Most discussion board software packages include a “private” message feature. One of the first things I did to phpBB2 was rip that feature right out. I had my reasons, and the resulting board has been active for more than seven years now so it has worked out okay. In fact it was earlier this year that I got my first question about why the feature was even missing.

At the same time there are valid reasons for folks to want to send a message to another board member without posting in public. Over at the phpBB2 Refugees site I got more immediate and vocal feedback. (Note: that link requires a login to the phpBB2 Refugees board.) As a result, the feature is in the process of being updated to include some new features. It has also been renamed from the “private” message system to the “personal” message system instead. Why is that? More…

Our web site for continued support of phpBB2 reached 100 registered and activated users a few days ago. We also have several thousand posts. Based on the statistics I collect we have also seen a few days with more than two thousand page views.

We’ve had some interesting discussions that are not strictly limited to phpBB2, so you might want to check us out.

Welcome back from the holidays, I hope everyone had a good year. I did, and am looking forward to the challenges that 2009 brings. One of those challenges is, of course, how to deal with the retirement of phpBB2.

As promised, the support forums at phpbb.com for version 2.x were closed this month. The formal announcement is here if you want to read the full text. The important part is (in my opinion) this paragraph:

The phpBB2 support forums have been locked and will remain available in this “archived” state for a number of months, purely for reference purposes. Most phpBB2 resources have been removed from the Support Section of the site and further pruning will take place within the next few weeks. phpBB2 Knowledge Base articles will be reposted in the archived forum.

There is no specified end date for the 2.x support forums given, but the implication is quite clear: at some point even the locked forums will be dropped or at least hidden from public view.

The 2.x MOD Writers and MOD Requests forums were locked several months ago. The MOD Development 2.x forum remains open for replies to existing topics, but no new topics can be started. On February 1st even that forum will be closed. So where does that leave me?

I am in the process of porting the phpBB Doctor MOD Catalog over to phpBB2 Refugees and will be moving all of my MOD development and support to that site, at least for public MODs. Private MODs for paying clients will continue to be hosted on the board on this site. I am going to update each of my MOD topics (both dev and released) at .com to link to the new topics once I get them set up so people will know where to find me.

The Styles and MODs forums are guaranteed to remain visible until May 1, 2009, as stated in this topic. After that point they may (their words, emphasis added by me) be removed from public view.

I found Episode #88 of phpBB Weekly in my iTunes library this morning, so I went over to their site and it has been released there as well. As always, Douglas and David provide enough distractions to avoid being boring and I felt like that the message I was most interested in getting out there was accomplished.

If you aren’t subscribing to the podcast via iTunes (or other similar option) then you can listen to the discussion on their site.

It was not the first time I have been on the podcast, but it is the first time that something I have done was the subject of the podcast. That was fun.

Today we officially launch the phpBB2 Refugees site. The past few months have been used to test and tweak the code as well as set up some of the documentation and lay the groundwork for future growth. As mentioned previously, I got to talk about this project on the phpBB Weekly podcast last Saturday.

The site will open with a focus on building the community and setting up for support. The next phase will include special handling of MODs and Styles, and we hope to have those ready to go early next year.

So come on over and check us out, see if you like what you see.

I’m going to be on the live phpBB Weekly podcast tomorrow, December 6th, to talk about the looming launch of the phpBB2 Refugees site. If you want to know more about the site, our plans for the future, or anything else related be sure to tune in. While I would not quite say I’m going “rogue” as the say on their site…

This post is intended to provide answers to some of the questions that I have already been asked related to the launch of the phpBB2 Refugees community. If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask them via the comment form and I will answer them. The answers to these questions are based on my own input only at this point. Some of the answers might change as the community evolves over the coming months.

More…

As many of you already know, phpBB2 support at phpbb.com is going to be frozen in a few months. By “frozen” I mean that the last phpBB2-related forums at phpbb.com will be closed as “read only” and only phpBB3 will be supported / MODded / styled / discussed there. I have gone on record more than once as stating that I understand why the phpBB Group has decided to do this. They want to move on to phpBB3 without the legacy phpBB2 holding them back. That makes sense to me, given their limited resources. I don’t have a problem with their decision at all.

In the last few months there really hasn’t been too much said about the decision. I expect that might change once things actually close.

Based on my own analysis, I have decided to stay on phpBB2 for at least another year or two. At this point I believe I will be waiting for 3.2 to be released before I reconsider migrating forward. As a result I will remain involved and interested in phpBB2 matters for a while. I have long suspected that I am not alone in this situation, and recent conversations have not done anything to change my opinion. For that reason (and more) I am proud to make the pre-launch announcement of a new site. I give you: phpBB2 Refugees

Now if you click that link today, as I post this, you won’t be able to get in. Not just yet. More…