I didn't put in all the changes, because I was waiting for the templates :)
How about starting with something you are trying to do, and we'll go modification by modification, since you probably won't be the only one in that boat.
BTW... I did add all the modifications in ... to the 5.6 or 5.5 version, whatever I had. Then, the next day, the 5.7 version came out, and I gave up. Too much effort, too much time.
Hopefully, this will simplify the process.
BTW.... your situtation is probably somewhat unique. You've extensively modified your board, and once you do that, you are sort of at the mercy of the winds of change.
You've developed a system for upgrading from one minor version to the next, and you'll do the same with this, once you get your first version worked out.
But, FWIW, the best modifications are the ones that can be just plugged into the next release (hence, templates) and code changes that are modular in nature so the I/0 remains the same from version to version.
"Hacks" should be avoided where possible, in favor of _real_ code modifications that are worked in to the main release.
Not all of that is possible, granted, but if you are doing something that seems other people would want to do, turning it into a modifiable parameter in the setup/config/theme files makes more sense in the long run.
I _know_ this is a change in the way of thinking, but I've recognized my own mortality in the past few years, and I've been trying to develop a software solution that can live on if I don't. I have several families depending on me (the sites) to generate income, support the business, etc, and I need code that I can bring programmers into and have them up to speed in short order.
The more modular a program becomes, so the "black box" stuff stays in module or .pl files, and the less program code that actually has to be modified to make changes, the better. That way, the program developers can tweak the black-box code anyway they want, the interface(program) layer is modified to reflect those changes (or the user changes) and the templates (output) doesn't change at all from the developer's point of view.
This creates the 3-level abstraction model that works so well for so many other things.
1) the black-box, developer level.
2) the interface level (local programmers, local developers, etc).
3) the designer level (html, users, etc).
This way, the major changes from version to version occur at level 1, minor changes occur at level 2, and no "program" changes occur at level 3 (unless new tags are added, say for user-authentication) so the end-user site remains the same -- or can be changed by the user/designer without affecting or being affected by level 1 or 2.
I _love_ this sort of development!! It's _much_ harder to design a program from the ground up like this, because you can work for months and not have a running application, where if you used the quick/dirty methoud you'd have something to show for all your work -- even though maintaining it becomes the problem.
AOL is a good example -- they went industry standard (modular, plug in, open source, etc) as soon as they saw a standard, while Compuserve, Prodigy, the Source, and most others kept proprietary systems in place. We know the outcomes of that.
So, feel free to start any threads on what mods you would like to work into the 5.1 version, and I'll be happy to help.
I just don't know where to begin, since I don't fully exploit all the features of the program yet, I've been waiting to integrate the user features between my Links and Forum before I do that. I want to integrate the rating systems, review system, and even targeted banners/information between the forum and links so that people can move between them, and comment/interact easily.
That creates both the information resource (the Links) and the Interactive resource (the ratings, reviews, forum, etc) so that users can visit the site to find things, and do things, but also feel they are contributing. That is very, very important in retaining customers and visitors.
