[admin (no pm's please)]

This will be installed over the next week:

[Zudane]

Looks like there is something to handle the visual confirmation... just says another option though, I wonder what it is exactly.

[Caden Brewer]

Took them long enough ha.

[Nick(NR)]

[Caden Brewer]

Do you have a set day when you are going to install it?

[admin (no pm's please)]

You can't simply "install" 3.05, on a modded forums system the only responsible thing to do is to review the 200 odd new files one by one integrating those files with the ones current on myff. That takes the time it takes, it will be the No.1 priority pretty much, but it still takes as long as it takes.

[admin (no pm's please)]

Well I have got the system set up to start on the files.

CAPCHTA has 3 more options and that makes my heart sink.

Does this mean the new options will by default render CAPTCHA unborken again, or will people have to twiddle the settings?
Why settings anyway, why not randomise it?

CAPTCHA is NOT a part of the board cosmetics, it should be an always human readable anti-bot measure.

If I was phpbb3 I'd make captcha periodically check and update its own code. It is not rocket science

[admin (no pm's please)]

Looks like a small fix has been made to editing imagesets, more a cosmetic fix than a real fix. Could probably help resolve peoples confusions though.

[admin (no pm's please)]

About 20% there, need to make 33% by the end of the day with the idea of doing the database and testing Friday and install Sat. But it takes as long as it takes.

[admin (no pm's please)]

63 done 192 to go.

Way way off schedule due to the Zaphod server crash

There will be no attempt to rush though, we have waited months for this release to happen, if it has to be a 12 day wait for the installation that is not such a big deal.

I do see that they have fixed a bug about what profile fields show at registration. The profile field options though are still very muddled in my view.

[admin (no pm's please)]

120 done, 135 to go which is a bit more like progress

[Zina2008]

Don't forget to eat, will you?



You work too hard!

[admin (no pm's please)]

Hard to argue that point over the last few weeks, and there is still a long TODO list.

The good news about the job is that periodically it is possible to say let things "just run" for a week or so, and just do the critical stuff.

[admin (no pm's please)]

239 done, 16 to go.

A bit of a jump as the templates simply have not been changed by us and don't need the changes reviewing.

So I consider that back on schedule, the last files are some of the hardest, but all the same it is looking good.

[admin (no pm's please)]

305 code for viewing topics

[admin (no pm's please)]

okay that's the files done.

Saw more of the syndrome of the post above.

Bugs being fixed in the totally unnecessary feature of style inheritance. Another much pain little gain episode.

It is notable that some forum writers have gone totally back to basics and written forums that don't even have private messages, after all people have email so why have private messages? Actually there are very good reasons for pms and I would not want to go that far but I appreciate the anti-bloat sentiment.

[Roy]

I don't know if this isa good news or not, if its been installed then sorry to announce it but spam bots can still register on phpbb3 forums as i found out today, the most common spam bot is posting links to adult sites, i then started asking myself is it possible that the only spam bots that are registering on my forum are the same ones i keep deleting, perhaps banning there IP addresses and email addresses could cut them down to minimum amounts.

I did today notice a google spam bot had registered it was a google toolbar bot or a spam bot trying to use the google name as a coverup either way its history.

[admin (no pm's please)]

phpbb3 3.05 has new anti-spam features but will not be installed until Sunday.

But extra anti-spam on phpbb3 regardless of the new official measures will be yet another priority.

[Roy]

Well that explains why the spam bots continue to register, thanks Admin at least over the weekend we will see how well or how long these new anti spam features last. They better last long enough for updates to the features to be released further improving anti spam messures because its taken them a maximum of 3 months to fix this problem already.

[admin (no pm's please)]

As I say the experience of the last week has made me conclude we need to massively ramp up efforts, but that in itself means a considered approach, the new phpBB2 measures are very effective but will win no coding prizes.

I have already started work on something better, but it does need to be done right. I tell you one thing though, it won't be 3 months!

[Roy]

Well the group behind the security update for phpbb3 would have been working on the code together testing it to and all its features together, makes you wounder how long it took them to make the code and how long it took them to make the code work after all they could have been fixing each other errors.

At least you know what your doing and how you want it to work, maybe you sould so these cowboys how to actually make codes that do as they was intended perhaps we would see in the future phpbb4 becoming vastly better than all forum scripts. I doubt you would join the phpbb thourgh, so phpbb4 will be just as buggy as phpbb3 is right now.

[admin (no pm's please)]

Database updates are ready to go, but there are complications needing changes in the update process.

Things do seem to be working out though.

[admin (no pm's please)]

Well we can now create phpbb2 and phpbb3 forums again.

A fair bit of pain there, but a new method of being able to fairly painlessy create the appropriate database scheme for a new release has been done.

Timing is all now, when to do the database updates and when to do the code changes. I am thinking Saturday night for the database update with the code going in Sunday morning.

[admin (no pm's please)]

In testing people can register so the new CAPTCHA system works, basic posting works and so do the basic template editing functions like copying templates and using both uploaded and externally linked images.

The image thing bugs me a lot as phpbb3 contains no native capability to use images that are not uploaded simply to the template and hence the imageset editor and everywhere that deals with images has had to be hacked to deal with this not so esoteric capability.  

Since we lack an army of testers, we can now only do what we usually do which is to see if the database updates take tonight and release the code to match tomorrow.

[Zudane]

Speaking of the upload function...

I recently got admin privileges on another phpbb3 forum that is privately hosted.... I was surprised to see the differences.  The webpage option and upload features are so seamlessly added into the forums here that I thought they were actually part of phpbb3 in general, but learned that they are not.

Having seen both sides of phpbb3... I think I'll stay with MYFF for any forum needs I have.  My hat is off to you now that I see the amount of work you have gone through for us!

[admin (no pm's please)]

Code is in and databases in general updated, there was a glitch on updating some databases so I am not currently certain all databases are at 3.05