We’ve decided to remove the Mobile Theme for EE. By removing the theme we can concentrate on bringing a better mobile solution to EE instead of bug fixing a sub-par solution for the few people that use it currently.

Add-on Devs, please take note that we have tentatively slated ExpressionEngine 2.3’s release for end of August, early September. EE 2.3 is primarily a release to make EE compatible with Discussion Forums 4.0 currently in development. We don’t expect this to impact add-ons, but better safe than sorry. Plus, we’d like your feedback on the new forum features prior to public release.

If you already signed up for the 2.2 Add-on Developer Preview, you’re all set. We’ll make an announcement in the private Dev Preview forums when 2.3 is ready for you to look at.

If you are an add-on developer (public or private) and haven’t signed up yet, here is how to gain access.

1. Complete this NDA and make sure to name similar to firstnamelastname.fileextension
2. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with the subject “EE2.2 Dev Preview” from an email associated with an ExpressionEngine.com account that has support access and/or a Commercial license.
3. Include a link to your add-on site or otherwise provide proof to us that you are an add-on developer.

As always, we’re here to make your life on the web better!

New forum? Well that’s a good way to start my day!

Thanks Robin, keep it coming, and please consider a way of connecting what’s happening over on the ellislab.com blog and here. I can’t be the only person who missed a lot of interesting blog posts, and more importantly, activity and intent on EE development.

Hi Robin,

Nice to hear that forum now will get deserved attention from the dev team.

One question though. In this forum post you said:

We’ll be talking about hooks soon- they are a top priority for the next release.

I assumed that the “next release” will be EE2.3. Now it seems that the focus of 2.3 release will be the forum.

So, when dev team plan be addressing hooks? EE2 is very poor regarding hooks compared to EE1. Many hooks have gone which allowed to make EE1 more powerful and flexible.

danieljohnbarnes - 03 August 2011 11:33 AM

New forum? Well that’s a good way to start my day!

To clarify, it is the next version of the Discussion Forums with new features, not an overhaul or rewrite of the existing forums.

Thanks Robin, keep it coming, and please consider a way of connecting what’s happening over on the ellislab.com blog and here. I can’t be the only person who missed a lot of interesting blog posts, and more importantly, activity and intent on EE development.

Noted. We announce everything at @EllisLab but I’ll see if we can find a smarter way to connect the two here.

hot off the press: http://expressionengine.com/forums/viewthread/195788/

To clarify, it is the next version of the Discussion Forums with new features, not an overhaul or rewrite of the existing forums.

A big let down.

Farm it out to top end developers if you don’t have the resources to overhaul or rewrite of the existing forums.

leeaston - 03 August 2011 06:31 PM

To clarify, it is the next version of the Discussion Forums with new features, not an overhaul or rewrite of the existing forums.

A big let down.

Farm it out to top end developers if you don’t have the resources to overhaul or rewrite of the existing forums.

That is certainly something we’d consider. I’m sorry you’re let down about it not being a total overhaul.

That is certainly something we’d consider.

IMO and probably many others (chime in forum users), you should scrap the half way house called “Discussion Forums 4.0 currently in development” and commission a new forum module. You’ll save pointless development time/costs on your part and end up giving your customers what they have been waiting and asking for for years.

Please, do the right thing!

leeaston - 03 August 2011 06:49 PM

That is certainly something we’d consider.

IMO and probably many others (chime in forum users), you should scrap the half way house called “Discussion Forums 4.0 currently in development” and commission a new forum module. You’ll save pointless development time/costs on your part and end up giving your customers what they have been waiting and asking for for years.

Please, do the right thing!

This is not an either/or situation. Its possible to do what we need to do with DF 4 and properly do an overhaul as part of DF 4.x or DF 5. The main goal of DF 4 is to make the support experience on the EE forums much better, which takes priority over a complete overhaul. These are tools/features that we think will be valuable to others as well so we’re building them into the forum module.

