New forum software! phpBB 3.1.1 now installed.
Posted: Mon Nov 03, 2014 3:23 am
Great news everyone!
My host (idleserv.net) and I have upgraded our forums to the latest, swankiest version that JUST came out, phpBB 3.1.1! Ok, so what does that mean for new stuff?
OAuth Login
Register and login using your Google, Bit.ly, or Facebook accounts. Extensions can easily add other authentication services.
Signatures
A signature is small bit of text or images that is inserted after a user's post. Each user can customise their own signature, if allowed.
Avatars
Avatars are a personal image displayed above the user's username on a post and in their profile. If avatars are enabled, each user can customise their own.
3.1.x Gravatar
Avatars may be fetched from the Gravatar service, in addition to the previously available options.
Ranks
User and group specific ranks are available and fully customisable. Ranks display under a user's username in a post or in their profile.
Users Online List
If enabled, phpBB can list all of the users who are currently online or have signed in during a specified period of time.
User Preferences & Profile Settings
Individual users can customise their board preferences, such as the way the board looks, the sorting of topics, or the language used. Users can customise their profile and add additional information such as an email address or IM and social media accounts.
Manage Saved Drafts
Saved PM or post drafts are able to be edited from within the User Control Panel.
Mange Bookmarks & Subscriptions
Users can view a list of their bookmarks and subscriptions from within their control panel and unsubscribe if desired.
Custom Profile Fields
phpBB ships with an assortment of profile fields (such as AIM/WLM/ICQ accounts), but board owners have the option to add completely custom profile fields.
Friend/Foe List
Users can decide to add a particular user to their friend or foes list, enabling fine tuning of whose posts they see while browsing the board.
POSTING FEATURES:
Flat Topic Structure
phpBB utilises a flat topic and post structure, rather than threaded.
BBCode & Custom BBCode
BBCode is an easy to use and highly effective way that users can format their posts, insert images and links, and post emoticons. In addition to the default BBCodes, phpBB allows you to add new, custom BBCodes to suit your needs.
Attachments
phpBB provides the ability to post multiple attachments to posts. The types and size of files allowed to be posted is fully configurable within the ACP.
Quick Reply
A simple posting box can be enabled on the board to facilitate faster replies to topics without having to load the Posting page.
Smilies & Emoticons
Help demonstrate emotion in your posts with smilies!
You also have the option of adding custom smilies.
Quoting
In order to help the flow of discussion, phpBB allows users to quote another user's post within their own. phpBB supports nested quoting, as well.
Word Censors
Keep your board tame by implementing word censors and language filters to automatically eliminate or replace choice words or phrases.
Syntax Highlighting
When placing code within a post, using BBCode, phpBB can automatically highlight the syntax to make it easier to read.
Post Drafts
In the middle of typing a long reply but can't finish it right now? phpBB allows users to save unfinished posts to their Drafts so they can finish them later.
Polls
phpBB offers a fully configurable Polling feature for topics. Multiple polling options as well as time limits can be set. Users can be allowed or disallowed to change their vote at a later time.
Beaten-to-Posting Review
If another user posts a reply while a user was typing theirs, the user will be notified so that they can make changes to the post if necessary.
Posting Preview
Not sure how a post is going to look? Users have the option of previewing how their post will appear before submitting it.
Automatic Image Thumbnails
For larger images, phpBB will automatically create a thumbnail when placing the image in the post to keep things looking neat.
Attachment Types
Control what type of files and which extensions are permitted to be uploaded to the board.
Multiple Attachments
Multiple attachments can be placed in a single post. The exact number is configurable in the ACP.
Attachment Placement
Place links to the attachments anywhere in the body of the post, not just at the end.
SECURITY:
Unmatched Code Security
Before its initial release, phpBB3 underwent a rigorous security audit by the well-known organisation SektionEins, and most notably Stefan Esser, a highly respected PHP security consultant. phpBB 3.1 underwent a second security audit and to date, there have been no reported major vulnerabilities in the phpBB software.
Password Hashing
All passwords in phpBB are entirely hashed before stored in the database, so you can be sure they're secure. phpBB uses a salted hash based on phpass.
Type-aware Parameter Handling and Database Layer
phpBB checks and enforces all data types when collected and before being used to enable a high level of security.
My host (idleserv.net) and I have upgraded our forums to the latest, swankiest version that JUST came out, phpBB 3.1.1! Ok, so what does that mean for new stuff?
User Features:Today is a big day for the entire phpBB community and we hope you're excited! With the help of hundreds of volunteers, we have created the best and most modern version of phpBB yet: 3.1 Ascraeus. It features many improvements for users, administrators, and developers alike. Its new responsive theme takes phpBB into the modern mobile world, OAuth logins and Gravatars improve phpBB's integration into the social web, and a new notification system makes it easy to keep apprised of all that's going on.
