[ColinBradbury]

Hi I have customised the default theme as to make it match the rest of my site but I am having a major problem getting this page to look right http://www.supporttheanimals.co.uk/bbpress/topic.php?id=3 as you can see all the posts are towards the bottom of the page, could anyone tell me which section of the CSS of files I need to edit to fix this.

Also as a not so important but just an annoyance thing, if you navigate to another part of my site you will notice that the BBPress theme doesn’t quite match the rest of my site, mainly I think due to an error on my part with setting up the margins and padding but I can’t for the life of me find that solution either so if anyone can spend a moment or two to maybe let me know what I have done there too please?

If you need any of my code please don’t hesitate to ask you can contact me here or via email colin @ supporttheanimals.co.uk (without the spaces).

Kind Regards

Colin

Founder of Support The Animals

http://www.supporttheanimals.co.uk

[John James Jacoby]

Yeah… We both basically missed each other when we started both of those. That was just a miscommunication and probably a blunder on my part. I’m not sure who did what first, but we’re going to merge those two and close one of them down soon.

The way it sits today, is that ‘bbdevel’ is and has been the existing standalone development blog, and I opened ‘bbpdevel’ back in January when I originally started writing plugin bbPress code, not knowing if there was an existing dev blog, because there weren’t really existing devs . I got busy with work, and it sat for a while, and now it’s back in full swing.

If you need a way to remember it, think ‘bbp’ means bbPress plugin maybe? It wasn’t originally intended to be like that, but might help. I basically mirrored wpdevel(WordPress) and bpdevel(BuddyPress)

[citizenkeith]

Which Dev Update site should we be looking at now?

http://bbdevel.wordpress.com/

http://bbpdevel.wordpress.com/

This is just the beginning of the confusion, I’m sure. Thanks for keeping us posted. We’ve been in the dark for a while, and it’s nice to hear from the plugin developers, even though some of us still use bbpress 0.9.

[John James Jacoby]

Can’t speak on anyone’s behalf, but I imagine he does. Those sites can continue to run bbPress all the same, and if a bug fix or security issues pops up with 1.0/1.1 branches, the responsible thing to do is to fix it and push out updates.

I think what I might be confused about, is if bbPress as it is today is close to exactly what it should be, what would you want it to do 2 years from now that wouldn’t add more bloat or slow it down?

If today, it’s good; then let’s fix up what we have to put out a solid 1.1 stand-alone, and when shift gears to focus on 1.2 as the plugin milestone.

If someone crops up in 1.1 while we’re working on 1.2, then we put out a 1.1.1, etc…

Nothing is being dropped, or abandoned, or tossed aside anytime soon. The plugin is just a new branch of code with the same heart and soul, that will be able to import existing installations into WordPress.

[cnc]

it also works for me, but if I want to create multiple pages then?

Can I just add one page in root and include all template pages in this file?

like in root file i want something like this

http://pastebin.com/33EfWn4p

or I’ll stick to create multiple pages in root for making multiple template pages?

anyone interested to help?

[kevinjohngallagher]

The answer is both simple and not so simple.

You’re basically taking advantage of how modern browsers will give you wiggle room on your code. For example you’ve set your header to height 200px, and thus the background will only ever be 200px, even though your header is about 350px long (the content doesn’t start for 205px).

What I suggest is this:

– Remove the hight property from your header.

– Add a padding to your header of 205px to put all header content starting below your image.

– add a clearing div after every section of Floats. (above the closing tag of the header div for example).

One of the things IE6-8 does really well, is that it wraps everything in the code you put it in, which was in the original specification for HTML and CSS (IE was the first browser to support CSS, some 2 years before any other after all).

“modern” browsers won’t consider anything with a float to belong to the parent, so as your form and link are floated although in the header, they won’t ever be wrapped by it.

This is a good example, and I cant wait for some folks to read this, where testing in IE6 is brilliant. It would have caught these v early – as its unforgiving.

EDIT: Actually Pastor Bob, why not copy over the header of your WordPress site. It’s very nicely made.

Kev

[zaerl]

You want to directly embed my code in your bbPress? I don’t think that it’s a wise choice. Anyway my plugin is GPL so you can do whatever you want with the code. Grab it and copy the code where you want.

Keep in mind that my plugin can’t be used to hide the entire forum (it’s a design choice). I think that swirl is the best choice.

