Hi :-(
I must add that the dropping of the perl version is a severe disappointment to me. Whilst I would like to eventually move to the php version for performance reasons, as many others I have several hacks which will take a long time to port nevermind learning php!. An announcement that the perl version would cease in 12 months time would have been more appropriate giving all the time to implement any changes.
I'm glad that UBB is not merging with w3t--When I made the choice almost two years ago, it was to reject UBB. Maybe one of the reasons was because it was too well know. I don't want users on my board to come there because of the software we use, but because of the content and interaction we provide. I choose the s/w which best facilitates that. To be frank, I don't particularly want to be associated with ubb as it stereotypes us.
I've always trusted Scream and his active presence on these boards have been the reason I chose w3t and recommended it to a few others too. w3t is priced well and allows one to develop small fun sites which aren't out to make tonnes of money but to create a community. I am not sure if Infopop can resist milking this community. I would warn them that if they do this, they will simply drive people to alternatives like vBulletin which are already gaining popularity.
Today's announcement is a worrying sign of what might start happening when the corporate interests take over. I certainly will be holding back recommending w3t/u3t for a couple of months to see what else is in store. I understand that coding takes time (and even Scream needs to make a living) and so the move from a free to a licensed version was justified. I don't really believe the "I need more time to code" angle as licensing could have been outsourced without selling the rights to the code.
If there's anything to celebrate, it's probably the fact Infopop felt w3t threatened their product too much. :-) I don't mean to sound negative--I wish Scream all the best in the future but also I'd like to thank him for the past years of development he's given us.
Sebastien.