With phpBB 3.1 Ascraeus' extension system, you can easily customize and extend your forum's functionality without modifying source code. The extension system makes updating phpBB and 3rd party code a breeze. Our Extensions Development Team is also actively developing a set of officially supported extensions, expanding upon phpBB's already rich feature-set with some separately maintained popular options. For example custom pages, Google Analytics integration, and detailed board rules.
We have been hard at work to ensure 3.1 Ascraeus is also the most stable and secure release of phpBB. A professional security audit performed by SektionEins found phpBB 3.1 Ascraeus to be solid, due to the examplary execution of strict coding guidelines. The well tested and widely used Symfony components have replaced some of the underlying foundations of phpBB to let us focus our efforts on providing the best forum experience imaginable.
OAuth Login
Register and login using your Google, Bit.ly, or Facebook accounts. Extensions can easily add other authentication services.
Signatures
A signature is small bit of text or images that is inserted after a user's post. Each user can customise their own signature, if allowed.
Avatars
Avatars are a personal image displayed above the user's username on a post and in their profile. If avatars are enabled, each user can customise their own.
3.1.x Gravatar
Avatars may be fetched from the Gravatar service, in addition to the previously available options.
Ranks
User and group specific ranks are available and fully customisable. Ranks display under a user's username in a post or in their profile.
Users Online List
If enabled, phpBB can list all of the users who are currently online or have signed in during a specified period of time.
User Preferences & Profile Settings
Individual users can customise their board preferences, such as the way the board looks, the sorting of topics, or the language used. Users can customise their profile and add additional information such as an email address or IM and social media accounts.
Manage Saved Drafts
Saved PM or post drafts are able to be edited from within the User Control Panel.
Mange Bookmarks & Subscriptions
Users can view a list of their bookmarks and subscriptions from within their control panel and unsubscribe if desired.
Custom Profile Fields
phpBB ships with an assortment of profile fields (such as AIM/WLM/ICQ accounts), but board owners have the option to add completely custom profile fields.
Friend/Foe List
Users can decide to add a particular user to their friend or foes list, enabling fine tuning of whose posts they see while browsing the board.
POSTING FEATURES:
Flat Topic Structure
phpBB utilises a flat topic and post structure, rather than threaded.
BBCode & Custom BBCode
BBCode is an easy to use and highly effective way that users can format their posts, insert images and links, and post emoticons. In addition to the default BBCodes, phpBB allows you to add new, custom BBCodes to suit your needs.
Attachments
phpBB provides the ability to post multiple attachments to posts. The types and size of files allowed to be posted is fully configurable within the ACP.
Quick Reply
A simple posting box can be enabled on the board to facilitate faster replies to topics without having to load the Posting page.
Smilies & Emoticons
Help demonstrate emotion in your posts with smilies!
You also have the option of adding custom smilies.Quoting
In order to help the flow of discussion, phpBB allows users to quote another user's post within their own. phpBB supports nested quoting, as well.
Word Censors
Keep your board tame by implementing word censors and language filters to automatically eliminate or replace choice words or phrases.
Syntax Highlighting
When placing code within a post, using BBCode, phpBB can automatically highlight the syntax to make it easier to read.
Post Drafts
In the middle of typing a long reply but can't finish it right now? phpBB allows users to save unfinished posts to their Drafts so they can finish them later.
Polls
phpBB offers a fully configurable Polling feature for topics. Multiple polling options as well as time limits can be set. Users can be allowed or disallowed to change their vote at a later time.
Beaten-to-Posting Review
If another user posts a reply while a user was typing theirs, the user will be notified so that they can make changes to the post if necessary.
Posting Preview
Not sure how a post is going to look? Users have the option of previewing how their post will appear before submitting it.
Automatic Image Thumbnails
For larger images, phpBB will automatically create a thumbnail when placing the image in the post to keep things looking neat.
Attachment Types
Control what type of files and which extensions are permitted to be uploaded to the board.
Multiple Attachments
Multiple attachments can be placed in a single post. The exact number is configurable in the ACP.
Attachment Placement
Place links to the attachments anywhere in the body of the post, not just at the end.
SECURITY:
Unmatched Code Security
Before its initial release, phpBB3 underwent a rigorous security audit by the well-known organisation SektionEins, and most notably Stefan Esser, a highly respected PHP security consultant. phpBB 3.1 underwent a second security audit and to date, there have been no reported major vulnerabilities in the phpBB software.
Password Hashing
All passwords in phpBB are entirely hashed before stored in the database, so you can be sure they're secure. phpBB uses a salted hash based on phpass.
Type-aware Parameter Handling and Database Layer
phpBB checks and enforces all data types when collected and before being used to enable a high level of security.
