1.8 MyBB is becoming too old respect the other

[Nathan Malcolm]

I have to disagree with you. 1.8 wasn't even meant to exist. Think about it this way, we could have gone ahead and made hundreds and hundreds of changes in 1.8, release it in 2 years time, and start developing 2.0 in 2016. You wouldn't have it until at least 2018 or later. The way we've planned it makes sure the 1.x series continues and users aren't left waiting on us for years, and it still gives us time to develop 2.0.

[brad-t]

Nobody would stick with the software if you followed such a development path. (Already, very few serious sites are using MyBB and the situation seems to be degrading over the past few years.) The current development pace is already very hard to tolerate. 1.8 wasn't supposed to exist, but it does because it has to. But it still is not enough. 1.8 is already out of date, feature wise, and it has not even launched yet.

It's a free product, so it's a bit hard to complain. But I don't use it because it's free. I use it because it filled the needs I had when I began. It's woefully out of date now and seems like it will be indefinitely, which is why I'm doing such a high level of customization and relying on devs like Zinga and Euan to fill in the holes of MyBB.

We already know 1.8 doesn't have native support for notifications, for threaded PMing, for social connections, and still follows the same rigid design structure ... the default theme has the same awkward login, registration, and posting flows, despite myself and others showing that there are ways to do otherwise within the current structure of MyBB. 1.8 is more of the same, and 2.0 – the version with actual improvements – will be out in like 3 years, and not be compatible with any work we've done on the 1.x series.

[Xanth]

I have to disagree with you. 1.8 wasn't even meant to exist. Think about it this way, we could have gone ahead and made hundreds and hundreds of changes in 1.8, release it in 2 years time, and start developing 2.0 in 2016. You wouldn't have it until at least 2018 or later. The way we've planned it makes sure the 1.x series continues and users aren't left waiting on us for years, and it still gives us time to develop 2.0.

I don't think the necessary changes needed in MyBB would take 2 years. I can't personally list "hundreds and hundreds of changes" needed like you're suggesting, and I really struggle believing the "Have a version now where nothing has really changed or have a better one in two years" ideology.

Once again I think brad has nailed it on the head. I think MyBB could learn a lot from its creative community to be honest, and sometimes I feel like the community isn't listened to enough.

[Nathan Malcolm]

Nobody would stick with the software if you followed such a development path. (Already, very few serious sites are using MyBB and the situation seems to be degrading over the past few years.) The current development pace is already very hard to tolerate. 1.8 wasn't supposed to exist, but it does because it has to. But it still is not enough. 1.8 is already out of date, feature wise, and it has not even launched yet.

It's a free product, so it's a bit hard to complain. But I don't use it because it's free. I use it because it filled the needs I had when I began. It's woefully out of date now and seems like it will be indefinitely, which is why I'm doing such a high level of customization and relying on devs like Zinga and Euan to fill in the holes of MyBB.

We already know 1.8 doesn't have native support for notifications, for threaded PMing, for social connections, and still follows the same rigid design structure ... the default theme has the same awkward login, registration, and posting flows, despite myself and others showing that there are ways to do otherwise within the current structure of MyBB. 1.8 is more of the same, and 2.0 – the version with actual improvements – will be out in like 3 years, and not be compatible with any work we've done on the 1.x series.

1.8 is a minor release. That's all it is. In fact, it's more than we originally planned. That's the reasons for the "delays". 1.8 isn't the place for anything major or anything which will break compatibility.

[brad-t]

It's like talking to a wall. It doesn't matter what it is – it matters what users need.

[Nathan Malcolm]

It's like talking to a wall. It doesn't matter what it is – it matters what users need.

Realistically what you're asking for is 2.0's features in 1.8 which just isn't possible. That's what I'm trying to get across to you. We're better off rewriting MyBB than trying to cram a bunch of features in to the current codebase, breaking mods and themes, and setting development back years.