[pedagog]

Hello zaerl

Thank you for responding. At the moment I am unable to test your plugin. However, I think I may be able to test it in a few days.

Could you provide me with code so I could code it directly without using a plugin? I would prefer to use coding myself if possible to give me a better understanding of what I am doing.

Many thanks

[mr_pelle]

http://pastebin.com/2yLbmmEG

Add that to your functions.php. If you do not have one, create it in your active template directory and just wrap the code above into a pair of PHP tags.

[kevinjohngallagher]

Hi Pastor Bob,

I’ve had a quick look at your forum and it appears to be working.

What I’d suggest is making it even simpler.

<div id="returntomain-site">

<a href="wordpress-link"> My WordPress Form </a>

</div>

From there you can build up

As a tip, add this line of code after your 4 divs inside your footer div.

<div style="float:none; clear:both;"></div>

[pastorbobsforum]

Hello.

Thank you for the fast intervention. I should have thought twice before asking my uneducated questions.

After a few modifications in my header, I cannot access my forum at all.

This is what I have in my style.css

#returntomain-site {

font-family: Georgia;

font-style: bold;

float: left;

position: right;

font-weight: bold;

width: auto;

font-size: 16px;

padding: 205px 0px 0px 0px;

margin: 5px auto 10px 20px;

}

#returntomain-site a {

color: #000;

font-weight: bold;

text-decoration: none;

}

#returntomain-site a:hover { color: #666; text-decoration: underline;}

This is what I use in header.php, to get my link underneath the header, on the right side, opposite to the login.

<div id="header" role="banner">

<?php if ( !in_array( bb_get_location(), array( 'login-page', 'register-page' ) ) ) login_form(); ?>

<div id="returntomain-site"><a>" title="<?php esc_attr_e('Return to main website's home page', ''); ?>" rel="site"> <?php printf( __('%s', ''), 'Go back to The Christian Study' ); ?></a>

</div><

</div>

Now, what I don’t get is why when I simply comment these sections in header and style, the forum is still down, but when I remove them completely, the forum comes up again. In both situations (commented bits vs.removed), I can perfectly well login into my account. There is definitely something wrong with my theme. If only I knew what…

My forum is here http://www.pastorbob.limewebs.com

Any advice?

Thank you.

Bob

[kevinjohngallagher]

You can edit your Template/Theme and add a link manually

[kevinjohngallagher]

bbPress 1.0.3, and bbPress 1.1, are still being actively developed. Once those versions are available, what /more/ would you want bbPress to do on its own?

Honestly mate? Bug fixes.

Some big bugs that we’ve had for over a year have been bumped because Matt told us we weren’t to have a bug fix release, and instead were to roll out a release with 2 new features instead.

8 weeks ago Matt started deleting milestones from Trac. Didn’t tell anyone. Took him 3 weeks to reply to emails wondering why.

bbpress1.0.3 was ready over 3 months ago (save for a Backpress bug we could live with/patch ourselves). Matt decreed we’ve not to package it and give it to folks as an alpha or even an actual release. We have to wait for 1.1 and the next version of BackPress to be ready. In order to speed that up, we’ve had to bump loads to 1.5, which now isn’t going to happen.

This is the end of the line for the current implementation of bbPress.

Yes. Just like 2.9.2 was the end of the road for the 2.9 branch of WordPress when 3.0 came along. I understand the obvious differences, but at the end of the day, it’s just another day.

Two differences here though bro.

1) No-one has actually said that yet.

2) The new bbPress plugin is a totally separate project, being run under the same banner. Other than being able to import the data from the existing project, its totally different. It doesn’t even have the same requirements. Or any of the same code.

This isn’t resistance to change, nothing is being changed, it’s being replaced. And someone needs to be very clear and categorical about that. This is very very different from going from WP2.9.2 to WP3.

This is effectively a hostile takeover. The people with the keys to this website are handing the reins over to new management; while everyone is speaking in positive PR/Management speak. I’m not saying that the hostile takeover won’t be benefitial in the long run or benefitial to more people than currently use this product – i’m just syaing that hostile takeovers breed questions and uncertainty. Some of that uncertainty needs to be managed.

I know that you’re a real positive guy JJJ, and I’ve said before it’s infectious because you deliver, and deliver with a smile. I can think of no-one better to deal with this.

