Is it good enough (as beta1) to start building a site aroud?

[reiel]

Next week I will start building a new site which will contain a message board. I have always been a fan of phpBB and have used phpBB2 for a long time on several sites, and now I really want to use phpBB3 as the board for this site. So I'm wondering if using Olympus in its current state is a wise decision? Is it relatively safe? Are the major functions working as they should? Are there any major bugs that are causing problems for the "everyday use" of a messageboard? In the beginning the board will have about 30-50 users on a daily basis (it will be on a very "private" adress, so the risk of hacking en exploiting is very minimal), and after a few months the user base will greatly increase. Converting from phpBB2 on a later stage is not an option, it's either Olympus or something else. I know that it is a beta release and that it is not a finished product.

[jacobmp92]

Answering all of your questions in the order asked:
No.
No.
Yes.
A few.

[stubbers]

Basically these questions cannot be defined without first knowing what kind of knowledge of php and indeed phpBB you have. If you know how to write php on an ADVANCED level then yes. Feel free, providing you do know how to use it on an advanced level you will be able to keep up to date.


But to put it simply:

So I'm wondering if using Olympus in its current state is a wise decision?

No, it's not reccomended. There may be NO way to get from Beta to RC's and indeed to the final release. Between now and release the board and it's database may change. This could leave your board open and manual upgrades to at least RC1 would be required!

Is it relatively safe?

Contrary to what the last user said... Yes... Security wise phpBB 3 B1 is safe. However, that's only because I haven't heard of any exploits yet. They will be found and as it's in Beta stage no upgrades will be provided to patch the holes in the system. This presents the most serious problem!

Are the major functions working as they should?

Yes, they are, I'm running the board in a closed beta setup and have run into very very few problems with the beta. And I don't keep up with the CVS!

Are there any major bugs that are causing problems for the "everyday use" of a messageboard?

It's difficult to answer this... The bugs are still being ironed out and a bug isn't a bug until it's found so yeah, there could be a few out there...

Simply put, unless you are confident enough to manipulate the database to match changes in the CVS and then just continually update your board manually to match the CVS, don't do it...

Go for phpBB2 and upgrade, only way to go I'm afraid. I'm sure you can find something temporary. I for one want to link up my user DB's on my site but I'm not doing that until I get phpBB3 RC1 up, and once the RC's have an assured upgrade path!

Cheers,
Stubbers

[LEW21]

So I'm wondering if using Olympus in its current state is a wise decision?

Yes.

Is it relatively safe?

Yes.

Are the major functions working as they should?

Yes, minor functions too.

Are there any major bugs that are causing problems for the "everyday use" of a messageboard?

I haven't seen any big bugs.


I recommend starting on a newest CVS version and updating it every 1 or 2 weeks. Every change in database is listed [SPAM]

[Graham]

Ignoring the last poster who seems to have missed the point completely, I'll make the answer quite clear - running this code in a live environment is unsupported and you should not do it unless you are comfortable managing it with no support from us or other users and with no upgrade path.

And it is is not a question that the database might change - the database WILL change which is why we warned people quite clearly against running it in a live environment

[Highway of Life]

I'm with Stubbers on this one...

If you are a real geek, and you know your PHP and MySQL stuff, I say give it a try...
I would choose phpBB3 Beta1 over phpBB 2.0.x any day.

But that's just me...
It's important to realize what Graham is saying, and there are risks involved...

But I'm perfectly willing to take those risks.
Even to the point that I am converting all my phpBB2 boards to Beta1 already.

If you don't feel comfortable with it, don't do it.
That is the long and short of it.

[Wert]

One word to consider.

Beta.

And if one is considering using the currently available version in a live environment, remember.

Beta.

Beta.

Beta.


And all that implies.

[VxJasonxV]

If you are a real geek, and you know your PHP and MySQL stuff, I say give it a try...
I would choose phpBB3 Beta1 over phpBB 2.0.x any day.

If they were a real geek, they wouldn't have asked. They would have (1) read EVERYTHING that already exists about this forum (2) dove head first into the thing and started hacking away.

This 'if' stuff just doesn't match up...

[paulblackgsx]

My guess is if you have to ask - you shouldn't. If you've used phpBB3 beta1 on a site (even a closed beta site), seen the bug tracker for known problems, and were very aware of your php abilities you would already know the answer. Not trying to be rude, but it's really the idea the mods are trying to get across and the best way to tell you whether you could run it without knowing you specifically.