Chris Christian

IP.Board 3.0.x and Applications: End of Life Announcement

So that we can focus all of our development, support, and service efforts on the newest version 3.1 platform and create a great version 3.2, we are announcing the end of support (sometimes called end of life or EOL) for the following IPS software versions (and earlier versions):

• IP.Board 3.0.x
  
• IP.Blog 2.1.x
  
• IP.Gallery 3.1.x
  
• IP.Downloads 2.1.x
  
• IP.Content 1.2.x
  
• IP.Chat 1.0.x

Technical support, installations, and services will end for these products on June 1, 2011. On that date all technical or service requests will be advised to simply upgrade to the most recent versions of the products. We will not force upgrades but will also not be able to diagnose issues or answer questions relating to the older software. Also, on that date, IPS will no longer address any new issues or bugs reported in the older software versions.

You are of course free to continue using these older versions if you wish but IPS will no longer provide assistance after the EOL date.

Security Updates

In the event an issue is discovered impacting the security of these older versions of the software, IPS will provide a patch posted in our announcements forum. We will continue to provide security updates for several months after the EOL date based on severity of the issue.

Internet Explorer 7 Support

The next version of Internet Explorer, version 9, will soon be reaching a final, supported release from Microsoft. Once Internet Explorer 9 final is released we will begin phasing out support for Internet Explorer 7 which will then be two versions behind. This will not be an abrupt end of support but we will base our phase-out of support based on the market share and adoption rate of IE8/9 versus IE7. Issues reported that are specific to IE7 will be evaluated on a case by case basis and, depending on the severity of their impact, we will still address them. However, as a general practice, cosmetic issues or minor lack of functionality specific to IE7 will not be addressed.

We were recently inspired to write up our own year end review of 2010 to go over the highlights of all the accomplishments our staff made during the year. It's also a great overview of the advancements IPS constantly makes for our customers. Here are the highlights:


December 2009

We began blogging about IP.Board 3.1 and IP.Content 1.2. Everyone was very excited to start revealing the upcoming changes to IP.Board and to further the maturing of the new IP.Content product.

January:

• IP.Chat 1.0.0 released as final. IP.Chat 5 user room provided for free to all customers with an active support contract.
  
• Blogged about expected updates to our addon applications
  
• Released public phpdoc documentation for developers
  
• IP.Downloads 2.1.0 released final. IP.Downloads 2.1.0 provides friendly URLs, upload progress bar, multiple files per record, interface updates, and more.
  
• IP.Content 1.2.0 released final. 1.2.0 provides WYSIWYG editors, better control over fields, and better support for attachments.
  
• Gallery 3.1.0 released final. 3.1.0 introduces album cover images, friendly URLs, sub albums, profile picture albums, friendly only albums, and fancy slideshow.
  
• IP.Blog 2.1.0 released final. 2.1.0 includes support for group blogs, Blog This!, RSS imports, resource improvements and more.
  
• Continued blogging about IP.Board 3.1 improvements

February:

• Improvements to spam monitoring service.
  
• Continued blogging about IP.Board 3.1.0 and addon application updates to be expected
  
• Extended our demo system to 48 hours (extended to 5 days later in the year).

March:

• IP.Board 3.1.0 revealed to the community via updated company forums. New features include profile customization, link sharing, status updates, twitter integration, reputation viewing, ad codes, notification system, soft deletions, and more.
  
• Continued blogging about expected application updates and IP.Board 3.1.0 changes.
  
• Skin Generator service launched for free to all active license holders.

April:

• Community Hosting improvements were made allowing for free 20 user chat rooms, IP.Content available for only $5/month, and a switch from generic metrics to user-based limits.
  
• Continued blogging about application updates, and released betas of the new versions for the community to begin testing.
  
• IPS Staff is excited to hear the news that Nakisha Thomas, our Director of Customer Service, welcomes the birth of her son.

May:

• iPhone app developed and released for free to the community.
  
• Skin generator service updated.
  
• Introduced IP.Nexus as our new business platform.

June:

• IP.Board 3.1.0, IP.Gallery 3.2.0, IP.Blog 2.2.0, IP.Downloads 2.2.0, IP.Content 2.0.0, and IP.Chat 1.1.0 released. Many great improvements for all products available to customers - check out the release topic for a full list. It's impressive!
  
