smf 2 a little disappointing

To be honest, I was expecting a lot more out of SMF 2. I know its still in the beta phase, but there is not really anything new. After looking at version 2, there has been very little change over the past 3+ years.

Meta description - I was hoping for a way to edit the meta description of the site.

Site slogan - would be a nice feature

Site title - does not need to show up on the header image.

Site map generator - would be a really nice built in feature.

ReCaptcha - this needs to be a built in feature. Vbulletin added this as a standard feature in VB 3.7.

Editing the navigation bar - needs to be streamlined. There is no need in this being so complex.

I took a 2 year break from SMF, went back and was surprised there has not been any major changes during that time.

 

Have you left feedback for them. A few are done through the themes, but the site map and recaptcha would be nice. I agree with the navigation bar. Learning how they work took some time.

 

Yes, I have posted several suggestions int he smf suggestion forum. And most of the time my post do not receive any feed back.

I honestly think the SMF project is going downhill. Version 2 has been in development for well over a year, maybe even close to 2 years. And it brings nothing new to the table.

It seems like the SMF developers are stuck on technology that was being offered 2, 3 or 4 years ago. To stay competitive, you HAVE to offer new stuff.

 

My problem with SMF before was its plugin system - sometimes incompatible plugins mess up the PHP file. I'm not sure if this is fixed in 2.0, but I'm already happy with MyBB.

 

And, with some plugins, you have to set your forum to the default theme before they will install. And then you have to make manual template edits after the modification is installed.

 

I never have used SMF on a live site -- I've only tested it out, so I cannot comment on its progress, but it sounds pretty bad.

It's a shame that one to two years of development brings nothing new into light. That's certainly not a good business plan.

 

I would not really say that SMF is "bad". The developers have put a lot of time and effort into the project. It seems that the people behind the scene want to keep using stuff that was outdated years ago.

Something simple, such as editing the nav bar is a major operation. The entire code base needs to be reworked to make it more user friendly, new features need to be added,,,,,,

 

Probably something pointless but have you looked at PunBB lately they barely have any of the features that SMF 2.0 has. Just to be able to PM someone on PunBB you have to install a mod just to allow PMing.

 

Has SMF finished dying yet? Have they ever released this 2.0 version, or is it still in the works? I remember a few years ago a friend started a SMF forum and had me do some work on it for him and I almost cried it was so tedious and 10489x more complicated than it needed to be.

 

Probably going to be a few years late at this rate.

Some of the main developers have left, and the code is in many ways a mess. It's not as messy as phpBB, true, but there's still a massive amount of duplicated and inappropriately placed code.

 

That is a good question, so I went to the smf home page to see what the latest version is. And no, SMF 2 is still not out of beta.

The latest stable version is SMF 1.1.10.

My opinion, and its just my opinion - because version 2 is still not finished and out of beta, that is a bad sign for the SMF community. The longer a product is in development, the less likely it is to ever be released.

As the developers are working on the project, something new comes out, so the developers include that new <what ever it is>. A lot of times the project has to be started all over again.

Anyone ever hear of Duke Nukem Forever? The game changed engines like 3 or 4 times and finally turned into vaporware. That is a good example of what I am talking about.

SMF 2 has been in development for what, 2+ years? I'am not real sure on the time frame. But its been a long time.

 

Yea but duke nukem rocked (until the last one), smf apparently doesn't

 

Tell that to IB / vBulletin , or phpBB. They do the same thing.

SMF is ok, it's nothing huge, but it's CERTAINLY better to work with than phpBB for a 'free' forum setup.

Yes, I agree that the mod system needs overhauled. Most of the mods cause problems if you're not using the 'default' template, but the way around that is simply removing the default template, or copying the new template over into it.

 

I find it interesting that you make vague claims that don't even apply, but can't even be arsed to look at the release history and pass yourself off as an expert on the processes behind the development of a piece of software that is twenty times more popular than your own software of choice.

Since you couldn't be bothered, SMF 2.0 was announced on April 8th, 2007. The first beta was released September 8th of that year. Public beta was March of last year. RC1 was February this year. As much as you like to pan them, they've been fairly consistent with releases.

 

Oh, and I did throw a sitemap generator together over the course of a couple hours - it's quite handy:

Anyone interested in a raw xml sitemap generator? (2.0 only)

 

Compare the dev time for 2.0 to phpBB3 and you'll be shocked.
phpBB3 was being "worked on" for years. 2 years isn't anything for a major version.

 

It's important to realize that SMF 2 was largely oriented to large forum operators. It has a redesigned schema, though I wish I had input on that when it mattered...

I don't particularly care for its idiosyncrasies, but then, every software has them.

 

World War 2 only lasted from 1939 - 1945. An estimated 60 million people died in that conflict.

It only takes 9 months for 2 cells to grow into a living, breathing baby.

Julius Caesar conquered the Gauls in 58 – 51 BC. Over 1 million people were enslaved, and an estimated 20 - 50 million people were killed by the roman army.

But for some reason 2 years to develop a forum software is "nothing?" That is a load of crap and you know it. Lets not make excuses here.

 

It's always funny to see people give feedback like that. It shows how inexperienced people are. Yeah, we all want things done faster, but reality takes a HUGE part in that.

I tell you what:
You get a project as complicated, popular, and sophisticated (yeah, it's sophisticated) as SMF, something widely used as this, all for free.

Now, you take that and give it a major version update, overhauling everything, including the look and feel of it, all for free. I guarantee it will take you longer than two years.

Comparisons:

1. vBulletin 3 took how long to get out? And that's a paid software
2. vBulletin 4 has been talked about and worked on for how long? 2 years or better? And, again, paid software
3. phpBB3 took how long? Yeah, much, much longer than 2 years!
4. Windows Vista? Yeah, despite the flaws, still over 5 years
5. Windows 7? Over 2 years, and that's just a small rewrite

For a project as big as SMF, 2 years is about to be expected for a major revamp/renewal/release.

 

I'am not a programmer, I'am a network admin and I worked in the welding field for 16 years.

In comparison:
miners can mine the iron ore
a steel mill can refine it and make it into sheets of steel
the steel can be transported by ship and truck to the fabrication shops 1/2 around the world
fitters and welders can build parts that weigh hundreds of tons

The largest vessel I worked on, weighed about 120 tons and I built it in 6 weeks. It was then put on a train, that took it to the port of beaumont, texas where it was going to be shipped to Saudi Arabia.

And all in less time that it takes to write some code?

If its taking yall that long to write some code, it sounds like you need a good production manager to stream line the operation.