1.8 is feature locked. It won't be anything more than a minor upgrade.

[StefanT]

We already know 1.8 doesn't have native support for notifications, for threaded PMing, for social connections, and still follows the same rigid design structure ... [...] 1.8 is more of the same, and 2.0 – the version with actual improvements – will be out in like 3 years, and not be compatible with any work we've done on the 1.x series.

I'm unsure what you are suggesting. New features and a complete new design structure but without breaking the compatibility? It's not possible...
Therefore MyBB 1.8 is a compromise, implementing some frequently suggested improvements while not breaking many existing plugins and themes.

[Diogo Parrinha]

I couldn't agree more with brad personally. You're expecting people to sit on the 1.8 stop-gap series for like 3 years or more. With the pace that forum software is evolving, I wouldn't be surprised if many lost patience and went on to progress their boards themselves instead of waiting (and by that I mean migrate). Imagine how different forum software could be in 2 years or so; being so far behind could be detrimental. I understand how annoying it is for you guys to read these complaints, I really do, but I really think the MyBB team approached this the wrong way completely.

We're not expecting people to stick with it for 3 years or more. We've worked on our free time to allow people to use it for whatever time they want. It's up to them to either switch or use continue using the product.

Nobody would stick with the software if you followed such a development path. (Already, very few serious sites are using MyBB and the situation seems to be degrading over the past few years.) The current development pace is already very hard to tolerate. 1.8 wasn't supposed to exist, but it does because it has to. But it still is not enough. 1.8 is already out of date, feature wise, and it has not even launched yet.

It's a free product, so it's a bit hard to complain. But I don't use it because it's free. I use it because it filled the needs I had when I began. It's woefully out of date now and seems like it will be indefinitely, which is why I'm doing such a high level of customization and relying on devs like Zinga and Euan to fill in the holes of MyBB.

We already know 1.8 doesn't have native support for notifications, for threaded PMing, for social connections, and still follows the same rigid design structure ... the default theme has the same awkward login, registration, and posting flows, despite myself and others showing that there are ways to do otherwise within the current structure of MyBB. 1.8 is more of the same, and 2.0 – the version with actual improvements – will be out in like 3 years, and not be compatible with any work we've done on the 1.x series.

Definitely it may be out of date already, compared to some other forums software. But as I said, we cannot do magic. We work on our free time, we're not paid, we don't do this for a living. If you're so worried about it, you should find a PHP book, take the time to learn how to code in PHP and join the development. If you're not willing to put time into learning it, why should we be willing to put our time into developing it?

A lot of users here are too egocentric to even think about why some things happen. You may say that you mention a lot the fact that we do this on our free time, but the truth is, you don't act like that.

Sooner or later, Tomm, me, Nathan or Stefan will most likely leave the team due to our personal life. That's what you have to worry about. Our patience doesn't last forever.

[Conor C.]

It's like talking to a wall. It doesn't matter what it is – it matters what users need.

If you feel strongly about this, then submit an application, hope you get accepted and then you can spend your free time developing the software with us.

Thats really all I can think of saying. We listen to our users with a great deal of interest, the majority of features come because our users request it.

[Tomm M]

The 1.x series is old, as you have described, however due to the nature of the software, its structure, upgrade capabilities and existing users there is no possible way of providing the level of service you are wanting without causing fatal disruption or compromise the performance and/or stability of the software. And you know it. So it pointless continuing with this discussion.

Aside from the usual we're-only-volunteers line, we do work as hard as possible (whenever that is) to deliver this product and the high level of expectation that comes with it. More information regarding 2.0 is coming extremely soon at our first MyBB Q&A sessions. You may, even, get a glimpse of what we've been working so hard to perfect.

With regards to 1.8, I'm actually seriously considering dropping the jQuery conversion for it and focusing on fixing the > 100 bugs that exist in 1.x. This would allow the team and I to concentrate more on 2.0 and get the first stage on GitHub.