• IP.Board 3.1.1, IP.Gallery 3.2.1, IP.Blog 2.2.1, IP.Downloads 2.2.1, IP.Content 2.0.1, IP.Chat 1.1.1 released. Quick bug fixes for the most notable issues in the newest version.
  
• iPhone app updated to support push notifications, amongst other features.
  
• Community directory launched to allow customers free exposure to anyone using the iPhone app or browsing our company forums for any site.
  
• New IPS web site launched.

July:

• IPS conducts a donation drive for Autism research, in part to test our newest upcoming product IP.Nexus, and in addition to raising $1000 via donations from our community, IPS donated a matching $1000 to AutismSpeaks.org.
  
• IP.Board 3.1.2, IP.Gallery 3.2.2, IP.Blog 2.2.2, IP.Downloads 2.2.2, IP.Content 2.0.2, and IP.Chat 1.1.2 released. In addition to important bug fixes, this release includes enhanced SQL error display, ACP live search improvements, SQL toolbox enhancements, improvements to partial member registrations, and more.
  
• Forum support launched allowing official support via our company forums.

August:

• Website improvements to make documentation searching easier and better documentation organization.
  
• Community hosting improvements implemented.

September:

Continued blogging about upcoming updates to our software. IPS does not release roadmaps as they are too easy to stray from and you end up making promises you cannot keep which we never want to do. Instead, we post blog entries when we complete a new feature so everyone knows it's not just a mockup or an unfulfilled hope.

October:

• IP.Board 3.1.3 released.
  
• Skin generator updated and improved.
  
• Release schedule for our products announced. The first and last time IPS has done this!

November:

• IP.Nexus 1.0.0 released.IP.Nexus is our powerful ecommerce solution that allows you to monetize your IP.Board easily.
  
• IP.Content 2.1.0 released. Features include external widgets, redesigned default interface, block variable help, admin interface improvements, better forum integration, template import/export, and more.
  
• IP.Nexus 1.0.1 released. As part of our commitment to maintain and update Nexus regularly, we release our first update for Nexus only 10 days after initial release of 1.0.0.
  
• IP.Content 2.1.1 released. Resolves bugs reported since the release of 2.1.0.
  
• IP.Board 3.1.4 released. This release includes new like and comment functionality which our other application updates will be making use of.
  
• IPS Marketplace goes live. The Marketplace allows developers to sell their IPS product addons directly through our site, reaching more customers with less hassle.
  
• IP.Nexus 1.0.2 released. This release is part of our continuing effort to ensure any issues affecting your ability to monetize your site using IP.Nexus are promptly addressed.
  
• New release and quality assurance testing two-stage procedure implemented to help enhance quality assurance of releases, and to give customers a chance to test and use the software prior to actual release.
  
• IPS Staff is excited to hear the news that Lindy Throgmartin, our CEO, welcomes the birth of his son.

December

• In just a couple weeks of activity already paid out over two thousand dollars to Marketplace contributors.
  
• IP.Blog 2.3.0 released. 2.3.0 includes new like and commenting systems, Facebook like buttons on entries, tweet entry button on entries, a redesigned portal interface, improved notifications, new interfaces, and more.
  
• IP.Downloads 2.3.0 released. 2.3.0 includes IP.Nexus integration for selling downloads, an overhauled user interface, improved notifications, new like and comment system integration, and much more.
  
• IP.Nexus 1.0.3 released.

Still to come: Maintenance releases, new IP.Chat version, and IP.Gallery 4.0 reveal!



We are all looking forward to a productive 2011 and will continue to bring you the best community software around!

I've already taken it on board. Some stuff has happened in the past couple of weeks which has slowed down development somewhat but its ~65% done and I'm hoping to get it out in the next couple of weeks.

Coming from a long time vB user (about 5 years) I just wanted to jump in and give props to the IPB staff.  I have never had better customer service then IPB here!  Hats off to you all!  If your a vBulletin user trying to decide if you want to make the switch.... just take my word for it.  Switching to Invision has given me more flexibility to do what I want with my board then vb ever could and the support is just an added bonus!

Hello,


It's difficult to address these matters in public. We keep logs, e-mails and all electronic communication -- I found yours from 2007 in which the transaction receipt was provided indicating the new owner paid you for the licenses and you authorizing the transfer (you specified "2 licenses.") This also had verification of your client area password, establishing that you were actually making the request. We do not allow a single license transfer - you may only sell the account, which is what you did.