But the horse has bolted, the cat’s out the bag, the jig is up; and it’s a shame your left here answering questions, but in honesty – to some of us this is our livelyhood and we really need definative answers that are crystal clear so we can quote them as needed and make business decisions that affect our lives.

I am sorry tht you couldn’t have done this in your own time and in your own way. Your handling and galvanising of the BuddyPress community has been great, as I’m sure it will be here as well, we just need to get over this hump so that we can work with you

[Ivaylo Draganov]

Some time ago I came across markItUp! – a markup editor written as a jQuery plugin. It can be attached to any textarea, providing editing interface to it. The best thing is that it that interface can be totaly customized and there are many sets that are ready to be downloaded, among which is a bbCode set.

I’ve been using _ck_’s bbCode toolbar plugin but it lacked buttons for adding colors and changing font-size, so I decided to swap it for markItUp. It turned up quite nicely and the code is dead simple. Here it goes:

First, download markiItUp, along with the necessery bbCode set

http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/downloads/download.php?id=releases/latest

http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/downloads/download.php?id=markupsets/bbcode

http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/downloads/download.php?id=addons/bbcode/colors

* the color set is seperate by default, so you’d have to merge it to the bbCode set later

Upload the downloaded files to a directory on your server (my choice was my-plugins/scripts) and include them in your template. You can do that using bb_head in functions.php of the theme (bbPress 1.x) or as a mini plugin (bbPress 0.9.x)

/*

Plugin Name: markItUp! for post form

*/

function mark_it_up_init() {

echo '

<!-- markItUp! scripts -->

<script type="text/javascript" src="' . bb_get_option('uri') . 'my-plugins/scripts/markitup/jquery.markitup.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" src="' . bb_get_option('uri') . 'my-plugins/scripts/markitup/sets/bbcode/set.js"></script>

<script type="text/javascript" >

jQuery(document).ready(function() {

jQuery("#post_content").markItUp(mySettings);

});

</script>

<!-- markItUp! stylesheets -->

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="' . bb_get_option('uri') . 'my-plugins/scripts/markitup/skins/simple/style.css" />

<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="' . bb_get_option('uri') . 'my-plugins/scripts/markitup/sets/bbcode/style.css" />';

}



add_action('bb_head','mark_it_up_init');

* Or you could just add that code to your header.php (without the PHP function wrap-up).

And last but most important – include jQuery before markItUp! in your template. That is best done using <?php bb_enqueue_script('jquery'); ?>

You can see it in action on the forum that I manage:

http://comicsbistro.net/forum/?new=1

Hope that this will be useful to someone Cheers!

[mr_pelle]

To turn the whole forum private: https://bbpress.org/plugins/topic/swirl-unknowns/

To hide single forums: https://bbpress.org/plugins/topic/zaerl-visibility/

P.S: why on earth do you want your site to be invisible to websearches? Are you planning something evil??

[John James Jacoby]

Probably.

I just feel sorry for all the plugins developers…

No. Not probably, and not at all.

So far everyone’s managed to keep this pretty light and well mannered, and the easiest way to keep that pace is to not fuel any fires.

And what about non WordPress users?

Non WordPress uses can’t use VaultPress, or BuddyPress. As the plugin is being developed, if you have suggestions on how it might still be able to sit on top of BackPress, I’m open to building that into it also provided it doesn’t overly sacrifice performance in other areas.

There’s a lot of goals we hope to hit by doing this, one of which is allowing bbPress to be pocket sized and extensible from within WordPress, so that it can do other unique things that existing plugins have needed to jump through hurdles to achieve. Dedicated user forums, user groups, post/topic syncing, better BuddyPress integration, attachments, revision history, proper moderation, etc… If you don’t need those things, you can turn them off in WordPress all the same.

I know that my vote isn’t the popular one amongst the dedicated bbPress lovers, and there are lots of logistics to make this a smooth transition. With this initiative we have more people dedicated towards making this smooth and successful than bbPress has ever had in it’s 6 year history. That along with complete support from the original plugin author means it’s the next evolutionary step in bbPress’s journey.

I’ve been involved in too many hobbies to not know what it feels like when the version of something you love is discontinued, and something else replaces it that just ain’t the same. Cars, turntables, computers, cell phones, crock pots… You name it, I’ve dealt with the expiration of one thing, and moved on to the next.

The major difference with us and bbPress, is you all can help make the plugin do what you need it to by contributing code with patches. I couldn’t force Honda to bring back the del Sol CR-X if I tried.

