SMF 1.1 Release Candidate 2 is available!

[Dannii]

I think the devs know how to make releases, as shown that SMF 1.0 has only had 7 updates in a year and a half. If you'd have no problem running SMF 1.1 RC2 if it was repackaged as 1.1 Final, then what is the problem with running it now?

[dkounal]

I think the devs know how to make releases, as shown that SMF 1.0 has only had 7 updates in a year and a half. If you'd have no problem running SMF 1.1 RC2 if it was repackaged as 1.1 Final, then what is the problem with running it now?

UTF-8 ?
Is it correct that an SMF 1.1RC2 version with most UTF-8 bugs fixed is available in the CVS since February?

[JayBachatero]

It has been available for testing for a while now but not since February.  If it would've been out by February Final would've been out.

[roxpace]

Roxpace it has been explained to you why we don't give release dates.  The way I see it is if we say it will be released tom but it is released on friday you will whine about it.  If no date is set you will still whine.  Either way you will whine.

PS - not even team members know when the next release will be made.

Not correct, I feel it is not whining to point out problems in hope to get a better world and in this case a better product. All I has ever asked for is a timetable, delays are normal, but serious planning is always a good sign that this product will not stagnate and die out because the development is too slow. Site developers, designers and maintainers finds it very helping with a timetable so they know approximately when they shall start considering upgrade their website. And it is also very smooth for site owners to get the hand of a CVS to always be up to date with the "current development" version before the real is released, I know you have your RC's and they are good, but they are not often released and between that there is a lot of bugfixes and even adding of new features.

If you want to get more mod developers and more big sites to use your product you need also to give them back something, like a timetable and it is not important to follow it 100%, ****** happens to everyone

It could even be good that you atleast offers that to Charter Members, then it would be more offered to those who pay a subscription of a membership.

So trust me when I say, I will not whine if you do not follow the timetable if you would had one published. But that would give many of us a good hint about any kind of progress.

Sounds nice with no more RC other than RC3, but we as company are gettng tired to wait for the next release and maybe will only use SMF on our non-profit projects since we need a trustful time planning and you never give us any approx. estimated release dates for RC and final.

Please consider that in the future, well even on freebie projects a planning is often very welcome due to site growth.

May I enquire what is so tiring about the next release? Would you rather we released a buggy final product for use on your production site?

Yes I would, atleast that would give me a hint about whats coming and bugs are easy to fix for myself and I would happily contribute to give you my fixes in case you would need that. But my plans needs a perspective into the future to adjust the websites technology to fit with a coming product from you.

Anyway, thanks again for a good product !

[orange]

Precisely. I'm still running 1.0.3 because I keep thinking "there's no point upgrading to 1.0.7, because 1.1 will be out soon".

However, if you guys said "The likely release date for 1.1 Final is October", then that gives us some sort of stability to decide whether it's worth patching to 1.0.7 in the meantime (for example). We're not expecting you to stick rigidly to the date, but just to give people an idea of what to expect.

[JayBachatero]

I suggest that you upgrade to 1.0.7.  A fe security issues where fixed since the release of 1.0.3.

[Deaks]

roxpace = you have been asking for a release date for ages with a mixture of reasons why, most people have accepted the fact that it will be released when it is, RC2 may have small bugs but its pretty stable (ive not had any problems with it) do you ever get feeling maybe its time you accept that this

[roxpace]

roxpace = you have been asking for a release date for ages with a mixture of reasons why, most people have accepted the fact that it will be released when it is, RC2 may have small bugs but its pretty stable (ive not had any problems with it) do you ever get feeling maybe its time you accept that this

No, do NOT lie, I have always had the same and single main reason, that it is important for the decision process in a serious business. And maybe you didnt see the other guy who want the same in the same thread ?  And most prefare to be silent and let you do what you want, I do not, I prefare to express my oppinion in this matter.

Have you any statistics about what people think in this issue ?  Then show us please, if it is one man or a few man decision from SMF I can understand and always accept that, that is their product and they do whatever they wish but they lose a lot of potential users and developers meanwhile not giving anything to the world. My wishes is that they shall not lose any potential users and developers in favour for phpbb (many more) and most the commercial very well equiped apps.

[Skipdawg]

It is kind of refreshing to have a development team that is straight up with you. The next release will be ready when you see it basically. Nice! 

It gets old with some of the scripts and software out there that gives you a date of when the next version will be ready and the date comes and it is either not released or they release something that was not really ready at all. 

I've been playing this message board game for years. And the bbs stuff back in 92-94 even. So yea it is refreshing to have a script development team that waits till the thing is ready to the best of their knowledge and you get that surprise one morning when you come to visit and a new version is up and available.

So cheers to the SMF team. 

[orange]

That really depends on what you're using it for. If you're a casual user who just has a forum on their website, then the "when it's done" release date is fine. But if you're using SMF in a business context, you need time to plan when you can fit the upgrade and testing of it into an already-packed schedule. This is why big software companies like Microsoft always release a roadmap of when you can expect the next version to be released.