This is exactly why we discourage license transfers to be honest. Many times, someone will sell a license, decide they wish they hadn't and then return, often years later, to reclaim it. We then dedicate hours of research time to determine who the rightful owner of the license is -- and 99% of the time, the current license holder is the rightful license holder.

I'm sorry you did not like the outcome of our investigation. You're free to contact me with any questions or concerns, however, this is not the appropriate place for further discussion.

Thank you.

As with any business, we have a natural drive to want to increase our customer base. We have an offer you can read about in our announcements forum.

We must also balance that natural drive for more customers with our commitment to our existing customers. They expect constant development and good support which we will continue to provide. In fact, due to the dozens of conversions each day over the past week we are adding two new customer service staff to keep up both with new demand and our existing customer needs. While we are never perfect, no one is, any IPS customer will tell you that we always do our best to serve their needs.

IPS obviously wants to stay ahead of the game and maintain its market advantage in all areas. We cannot under-sell our own products and devalue their quality. Keep in mind we not only offer a product but a large bundle of services around it including private-ticket support, telephone support, our spam monitoring service, and the new live-chat product - all included with the license at no extra cost. It's more than just a simple message board we are selling here

We are pleased to announce IP.Content 1.1 is now available

IP.Content is our community content system for managing the content of your community and publishing everything from a simple portal to a complete web site.

IP.Content 1.1 introduces support for custom dynamic databases. You can create databases, manage categories, fields, moderators, records, comments, revisions and more, all from within your admin control panel. You can also allow your users to submit, edit, rate and comment on records in databases, with a plethora of other options available on a per-database level. Please read our previous blog entry for a more in-depth outline of the new functionality in version 1.1.0.


Those with a license to IP.Content can download it in the client area now!

The special offer referenced below has expired.

Community Suite Promotion

The current Community Suite package offered for sale on our web site has been available for quite some time and features a bundled deal to purchase IP.Board, IP.Gallery, and IP.Blog all at once. It has been a great way for customers to purchase those products at once for a discount. However, the package was introduced before we had other products like IP.Downloads, IP.Content, and more.

The downside is that some clients want to mix-and-match from our various product line yet the Community Suite is the three products listed with no other options. It also becomes difficult as IPS adds more to our product line.

Therefore, starting November 2, 2009, we will be discontinuing the Community Suite purchase option. On that date it will be replaced with a discount option based on the simple premise of the more products you purchase at once then the greater your package discount grows. It's only fair to offer a greater discount based on your purchase volume while still offering you flexibility to choose which products you want. We will have information about this on our web site when available in November.

Last Chance to Purchase Community Suite

If you are interested in our Community Suite be sure to order before November 2 to lock in the price and the renewal offers.

Pricing Benefits

Ordering products (Board/Blog/Gallery) separately: $264.97 up front plus $100 per year for support/services/upgrades
Ordering products through Community Suite: $249.99 up front plus $50 per year for support/services/upgrades

Special IPS Product Line Offer

Until November 2, we are also offering a special for those wishing to purchase the entire IPS product line. If you are interested in all that's offered under the Community Suite (Board/Blog/Gallery) plus IP.Downloads and IP.Content you can purchase all of these products for just an additional $50 (total of $299.99 for all) on top of the Community Suite price. That's a savings of $50 compared to buying separately. Standard renewal terms apply. Purchase special offer... it is only available by reading this announcement - not mentioned anywhere on our web site!

Security Update for IP.Board 3.0.2
It has come to our attention that there are two potential SQL injection vulnerabilities present in IP.Board 3.0 which can be taken advantage of via careful URL crafting.

Resolution
The attached zip contains two files which fix the issue. The files are for IP.Board version 3.0.2 only. Those still running 3.0.0 or 3.0.1 will need to upgrade to 3.0.2 as soon as possible.

The main 3.0.2 download zip was updated at 10:15 am EST August 18, 2009. If you download 3.0.2 after this time: your files are already updated.

Simply download the attached zip file and upload the files contained within to your IP.Board directory on your server. No other action is required.

 180809.zip   13.73K   7984 downloads

Support Note: While our technical support department will apply this patch for you on request for those with support service, we strongly suggest you apply this patch yourself whenever possible. Applying the patch is a simple matter of uploading files to your server and, once done, your community is instantly protected without having to wait for our technicians to do the upload for you.



