10 Question Picks interview with the phpBB.ro Staff
November 22nd, 2006
After having a close watch over the development of phpBB3, I arranged a 10 question picks interview with the Romanian phpBB Community, and here’s the result.
Our Picks: In your opinion phpBB3 will be as a big success as the phpBB2 series was?
phpBB RO: Of course if will, mostly because phpBB3 will come with a bunch of pre-modded features, because of its design and because of its ability to be upgraded from phpBB2. Plus, we have lots of fans that are eagerly awaiting this release. They’re giving their contributions by coding, support and how ever else they can
Our Picks: Do you see bbPress as a threat to phpBB in general?
phpBB RO : Actually, no. bbPress is a bit new in the field, still beta, and we’ve had a final version of the board for a few years now, and we’re still developing.
Our Picks: Do you think that the ‘blogging phenomena’ is affecting the forums in a negative way? If so what’s your opinion on that?
phpBB RO : Everyone these days feels the need for a blog. No wonder, heh. But the communities still have their dedicated users. For now, things are cool and calm, but I can’t tell what will happen in the future.
Our Picks: Were you aware of the fact that users nowadays feel the need for a blog instead of a community? What do you think about it?
phpBB RO : There’s a slight difference between communities and blogs. The blog is generally centered around one person, but the community is larger. Everyone can open a topic, anyone discuss, and so on. Plus, a random person can have a blog AND can be part of a community. In other words, a blog and a forum are complementary, and they do not compete in any way.
Our Picks: OpenSource is great, but do you see any disadvantages? Other people most likely see some, since they’re choosing paid bulletin boards instead of this open source alternative.
phpBB RO: phpBB being an open source board, everyone has access to the code, and if you don’t keep it updated, you can be hacked very easy. Plus, the profit is not that much, and the lack of money reflects itself in the fact that our qualified programmers are not many. We hope things will change in the near f u t u r e.
Our Picks: How much time do you think it will it pass until phpBB3 will be fully implemented among regular users?
phpBB RO: It depends. It’s not a standard time that has to pass. phpBB3 is now Beta3, will be followed by the Release Candidates versions (RC’s), and then.. *poof* - the final version
Many users will update right away, and we hope to persuade the majority to do the same.Our Picks: Will phpBB2 become obsolete after phpBB3 will be released?
phpBB RO: Not really. It will naturally dissapear mostly, while everyone else will update their boards to phpBB3 as the final version. Anyway, we will be offering support for an undetermined period of time.
Our Picks: Do you think many phpBB3 testers will switch back to phpBB2 after trying the newer version for a while, as it happened with different versions of Windows?
phpBB RO: As any other new thing, we’re aware of the fact that it will take a while until the users will get used to the new version. The same expectations apply to regional communities, MOD’s, and modding actions. And to answer your question, I think they won’t. Plus, the beta version is available at every time, so they can start testing it anytime. Regarding Windows, I believe they switched back due the resources demanded by the new Operating Systems. That’s not the case for phpBB3.
Our Picks: In your opinion, if you were to run a corporate-level bulletin board that was holding secure and confidential information, would you choose a paid one that included 24/7 guaranteed support in case of trouble, or would you choose the phpBB you’ve been working with for the past years that you know as well as we do it has limited “volunteer-based” support?
phpBB RO: I’d stick to phpBB, as we have ways of protecting ourselves aswell (security MODs), and if something major happens, an update will be available as soon as possible.
Our Picks: Can you leave a message for our readers?
phpBB RO: Well, if you had previous connections with phpBB we’re expecting you to use the latest version of phpBB2 to build up communities, or to test phpBB3 for now. A community develops itself quite fast. And if you didn’t have any previous connection to phpBB, you don’t know what you’re losing, so you might want to take a look.
Our Picks: Alright, this should be it. Thank you for your time.
phpBB RO: Cheers
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