[Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)]

Avatars – They are in there by default, as Gravatars, they’re just turned off.

As for BBcode … Eh. Given that this is a spin off of WordPress and WP uses HTML and not BB code, I see why they chose not to.

[John James Jacoby]

Could not have said it any better… If Matt was paying my bills, I would be the first to step up and commit myself to making bbPress exactly what the audience of WordPress wants it to be and still make Matt happy…

Matt, are you listening?

[kevinjohngallagher]

” Integration only became a real “feature” of bbPress with 0.9 when it was brought front and centre during install and got it’s own admin options page.”

Yeah, but that was 8 months ago. It’s not like it’s a massive shock we’ve all just got over. 0.9 was stable 8 months ago.

“Unfortunately WordPress is a moving target and it is difficult to keep up with all it’s changes”

But in terms of a moving target mate, 1) its well documented 2) you work for the company 3) we dont need to keep up with ALL the changes, and 4) it’s been 8 months!

I know that may look like i’m labouring a point, but its more to clarify. If 0.9 nor 1.0alpha cannot integrate with wordpress 2.6 (which has had 3 betas and 4 point releases) in the last 7 months, is it even likely that we’ll get it in the next 7 months?

I, and everyone here, realises that wordpress is changeable, we accept that totally, but if what we’re saying is that BBpress will release 1 stable version ever 3 versions of wordpress (and it will only integrate with the first version) , then really, i think it’s time for me and the others to say goodbye.

“It’s a little unfair to say that bbPress isn’t usable. “

Yes, that’s true.

I think it’s best we say its… Not fit for purpose.

Let me show you how mate, with the blow coming from your own BBpress website:

“bbPress is focused on web standards, ease of use, ease of integration, and speed”

-https://bbpress.org/

See any of my posts last month bout how web standards are not being met.

And, ease of integration, really? I’m hoping that as funny as the irony/joke of the facebook page.

“our extensive plugin system”.

-https://bbpress.org/

Half of them dont work. Most of the Authors have long since left the sinking ship. 0.9 was a milestone, and you folks all did such a stellar job; but man has the side been let down, and infact gotten alot smaller. Where would we be without _CK_?

“is highly customizable.”

– https://bbpress.org/about/

This made me laugh too. Have you ever wondered why all BBpress forums look the same? No different icons, layout, DT/DDs, OL/LIs, etc. Every single one looks like the bog standard one, with the exception of the logo and border/background colours. This either means that everyone loves their website to be identical (hmmmm, no) or maybe hardcoding alot of things into a non template-able file is actually a stupid idea.

“Easy integration with your blog.

WordPress and bbPress are siblings, and they get along together “

– https://bbpress.org/about/features/

*cough*

“bbPress integration should work with most recent version of WordPress”

– https://bbpress.org/documentation/integration-with-wordpress/

Honestly, cant make this up.

And so the list goes on…

We like bbpress Sam, otherwise we wouldn’t be here. But currently, it’s not Fit for Purpose, and it doesn’t do what it claims to do. When you add into that the widening gap between WordPress and BBpress we as a community start to get a bit perturbed.

If you take away all those claims above, the claims that brought us to this site and to this software, then we’re left with a rather generic bit of forum software, that (plug-ins or no plug-ins) doesn’t have the same features or options as other software out there. If you’re a big multinational with millions of forum posts, then maybe that’s ideal, but maybe, just maybe, its not what everyone is after.

This is the crux of the issue. If you’re building something that is purely aimed at being the forum software for WordPress.com, then lets take down the bullshit on the website, and we’ll all skuttle off.

If we’re all helping Automattic in making BBpress an amazing alternative in to bloated forums, then you have to realise that living up to your bbpress’s own website’s statements of fact is simply the least we expect.

[kevinjohngallagher]

I actually had the same reaction the JJJ had, and i feel that Chris Hajer did a really nice job in summing it up. My initial thoughts were, so Sam is posted missing for 2 months and when he reappears he’s made a facebook page??? (it’s hard to think that automattic got $29million in January to pay for sucj development but i digress).

Sam, i think that maybe you cant see the wood for the trees here mate.

