been a problem before, but now we had to shift sensitive topics to email based groups. With that in mind, I consider 6.5 itself a public beta.

In the past I have been very fast with switching to newer versions, and I have never been disappointed, bugs were fixed soon, but these are known since late september, and I don't have access to additional beta versions.
I'm sorry if this contributes to delay in development of your new product, and I do understand why strict roadmaps are an important thing, but maybe the old product should be stable first.

The IPs will be visible by default to users with that ability.

Two new small requests, one from the UBBC side (v 6.3.2 as I last remember it before jumping ship) and one from UBBT:

1. A checkbox to close topic when making a reply (as Admin). Soooo useful in UBBC, and surprisingly not present in UBBT. A lot of the time when closing a topic the Admin wants to add a final comment in the thread. Would be great to see this small but convenient feature appear in the new software.

2. Private forums. I don't know how the current version of Classic deals with this, but I really like how in Threads people who don't have access to a particular forum don't even see that is exists (on the main forum index). In Classic I had to come up with funny titles (such as test forum #1, bug testing area, etc. ) as the forum names (and even total posts counts) were visible to all.

Okay here goes:

Is there a tentative name for the next generation product?

About when will the first beta be released?


BTW, today is my birthday. On ebay, I am getting Logitech Z-640 5.1 speakers!

Happy Birthday Pink Jazz.

I vote for the name UBB.Pink

Happy Birthday, Pink <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Tentative name? Well, Ted laughed when I accidently called it UBB.x, so that's out. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />

Beta will be in the spring. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

UBB.navaho?

If there's one thing which works like Russian tank in Threads, it has to be the censor feature. Please tell me that this has been reworked and refurbished to look like the Taj Mahal. It's a bit crazy that I can censor stuff out and yet people can still include those lines in URLs, something which UBBC has prevented for numerous months now, if not years.

Also, (not sure if this works in UBBT -either way- it definitely doesn't work in URLs...), but I definitely agree with the way in which UBBC also used the censor feature in Private Messages.

The main reason is that people usually spam others using PMs and include affiliate links in the process. Classic has the great approach of using the same filter in PMs as well as regular posts, so spammers can also say goodbye to using PMs to spread their filth.

Would definitely like to see this option implemented, otherwise spammers can do what they want on our boards and there's nothing we can do about it...

Another great feature would be to limit the ability to use the PM feature until a user has A) sent X number of messages -AND/OR- B) been registered for an X amount of time).

PMs are censored. There's currently a bug using a slash - since the new censor feature has the matching etc.... I think you just have to comment out the slash to make it work. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> HOpefully they fix that in 6.5.1.

Would be nice to see a few added elements, even if they have to be bought as additions to the new product. A proper chat feature would be great for instance if Infopop could provide it ("made by Infopop" = it's gonna work fine!).

What would also be nice is a feature to control forums which people have to pay to access, including the ability to limit only part of the board to paying customers (I believe Eve takes care of payments or something of the sort - would be great to see this feature in a downloadable product).

A chat feature is unlikely in any future downloadable. Almost all web hosting providers expressly ban chat scripts.

That's true, but don't most hosts specify IRC as the usual persona non grata? Could an added chat module take up even more server resources than the bulletin board itself?

Another feature which I thought was quite useful was the Multiple Identity Detector addon from Threadsdev. Sometimes an admin can spend a lot of time & effort in matching up people's IPs to see if they're one and the same person, and often the IP won't even give a definite answer (dial-up, proxy, etc.). This feature seems very useful in such circumstances.

Also (I'm not sure if this is a bug or not...), would be great if the new product took its character encoding techniques from Classic. I don't ever recall having any problems there, whereas in Threads I can't even use the Euro symbol for instance when posting (also cut&pastes often contain similar errors). Don't ever recall having a problem with this in UBBC...

Also, it would be very useful to be able to customize several tiny details in the CP that have been previously unavailable (for which only hacking the board was the answer).

The first one that comes to mind: the dimensions of the different icons, such as new topics, no new topics, attachments, closed topic, etc. Would be nice to be able to set these via the CP as opposed to editing one of the files. Would be even better if the system set the sizes automatically.

While we're on the topic of graphics it would be useful to be able to make changes to the order in which graemlins are displayed.

Another small thing that would be useful to set not only in the CP (as a default) but also INDIVIDUALLY is the way that UBBCode URLs and graemlins are added to messages. URLs are added with a space before and after the URL. Graemlins are added with only a space before the graemlin itself. Would be extremely helpful to be able to customize this according to users' preferences.

There are two problems with IRC applets. The first is that the IRC applet code has to live on the same server that it's connecting to, so we can't just ship an IRC Java applet. The second is that every applet I've seen lets you just change your name, and as there's no real authorization going on IRC-side, I can just log in with any old client and be who I want to be regardless. Not to mention the problem with different naming rules...

The chat ban goes way back to the mid '90s, when the most popular chat scripts of the day were Perl/CGI based, and completely dynamic. They were based around either streaming data to the client, or refreshing a page using a meta tag. In either case, that's a heck of a lot of scripts being called relatively frequently.

