ProBoards v5 Launch Date Announced!

ProBoards staff and our huge group of volunteers are here to help with the transition. We set up BetaZone so people could experiment. We are giving people a 3 month transition so they can do things on their schedule and we can provide support for any codes that don't exist yet in v5.

The argument that we should leave things that aren't broken alone isn't a reality in a modern business world and especially not online. By online standards v4.5 is outdated. V5 introduces things that are set to new standards as I'm sure the coding community here will defend. We have to adapt to stay ahead of the competition. I think most people would agree that our software upgrade is long overdue. The admin area, regardless of how used to it you are, is a complete mess to navigate in v4.5. It is literally a list of pages in no certain order. Every function has to load a new page. The entire thing is set in your own skin and if you make a mistake you could toast it. You have no way to preview anything you're doing and have to often navigate back tot the forum to check if changes occurred. You will have to learn the new layout, but that is part of gaining so much more. All the functionality of version 4.5 still exists in v5. We have however added far more regarding customization and what a forum can be. We also organized it into a logical breakdown (there are more navigation options coming btw). If you don't like a new feature then you don't need to use it. During this Beta time we are doing everything we can to make transitions the best and easiest they can be. When people come in complaining and ranting about leaving instead of asking for help or helping us fix things nothing is accomplished.

The entire point of this beta is to help admins deal with the transition to v5, but we need those willing to help to provide us with information as well. It's a two way street. We've already added dozens (if not hundreds) of features based completely on member requests. We also have created an open ended platform that literally allows for any customization you can possibly think of within reason. We even still have our ears and eyes open to new ideas and we're about to launch the software. Because we care. We're going to provide robust updates over the next few years, most of which has been member requested. So please stop and take a moment to appreciate the fact that we aren't here to ruin your community, the goal is in fact the opposite. We want to enrich it. And we're willing to listen to what your ideas for doing so are. If you've customized the heck out of your v4 forum then you should be the most open to v5, not the most closed off. We're attempting to let others experience the level of customization that you struggled to achieve over years (possibly) in a matter of minutes with v5. Yes that might require some effort on your part, but that's what being an admin is about. We know you might not care about the other communities around you, but by doing this your community will grow and prosper as well, and your opportunities will become limitless.