Ok. Lots going on, most of it is done.
The reason of this post is to inform you that the MVS Volvo Forums software (you're looking at it) is updated to the latest version. It's software that runs on the MVS server, not your computer, so you don't have to do a thing. (You interact with the software via your browser, just like you're doing this second.)
Summary
I updated the software from version 3.0.x to 3.1.16. Sixteen is the latest, obviously. The software is phpBB, and MVS has been using it since 2002.
If you're wondering why this is a big deal... for instance you may have a Wordpress site and update that with one click, well, let's just say this forum software is not Wordpress.
And it's a class A large forum now. Not gigantic, but probably in the 90th percentile of forums in terms of # posts, # users, etc. And I've tweaked and modified many things in it since the last major upgrade in Fall 2008, which only makes updating harder.It's not as modern as many (most?) other public-facing content management systems, but it's durable and reliable. Kinda like most of our Volvos.
The core software I updated last Thursday, and I've been patching this and fixing that since then.
What's new
#1 to me is a tie between new mobile style and notifications...
Notifications
- notifications.png (10.32 KiB) Viewed 762 times
- replies to your topic
- replies to a topic you've posted in
- replies to a topic you're watching
- replies to forums you're watching
- and new private messages
- 3.1.16-mobile.png (39.49 KiB) Viewed 762 times
The mobile style has been built by the phpBB team to adhere to Web best practices, and I haven't changed any of that. That means font size, font style, legibility, etc. What you see conforms to worldwide usability conventions.
Additionally
Forum pages load faster. There's a "Topic Solved" checkbox next to topics that, you guessed it, have been solved. Menus and links are grouped and positioned better. Your account is now more secure.
For the whole list, see https://www.phpbb.com/about/launch/
What's missing?
I don't think anything, besides the latest posts scroller. I was going to put it back in, but between the new notifications feature and theMVS Home page (which lists the latest posts chronologically, like the scroller did), I realized it's less valuable than it used to be. And I haven't gotten any complaints since its removal, which is an indicator.
But please post to this topic or PM or email me if something is missing and you want it back.
Moving Forward
I've still got a few things to touch up. And in the future I'll be adding phpBB extensions to give us all additional utility from this forum. As I do, I'll let you know of them.
