SamG wrote: Mr. Morrowind is entitled to his opinion (as is John Abela). I think Mr. Morrowind fails to see which way the wind is blowing.
Consider the amount of pressure phpBB is under to shift from it's original purpose of being a core product which people could adapt to their needs. The phpBB community is changing - or at least under significant pressure to change - with a larger percentage of people wanting to use phpBB without having to aquire the technical skills needed to adapt it. Fewer people seem to be supportive of the idea of MODs as opposed to toggles.
The desire for an integrated portal is, in my opinion, a reflection of this shift. As a community, we're moving closer to a "website-in-a-box" expectation than ever before.
Sure, the "old school" phpBBers are uncomfortable, and that has helped fuel the idea of keeping 2.0 officially alive and supported and possibly even enhanced. But the "new school" phpBBers are helping to apply pressure that seeks to take phpBB beyond a "core forum product" into a "complete out-of-the-box site solution."
Just read around here a bit to see that everybody from gaming clans to semi-specialized business environments have hopes and even expectations that phpBB will include more, wider functionality out-of-the-box in future versions (hopefully sooner rather than later). The turnkey expectation is growing, or so it appears, in relation to the original idea of stable core.
Possibly it all comes down to growing pains. I can't say. Certainly the seriously extended development cycle of 2.2/3.0 hasn't helped. We've had a lot of time, as a community, to build expectations. Whatever the situation, phpBB is under considerable pressure to change, and vitriolic rants won't change that fact.
Just my own opinion, of course ...
I can see your point, But how long do you think 2.0.x line will be developed for?
