UBB.threads
Encyclopedia
UBB.threads is an Internet forum
software package originally written by Rick Baker. Written with PHP
using a MySQL
database
backend, it is comparable to other forum software written in PHP
.
WWWThreads was originally written in Perl
starting in 1997, then a PHP version was made in 2000. WWWThreads was notable for being one of the first forum software packages to support both flat and threaded discussion. In 2001, WWWThreads was acquired by Infopop Corporation (later known as Groupee, Inc. and now known as Social Strata), owners of the Ultimate Bulletin Board software. It was consequently renamed UBB.threads. After WWWThreads' acquisition by Infopop, the Perl version of WWWThreads was discontinued. The last Perl version of WWWThreads was version 5.4.3. All subsequent versions of UBB.threads starting with version 5.5 were released in PHP only. UBB.threads 6.0 was released in the spring of 2002. The current version is 7.5.6.
On January 1, 2010, UBB.threads was spun off from Social Strata, and sold to Mindraven, Inc. However, in June 2011, UBB.threads was sold to UBB Systems.
While the v7 branch retains the UBB.Threads name, it is incompatible with prior versions due to the coding overhaul. Any "upgrades" to v7 are done as an import as if it were from any other 3rd party product. In addition to the importer for previous versions of UBB.threads, importers for UBB.classic
v6.x, phpBB
v2.x and v3.x, Simple Machines Forums 1.1, vBulletin
3.8.x, FusionBB3, YaBB 2, WowBB, and WWWBoard 2.x are also available.
user registration.
tag, as well as some code cleanup.
ging feature was planned for introduction of version 7.3, however, it was soon pushed back to version 7.4. However, with the renaming of version 7.3.2 to 7.4, it was then planned for version 7.5 http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/217445/6.html.
On November 10, 2008, UBB.threads developer Rick Baker began a survey on whether the next major release should include blogs, or whether it should include a GUI redesign http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/218970/Your_vote_counts.html#Post218970. An issue of concern is that if blogs are added in the version before the GUI redesign, the blogging feature would have to be reworked again in the next version afterward that the GUI redesign is applied to. Current plans for the GUI redesign call for true user-selectable skins, which will allow for complete changes in the GUI design rather than simply changing the color schemes, as well as a WYSIWYG
editor.
On November 23, 2008, it was decided from the poll that the next major version will include blogs, and the version afterward will include a GUI redesign. However, in January 2009, it was discovered that a user created several disposable accounts to skew the results towards blogs, and that the GUI redesign was the true winner.
On January 22, 2009, it was announced that version 7.5 will be the last major release in the UBB.threads 7.x series, and that the next major version will be version 8.0 http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/221276/4.html. Version 8.0 will include both a GUI redesign and blogs along with several other new features, including an API
. Beta testing for UBB.threads 8.0 will consist of two phases; the first phase of beta testing (beginning December 2009) will be of the redesigned administrator control panel, while the second phase of beta testing will be of the user front end.
On January 1, 2010, it has been announced that the overall software package of version 8 will simply be known as UBB, with the UBB.threads name referring to the forums part of the software. At the same time, the gallery portion of the software will be known as UBB.gallery, and the blogs portion will be known as UBB.blogs.
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
software package originally written by Rick Baker. Written with PHP
PHP
PHP is a general-purpose server-side scripting language originally designed for web development to produce dynamic web pages. For this purpose, PHP code is embedded into the HTML source document and interpreted by a web server with a PHP processor module, which generates the web page document...
using a MySQL
MySQL
MySQL officially, but also commonly "My Sequel") is a relational database management system that runs as a server providing multi-user access to a number of databases. It is named after developer Michael Widenius' daughter, My...
database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
backend, it is comparable to other forum software written in PHP
Comparison of Internet forum software (PHP)
This is a comparison of the features of various Internet forum packages written in PHP.- General information :Basic general information about the forums: creator/company, license/price etc.- Features :- Data storage :...
.
WWWThreads was originally written in Perl
Perl
Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular...
starting in 1997, then a PHP version was made in 2000. WWWThreads was notable for being one of the first forum software packages to support both flat and threaded discussion. In 2001, WWWThreads was acquired by Infopop Corporation (later known as Groupee, Inc. and now known as Social Strata), owners of the Ultimate Bulletin Board software. It was consequently renamed UBB.threads. After WWWThreads' acquisition by Infopop, the Perl version of WWWThreads was discontinued. The last Perl version of WWWThreads was version 5.4.3. All subsequent versions of UBB.threads starting with version 5.5 were released in PHP only. UBB.threads 6.0 was released in the spring of 2002. The current version is 7.5.6.
On January 1, 2010, UBB.threads was spun off from Social Strata, and sold to Mindraven, Inc. However, in June 2011, UBB.threads was sold to UBB Systems.