Like I say, nobody is demanding an exact release date, it'd just be nice to have a general idea of when it's likely to be.

[Deaks]

but at end of the day everyone who works at SMF are volunteers and there own life is more important where as microsoft they get paid, now comparing MS and SMF the incentives to work are money for MS and pleasure for SMF.  If you put a time frame on SMF then you are putting pressure on them and too much pressure and real life you will see many staff leaving SMF, yes I agree its nice to know but what you need top understand is that they have told you that you wont get release date.

roxpace if you are so keen on getting RC3 then donate some money become a charter member they get it month or two before the regular members giving you a few weeks to check it out before you can release to your clients.

[roxpace]

but at end of the day everyone who works at SMF are volunteers and there own life is more important where as microsoft they get paid, now comparing MS and SMF the incentives to work are money for MS and pleasure for SMF.  If you put a time frame on SMF then you are putting pressure on them and too much pressure and real life you will see many staff leaving SMF, yes I agree its nice to know but what you need top understand is that they have told you that you wont get release date.

roxpace if you are so keen on getting RC3 then donate some money become a charter member they get it month or two before the regular members giving you a few weeks to check it out before you can release to your clients.

I do understand your point and agree also but if this script package was release as a true opensource with CVS so anyone could contribute in the progress if a new release it would of course also release a lot of the pressure from the core staff. A new problem would arise, someone have to verify each contributed script that is comining in but I doubt that is much of work, even the entire SMF is a small code package (but still good quality of course).

And with a CVS there should always be a "plan", just compare to all other opensource projects on the net which is popular, they often have a timetable.

orange: Very well expressed

[JayBachatero]

Orange you picked the wrong Company to talk about Road Map.  When was Vista "supposed" to be out?...

If we would've given you a timeline we would be way behind then.  Like Grudge stated before.  He thought 1.1 Final would be out by April and look.  That's why we don't have a time line.

Like we said before.  Not even Team Members know exactly when it will be released.  He get an idea a week before when we prepare the Announcement topic.  Then we are just like you guys.  We wake up to see a mess of people downloadingg x cause it was released.  The same happened with RC2.

A new problem would arise, someone have to verify each contributed script

Rox you hit the nail right on the head.  That is something that we don't want.  Supporting different versions becomes a hastle.

[orange]

but at end of the day everyone who works at SMF are volunteers and there own life is more important where as microsoft they get paid, now comparing MS and SMF the incentives to work are money for MS and pleasure for SMF.  If you put a time frame on SMF then you are putting pressure on them and too much pressure and real life you will see many staff leaving SMF, yes I agree its nice to know but what you need top understand is that they have told you that you wont get release date.

Oh don't get me wrong, I really appreciate all the work that the SMF team put in to give us this great piece of software for free. And to be honest, most business users will tend to choose pay-for software anyway, so that they get a gauranteed support contract and everything that goes with it -- so the business use argument doesn't really apply to SMF.

[Gobo]

release dates are god to kno but extremely dissaponting too if not met

plus why be counting the days thinking about whats to come - like someone one pointed out "why upgrade when the next one is coming out soon" so a lot of people will think "oh the next one will be out soon so why even bother with this one" and in turn thus defeating the purpose of a RC which currently a lot of poeple install and test and as a result more bugs come forth which can be fixed

so its best in my opinion to chill and not have a release date because when it does come it comes as a pleasant surprise

[ComputerBob]

How long has it been since RC2 was released? It seems like it's been about a year to me. I check back here every couple of months, to see if 1.1 Final is out yet, but all I ever see is "it'll be out soon." That's why I'm still using phpBB -- I don't want to go through the hassle of switching to SMF until I know for sure that it's not "abandonware." I don't know anything about the internal politics of this project, but as an outsider, it appeared to me that SMF's development ground almost to a halt after one of these forums' main support people (Grudge? Unknown? I don't remember who) left the project about a year ago, and hardly anything has changed since then. Is that true?

Don't get me wrong -- I very much appreciate all the work that volunteers do on projects like this one. All I'm saying is that "it'll be released when it's ready" makes sense for a couple of months, but IMHO that phrase starts sounding very defensive and un-friendly if you say it for months and then those months start turning into years.

[Owdy]

How long has it been since RC2 was released? It seems like it's been about a year to me.

29.12.05

[klumy]

@ComputerBob
How long have you been waiting for phpBB 2.2?
Think the phpBB development must be much longer

[ComputerBob]

@ComputerBob
How long have you been waiting for phpBB 2.2?
Think the phpBB development must be much longer

Exactly. Like many others, I gave up on waiting for phpBB 2.2 a long, long, long time ago. That's why I looked around for an alternative and found SMF. But it seems like SMF 1.1 has already been in RC (either RC1 or RC2) for a long, long, long time without any "light at the end of the tunnel."

[Gobo]

well ive been using smf for only 7 months now and things change realy fast

the community is fun and friendly

u learn so much here and plus there are new mods and addons comingout all the time

so the community is far from dead...its really alive and bustling with activity