What to do, what to do...

Well this thread is more of less just meant to be more of a fact finding mission on what needs to be addressed and make UBBDev a the community it once was.

This is just food for thought and really a over view without going in to heavy detail (other wise I would be competing against War & Peace)

First I would change the terminology around a bit on what this site promotes. Hacking is a term that has a misnomer and goes back in to the hay days or exactly what it means. I tend to say "modification" or "modifying" when I post and think over all it would be an easier "sell" to the end users to come by and see what can be added with little work and really no experience in programming.

Next is the need to keep the current developers. While they each have their own modifications, I think it might be beneficial to move the current set of modifications in to a UBBDev pool/repository. It seems to be the same modificaitons over and over with nothing really new or exciting. Can't blame anyone as IP seems to be releasing versions fast and ferious and just porting to the next version is alot of work. By creating a pool this will allow those with more time to not only port the modificaitons but to also add on features. Of course proper credits will have to be maintained through documentation of the modification.

New blood. There seem to be fewer and fewer developers as time goes on. People move on, have other interests, etc. How about the current developers start a scripting forum/learning center/workshop where it starts with the basics and a user would need to sign up and works around time frames (i.e. first course runs x amount of weeks and no one can join until it is over and the next one starts) The developers can then share their knowledge and maybe poeple like me can then start scripting and contributing more to the community. Homework can be handed out to be able to judge where each person is in their grasp of UBB & scripting. I knw this would take alot of time and energy but it can be done over a period of time with a particular course being spread out over days or a few weeks depending on complexity. I know for one, I would like to be able to do this and I know I have seen others post wishing they could also help out.

Then there is a need to a dedicated database of all modificaitons ever made or that can still be found. Just linking them to the developers release thread is not enough. There needs to be a framed table with the file and as much of a description as possible (i.e. finished, still needs, should add, etc)

There also needs to be a resource list as to sites that are helpful with knowledge or things that can help run your site easier. I am starting a list for the next e-zine but I am sure many of you have your favorites. Care to share sie you have found helpfull?

UBBDev might want to consider breaking in to 3 distinct areas. 1. Stock current release of UBB so poeple can see what it is and how it works. Should also include ability to see the admin control panel but locking things so they can not be changed to effect board access or uptime. 2. Current beta release with the same things as #1. 3. A modified UBB with all the bells and whistles of the known released modificaitons. Developers sites come and go as the developers move on. Seeing how a particular modification works is key sometimes prior to installing it.

Welp whether good or bad there are my thoughts. Feel free to add or rebuke. But something needs to be done to kick start this place back into high gear as lately it has been a ghost town.

Some good ideas in there, I'd certainly support them.

Great post Steven - I had planned to begin a 'goals for 2003' thread in December, but now's just as good a time as any.

As in most any volunteer project, time and the lack there of is the culprit in the slow-down of most sites. We have some people here many hours per day, but as we keep supporting more and more versions, we get spread thinner and thinner. It was much easier when it was v5 only Easier for developers, everything was new, so whatever we did was ate up and asked for seconds. Version 6+ brought lots of new possibilities and lots of good stuff has been done, but each ubb version further dilutes the amount of time that can be spent focusing on new stuff. People are still asking for new stuff to be ported to older ubb versions We addressed some of that with the consolidation of the forums a few months ago, but it persists still and we'll be adding another layer when 6.4 comes out.

Before someone says: 'drop support for the old stuff', consider us starting with the version you are running People got fighting mad when we considered dropping v5 support a year or so ago. Yeah, it's a slow forum, but some people are still trying to modify it.. hehehe

You guys will be seeing similar stories elsewhere when vb goes version 3. To a much lesser extent mind you, since this is vb's first real update of the majority of the code in well over a year. We're getting tagged by IP every few months It may or may not slow down after 6.5 is released. Threadsdev will be going through something similar when 6.2 is released as most modfications will have to be updated to work with member numbers. We had it relatively easy going from v5 to v6, as there was no sane reason for anyone to continue running an older version, updates were free or close to it.

Anyways, before I speak to the rest, what is everyone else's needs for the site? What do you think will bring 'busyness' back to the site?

For sure, more hacks. The pace has slowed down since many developers have left. Getting some more experianced one is probably one step. It's because these developers have caught the eye of developing for other software. Hmm, maybe work on that.

For me, one of the great things UBBdev has given me is the opportunity to learn and develop my skills. I wouldn't go as far as calling myself a programmer, but I certainly don't flinch when looking at some perl, xhtml, xsl, css, etc. (etc. is not a programming language ). I've also had the opportunity to improve my graphics skills and understanding of developing a style, layout and interface that users appreciate.

I think that there will always be an ebb and flo as new people come here, and older people move on to something else. The important thing is for us to provide an environment where people can learn and develop their own skills.

I for one would love to see more people, and newer people take a crack at writing some modifications on their own. However, I realize that the dynamics have changed a great deal over the last couple of years. A lot of things have been added to UBB, and the code is a more structured and restrictive than before. Coders have to worry about things liking breaking the cache, etc, which poses more challenges. But hey, what not take up the challenge and learn a new language in the process!

