Why so many versions of SMF ? ? ? ?

bugsmi0 · January 28, 2006, 03:45:00 PM

Why are there so many freaken versions of SMF ?

Why not just have it as 1.0.6 and be done with it

This forum provides some of the most confusing posts, instructions, etc on the internet, there are too many versions of SMF floating around when there should be simply JUST ONE VERSION

When it comes to bridges, installs, upgrades, way too many versions instructions gets very confusing.

Will there ever be just one version ? phpBB's simplicity is looking better all the time, this site says simple machines but in fact it's a very complicated machine. Most of the posts on the forum is all about errors, difficulties, confusion, etc Its about time you guys clean this crap up lol

no disrepect intended :-)

Makes me tired checking these forums nothing but disfunction

H · January 28, 2006, 03:57:15 PM

There is one stable version - SMF 1.0.6

Then there is the upgrade to 1.0.6

Then there is the update to 1.0.6

The update and upgrade are both different things.

SMF 1.1 series is for beta testers and people who want to try out the release.

Then there is the updates / upgrades for 1.1

Then there are the translations packs.

It really is not difficult to understand

forsakenlad · January 28, 2006, 04:02:42 PM

Hello bugsmi0, first I would like to welcome you to the SMF community. We appreciate your feedback but the thing is you have some mistakes in your comments. Currently there are only two versions that are downloadable, 1.0.6 the latest release of the 1.0 branch and 1.1 RC2, the latest release of the 1.1 branch which hasn't come final yet.

If you want the latest stable version please download 1.0.6, however if you are comfortable with beta software I would seriously recommend 1.1 RC2.

Also if you get confused about anything available on this site, feel free to post a topic with your question. Someone from the team would be more than willing to point you to the correct location

Isaac · January 28, 2006, 04:03:15 PM

There are only 2 versions you can use. 1.0.6, which is the stable version, and 1.1 RC2, which is a beta. It's not that hard to understand once you figure it out.

Acf · January 28, 2006, 04:56:36 PM

Quote from: bugsmi0 on January 28, 2006, 03:45:00 PM
Why are there so many freaken versions of SMF ?

Why not just have it as 1.0.6 and be done with it

This forum provides some of the most confusing posts, instructions, etc on the internet, there are too many versions of SMF floating around when there should be simply JUST ONE VERSION

When it comes to bridges, installs, upgrades, way too many versions instructions gets very confusing.

Will there ever be just one version ? phpBB's simplicity is looking better all the time, this site says simple machines but in fact it's a very complicated machine. Most of the posts on the forum is all about errors, difficulties, confusion, etc Its about time you guys clean this crap up lol

no disrepect intended :-)

Makes me tired checking these forums nothing but disfunction

Phpbb has the same problems! The problem is called development. It keeps your forum from being hacked and makes it more efficient. Extra features make life easier.
And not everybody can keep up with these changes or even uses beta material.
Also mod/bridge developers don't make stuff for every version.
So its impossible to keep everything focused on 1 version.

HoTmetal · January 28, 2006, 05:13:39 PM

As stated before. 1.06 is the stable release 1.1's are the beta. It's not like there are 2 separate branches of SMF but rather 1.1 is a beta ( a look into the future). I don't think you will find a software that is in continuous development that only has one single download. I agree that it may be a little confusing & or frustrating at 1st. But it only takes a little reading to find out more. IF you surf the SMF site, you will see at the top, a news flash. Here are two fo the things it says.

QuoteNews: If you're not yet using the latest version, SMF 1.0.6, please upgrade as soon as possible.

&

QuoteNews: SMF 1.1 RC2 has been released! If you're interested in beta testing, why not take a look?

I think this is rather strait forward. Now when it comes to the bridges & mods, things are less strait forward & require a little research before jumping into them. I can relate, really. I recently installed SMF arcade (a great mod by Niko ) But because I have Joomla, I had to turn off my SEF. This wasn't practical for my site. So I uninstalled.

With that said, what are you trying to accomplish with your site, maybe someone can point you in the right direction & help avoid some of the confusion?

boogiedown · January 28, 2006, 05:17:35 PM

what's that guy smoking?

bugsmi0 · February 02, 2006, 07:37:00 PM

ok I think I get it now, however if you look at your download section there's an awful lot of links that can confuse people as to whats what, also how come most of the mods are only for beta versions ? Many won't work with 1.0.6

I'd recommend being more clear in the download sections as to what version is for what purpose and also match MODS with the version it works with, makes my eyes spin just looking at it.