Nobody at EllisLab disagrees that overhauling the forums would be a great project. But everybody agrees that upgrading the support experience comes first.

The main goal of DF 4 is to make the support experience on the EE forums much better

What do you mean?

leeaston - 03 August 2011 07:02 PM

The main goal of DF 4 is to make the support experience on the EE forums much better

What do you mean?

I mean that the new features in DF 4 are centered around improving the support experience and providing a tool set for others to do the same (like Devot:ee, 3rd party devs, others who run communities where people help each other out). For example, as a thread starter you’ll be able to mark a post as a “Solution” to the thread. You’ll also be able to do some basic Like/Dislike (+1/-1) for all posts. This can then be used to make the best content/data more easily findable.

For example, if there is a complex issue that is 5 pages deep, once the solution is marked, instead of wading through 5 pages its auto linked up front along with potentially the “most helpful” post. It could potentially be used to inform search results (show only helpful posts or threads with solutions, color code them, etc…). 

You’ll also be able to do things like create a “queue” of sorts that tells you if threads aren’t answered, time someone has been waiting, custom statuses, and other things that will make person-to-person help better (regardless if its Staff/mod to person or person to person). You’ll also be able to select which Forums are included and exclude ones that don’t provide the most critical data (exclude Lounge, include Installation help help for example).

There is a very good chance that we’ll launch DF 4 on our own site first as a way to refine the feature set based on actual prior to a public release.

And now I’ve said way more than I intended.

So while you are right that these aren’t forum features people have been asking for, these are features to improve support which we consider a higher priority.

I don’t mean to hype of this, especially since it is the forums. We know that people want an overhaul and that we’ll take a lot of hits for this not being one. On the other hand, its definitely not pointless development but things that will do the community a lot of good.

There is always this awkward gray area between saying too little and saying too much. We’ve erred both ways. This time I’ve probably said too much in hopes that I’ve conveyed we know people want an overhaul, we’re sorry this isn’t it, but we feel the value add will be significant over the long haul.

And now I’ve said way more than I intended.

Nothing wrong with that, you’ve only said what people want to know. Want to add any more…

leeaston - 03 August 2011 07:29 PM

And now I’ve said way more than I intended.

Nothing wrong with that, you’ve only said what people want to know. Want to add any more…

Yes, since we’re on the subject of “forum overhaul”, by that do you mean “I hate the way the templates work?” Or is it something else? 9 times out of 10, that’s what people mean, but since we’re on the subject I felt it important to ask. Fire away!

Yes, since we’re on the subject of “forum overhaul”, by that do you mean “I hate the way the templates work?

Yes.

Good information and communication at all levels, Leslie, appreciated.

This sounds like a very useful forum upgrade, which then clears the runway for fresh thoughts at next stage.

Or, a series of ‘fresh thought capsulized upgrades’ - maybe a more effective thought and action process than a killer one-time?

Regards,
Clive

narration - 03 August 2011 09:01 PM

Good information and communication at all levels, Leslie, appreciated.

This sounds like a very useful forum upgrade, which then clears the runway for fresh thoughts at next stage.

Or, a series of ‘fresh thought capsulized upgrades’ - maybe a more effective thought and action process than a killer one-time?

Regards,
Clive

Having learned some really hard lessons during EE 2’s development, the answer is yes. We prefer short (2-4 months vs. a year), shippable, meaningful upgrades over “rewrites” and “overhauls.” Even for something as big as a template parser, we think that is the better way to go.

I very much appreciate how honest and upfront you’ve been in this thread, Leslie.  Better that the community knows what’s under development, than for us to create unrealistic expectations for the next forums module.

Sounds great! Thank you, Leslie, for this Infos about DF4 (+5)! This really helps us to plan ahead. I’m looking forward to the DF4-Update.

Hi Leslie, will James be releasing a new forum theme to go with DF4? If so, please make it minimal.