I know, you know, JJJ and CK knows that Matt wanted XML-RPC controls in BBpress. Which is ofc all and well as he pays the bills. But as i’ve said before, there is NOT ONE post about it (request, bug, questions, comment) on this forum or on _CK_’s showcase forum, because it’s frankly of little or not use to any of us. That is not to say developers cant see it’s value in the long run, it’s just that when you say that WordPress is a “moving target” we kind of think… Yeah, but you’ve had 8 months to hit that target and instead you’ve developed a feature that no-one wants or uses. Heck you folks at WP dont use it (it’s THAT bloody useful).

I, and everyone else, understand the way in which this software came about. We also understand that it’s officially ‘beta’ though lets be honest you guys call 0.9 stable. But that’s not to say that maybe, just maybe, if you want this software community to thrive then listening in some part to the concerns of the community who are doing our best to help is a step in the right direction.

“Integration of user tables and cookies is a priority on the other hand, as is creating a full XML-RPC interface for those who want to pull data into a WordPress install”

So what you’re saying is that you have two priorities. One which has a forum full of people pulling their heads out and screaming over. And one that no-one is needing straight away. Why, oh WHY, is the later being worked upon first?

Surely, and i’m worried this might cause personal offence where none is intended, ANY IDIOT can see that logging in and registration is, i dunno, VITAL to a forum?!?!?

So why is it not the TOP priority?

And if it is the top priority, and its so unbelievably complex that making BBpress integrate with WP 2.6 or 2.7 in the 248 days since the cookie processing change was announced, is it likely that we’re going to have it fixed any time soon?

[chrishajer]

I liked it with the circle, just not the small caps. It always looks better as bbPress whenever it’s written.

I checked the USPTO online and found the WordPress word mark but not one for bbPress. Maybe Automattic should register that.

[tomwi]

yep, very frustrating… i have the same issue whether i use 2.5 and alpha 1 rc2, 2.6 and alpha1 rc2, or 2.7 and alpha 1 rc2.

login to WP, go to BB and click on “Admin” does not go to Admin section – BROKEN

login WP, user stays logged in to WP and BB – WORKS

login to BB, user is not logged into WP – BROKEN

I’ve tried every integration post on wordpress.org and bbpress.org with no luck. anyone have ideas?

[_ck_]

Just download and start playing with it. Best way to learn about anything.

Structure is extremely similar to WordPress with improvements because bbPress doesn’t have to support the old legacy problems that WordPress has.

My first tip to anyone installing bbpress is

1. don’t call the folder bbPress, maybe call it forums (plural)

2. don’t install it directly under wordpress unless you really think that is more natural

suggested:

webroot

blog

forums

3. remember during integration you have to change your cookie path in wordpress and bbpress to the webroot, otherwise you’ll never get the cookies to integrate

Then follow the Integration 101 topic.

[Sam Bauers]

I’ve just added the ability to directly link to Trac tickets and changesets within your posts, for example…

Just typing #964 links to ticket 964 in Trac that follows the progress of the XML-RPC interface.

Typing [1832] links to changeset 1832 in Trac.

You can also link to BackPress tickets ( #BP7 and [BP170] ) and WordPress tickets ( #WP2012 and [WP10043] )

This is done using a new plugin http://bbpress.org/plugins/topic/trac-links-for-bbpress/

[John James Jacoby]

If you want to check out http://www.delsolownersclub.com, I am running wp2.7rc2 and bbpress1.0a2 right now. Logins are done through WordPress, and if I need to access the bbPress admin, I can login that way privately myself by typing the URL.

Registrations are also forced through WordPress, as I need to use the register plus plugin or the facebook connect plugin to control registrations. All registered users have author access to WordPress, which conventionally is a horrible idea, but for our intentions it works alright. Unfortunately WordPress doesn’t automatically give the new user access to the forums because it isn’t aware of the roles for it. I have to manually run the map tool in bbPress when a new user registers. Again, it’s a small private group of about 90 users or so, and we all know each other.

[John James Jacoby]

I am curious if wordpress.org uses a “deep” integration? I’ve compared the sources and it really appears that they have similar <head>’s.

Even if theme integration isn’t possible, I like where you’re going with getting the cookies and admin panels working cohesively. I would actually really like to make a plug-in for WordPress to integrate the bbPress admin panel into it. I feel like it wouldn’t be too difficult since most of the code already exists.

