phpBB Weekly

February, the shortest month of the year, is almost upon us, and so I wanted to fill you in on our plans for the next couple of episodes here on phpBB Weekly to give you a heads up on what we’re going to be covering.

This Saturday, February 2nd, is not only Groundhog Day (my most favorite obscure holiday of the year), but David has promised me that he will be back on phpBB Weekly! Also, now that the fanfare of the Olympus release has calmed down a bit, we are going to do our first phpBB tutorial in about two months. We will be focusing on BBCode. I have myself done some research on the history and purpose of BBCode, along with a bit on how BBCode worked in phpBB2. Then David will fill us in on what’s new with BBCode in phpBB3, including an overview of how to use the Custom BBCode maker in phpBB3, and we’ll see if it’s possible for us to get some more info on what to expect from the brand new BBCode system coming in phpBB 3.2. Also, we’re inviting anyone who wants to share your favorite custom BBCode syntax with us, which we’ll highlight to share some examples of custom BBCodes.

Next Saturday, February 9th, we will be celebrating the fiftieth episode of phpBB Weekly–a significant milestone for most podcasts to celebrate. So, what’s the best way for us to celebrate a significant milestone? Why, by featuring a special guest, of course! For what is sure to be an interesting discussion, we will be inviting Patrick O’Keefe, administrator of phpBBHacks.com, to join us to talk a bit about phpBBHacks.com, including how and why it was formed and where it is today. We will probably also have a friendly debate with David as we discuss the differences behind phpBBHacks.com and the phpBB.com MODs Database, and the differing philosophies behind those differences. Patrick will also be telling us a bit about his new book, coming out in April. It’s definitely sure to be a very interesting episode of phpBB Weekly and one that I’ve been looking forward to putting on for a long time.

I am going to be completely away from my computer (and thus, the internet) from February 14-23. Because of this, we are not going to be doing a phpBB Weekly episode on February 16, and we might not do a phpBB Weekly episode on February 23 (up to David whether he wants to do one solo or not). Furthermore, David will also be doing a solo episode on March 1, because I have to take a test that morning (aren’t SATs fun?). So, similar to how David just missed a month of shows, I’m going to be missing about a month’s worth of shows beginning in mid-February.

But anyway, that pretty much covers what we have planned so far for our next few episodes. I hope that you’ll be able to join us live on Saturdays at 12 PM EST (1700 UTC), or else continue to subscribe to the podcast version which I will usually release within 36 hours of the live episode. Have a good February, and stay healthy!

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Episode Duration: 44:38
On This Episode: Douglas Bell (Fountain of Apples)

On the heels of last week’s accident comes another episode of phpBB Weekly, once again featuring a solo act from Douglas. On this episode, Douglas once again begs for forgiveness for the accident that caused last week’s dilemma, but also takes a second look at what was discussed last week and re-examines (as well as clarifies) the various new features in phpBB 3.2 Ascraeus. At the same time, he examines the announcement that phpBB Development is moving to Subversion, and also makes mention of the new phpBB Code Forge.

This is a short and sweet episode that may sound like a regurgitation of what was covered last week, but we try to tackle it all in a new light as we collectively take a deep breath and move on.

The MOD of the Week is Change Poster for phpBB2 by Joe Belmaati, and the Style of the Week is Jenova Template for phpBB2 by varuna.

phpBB Weekly is a proud member of the Tech Podcast Network. Check them out for other great technology podcasts.

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phpBB Weekly #047 did take place live, but due to a mistake, the recording was lost to the great bit bucket up in the sky. In a poor substitute for the lost episode, Douglas takes this opportunity to explain what happened, to apologize for it, and to share what he is doing to prevent this from happening again.

For those of you that had wanted to find out about phpBB 3.2 (codename Ascraeus), David and Douglas will be doing another episode where we will take another look at the significant new features coming in Ascraeus either this Saturday (the 26th) or next Saturday (the 2nd). Stay tuned to phpBBWeekly.net for more info coming soon.

