We've just upgraded to beta 1 here. We're testing things out, making sure everything goes smooth and should have this packaged up and ready for customers to download as soon as we finish up the documentation.
Just a note, it isn't recommended that you run this as your production site just yet. The importers will be in the members area as well, however since it is the initial beta release we do expect there to be some problems or issues. So, it will be best to setup a test install so you can play around with it and report any issues that need to be addressed.
Stilgar Are you ready for v8? "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is occasionally a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation. That is the designed behavior." - CC
On another note we'll still be using these forums for all things related to version 7. Within the next couple weeks or so we'll probably update the actual ubbcentral site and import all of the old ubbcentral posts as well. The site just needs to be redone abit in order to do this.
So, I'll be throwing up a few more forums here for questions and such.
And this is why I should never mention a date until I know for sure I hate to disappoint those of you who have been checking back all day to see when this would be available for download.
We've been spending so much time on last minute feature changes, graphics and bug fixes that we totally forgot about the documentation. This really just isn't an upgrade rather almost an entire new program and we can't really throw it out to the public without having some type of documentation to go along with it.
We're starting on this immediately and as soon as I can I'll let you know when this will be available. In the meantime I'll be working on any possible bugs I can find in hopes of shortening the beta period.
Again, I am very sorry. I hate to be the bearer of bad news especially when even I am very excited for all of you to be able to start using version 7. Thanks for your patience.
[Edit]Had to repost this to clean up this topic, it was a bit confusing
We have a very large database - over 20,000 members - and we had huge problems when we converted from classic to threads. I will be quite happy to do a test run of the upgrade utility to find out what the problems are before I try to do it "for real". If that upgrade utility is available for the beta release, that'd be great.
There is a migration utility for both classic and threads which will allow a smooth migration over to the new version of threads; testing on the threads importer was primarily done through ThreadsDev.com's database and all went well.
Stilgar Are you ready for v8? "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is occasionally a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation. That is the designed behavior." - CC
You know, Rick, you could always let us muddle through things on our end until the admin guide is set to go ... we won't tell a soul!
I concur. Repeatedly stress in the download area that it's a beta and that documentation is incomplete. As long as there's an installation guide, the people smart enough to muddle through it themselves will install and play with it, while all the warnings should help to scare off those who have no business installing undocumented software.
---Jamin
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety."
I wish it was that easy It's always been policy to have the documentation done before anything goes out. In my eagerness to get this out to you guys I forgot about that little point. Since I was changing things around on a daily basis they couldn't even start the docs until I settled down. From what I'm told, things are getting pretty close to being done. No exact timeframe yet, but I'll keep everyone updated.
Just an update on this. The first revision of the admin guide is done. I've got a copy that I'm looking over now to see what changes need to be done. Because of the 4th of July coming up the final revisions probably won't be done until after that.
Again, I apologize for the delays. It's taken awhile since it's basically been a total rewrite of both the install and admin guides. In the future what we'll do is as new things are added or features are changed I'll change the documentation at the same time so we won't have this problem again.
On a brighter note, the delay in releasing this has allowed us to catch some fairly major bugs and should make for a much shorter beta period.
Updated this site with a variety of bug fixes. Also added in some new images for things like Edit, Reply, Quote, etc for each post. These might be a tad bit small, so we might size them up just a bit.
Another update here. Few more bug fixes and a couple image updates. We've just about got every bug fixed that's been reported, only a couple left to get fixed. Thanks to everyone that's tested and reported bugs so far.
Believe me, I've been putting the pressure on the documentation people to get that bit done As soon as I get the go-ahead I'll be packaging this up and throwing it into the download area without a moment to spare.
Bug reports have really slowed down, just working on a few minor things in that area and the images and styles. I know it's getting bad when I'm getting antsy and starting to think about 7.1 already.
I don't like not having a definite answer to give. But as I mentioned before, after this version I'll be taking over the documentation as well so I will know everything
I cant wait either, Rick youve done a cracking job, along with who else has helped.
I also i'm now in a frensy waiting. Its like waiting for your first driving licence. (Comming of Age)
After waiting so long, first impressions, you have pulled it off. Alot of members will be happy very happy. And i'm sure my members will give the THumbs up too.
Keep up the good work.
What is a developers thinking behind v 7.0 and v7.1 .. v7.2 You have a great core product, and i hope the updates and tweaks will come alot quicker than my experience with classic.
Nearly there fella well done
BOOM !! Version v7.6.1.1 People who inspire me IsaacME Gizmo
Believe me, I've been putting the pressure on the documentation people to get that bit done As soon as I get the go-ahead I'll be packaging this up and throwing it into the download area without a moment to spare.
Bug reports have really slowed down, just working on a few minor things in that area and the images and styles. I know it's getting bad when I'm getting antsy and starting to think about 7.1 already.