I suppose “unusable” is a harsh description, but considering the audience and what they’re chanting for, if it won’t handle sessions and can’t integrate the theme and functions, then what looks like your girlfriend actually ends up being your sister. If it wasn’t for the integration, we could use fluxbb or any other minimalistic semantically focused forum software.

Me wonders if it wouldn’t hurt to have two versions of bbPress. One stand-alone, and one WordPress plug-in. Hmms…

[John James Jacoby]

Sweet deal… Looks like things are well on their way now with the integration of the nonce in there now.

Does that mean both applications share the same nonce now? Before each would create their own even when integrated.

---

After further review, it looks like WP and BBP create different nonces, even if the keys are the same in the config. I suppose this makes sense considering what a nonce is, but darn would I like to be able to logout of WordPress when viewing the forum.

[gbrown88]

Hi,

I have worked with wordpress for awhile and am pretty advanced with it. I am creating a new website, and would like to add a forum to it. This will be my first time working with the bbPress forum. I have looked around this forum for most of the day, trying to figure out the best way to start. Since I have not done anything yet, and will be integrating the forum with wordpress from the beginning, I am looking for suggestions, with links if you would like, on the quickest way to do this. Some specific questions are how do the templates compare to those for wordpress, do I use one of two databases? Anything else would be helpful!

Thanks

[Sam Bauers]

Setting up the Facebook page took about 15 minutes. It was just a whim. Part irony…

@johnjamesjacoby

The “deep” integration you talk about and have had trouble with is a known problem. But it is not the focus of my development time at the moment. There is also a chance support for it will be dropped completely if there are too many blockers leading up to 1.0, I’m not a fan of the method which is basically only accidentally a possibility at the moment. I’ll look into it but I have to warn you, it will be last on my list leading up to 1.0

Integration of user tables and cookies is a priority on the other hand, as is creating a full XML-RPC interface for those who want to pull data into a WordPress install. I know of only one problem with cookie sharing which has no solution at the moment (admins who login via WordPress have no access to bb-admin), and I will be working on a solution for that soon (it requires a WordPress plugin to be authored, which opens up the possibility to make a few other steps during integration on the WordPress side easier).

Integration only became a real “feature” of bbPress with 0.9 when it was brought front and centre during install and got it’s own admin options page. Unfortunately WordPress is a moving target and it is difficult to keep up with all it’s changes (especially when internally at Automattic we still use 0.9). It’s a little unfair to say that bbPress isn’t usable. We use it for some very big forums ourselves, all of which have some level of integration going on.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong, your comments are welcome here and I’m glad you are a real fan and not just a Facebook fan.

[Sam Bauers]

I almost forgot…

If you have an urge to hard code the secret salts in there as well then you can go here:

https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/bbpress/salt/

The salts are usually generated for you and stored in the database. Few people have to add them manually to the file.

[Sam Bauers]

WordPress has had an online tool available for a while to generate random strings in a format suitable for the wp-config.php file. It is at:

http://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/

This has just been extended to return code appropriate for bbPress as well. Just go to:

http://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/bbpress/

Enjoy! Sam.

[John James Jacoby]

I think you summed it up awesomely. I know that I’ve only recently discovered bbPress, and that right now my contributions are minimal and certainly don’t justify the attitude that came out of my fingers. I do sincerely apologize for venting my frustrations, but Chris is totally right as far as login and theme integration go.

I graduated to WordPress from phpBB and the CHBB categories hierarchy spin-off of phpBB2.x. What I love about WP, I hate about phpBB, and what I love about phpBB, I hate about WordPress. What the phpBB team always did well, was catalog and document their code and coding guidelines, almost always and from the start. Even though different authors wrote different pages, the code always looked the same and worked the same, but WP and BBP aren’t like that. Finding and repairing WP/BBP issues is becoming increasingly difficult as there are functions hidden within functions that add one extra capability just to echo other functions.

If I could have a dream job right now, it would be to get paid to be the code janitor to the automatic teams code for the wp3.0 and bbpress 2.0 milestones. To refresh the codebase for the major revisions. Also coming from phpBB, I’m surprised to see WP uses so many echo statements all over the place. I feel the template engine that the phpBB Categories Hierarchy uses was just so amazing and worked so well that moving to WordPress felt like a step sidways.

