Hope this time the spoiler tag [hide/see], not color one, is already integrated, so we have a nifty button for it ^^

Also, I have a question/request? how will ranks work as always by posts? will there be any configuration for it? or will we ahve to mod it, for exsample, if I want a combination of time registered and posts?

fxstein wrote:
...we will go into full testing with version 2.0
Given the nature of a full rewrite we have to test a LOT...
Will be there public/semipublic testing? Because at the moment, it seems that creating patches/specific features for 1.0.x isn't helpfull anymore and no snapshot of 2.0 is released. Releasing will help us create site specific features and/or patches which add additional value to the board.
Actually it's much easier for us, to do "only" testing with new version, than spend time for deploying site specific features and than test. It cost us much more time.

can you explain in more details what you mean by saying it won't be exactly native? why we will need to turn legacy on install?

What I mean is that we will not use native joomla 1.5 code API, but hopefully you will not need legacy mode ON, because FB 2 will have its own legacy codes, so one should not enable legacy for whole joomla because of fb.

that would be great

Looks awesome.
Look forward to its release!!

I loved fireboard. I love GNU and freeware in general and have nothing but the utmost respect for those that tole away quietly behind the scene making the internet a cooler place for all of us.

I have a question for the team but first a preface to explain where I'm coming from.

I just spent several hours going though upgrade threads. I followed the instructions and repeated the process several times and had to restore from backup each time to get the forum functional again. All this because no one apparently had the time to make a simple sticky explaining what was going on.

So you posted an update/bug fix that didn't work (which happens, no biggy) but then spent weeks insulting users who couldn't figure it out. Just kept hammering on the users insinuating they were inept. I couldn't believe the tone of many of the messages I just read in the upgrade forum. Beyond insulting.

Abandoned the upgrade thread with no explanation of even the simplest sort.

Left the upgrade out there with no note to warn of problems when it in fact sucked so bad it almost killed the entire project. Didn't even post a brief sticky warning folks and hence allowing untold numbers of people to suffer heedlessly.

Left the extension out there with no explanation for new users to stumble across and join the suffering.

Actions speak far larger then words. One person could have posted warnings and stickies in all of the appropriate places in what? an hour?... maybe two? The team surely could have found one hour in all of these months.

Now the team steps forward to announce that everything is ok cause they have a new product being released under the same name?

So my question is
Why would any of us not expect that next year there will be an upgrade and the demeaning attitude will start again?

For those that don't understand where I'm coming from go spend some time reading the historical posts in the upgrade forum before deciding you want to spend your time installing and config'ing this software for your users/clients.

yes thats true, I also hated the lack of communication, but you always can code it yourself or hire someone to do it, its GPL no one forbids you to do it So make better one

I read this entire thread and am hopeful but cautious. While I do understand and appreciate the work that goes into this project I still can't hide frustration with the way it is managed.

I took a chance on Fireboard because it did seem promising and because it would allow me to migrate from Joomlaboard with (I thought) less angst. If I knew then what I know now I would never have done so. I would have just migrated to SMF and taken my chances with the bridge.

While some may think we can't complain about the development and shortcomings an OS component (unless we contribute code or $$ to it ourselves) we still invest a lot of our own time and effort learning it, working with it and supporting it ourselves. It is easy to say the users have no cause to complain but I think some forget that without users there is no one to fully test the component in a real world environment and without users there is no point to development in the first place.

Awhile back I wrote a long diatribe in another thread about support and community. I was frustrated with the lack of response to queries by the developers of Fireboard and attempted offer some insight as to how communication with the users and keeping them informed would help get the community more involved. I have returned to find that there is less communication than before.

It seems like there is a we/them attitude between the developers and the members and that exactly what hurts any OS community. I've kept up with a lot of the posts here and I found that many members of the Fireboard forums support each other and the product as best they can. They help each other find fixes, patches and work arounds to code they didn't write and are struggling to understand themselves. That takes real dedication and loyalty. It also takes work. Collectively, the community is the support arm of the project. For this reason they are as much a part of the development as the developers are.