Thanks for clearing up the version I'd swear it looks like there are 10 different versions floating around lol

mastersmurfie · February 02, 2006, 10:51:36 PM

Quote from: bugsmi0 on February 02, 2006, 07:37:00 PM
also how come most of the mods are only for beta versions ? Many won't work with 1.0.6

and also match MODS with the version it works with, makes my eyes spin just looking at it.

I must agree with this. At least for the Mods page. Why can there not be a "Compatible With" field right after the "Name" field? I mean, when you go to the Mods page, and click on "New Feature"...once inside there why not have the version(s) that the mod is compatible with listed right there instead of having to view the details of the mod? Surely this is possible?? A Mod may look great, but if the version of the forum that you are running at the time (be it 1.0.6 or 1.1RC2) isn't "right" for it, why go look at it?

I run a stable 1.0.6 version, with a few Mods...as well as a test 1.1RC2 version with no mods yet...It would be nice to be able to determine which mods are compatible with which version from the get-go

just my 2 cents worth...

Delayed · February 03, 2006, 08:57:05 PM

Was just reading this thread and wanted to make a comment. I always thought that an RC release was higher than beta and a lot more stable. Alpha, Beta, Release Candidate, Gold.

Are we still treating RC2 1.1 as a beta.

Dannii · February 03, 2006, 11:28:13 PM

No, 1.1 RC2 is a RC release. Aside from a few bug fixes (including the utf-8 problems), 1.1 Gold will be the same.

Sheepy · February 18, 2006, 03:21:36 AM

I'm thinking, the download page is indeed scary for non-geeks. Maybe it'd be better to let user select version (1.0/1.1 Beta), then type of software package (new/upgrade/update), then package format (zip,gzip,bzip2)?

It's eay to do with, say, three combo boxes. I personally won't mind a few more clicks to download, if it makes things simpler.

Trekkie101 · February 18, 2006, 06:16:17 AM

One little thing id like to add to this, SMF 1.1 until its gold, should not be recomended as the release to use, its still a release candidate. To me it should be further down the download page, with a warning saying that its not a final release and the same quality as 1.0 should not be expected. The support topics would be dramatically cut down if half of the users werent using 1.1 until it was stable, some of these people don't understand that its not a final release.

I believe SMF 1.0 should be recomended as the release to use, right up until the day 1.1 is released as Final.

You may say "but people wont want to update" but their going to have to use the update/upgrade package anyway, its not likely RC2 -> Final will be a package manager update.

Thantos · February 18, 2006, 10:34:06 AM

Where is it recommending 1.1 over 1.0? 1.1 is below 1.0. Though we could seperate them.

Edit: You mean something like below Trekkie?

Trekkie101 · February 18, 2006, 11:42:19 AM

Quote from: Thantos on February 18, 2006, 10:34:06 AM
Where is it recommending 1.1 over 1.0? 1.1 is below 1.0. Though we could seperate them.

Edit: You mean something like below Trekkie?

Yeah something like that would be kinda nice, and I don't mean official word, I mean more users and team members recomending 1.1 as the version to use. Fair enough in certain situations such as big boards that are taking performance hits, SMF 1.1 is better and I can understand why team members recomend it to them, but newer users (and I know ive done it a few times) recomend 1.1 when the user doesnt fully understand the implications such as the Firefox bug.

bugsmi0 · February 19, 2006, 04:02:54 AM

Quote from: Delayed on February 03, 2006, 08:57:05 PM
Was just reading this thread and wanted to make a comment. I always thought that an RC release was higher than beta and a lot more stable. Alpha, Beta, Release Candidate, Gold.

Are we still treating RC2 1.1 as a beta.

alpha beta release canidiate crap all this, you only need ONE stable version

take speed download as an example http://www.yazsoft.com/ he has just one version and he comes out with new updates quite frequently sometimes montly and it keeps geting better, why can't all programs be like this ?

no fuss no mess no confusion, one stable version, i say to hell with those who want beta version or pre-releases make them wait till the next stable version he he

its simple, you make only one version for every body (frak the developers) they gota wait like the rest of us lol just kidding, then what you do is have people give feedback, recommendations, feature requests, that may be added to the next version

it's very simple process. taylor to the masses not to developers

Dannii · February 19, 2006, 04:07:00 AM

For something to be stable it really has to be feature frozen. So unless you want no more features than what is in 1.0.6, then these versions are needed.

As you your example, the speed download thing has "Several internal tweaks." in nearly every release listed, which means that it is not a stable release. Every few weeks a new bug fix + new features version needs to be released. Compare that to 1.0.x which has been Gold for over a year.