I don't like not having a definite answer to give. But as I mentioned before, after this version I'll be taking over the documentation as well so I will know everything
Rick - surely the person writing the docs must know - I can't see how it can take a month, to get basic docs - personally I desperately need to upgrade my forums from ubbt6x - I was trusting groupee that the beta would be out on June 15th - so with no new date, I have to look at my options. (I have to have the upgrade down within the next month - even if that is to a beta version and if that is not out my only option at the moment is VB (which trust me, I do not want - but have no other choice at the moment))
Not to sound like a broken record, but I understand everyone is a bit frustrated on this. This wasn't handled well at all. Documentation shouldn't take that long but unfortunately this isn't the only thing on their plate either.
The beta was ready to go as far as the coding pretty much when we had posted. The documenation totally slipped my mind. So, those writing the documentation had to play catchup, do a few installations, setup forums, etc to know how everything worked to start writing the docs.
I know it's hard to do, but trust me, this won't happen again. As we progress past version 7, we won't run into these delays. When I make a change to the program I'll be changing the docs at the same time. So when the code is ready the docs will be ready.
All of that said, I know that doesn't help those of you with deadlines. All I can do is apologize at this point as the docs for this version are out of my hands. As soon as I know a date or a general timeframe I'll let everyone know. I know they aren't that far off. Before the holiday I had the 1st draft that I read through to give my input on any changes that needed to be made, so they are close to being finished.
Cut Rick some slack guys. It is very obvious that he is doing the best he can.
No-one is denying that - clearly he has been let down by others. However we have had so many 'promises' over the last year or so - it is dissapointing when a firm date was set, Rick got the software ready for that date (AFAIK) and then could not release it.
Not sure why it has taken a month so far to write this. So my guess is, it is not a priority for the person(s) writing it.
I can relate to Ian's frustrations; I don't think he's putting the *blame* (if there is any blame to be assigned) on Rick. Ian's just voicing his frustration--and the *face* we all know is Rick's.
I find it perplexing, too, that it's taken almost a month for the documentation to come out. To me, once Rick had the software ready to go, it should've become priority #1 by those responsible.
I'm going to be going away for the weekend. It'd be a nice surprise to come back to the beta release.
The main problem was one of timing. The normal document editor was out on vacation at the same time I realized that we needed to get the documentation done, so it's been slower to get this done.
One thing to take heart in, is this time isn't going to waste. It doens't make this release come to you any sooner, but one of the things I still had to do for the final of 7.0 was rewrite the upgrade utility. You know...the one that upgrades your language files, checks to make sure all of the proper scripts are in place, updates the database, etc.
Originally I thought I'd be doing this while it was in public beta but I've been able to work on this now, so it should be ready much sooner than I had expected.
Once that is done, I'll actually be making a new development branch and starting to work on some of the things I have in mind for 7.1, yes I already have 7.1 pretty much planned out . So once we get past this initial hurdle things should progress at a good pace.
I appreciate the fact that everyone is waiting for this and has been waiting for quite some time. My main priority is to make sure that it's worth everyone's wait. 7.0 will be a big step in the right direction in getting us caught up to what's currently available in the forum market. 7.1 will add a few of the missing pieces and introduce a couple things that will hopefully raise the bar a bit
The main problem was one of timing. The normal document editor was out on vacation at the same time I realized that we needed to get the documentation done, so it's been slower to get this done.
Don't you just hate it when Murphy's Law takes over?!
Will start to downlaod PHPBB after the weekend, this is not the way to keep customers satisfied! I'me losing my faith and convidence for further development and releases of UBB.Threads....
While I'll admit I'm disappointed that we're still waiting for the Threads, I guess I still have enough faith in this company that they'll get it "right."
When I first started to surf the 'net, I really liked what I saw with Infopop's messageboard (can't call it Groupee, sorry! ). I knew that when I could *afford* my own site, it'd be the messageboard I'd invest in.
I've been with them for over 5 years now--with Classic--and now I'm anxiously waiting for Threads. Would I be happier if 7 would've come out a month ago? That's a no-brainer. Of course I would've been. But despite my disappointment in the delays, I'm not going to abandon ship.
I like the product and the geeks (I say that with the utmost respect) I've worked with in the past, and I look forward to 7 and the adventures I'll have with the gang in the future.
Marcel, I have no affiliation with Infopop, other than my UBB is the heart of my website.
Just a heads up, at my "regular job" we had to pull the plug on our PHBB just the other day. It got hacked and they were able to get at the database and do all kinds of things. Beware of the security risks with that product.
Rick, I've got mutliple browser tabs open (Yahoo toolbar). I know I had the forum open on two tabs. However, I'm not exactly sure what actions I did when I made that post. I was jumping back and forth between the two tabs if that helps. Very interesting.
No-one is denying that - clearly he has been let down by others. However we have had so many 'promises' over the last year or so - it is dissapointing when a firm date was set, Rick got the software ready for that date (AFAIK) and then could not release it.
Maybe if people don't keep ASKING Rick.... When ??....when ??....when ??.....then you won't be disappointed.