[John James Jacoby]

They will if they came here for a stand alone software (or if they don’t use the latest version of WordPress).

If they’ve never used bbPress before, then they will come here not knowing it was ever standalone, and won’t have any issues installing a plugin, and turning it on.

This is the end of the line for the current implementation of bbPress.

Yes. Just like 2.9.2 was the end of the road for the 2.9 branch of WordPress when 3.0 came along. I understand the obvious differences, but at the end of the day, it’s just another day.

This entire support forum and plugin section for bbPress will have ZERO meaning for the plugin and will only serve to confuse people.

All the years of advice here for the two major versions of the standalone version will be useless for the plugin version.

It will have meaning for supporting legacy code, which happens all the time when something gets refactored in WordPress. Get it working in it’s current incarnation, then ensure backwards compatibility with existing installations that are already integrated with WordPress.

bbPress 1.0.3, and bbPress 1.1, are still being actively developed. Once those versions are available, what /more/ would you want bbPress to do on its own?

The *plan* is for everything to stay how it is, with no loss of data on bbPress.org, or anywhere else.

The bbPress extend section doesn’t include half of the things the WordPress.org section does now, in terms of compatibility checks, etc… By having bbPress as a plugin, we inherit that too.

I know that there’s broken spirits, and I don’t want it to be this way, but I can’t say anything any more clear to ease anyone’s anxiety about it.

Btw, the first commit is in. As you can all see, there’s plenty of work to do, so you’ll have nothing to worry about for a while.

[John James Jacoby]

My point is that 99% of people won’t know the difference.

If I choose to download and install a development version of Windows 8, I do so totally at my own risk. If I get burned by it, I can’t be mad at Microsoft.

Same rule applies to bbPress.

The development of the future plugin version does not impact what is available today. You either choose to be involved in that future, or you don’t.

Me saying (the plugin) is only in reference to conversations where it isn’t clear what we’re talking about. By the time anyone should realistically be trying out the plugin branch of code, we won’t need to use code words to talk about the differences.

One day hopefully in the not too distant future, we’ll flip this very site over to using the plugin without telling anyone, and when there is 0% difference in functionality and presentation, it will be time to start downloading it.

P.S. – I’m about 15 minutes off from committing they very primitive framework I have laid out, in case anyone wants to keep tabs.

[kevinjohngallagher]

Morning all,

I know I’m a vocal one (even more so with just 3 hours sleep), but I think there’s 2 things we need to accept here:

1) JJJ isn’t making these naming decisions himself

and

2) bbpress (standalone) isn’t going to be suported or developed any further. This isn’t a side by side project. It’s the end of bbPress without being a WordPress plugin.

In large part, thats why the name is being kept as bbPress. It’d be hard to convince people to undertake yet another compltely new piece of software after the debacle of bbpress0.9 and 1.0. So instead write something completely new, call it the old thing, and release it as an “upgrade”.

Given that we’re reliant on Matt to release bbPress1.0.3/1.1, and he’s been so active in the last 5 months, it’s hard to see how the next month(s?) are going to resolve themselves. And thats not a reflection on JJJ or PeteMall.

[mr_pelle]

1) None of us are worried about the name from a personal view point, it could all could be renamed Bob’s Super Duper Forum for all we care ;-] , only form the perspective of not confusing users.

Then bbPress it is.

Doesn’t it sound strange that you, JJJ, had to specify “bbPress (the plugin)” everytime not to get users confused? -_-” I’m not a native English speaker (I’m Italian), so I can tell you people are going to be confused by this!

I loved this line by KJG:

So to clarify for those who are confused:

bbPress for BP is bbPress with bPress without bPress.

But that’s not the same as just bbPress, the bbPress plugin, BP,

bPress, BuddyPress nor BackPress.

Is it any wonder, honestly, that people get confused?

Just try to think what would a newbie find googling bbPress+plugin…

Anyway, I think there are some users, like me, not really looking for a WP-integrated forum software, but just for a standalone forum: do you all really want us to “use different software instead of bbPress”? That’s odd…

[John James Jacoby]

So bbPress1.0.3 isn’t going to be released? What of 1.1?

My involvement in the 1.0.x/1.1 branches is limited, but if I had to guess (without checking) 1.0.3 will happen if there’s anything important to push out or there’s some kind of delay with 1.1, and 1.1 will happen before it’s a plugin for sure.