Anyhow, I’ve taken this topic way off topic, and I don’t mean to vent my ill feelings in what should be a celebration topic. If you mods want to clean this up or split this apart I would totally understand.

Cheers!

[John James Jacoby]

I’m actually testing this as we speak. The plug-in itself is written rather poorly and is ultimately just a WordPress widget. I will report back once I have more experience with it.

[chrishajer]

I will chime in with my thoughts.

1. Most people who find bbPress do so because of its integration capabilities with WordPress. I would say that is the most common non-problem question on these forums. How do you integrate the logins so you can log in at either bbPress or WordPress and the login carries across to the other side. Integrated; seemless.

2. The other common thing people want to be able to do is make their bbPress install look like their WordPress install. Loading WordPress inside bbPress is not recommended, but it’s the easiest way to accomplish including the header, sidebar, footer, etc. But, that seems to break other things. Regardless, I would say that’s the second most requested feature, how do I get my bbPress installation to look like a WordPress page. I know it’s not a WordPress plugin, but, this is what people want.

So, 1) integrated logins and 2) making bbPress look like WordPress. If it can’t do those things easily, then it’s just forum software. Maybe it’s better in the things it does and doesn’t do, compared to other forum software, but we should stop saying you can integrate bbPress and WordPress because it just doesn’t happen easily. So, it’s forum software from the people who make WordPress.

Also, WordPress 2.5 is recommended by bbPress for integrated logins. 2.5 came out around April 2008 IIRC.

You know, I thought the same thing as johnjamesjacoby when I saw this post: how about fixing what’s broken and leave Facebook alone. Then I thought Facebook doesn’t take much time to set up and it might be a good diversion. So, it’s harmless in and of itself, but, really, I would prefer to fix these two issues and then see the volume of support requests here drop off a cliff.

Just my $.02.

[_ck_]

I just disagree with promoting a product before it’s even usable.

bbPress is very usable, just not finished. But it’s certainly *not* being promoted. All we have is this support forum. If it was being promoted, it would be listed on WordPress.org/WordPress.com and there would be hundreds of thousands of users. bbPress currently has less than 10,000 active installs. That should change by this time next year.

bbPress was originally written by Matt to simply give a support forum for WordPress (WordPress.org). Everything from there was just Matt releasing the source. There never was a general plan after that until Matt started talking about TalkPress which is still very far away by my best guess.

bbPress’s greatest strength is it can be integrated in many websites easily and made to look like them easily. But it’s still a growing child and very young. If you are looking for a polished product, you need something with over half a decade of development like phpBB, vBulletin or SMF. The downside to them is they are very rigid and hard to develop for. bbPress is incredibly easy to develop for, I only learned PHP a few years ago and look what I’ve managed to do. Just imagine what a person who knew what they were doing could do

[_ck_]

If you have your own server make sure you setup your mysql cache properly and even more importantly make sure you install some kind of PHP opcode cache (eaccelerator, xcache or APC). Even the fastest server will greatly benefit from an opcode cache.

[_ck_]

Yes that configuration is certainly possible.

The same logic applies, both cookies need to be using the webroot as the path.

[Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)]

You’d have to copy all your bb_ tables to a new database, so (this is theory) you could export them AND your wp_users table (obviously as a copy).

Make a new install of bbPress (rather than try to undo everything you did to integrate), then import the old data.

[mithrandir321]

Hello, I’ve started up with installing WordPress, then bbPress and integrated them. Since I’ve decided that I won’t be using a blog in near future I’d like bbPress to be running standalone (with its own user table) and independent of WordPress. How can this be done?

Many thanks.

[mithrandir321]

Hello, is it possible to run bbPress in webroot and WordPress in a subdir and have them integrated? (This option is not mentioned in the initial FAQ here in this topic)

[techypenguin]

hi u all. sorry for the late reply. i’ve got it sorted. it’s because of my server cache level is not enough for handling newer version of server software. I recently bought a hp proliant server and all the issues been sorted. thanks for the reply. i’m thinking to develop a plugin for bbpress now since i’m happy with my server..