How's all this "hopie-changie" working out for you???
While I'll admit I'm disappointed that we're still waiting for the Threads, I guess I still have enough faith in this company that they'll get it "right."
The reason I'm awaiting the beta is because Rick is back and active. When he was MIA on the boards I had pretty much given up.
i'me not discussing the reliability of the software. Security holes are everywhere, even in UBB in the past. PHPBB is responding well to this kind of issues as Infopop has.
I'me running a very huge forum with over 6500 active members and 180 Gb of traffic on the forum-board each month.
Running UBB.classic for almost 5 years, and eager to switch to a database driven forum-board due to server-performance.
Need to switch very soon, did some tests with threads 6.5 and deciced to go for threads 7.x, but get lost some convidence in Infopop after all these promises.....:-(
Marcel, Trust me, those who couldn't wait jumped ship long ago. Sadly, Groupee will have to live with that fact as they struggle to regain their lost market share going forward. There are, however, still loyal admins out here committed to helping Groupee develop this product to its fullest potential. Telling us you're giving up and jumping to another product isn't going to get the documentation completed sooner, get Beta 1 released any quicker, or make the product any better. If you truely can't wait a few more days, then by all means jump ship. There'll be more cheese for the rest of us rats.
While I don't have as large a community as you apparently do, I too am eager to make the switch. Having run Classic for seven years now with thousands of members, one thing I value more than anything about it is the stability of the software. That's one area you can't fault UBB. If it wasn't stable, I would have jumped ship long ago while waiting for the Next Generation product, Gold license or not. So I'm willing to wait for (and help improve) a quality product. If all you're worried about is server performance at this point, I think waiting a few more days for the new product is well within reason. But that's your decision to make. Please kindly make it silently though. Many of us are tired of hearing 3 years of similar non-productive comments.
Respectfully, Z_P (off soap box and back to my sand box)
Stress the system until it breaks. Hey.. it works for Spacecraft.. why not here?
I'd insert a ratty noise here, but I don't really know what noise rats make... so I'll jsut say "meep"! lol...
I too would like to chime in about the negativity as of late; we're all adults here, we all know things can get stressful, but if you must leave, please go quietly, all you'll do by posting non-productive comments is make a fool of yourself... There are numerous people here who've been with Infopop since the beginning, and don't plan on changing a thing... With alternatives out there, we'd rather stick with something that we have input on, vs something that's neutorious for the classification of "bloatware"...
:hands paul a small blue plastic shovel and a red bucket with a white handle:
On the good side, bugs are continuing to be fixed - a good number of us installed it on our personal sites in the last few days and got whacked with bugs we hadn't seen before (most alpha/beta testing was done in pretty controlled environments). Rick fixed them quickly, public beta shouldn't last as long now and you guys missed the fun of having to wait and re-do your imports
And don't forget that there are those of us that are new to the geekdom of UBB. I have only been running my site for a year and a half and I just want something new and cooler than what I'm running now. (Classic 6.7) This version looks much nicer than many of the boards I see running out there. I for one appreciate these test forums and the fact that the developers are screwing with it and getting right by testing it first. Since I don't have much in the way of sponsorship I hope I can scrape up the cash to upgrade! How about a discount for upgraders?
Ford diesel master technician by day... Webmaster by night! FordDoctorsDTS.comrunning UBB Threads 7.5.4.2p2
yes - all classic and threads licenses were converted recently - renewing your members' area download privileges for one year is $99 - you'll have access to the latest classic code (6.7.3) and threads code (6.5.5) and the upcoming threads 7.
yeh, my .C Gold license was daiseyed over, which i was way happy about... Immagine how peeved i'd be if it weren't, especially when i got it just 2-3 years ago lol...
Psst, keep your eyes peeled later this afternoon or evening.
Sounds painful.
Stilgar Are you ready for v8? "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is occasionally a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation. That is the designed behavior." - CC
humm, i wonder what this beta is in the member area...
Wish I had access to the Member's area. *sniff*
Stilgar Are you ready for v8? "Yes, ladies and gentlemen, this is occasionally a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants operation. That is the designed behavior." - CC
I see that the manuals were last updated on the 20th and 22nd June - I take it (hope) these dates are wrong (otherwise we would have had the beta then.)
If these dates are inaccurate - could they be corrected, so that we can see during the beta phase if they get updated.
There isn't an import document (AFAIK) if you wish to upgrade a copy of your database - but you can download the threads_import.php from the members area.
I think the $99.00 price was a summer sale price from a couple years back. If you want to save some money over the long run, I'd upgrade to the lifetime license. I did that a year ago and I haven't regretted going for the gusto.
I hate to disappoint those of you who have been checking back all day to see when this would be available for download.
This version looks much nicer than many of the boards I see running out there. I for one appreciate these test forums and the fact that the developers are screwing with it and getting right by testing it first. Since I don't have much in the way of sponsorship I hope I can scrape up the cash to upgrade! How about a discount for upgraders? 