Who makes these decisions?

Honestly, whomever is in charge of the project sets the roadmap. If there’s no lead developer, then there’s no release schedule, because everything is just stagnant. I recently said something similar over on the BuddyPress blog regarding activity and how it only serves to perpetually foster more activity. Ultimately, I defer any major decisions about bbPress back to Matt, if anything simply because numero uno through numero un hundred are almost all his. If someone comes along and starts ripping up the trac and contributing patches and just overall making bbPress (the plugin) awesome, and for whatever reason I’m unable to continue to fulfill my responsibility, I’ll kindly step down and let someone else grab the reigns.

Leadership on an open source project is weird to be honest. The real world doesn’t usually work this way, but I think it’d be better off if it did sometimes. I like to refer to the Ubuntu leadership code of conduct because I think it makes a lot of sense, even if not everything directly relates. Also, leadership isn’t normally even an issue until it feels like there is no leader. If the leader is a total jerk, then chances are the platform would just die because people didn’t like that person. If there’s no leader at all, well… then you just feel abandoned and weird about it, like you should try to help, but don’t know who to ask or what to do. It’s like getting broken up with out of the blue… You’re unprepared and it sucks and you’re sad and bleh… No good.

1) None of us are worried about the name from a personal view point, it could all could be renamed Bob’s Super Duper Forum for all we care ;-] , only form the perspective of not confusing users.

Then bbPress it is.

2) How are we going to differentiate this to the current “bbPress Plugin” (we already get quite a few support requests for it)?

The goal is that no one will have to. If people want bbPress today, they download the current stable version same as always. When the plugin becomes available, it’s up to us to make a great UX that helps existing bbPress users through the update, and makes sure new users aren’t smacked with tons of legacy overhead. BuddyPress was able to get bbPress installed with a 1 click install; our goal should be the same.

3) How are we going to differentiate this from a “bbPress Plugin” that actually plugs in to bbPress?

A plugin is a plugin, but there is no such thing as a “plugin dependency” like there is for enqueuing CSS and JS in WordPress. The way we tackled that problem in BuddyPress is similar to what I’d like to do with bbPress, but obviously much lighter and built in from the start.

4) Are we confident this is crystal clear to those who aren’t native Engligh speakers?

Since I only speak English, I can’t answer this confidently. I’d like to hope we do a good enough job preparing everyone for this going forward, that anyone that cares enough to contribute does so and stays on top of things.

I’m not looking to back you into a corner with this bro, but an update on the terminology we should “try” and use so we don’t confuse our already dwingling audience would be real helpful at some stage in the future.

No worries There will be better communication all around going forward to help ease peoples minds.

I think alot of us can see and understand this. What would be great though, again at some stage, is if we were allowed some visability on what those advantages and disadvantages were (at a high level).

None of us were involved in nor had any visability of the decision, or conversation even, about bbPress becoming a plugin; so it’s a tad of a shell shock as to how this has come about. You’re a few steps ahead of us because of that, so any resistance you’re feeling isn’t actually against the project or yourself/Pete

bbPress, is always bbPress, and it’s up to the project leaders/managers/grand facilitators to be the guiding light. If that’s Matt, or Automattic, or whomever doesn’t really matter. Again, if it’s a matter of authority, then to me Matt is the authority. But, again, if someone starts ripping through code and contributing tons of patches, there’s plenty of room for advancement if you’re willing to put forth the effort into the core project.

It would be really great to see the requirement gathering, and weighing up of pros/cons etc. Especially after Jane’s famous https://wordpress.org/news/2009/12/setting-scope/ post about how more standard/practical/tangable/visable methodology would be used for these decisions.

That would really help us in terms of seeing where things are going; and help us get behind you and Pete on this project

Can’t speak for Jane, and not sure how famous the blog post is, but this is the beginning of that for bbPress. bbPress just has less eyes on it, so it suffers the same way BuddyPress does; passionate userbase, very little action taking place. bbPress development will start gaining speed in the coming days and weeks, and all of those blanks will start getting slowly filled in. If you or anyone else wants to start talking about how to fill those blanks in, start up dedicated topics in the forums so we can sticky them and go over it all.

