Noob here. I just got the latest MyBB V 1.8.22 running on my server. I did my due diligence and spent a couple of hours searching for an answer to these questions :)
1. Is mobile support *definitely* in the upcoming version 1.9 ? The roadmap says it will be, "fully responsive and mobile ready" :)
2. If so, when is that version coming out?
Context: I personally use desktops mostly. But all my users are mobile kinda people. I got MyBB working, and was saddened to see that the layout on mobile is just the desktop stuff squished into the mobile screen :( Unfortunately, I just can't go with that.
I see that there are some themes that support mobile. But for various reasons, inc. security, I can only use official MyBB stuff.
Thank you to the MyBB guys who built this. Any help on the above?
Mike
Not a developer, just a seasoned member who makes plugins and spends a lot of time here. But I will say that 1.9 is going to be 100% mobile friendly. This is confirmed, and the conversion to a responsive theme is already done.
Unfortunately, there is no set date (or even really an estimate) for its release date. The best place to look for more details would be github, as all development pretty much happens publicly. It won't be happening in the super-near future, they usually announce a lot of details when the development version is closer to release.
That said, I would not skip on making your theme responsive. I made a custom one for my website some number of years back, and have had to manually make it responsive one page at a time. It's definitely a process, but there are a number of people who have released responsive designs for MyBB already.
If none of the existing themes look good, you can always modify them it a bit (or hire someone to make a few changes). You can pretty substantially alter the look of a website with just a few CSS and template changes, so it should be doable no matter what route you choose to take.
Thanks Darth Apple! That's exactly the sort of thing I wanted to know.
I don't have the bandwidth to modify a theme, unfortunately. So it looks like the only option for me is to choose an existing theme. If you can indulge me, two more questions...
1. Have there been any cases of malware in a theme...? I have to be a little paranoid, sorry.
2. When 1.9 emerges, would migrating to it from a theme be trouble-free? I'm guessing that it could be routine if theme-makers keep the basic items in the database in standard form. You might lose a few extras if the maker added more tables/columns or whatever, but I would not worry about that.
Mike
1. No, never any cases of malware in a theme. It's not like Wordpress where this is an issue. This is because MyBB themes do not rely on PHP in order to provide theme components. The templates and the CSS are the only things that are edited by themes, so they are pretty safe. (Plugins, on the other hand, are a different story. There are quite a lot of vulnerabilities in various plugins, but the ones that are well rated and popular are usually pretty safe. )
2. All themes will need to be completely redone, so it's doubtful that any existing theme will be able to migrate over. The good news is that the 1.9 design is much more modernized compared to the 1.8 theme, so we will likely be seeing a lot of very good designs very quickly.
The best thing that you can do for security is to make sure that you update MyBB immediately when new 1.8.x releases come out (a new one is usually released every few months). They are generally pretty good at patching these things before they become publicly announced. Also, avoid obscure plugins that are only available on github or on various non-official websites, as these have usually not been checked as thoroughly by the MyBB community. Stick with well-rated, reputable plugins from the official mod database and you should be good.
Quote:But for various reasons, inc. security, I can only use official MyBB stuff.
This should mean you will be pretty much ready to update your forum whenever it gets released. In that case, I see no reason to stop using the software when you can modify the templates that currently don't fit your requirements.
You could for instance just copy over the templates from one theme to your forum one by one, without actually needing to
install anything
non official.
I'm not saying a out of the box mobile solution isn't needed, but it shouldn't be something that stops you from creating content and interacting with your users.
Thanks Darth Apple, and Omar G. Very good info.
I was not clear in my question about migrating versions/themes, partly because I did not grok the structure of things well. Here is my remaining question if you can stand one more :) It might be useful to others.
I and my users only care about basic forum functionality, in addition to responsiveness (mobile). By basic functionality I mean standard users and threads stuff. Suppose I am using a user-created theme that has extra twizzlers (colors, suggestions, extra columns in the database table, extra tables, whatever) -- chosen simply for being mobile-friendly. Then when I migrate to 1.9, I am perfectly happy to lose all the twizzlers, and end up with just plain default stuff.
From what you guys said, it seems that if my theme does not use a plugin, then the db would be the same as for the default MyBB (no new tables, etc.). So I presume that migrating would just use the db contents and nothing else, just like migrating between two default MyBB versions. That would strip off all the twizzlers, which is fine by me.
I know you said, Omar, that I can do something related by moving templates over. But I have to keep it simple so that someone else can do it later with a couple of clicks...
Regards,
Mike
Themes do not create any database fields or require any plugins. You could migrate from 1.8 to 1.9 with the standard migration process regardless of which theme you are using. Of course, after the migration, you'll lose the theme you were using and be converted to the 1.9 default, but everything would convert without any issues whatsoever.
Wordpress, Drupal, and various other softwares are notorious for making a lot of deep-rooted changes that make such migrations difficult. MyBB themes never contain database modifications, PHP, or plugins, so you'll be safe no matter which one you use.
(2020-05-10, 11:25 PM)Darth Apple Wrote: [ -> ]MyBB themes never contain database modifications, PHP, or plugins, so you'll be safe no matter which one you use.
They may still contain malicious code executed in the browser (which e.g. triggers certain actions or exposes sensitive data), so it's best to use extensions made by developers known in the community (who can be also expected to maintain them and release compatibility & security fixes in the future).
(2020-05-10, 09:41 PM)Mike Nelson Wrote: [ -> ]I know you said, Omar, that I can do something related by moving templates over. But I have to keep it simple so that someone else can do it later with a couple of clicks...
I might understand what you are trying to achieve. If I understand correctly then there shouldn't be major issues with you installing a non official theme now.
Basically, you install a new theme now (which isn't fancy but simple mobile friendly, you can go for the popular ones to choose since most likely they are harmless), you can keep it saved in your forum (attached or something) and write instructions on how to install back if necessary.
Once the new release comes out you won't need to worry because whoever is in charge of updating your forum will no longer need to install any theme since the default theme will already be mobile friendly.
Now, I see an issue with this approach, as any template edited in the custom theme won't be automatically updated between versions (i.e: 1.8.22 -> 1.8.33) if there are updated templates. You will need to check each updated template (if any) and probably apply the changes manually in your modified templates (if any).
This last shouldn't be a major issue since the same applies to any template you edit within the default theme (and the system will probably be similar in future versions, or for 1.9 at least). The only difference would be the amount of edited templates (templates where you applied your twizzlers vs installed theme edited templates). If even so this is a burden for you then I can't think of any other way to help you.
I personally would go with installing a custom theme and document the update process.
Thanks guys, for taking the time to help me. I did try a user-made mobile-friendly theme, based on your advice. Might have to roll up my sleeves and hack a few templates. Sigh. That's life. But now I know what I'm doing.
Omar, in your quote of me, my name has changed to some other user. Perhaps some mischievous css a-la-Devilshakerz... ? :)