My sincerest apologies also to DavidMJ and A_Jelly_Doughnut, who had joined the live show as guests to talk about 3.2, and to everyone else out there that was looking forward to this episode. No one is more upset about the loss of this episode than I am.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, we are going to have to cancel phpBB Weekly for this Saturday, January 12th. David’s move to Spokane, which has been the cause of his absence for the past few episodes, has unfortunately had some issues which have slowed it down. Therefore, he will not be able to be here this Saturday for phpBB Weekly. At the same time, I will be out of town for a meeting, and will not be here for phpBB Weekly. Therefore, we are not going to be recording an episode this week.

phpBB Weekly #047, which was intended to be the episode where David will be revealing for the first time what’s new in phpBB 3.2, will be postponed to next Saturday, January 19th. David promises that he’ll be there, and I’ll also be there, so it will be great for both of us to be on the show at the same time for the momentous occasion. Even better, David will be joined by MOD Team member Josh W. (A_Jelly_Doughnut) and Development Team member David M. (DavidMJ)*, who will be joining David in revealing what’s new in the up-and-coming 3.2. And, of course, I will be there, serving as the curmudgeon offering my opinions and judgments on the revealed features, and asking as many more-in-depth type questions as I can, while also making sure that the episode doesn’t trump two hours. And, based on past experiences, with something this big going on, you can expect that there will be some more team members lurking about on TalkShoe, especially now that TalkShoe is more accessible now.

Oh, and of course, we invite you to not only come live and be among the first to learn about the new stuff coming in the next major release of phpBB, but also join in with your own questions and comments! Come in live to the chat room and share your opinions on the new features as they’re introduced, or call in live on the show and talk with our guest team members! Or, if you have questions and comments that you’d like to share, feel free.

Finally, the last thing that I am going to pitch is to ask you all to mention what some of the features you’d like to see in phpBB 3.2. After all, this podcast isn’t just for hearing what the team members have to say, it’s for hearing what you, the community, has to say. Who knows (David does) whether or not your most-wanted feature will actually be showing up in 3.2, but sound off in this topic about what you want the teams to deliver in 3.2, and we’ll be sure that they hear what you want them to hear.

In order to keep the discussion for this particular episode in one easy-to-find place, the comments for this post have been closed and we ask you to please respond in the phpBB Weekly forum topic.

We do apologize for the inconvenience of suddenly canceling this weekend’s episode, but we’re really looking forward to the exciting episode that we have planned for the 19th, and hope to see you then!
–Douglas Bell

* Guests are subject to change without notice.

Those of you who have eagle eyes, or perhaps actually care for some reason, may have noticed that TalkShoe, the website that hosts the live recording/streaming of our show, not to mention our infamous chatroom, has just launched a brand new version of their website, including new features. I thought that I might share the most important aspect of what’s new, mostly the things that are important to phpBB Weekly’s listeners.

The biggest new aspect is that TalkShoe now offers a web-based version of their client. That’s right, you no longer have to download the TalkShoe Live! client in order to listen to the show live and join in the chat room. The chat room operates directly in your web browser. Furthermore, you do not have to be a TalkShoe member to participate in the chat room! This means that the entire live phpBB Weekly experience is accessible to anyone, both chat room and calling in live, without registering on TalkShoe! (Although if you do register, you’ll get a more recognizable username than Guest205, for example.)

Note, however, that the downloadable version of TalkShoe is still available (now called TalkShoe Live! Classic). TalkShoe Live! Classic provides a more robust version of the chat room and audio stream, and is also required for using TalkShoe’s free ShoePhone service. Personally, I will continue to use TalkShoe Live! Classic to ensure that I can maintain a connection to the chat room.

Nevertheless, we’re really excited about the new version of TalkShoe, and we hope that it will open up the opportunity to be a part of the show, live as it’s recorded, and also to be a part of our thriving chat room, to a much wider audience. We invite you all to try it on our next live show!

Finally, as one additional reminder, if you have any issues connecting to the live episodes on TalkShoe, we have a special support thread available.