You’ve a lot of goodwill from those of us who’ve seen your work and great attitude in these last 2 years mate. Sadly, there’s not alot left in the tank of most folks in regards to bbPress itself after Matt’s “We’ve done this before.” and then bolting for the door.

From a Project Management viewpoint

https://bbpress.org/forums/topic/whats-happening-with-bbpress/page/5#post-64410

This is only compunded by Jane announcing that bbpress would no longer be used for the WordPress forums before telling anyone involved. Not quite as bad as Matt telling people in his KeyNote speech that the community was “rough” and to use “differnt software instead of bbpress”, but not helpful either.

bbPress will still power the forums, just not as a standalone piece of software anymore once this is ready.

The trust is gone. But you’re definately the man to regain it

Cheers mate, much appreciated

As an aside, bbPress has always been the forum software for enthusiasts. It’s edgy, and sleek, and when you tell people what software is powering your forums and say “bbPress” you just kind of feel like a bad ass. I think that’s part of where the apprehension to adapt to it being a plugin comes from, because plugins by their general nature aren’t usually trusted to do what they should, the way they should. Also, because bbPress is such a niche project, we’re all used to living on the latest SVN revision, salivating at the prospect of waking up the next day and seeing all the neat new little things that changed since the night before.

The reality is that most normal people don’t do that, and that’s the person we need to cater to first and foremost.

bbPress (the plugin) should be considered toxic and unstable until we say go. Not unlike WordPressMU, it was forked out of WordPress, honed, and then merged back in. bbPress (the plugin) is a separate branch of code that does not intersect the existing code in anyway. Once it’s fully refactored and stable, we incorporate all the legacy bits that we need back in with a conditional to not require it if you’re not upgrading, and Bob’s your uncle.

At least, that’s the plan.

[kevinjohngallagher]

With that said, bbPress is going to be a plugin for WordPress going forward

So bbPress1.0.3 isn’t going to be released?

What of bbPress1.1 (only 1 trac ticket away from being ready)?

Who is now in charge of making that decision?

The name is staying the same, as much as I know that pains some of you to hear

Always like how upfront you are JJJ, and your enthusiasm is infectious.

To clarify a few points though mate:

1) None of us are worried about the name from a personal view point, it could all could be renamed Bob’s Super Duper Forum for all we care ;-] , only form the perspective of not confusing users.

2) How are we going to differentiate this to the current “bbPress Plugin” (we already get quite a few support requests for it)?

3) How are we going to differentiate this from a “bbPress Plugin” that actually plugs in to bbPress?

4) Are we confident this is crystal clear to those who aren’t native Engligh speakers?

I’m not looking to back you into a corner with this bro, but an update on the terminology we should “try” and use so we don’t confuse our already dwingling audience would be real helpful at some stage in the future.

There are lots of reasons to keep it the way it is because we all love it and appreciate it, but there is more to gain by it being a plugin with where WordPress is today

I think alot of us can see and understand this. What would be great though, again at some stage, is if we were allowed some visability on what those advantages and disadvantages were (at a high level).

None of us were involved in nor had any visability of the decision, or conversation even, about bbPress becoming a plugin; so it’s a tad of a shell shock as to how this has come about. You’re a few steps ahead of us because of that, so any resistance you’re feeling isn’t actually against the project or yourself/Pete

It would be really great to see the requirement gathering, and weighing up of pros/cons etc. Especially after Jane’s famous https://wordpress.org/news/2009/12/setting-scope/ post about how more standard/practical/tangable/visable methodology would be used for these decisions.

That would really help us in terms of seeing where things are going; and help us get behind you and Pete on this project

I typically try to under promise and over deliver

You’ve a lot of goodwill from those of us who’ve seen your work and great attitude in these last 2 years mate. Sadly, there’s not alot left in the tank of most folks in regards to bbPress itself after Matt’s “We’ve done this before.” and then bolting for the door.

From a Project Management viewpoint

https://bbpress.org/forums/topic/whats-happening-with-bbpress/page/5#post-64410

This is only compunded by Jane announcing that bbpress would no longer be used for the WordPress forums before telling anyone involved. Not quite as bad as Matt telling people in his KeyNote speech that the community was “rough” and to use “differnt software instead of bbpress”, but not helpful either.

The trust is gone. But you’re definately the man to regain it

[John James Jacoby]

All understandable points. BuddyPress has recently gone through something similar since Andy has been concentrating on rolling out awesome new stuff for WordPress.com and I’ve been busy with client work. Both of us were at points where we weren’t concentrating directly on pushing the project forward, and that took us away from the usual support/communication role and more towards heavy development and project management.