To me, a community is made up by the people who participate in it. I don't think that the staff of UBBdev should be the ones that dictate what direction UBB Development goes...but the UBB enthusiasts that come here to play.

There are a lot of people here who have questions, interests and expertise in a variety of things. I think it would be great to help others in things beyond just the UBB code itself.

In any case, we have great things planned for the future. We're not going away anytime soon!

I don't post much here, but I definitely read everything and have implemented many hacks on my board.

I'd love to get involved with coding and writing modifications but there's just a general lack of knowledge and overwhelm with "where to start..."

I think Quick was right in that direction or guidance would be especially beneficial to those willing and interested in doing some of the work...

I understand the dilemma though, there's only so much you can do without doing it all or getting frustrated and quitting.

Maybe create some teams and create some kinds of competition or something for groups creating the best mods?

I don't post a great deal either, so take this fwiw. I have found this site to be a great resource over time and do hope it rejuvenates.

UBBDev can be a great portal for all UBB.Classic owners. However, the navigation leaves something to be desired - both on the main page and the forums. When taking writing courses, the mantra was "know your audience" - and that seems a bit lacking here.

I don't have specific/targeted recommendations like QuickSi, but I will offer this: make the entry, resources, and "paths" more intuitive. When I started coming here, I initially spent more time trying to figure out what's where than getting useful information, which was a real drag.

So perhaps some sort of logical navigation tree would help. Noobs could navigate, experienced users can hop right where they need to go.

I would love to see a knowledge base that everyone can contribute to. Forums are wonderful but the nuggets are spread out and require way too much effort, whether you're a noob or experienced. I'm sure many sites are struggling with the same problem - you have this wealth of info no-one will use because it's too laborious to search. We are working on something similar on our site due to overwhelming reader feedback.

Finally I might suggest a broader resources section: a tree of articles, tips, etc on administering, modifying, handling problems, suggestions, whatever.

I don't use the many resources except for the forums on UBBDev because I find it too time-consuming to find what I need - so just post a question instead.

Thank you to the people who make this site what it is - I don't intend to diminish your efforts at all, this place has been a huge help.

Lack of developers... lack of time... those two things factored into the equation and it doesn't equal lots more mods. Many people would be intimidated by making mods for ubb. People are leaving, losing interest and time, etc. The good news is the features in UBB are increasing. The bad news is the hacks at ubbdev are decreasing.

I'm not one to really talk. I just left an official position a week or two ago after developing no new hacks and not supporting the ones I already made. I have a dozen uncompleted hacks for various versions that I can't (and don't want to) complete.

Just my $0.02.

The UBB hacking tutorial sounds like a good idea; it takes a while to learn where everything is (the fact I had never written Perl before also didn't help me when modifiying ).

How about a weekly debugging "challenge"?

Someone would post a hack which contains one or more intentional bugs. People would submit their fixes. The fixes would be have to be submitted privately until the challenge is over, so that other participants could not see them.

Greg would you be willing to send them to me to take over or release them to UBBDev for open development? Original notes I am sure would be to give you credit.

Under normal circumstances I would. However, I didn't pay the coders-net.com web hosting bill with no local backups. I'll see if I can find them on CD-R or tape backups.

hmm, maybe a ubb SDK would be helpful... But who and how?

Maybe a 'Hack of the month' competition and a good prize could be given out to the winner. The prizes is what makes the Spotlight contest what it is too.

One thing I'm sure many new hackers would find useful would be a list of what files do what in the UBB in specific versions; so if you want to know what to do to change posting you know.

Documentation of subs/routines/files/and templates etc would be great for the beginning/intermediate developer.

Do you have some ideas regarding the navigation? I thought it was easy to get around all this time What do you find difficult?

Maybe what little_joe is having trouble with is... the fact that UBBDev is so big. It really is big and it is also full of a ton of information. All this spanning sevral UBB versions. Maybe what is needed is a site map? Something that breaks down the different features and lists them according to UBB version or notes them multi-version compatable. This could go for the main forums, all the features and articles and the beloved Database.

Just my thoughts...

Mmmm....

If only we could do the favorite forums thing, autoselected upon registration based on the version number you're using... that way you see only what would PROBABLY interest you... it would probably make things easier to find.

That or an option in your profile that will list the currnt message boards and allow you to select x amount to be listed as your favorites in a "My Favorites" area of your profile.

Well to bring my view-point onto this I'd have to say this place rocks as a database for hacks but as a place for learning (for beginners) it does leave much to be desired.

Some very good suggestions about adding more resources to the site. However I've notcied a trend where questions regarding problems with the UBB (e.g. not being able to figure something out in the CP, search broken, etc) seem to be answered more than questions asking for help when new beginners get stuck when trying to code their own hacks.

Note I'm not saying code the hack for them, I'm simply saying give hints or ideas about how to get around problems for new users coding their own hacks. At least if they make the effort, and are helped you'll see less suggestions in the suggestions forum, and more hacks .