I've written my fair share of chat scripts. They're all based around a static HTML page that refreshes every 8 seconds or so... very light on the server. If not for the general global ban, something like that could easily be integrated in our downloadables.

(It's interesting that hosts permit shoutboxes, which basically ARE chat scripts...)

The multiple login detector is pretty cool. I wrote something like that for TrekBBS. Unfortunately, it's also really rather special-case, so it's not likely to be a stock feature.

The character encoding issues occur because Threads kills all HTML entities when HTML posting is disabled, regardless of if they're "safe" or not, using the htmlspecialchars() function.

Classic doesn't have such a builtin function to use, so when HTML is disabled, we only kill certain things. We'll probably end up taking this approach in the new product as well.

Image dimensions will not be hard-coded in the templates, if they're even included at all.

Graemlin ordering is in the database, but there isn't a UI planned to allow for the order to be edited, at least in the 1.0 release.

Could you explain the space problem, please? I don't understand.

I'm not really an IRC fan... to the point that I don't even enter my site's chat section... not even once per annum. Have seen a lot of hosts explicitly ban IRC on their servers though, so that was the first thing that came to mind. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Funnily enough I thought about the 'shout box' feature before making my previous post but then sort of figured it was like an "extra forum" type of feature, though very chat-style if I may say so. Maybe adding one of your server-efficient chat modules would be a great addition to the shout box?

I guess it all comes down to scale - when people's sites grow they tend to not only want better hardware (often dedicated servers because that's the only way they can continue to function), but also more functions. The chat feature seems like the next best thing, especially since the login/password data really needs to be matched up in order for both to work side-by-side. Can't see any way around it...

The multiple-login detector would be nice, but understandably it won't be useful for those who aren't bothered with ghost/clone posters (a real problem when it comes to contests...). Still a very useful security feature to completent IP identification for those who need it, and although I don't think it's necessary at all in 1.0, it would be nice to see it included several months down the road from the first release...

The character encoding issue has been a bit annoying, especially when you have people who are used to Classic. Suddenly this throws a whole new problem at them because all of a sudden they can't cut&paste comfortably or post special (in some cases rather usual) characters with ease. Just seems like one of these things that Classic had worked out to perfection... but only became a problem after moving to Threads...

Graemlin ordering is a nuisance because it's not fun to set them up "the hard way" due to their different sizes and shapes. At least please allow for post icons to be set up in a certain order, as those are interestingly enough set to a certain pattern/order on most boards.

To clear up the "space problem", what I mean is that when posting a reply if you use the URL function (in UBBCode) then in your message a _space_ appears both before and after the URL itself. This is just a formatting issue and some people like it while others don't. A similar situation appears with graemlins - when including them by clicking on the appropriate icon you get a space before the icon but not after it in the message box (I believe UBBC included a space BOTH before and after the gif). It's just a question of personal preference, but I've noticed that some people get annoyed with the differences between different bulletin boards as well as their personal preferences when typing up posts.

Any spaces added before or after the code, by the instant buttons, will remain there, as that's done on purpose. Certain tags may not parse correctly without having a space before or after. Some may, however, in which case the user should stop using the instant buttons and type the codes instead, which, at least for me, is always faster. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Graemlins, for example, need to have spaces in certain places to be parsed. For exa:)mple.

Any spaces injected when interpreting the code for display will remain, as those also would be there on purpose.

The way the new parser works would preclude any sort of global user preferences from being considered during the parsing.

So I believe the emails have been sent out and there are probably Beta testers out there hammering on the new product...somewhere!

Any chance of us getting a link to a Beta of the new forums? I was one of those that would have loved to Beta the new product, but would not have had the time to really hammer away and learn the new product until Summer.

But still curious to see it in action and/or interact as a user - just to see where we are to date.

From the monthly newsletter - not sure if it answers your questions, but it might help. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[]The beta testing group for our new downloadable product has been assembled and testing will begin next week. We're getting increasingly nearer to our target date to release a beta version.

Just as a reminder here are a few notable points on the new product:


It's entirely new. This is not an upgrade, update or patch to UBB.threads™ or UBB.classic™. We will have import scripts released to make the conversion from your existing UBB.threads™ or UBB.classic™ possible, but this will not be simply an updated version.

The user interface will have a flavor similar to both UBB.threads™ and UBB.classic™, making it familiar and immediately easy to use. There will be no large learning curves - simpler is better.

Your existing license(s) will apply, as will your Member Area access.
Next month we'll have more news and perhaps some sneak peek screen shots as we get closer to the public beta release.


[/]

Yap, saw that a day or two ago, thanks Ian. Looking forward to getting 6.5.1 installed by this weekend on a few sites, and really looking forward to seeing at least screenshots, if not a beta "functioning" board of the new product.

Two quick questions...

i) if this is the last (or nearly the last) release of UBBT, will anyone handle the remainder of the bugs still in place?

ii) I know we haven't even seen a beta of the new product (what will it be called anyway?), but when can we expect the first, proper non-beta release?