Community and communication are both important, and we’ve admittedly been lacking on both platforms leaving things feel like they’re in a little bit of a limbo state. For people already using either project, it doesn’t help you sleep at night; and it doesn’t exactly make for a happy welcome to newcomers either. It wasn’t intentional, but I think the worst is behind us now and we can concentrate on building some forward momentum.

For bbPress specifically, there is a little more history involved. It it touches so many individual pieces of the .org structure that have always been intricately balanced to work together; namely the individual plugin and theme repositories. They rely heavily on the svelteness of bbPress to function the way they do.

When the idea of making bbPress a plugin was first seriously considered (over a year ago?) I think I felt the same way as some of you do now. I felt bbPress needed to stand tall and be it’s own person and go out and make something of itself like a good young adult should. My involvement in BuddyPress and my experience with WordPress over the past few years has enlightened me to how simple of a plugin bbPress can really be, particularly now that BuddyPress can offer all of the other bits and pieces that someone might normally want or expect from forum software.

With that said, bbPress is going to be a plugin for WordPress going forward. The name is staying the same, as much as I know that pains some of you to hear. There are lots of reasons to keep it the way it is because we all love it and appreciate it, but there is more to gain by it being a plugin with where WordPress is today. (…no dagger to the heart intended…)

I think the most important thing that will come from an ‘official’ announcement (that I’ll include here briefly now) is that the top priority for this next chapter in bbPress is migrating/importing/exporting be 100% no-more-than-5-clicks simple to do. As a plugin author myself, the close second priority is having a clear resource for converting plugins.

I typically try to under promise and over deliver, so I’m approaching bbPress the same way. Am I super genius that knows the insides and outsides of bbPress and BackPress 100% and can recite lines of code like song lyrics or poetry? Nope. But I do know plugins, and extending WordPress safely and effectively, and refactoring, and bulletin board software, and how communicating with and through software works for both machines and people.

Most importantly, I know I really want bbPress to stay kickass.

[kevinjohngallagher]

Good evening all!

First, Pete and JJJ, really apprecaite and thankful to you both for stopping by. I don’t doubt for an iota that the two of you, indeed everyone involved with this WordPress forum plugin, wants a good product that pleases as many people as possible and provides an excellent platform for those both technical and non-technical.

JJJ, bro I just thought you were busy – i took no offence by the lack of reply. I sent you a comment through your website some 4 weeks ago, and with the BP release (thats BuddyPress, sorry don’t want to add to the confusion) you seemed like you were busy.

At the risk of getting on my soapbox, the biggest issue we have here is that we know nothing. No-one here expects anyone to keep us in the loop 24/7 or even at a stakeholder level – but Jane announced that WordPress (3.org) forums would be moving to the bbPress plugin instead of bbpress some 20 days ago, and you’re the first people to stop by and say “hi”.

I’ll let you guess what sort of reaction that announcement had, and what sort of calming affect the wall of silence had on all the “end is nigh” theories.

My single over-riding concern is that with such little communication, naming a completely separate product that uses different technology and works in a totally different way, the same thing as 6 current technologies is just batshi… a challenge to those of us who answer the questions on this subject

EDIT: Sorry Tom dude, Manchester, see you there!

[John James Jacoby]

I’ll be posting something all official sounding soon (as in tonight) but Kevin, can’t say I received an email from you; if I did it only went ignored because I didn’t see it. My apologies for lack of communication and I’ll do better going forward. Check my Gravatar for ten confirmed methods to track me down.

On the flip side, I’m excited that people still care about there being a plugin branch considering the ups and downs bbPress has gone through over the past year or two.

At the sake of sounding like a politician, I’m personally committed to making bbPress great in whatever form it takes, because it (along with WordPress and BuddyPress) put food on my table and keep a roof over my head. It’s been like that for the past two years, and I’d like to maintain that status for as far into the foreseeable future as I can. If I was self-employed or employed by Automattic, it wouldn’t change the way I intend to be involved and help shape bbPress’s future.

I know it’s been a rough and tumble life for bbPress, and thankfully all of us want to change that.

Be back in a bit to keep up this convo and look forward to more comments, feedback, gripes, general criticism, and cooking tips if you have any.