For this reason, in a sense, they do have a right to complain.

At the very least, they certainly have a right to be kept in the loop, and not in the dark.

I check BOJ regularly to get an update on the roadmap. I don't know why I do. It hasn't been updated in a very long time and essentially ends at 1.0.3. Sure, one could argue that the real meat and potatoes of the project is the SVN, but let's be honest here, most users are not up on that and they are going to rely primarily on the home page of the site and the product roadmap. Telling everyone about SVN is not the solution. Providing them with a basic timeline and regular updates on the project is the way to go.

Fireboard has basically crapped out activity on my site. It runs so slow now that members of my site rarely post anymore. I know this because it has been a constant complaint from the members and many have gone elsewhere to post. I don't have three months to wait. I need to find a solution before activity on my site dies out completely.

I've spent many hours here in search of solutions. I've tried just about every fix and work around available. Nothing works. My only options now are to spend more time and energy migrating to something else and hope I don't lose any data in the process or wait around for an upgrade that may or may not happen anytime soon, if at all before I lose my forums. I am very frustrated.

I come here in search of answers. Instead I find a site with more ads than answers and other members just as frustrated as me. If there was more communication between the developers and the users there would be a lot less frustration. Why? Because a strong bond of communication bonds the community. Users would feel like they were a real part of the project and would become more involved themselves, they would understand what the developers go through better and would be more patient with the development process (especially when there are delays) and they would be less prone to complaining because they would have a greater sense of what is happening and why. They would give the developers and Fireboard more loyalty, support and sympathy. There would likely be more donations. This should be a symbiotic relationship, not a we/they conflict.

Okay, it's an OS site, but can you blame some of us for our frustrations?

So, now I am contemplating three options. Migrate to SMF and try to bridge it to my site, (not appealing) take a chance on Agora (attractive but risky; If it becomes another Fireboard, there is nothing to convert from it so I would be screwed) or wait for Fireboard 2 (possibly a solution but also risky, as there is no roadmap, not timeline, no real information from developers except a few "it'll be great" posts and if I wait too long it could kill off my forums). In the meantime, I am losing the community on my site because Fireboard 1.0.4, as much as I liked it and for all its bells and whistles (some of which don't work very well), is too clunky for my members and sucks in performance. So, what to do?

Well, I guess I will wait a couple more weeks. Perhaps these developers will wake up and start treating us like partners in this project instead of whiny leeches. Start communicating with us. Fix the roadmap. Tell us what is going on, why and when. Help us help the project. Some of us thought you abandoned Fireboard. This is because you haven't been communicating on a somewhat regular basis. If you don't do it soon, you may find that some of us abandon you. You can't have a forum without users. You can't have a community without members. But if you don't do something about this problem, you will. Nobody wants that.

I'm sorry if this sounds tough, but someone needs to say it.

Open Source isn't all about code, it's also about community. To be truly successful, Fireboard needs both.

rsavoia

I am really sorry for your feelings, but as me being part of other pretty big extension, I would like to note that there are few things that you should consider:
- These developers spent time in development - THEIR FREE TIME
- Spending more time on communication would lead to you know what? More delays, so you should not wait for few months, but maybe a year.
- These people have families, and probably children. Except that they should work to earn money, they should pay attention to their families, to their friends and they still find time to contribute.
- They can not share what the plans are (i.e. features to come, release dates etc.), most probably because they are pretty much not sure what would happen. I have seen the opposite attitude, developers stating: "Next version will come out on 1 Sept" and do you know what happens if they fail? Or if they release something without all bugs being fixed? I will tell you what. End users like you start complaining about the extension having problems.

So, what is the solution? Either keep on OS projects and take the risks they have, or either purchase something/hire a developer to fix it.
That's it.

And you see, now I spent 15 minutes to write this post, rather than writing one page of the documentation I work on or fixing 2-3 bugs reported.

That's life