Keep up the good work, fellas! Looking forward to getting 6.5.1 installed by the weekend. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

1) We may choose to do another release in the future to mainly fix any importer issues. We may choose to also fix other bugs in that release. (UBB.classic 6.7.3, for example, will be released in the coming weeks. It's mainly importer fixes, but does include a handful of bugfixes as well.)

2) I can't speculate on dates right now. There are no public dates set beyond the planned development snapshot release in late March. We do want to make sure to hit the "Spring, 2005" date that we've kept saying over and over...

Here's an idea that strangely enough hasn't been implemented yet, especially since it's such a simple one which I don't believe would require much code work:

What's the best way to keep the forum data safe? Answer: back up the tables regularly.

What's the easiest way to do this for the average user? Answer: use the 'backup tables' function in the CP.

Now this is something that we should all be doing, in my case I do this every fortnight. Some of you might even be doing this on a weekly basis, or even more regularly (damn, this sounds like I'm writing about something else... <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ).

Obviously the best time to do this is when the forums are the LEAST busy, which is probably when you users are fast asleep. There's only one problem - having to manually switch the board off and on again.

When I hit 'Submit' and start my table backup at around midnight... I have to wait until 2:30-3:00 AM so that I can switch the board back on before crashing out myself. Why isn't such a simple task automated? Why can't the table backup feature automatically close the board when it starts... and then reopen the board after it's finished with everything?

PHPmyBackup

which one? <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

http://sourceforge.net/projects/pmbackup/
http://www.normsland.co.uk/phpmybackup/
http://www.m-tecs.net/?a=products&b=pmb&c=en
...

This is the one I use: http://www.normsland.co.uk/phpmybackup/

Fair enough if you use an external program, but why can't the built-in module simply turn off the board and then turn it back on again? <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

The external program doesn't open/close the board. You still need to open and close it via the UBB.Threads control panel.

Ahh, there we go. How hard would it be to make the internal program close+open the board automatically?

Also, what's the benefit of using an external program? Speed?

Overall the whole point of a backup is to make it when the board is least busy, but having to stay up until like 4am just to switch the forums back on again is a joke. This stuff should be automated.

>How hard would it be to make the internal program close+open the board automatically?

Not hard at all. 2 queries,one at the start, and one at the end of the dump.
In the worst case, you would have to open up the board yourself.

Just cannot believe that this hasn't been automated yet. Opening the board is probably what matters most, as closing it can be done when you're starting the backup.

Ideally you want to start the dump when you go to sleep and have the board reopen automatically once the backup is complete...

One more thing, the ability for the admin to PM all users would be greatly useful. I know there are ways to email all users, but why spam everyone's mailbox when you can use the internal PM system instead?

Here's one more: just like we have a trash can on the Windows desktop, it would be useful to have something similar on the forums for the Admin to use. Sometimes moderators erase good threads and people get angry, the Admin can't see WHY the thread has been erased, and worst of all there's no way to bring that post back if need be.

Why can't we have a "trash can" that collects deleted threads, and that only the admin can see (+moderators if the Admin allows so). This has to be a piece of cake in terms of coding because in effect you would be creating an invisible forum and erasing threads would simply equal moving them there.

> Sometimes moderators erase good threads and people get angry, the Admin can't see
> WHY the thread has been erased, and worst of all there's no way to bring that post
>back if need be.

Take the delete permission away from mods.
Create a hidden forum where mods can move questionable threads.

[]Replies no longer have their own subject, so that problem has been solved. [/]

Can I ask why? Replies IN the subject is a major plus from the point of view of many of my threaded users -- if their reply is short and to the point, they can simply type it into the subject line and hit enter. Saves the poster's time because they don't have to bother to put anything in the message field, and saves the reader's (in threaded mode) time, because they don't even have to bother to open those posts where the entire post is contained in the subject.

Most of the board is closed to non-members, but you can see what I mean here:

http://www.sonny-and-carly.com/show...=39476&an=0&page=0#39476

When I, as a threaded user, see those (EOM)s I know I don't have to read that post. Saves me three pageloads and all the database queries that would go with that.

My users would miss their automatic EOMs terribly!

[]Well - though if you're restoring the database within threads - you wouldn't be able to be logged in, as the user's table would have to be dropped. So not sure how that would be possible. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> [/]

Of course, I have no idea why it should or shouldn't work, but I know you can install a clean phpbb board on a fresh database and then "Restore Database" from within the Admin CP. It does its thing, whatever that is, LOL, and when you move back to the index page, you have to log in with your info from the database you just restored. I assume it just writes over the tables in the (mostly) empty database? And since you're not actively using it, but just sitting there waiting for the restore to finish, that makes it okay?

You can tell I'm a real genius about this stuff. <img src="https://www.ubbcentral.com/boards/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

lilywhite, unfortunately we've changed the way that threaded mode replies are displayed in such a way that it makes nim/eom messages impractical. We did make this change knowing that this would inconvenience those users, however we believe the change will be for the better in terms of overall topic navigation.