Version 7.x
While Groupee initially proposed a new forum software package designed to replace UBB.classic and UBB.threads, they wound up using several portions of the core of UBB.threads. While the name implies an upgrade to threads, the v7 branch is seen as more of a complete overhaul of the initial code base as well as heavy feature adaptations from UBB.classic.While the v7 branch retains the UBB.Threads name, it is incompatible with prior versions due to the coding overhaul. Any "upgrades" to v7 are done as an import as if it were from any other 3rd party product. In addition to the importer for previous versions of UBB.threads, importers for UBB.classic
UBB.classic
UBB.classic was an Internet forum software package originally written by Ted O'Neill of Social Strata, Inc. in 1996. It was written in Perl and used a flat file database...
v6.x, phpBB
PhpBB
phpBB is a popular Internet forum package written in the PHP scripting language. The name "phpBB" is an abbreviation of PHP Bulletin Board...
v2.x and v3.x, Simple Machines Forums 1.1, vBulletin
VBulletin
vBulletin is a proprietary Internet forum software produced by Jelsoft Enterprises and vBulletin Solutions, both subsidiaries of Internet Brands. It is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database server.-History:...
3.8.x, FusionBB3, YaBB 2, WowBB, and WWWBoard 2.x are also available.
Version 7.1
Version 7.1 was released on February 20, 2007. Primary new features included some features that were trimmed out from the transition from the UBB.classic and UBB.threads 6.x series to UBB.threads version 7.0. Some of these features included custom titles, user-selectable languages, and user-defined forum sorting options. Other major new features included online mood indicators on posts, auto-deletion of pointers to moved threads, and CAPTCHACAPTCHA
A CAPTCHA is a type of challenge-response test used in computing as an attempt to ensure that the response is generated by a person. The process usually involves one computer asking a user to complete a simple test which the computer is able to generate and grade...
user registration.
Version 7.2
Version 7.2 was released on July 16, 2007. The largest new feature in this version is the addition of an image gallery feature. Other significant new features included teaser forums and a spoiler BBCodeBBCode
BBCode or Bulletin Board Code is a lightweight markup language used to format posts in many message boards. The available tags are usually indicated by square brackets surrounding a keyword, and they are parsed by the message board system before being translated into a markup language that web...
tag, as well as some code cleanup.
Version 7.3
Version 7.3 was introduced on May 7, 2008. Version 7.3 introduces improved spider-friendly URLs, with the option to add a fake .html extension at the end of each page, as well as group-based permissions. Other new features include the ability to hide user post counts, an improved pagination routine, a custom BBCode editor, and a drop-down search box.Version 7.4
Initially known as version 7.3.2, while version 7.4 is mostly bugfixes from previous versions, there are a few new features being introduced. Some new features being introduced include a search function for the user list, a mass permission copy page, unlimited custom islands, and two new portal islands (one that displays today's birthdays, and a "featured member" portal island that selects and displays a random user who is not banned) http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/216395/1.html. Version 7.4 was released on October 16, 2008.Version 7.5
Major new features for version 7.5 include a redesigned user profile page, a UBB Buddies box, and a visitor comments section on the user profile page. An administrator option to disable the calendar was also added. Initially blogs were planned for version 7.5, however, they have been pushed back to version 8.0. Version 7.5 was released on February 24, 2009.Version 8.0
Initially, a blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
ging feature was planned for introduction of version 7.3, however, it was soon pushed back to version 7.4. However, with the renaming of version 7.3.2 to 7.4, it was then planned for version 7.5 http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/217445/6.html.
On November 10, 2008, UBB.threads developer Rick Baker began a survey on whether the next major release should include blogs, or whether it should include a GUI redesign http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/218970/Your_vote_counts.html#Post218970. An issue of concern is that if blogs are added in the version before the GUI redesign, the blogging feature would have to be reworked again in the next version afterward that the GUI redesign is applied to. Current plans for the GUI redesign call for true user-selectable skins, which will allow for complete changes in the GUI design rather than simply changing the color schemes, as well as a WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...
editor.
On November 23, 2008, it was decided from the poll that the next major version will include blogs, and the version afterward will include a GUI redesign. However, in January 2009, it was discovered that a user created several disposable accounts to skew the results towards blogs, and that the GUI redesign was the true winner.
On January 22, 2009, it was announced that version 7.5 will be the last major release in the UBB.threads 7.x series, and that the next major version will be version 8.0 http://www.ubbcentral.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/221276/4.html. Version 8.0 will include both a GUI redesign and blogs along with several other new features, including an API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
. Beta testing for UBB.threads 8.0 will consist of two phases; the first phase of beta testing (beginning December 2009) will be of the redesigned administrator control panel, while the second phase of beta testing will be of the user front end.
On January 1, 2010, it has been announced that the overall software package of version 8 will simply be known as UBB, with the UBB.threads name referring to the forums part of the software. At the same time, the gallery portion of the software will be known as UBB.gallery, and the blogs portion will be known as UBB.blogs.
Suspension of project
Shorty after the acquisition of UBB.threads by UBBSystems, it was announced that a new 7.6 version would be released as a stopgap, which will add several requested features and bugfixes. Currently, Version 8 is on hold due to it being incomplete and needing more work.External links
- UBBCentral - Official site.
- UBBDev - UBB.threads modifications
- UBB.Wiki - A 3rd party documentation project for UBB.threads.
- UBB.threads Version Notes - UBB.threads 6.x and 7.x version history
- UBB.threads review and demonstration example