Impacted Versions:
3.0.0
3.0.1
3.0.2 versions downloaded before posted time or unpatched

Not Impacted:
2.0.x
2.1.x
2.2.x
2.3.x


The vulnerability information was purchased by Beyond Security's SecuriTeam Secure Disclosure. The discoverer of the vulnerability requested to remain anonymous. IPS thanks this group for bringing it to our attention.

Manual Patch Instruction
For power users who wish to manually update the PHP source files.

File: "admin/applications/core/modules_public/search/search.php"
Line: 207

Quote

File: "admin/applications/core/modules_public/global/lostpass.php"
Lines 75 and 439:

Quote

The following skin difference and changed file reports are provided for power users who wish to manually upgrade. Most customers will not need to use these reports.

We are pleased to announce Invision Power Board 3.0.1 has been released.

This is the first maintenance release for IP.Board 3 and addresses the most critical issues discovered during the first large-scale usage of IP.Board 3's release. Also, IP.Blog, IP.Gallery, and IP.Downloads have received a maintenance update. Thanks to everyone who was an early-user of IP.Board 3.0.0 and reported issues that you came across.

Major Changes Since 3.0.0

Among many dozens of smaller bugs fixed, the following large changes and fixes have been made in 3.0.1 release:

• View new content changes so its more like 2.3.6 where it's based off last visit. Option to use the 3.0 style in user settings.
  
• Option to view search results in a view similar to a forum.
  
• More filter and sort options with search
  
• Optimized search and view new content to improve performance
  
• Sessions not clearing in some PHP versions fixed. Will improve performance on those versions.
  
• Language import / export system is much more stable now.
  
• Slow queries in the Portal have been optimized.
  
• Many Facebook Connect issues have been addressed.
  
• PM counts being incorrect have been fixed.
  
• Old media tag and quote tag issues impacting display of older posts fixed.
  
• Watched content hook in sidebar resource usage addressed.

Important: We have received reports of IP.Board 3.0.1 not working correctly on servers running PHP version 5.3. Please do not upgrade to IP.Board 3 if your host runs PHP 5.3. We are working on a fix for this issue and should have it in place for 3.0.2 release.


Downloading

You can download IP.Board 3.0.1 and any applications you have an active license for in the client area. As always, make a backup of your community before proceeding.






Subscriptions Manager

A fully supported version of Subscriptions Manager is not yet available for IP.Board 3 just yet. The first beta of SM compatible with IP.Board 3 can be downloaded in the customer lounge on the IPS company forums. A second beta of SM is expected in the next few days. As soon as possible (depending on feedback from the beta releases) we will be releasing a supported version of SM.

MS-SQL Database Driver

The MS-SQL database driver will be out as a beta release early next week. Keep an eye out for an announcement regarding this update.

In IPB 2.3.6 we had an option to list active topics for "today", "past week", "past month" and so on. This feature seems to have been removed in 3.0.1 and our members are vouching for that feature. I don't know why that feature has been removed. The only option in IPB 3 is to list the active topics in the past 24 hours. The filter option to get the active topics beyond that is not available in the results page. I have attached a screenshot of that option from 2.3.6. I hope this feature will be added in the future release.

IPB3 was in beta testing for months and we have already released version 3.0.1 maintenance release. It certainly was not hasty

IPB3 support multiple languages and we continue to work with native speakers of those languages to address issues as they are reported. It's hard to get language support right in the first release as we do not have any native speakers of other languages on staff. However, we are working on a method to officially support other languages so you can download IPB3 pre-translated.

Hi,
I really like the new design of the IPB 3, in the past I'm not an IPB fan, but my choice has fallen on vB for reasons of which now I don't want to discuss (The past is past), but now I was really impressed by this new form that has introduced IPB and I don't see comparison with the present and the new vB core... this make me a decision to switch ASAP to IPB 3 from my owned vB (but also to the policy that is taking vB) ... so anyway I think that you were too hurried to release this new and splendid version of IPB 3 because it seems yet in BETA STAGE and not a true Final release...
users feedback and board admins (BIG AND SMALL BOARDS)they do understand.

This is the main reason why I haven't yet done my purchase, so definitely going to Invision Power Company as a preferred Board Company...

I am also sorry to say this because I was a fan of vB for many years, but I think many will make my own choice, then why when your prices are much more competitive.


Another very important factor about IPB and all IPS would be to not make the same mistakes of rivals trading, does not snob other languages as well, as other nations do you earn your money by buying your software, in order to be truly among the best we need an international team which coordinates the translation in as many languages as possible and include them as official.

Thanks,
Antonio