When will we see IPB3?

[noop]

I have a question, I am becoming more confused of the comments added above...

Seeing that IPB3 doesn't have an announcement that it is out, was it released? I do not have the support for my account, but I do have the IPB Perpetual license. Has this thing been released but to only people that have paid for support? I am a bit confused.

Looking forward to your reply,
-3xpl0it

[Maza]

I have a question, I am becoming more confused of the comments added above...

Seeing that IPB3 doesn't have an announcement that it is out, was it released? I do not have the support for my account, but I do have the IPB Perpetual license. Has this thing been released but to only people that have paid for support? I am a bit confused.

Looking forward to your reply,

-3xpl0it

IPB3 is not released yet buddy, it's still under testing. Only PREVIEW is available for those who have active support.
This preview should became public in the coming 2 days as they announced in this blog article. :)

[noop]

ah, sweet! Can't wait till then :D

[Keven Fox]

[snip]..... second rate customers....

Based on most of the comments from staff that I've seen after your post I see your comment being the case more than I thought originally.

[whitetigergrowl]

Based on most of the comments from staff that I've seen after your post I see your comment being the case more than I thought originally.

How so?

[TrixieTang]

I agree 100% with Michael, it's a perk for those who have current support contracts with IPS, in the end accessing the test board is as simple as paying for support, as has been said support isn't just support for you, it's money that helps support IPS, and if you've been supporting them in that way, why shouldn't you get a few perks here and there?

Considering the preview will be made truly public soon I really don't see why you're complaining, you aren't treated as second rate you're treated as customers as everyone else is, it's as easy as paying for support, you really shouldn't expect IPS to just hand out everything to you you know

[Loren]

I agree 100% with Michael, it's a perk for those who have current support contracts with IPS, in the end accessing the test board is as simple as paying for support, as has been said support isn't just support for you, it's money that helps support IPS, and if you've been supporting them in that way, why shouldn't you get a few perks here and there?

Considering the preview will be made truly public soon I really don't see why you're complaining, you aren't treated as second rate you're treated as customers as everyone else is, it's as easy as paying for support, you really shouldn't expect IPS to just hand out everything to you you know

Do you mean everything in life is not free??? ;) ;)

[Mark]

Based on most of the comments from staff that I've seen after your post I see your comment being the case more than I thought originally.

Those who continue to support IPS get extra privileges, such as IPS Resources and the customer preview, I think that is completely acceptable.
Think of it like this - if I go into McDonalds and buy a coffee, on the side of the cup there is a little tag I can pull off, if I collect 6 of those little tags, I get a seventh cup of coffee free. I am being rewarded for being a recurring customer. You wouldn't expect to get a free cup of coffee if you only had one of the little tags from a cup of coffee you bought over 2 years ago, would you?

[FCB-Mo]

continue to support IPS? We support IPS by buying a license for their product. It's understandable that u need to have an active subscription for support for things like mods and community based support as that isn't what we paid for when we paid for our licenses but to access a product which we have paid to have the right to use is something we should have.

In the end its not about perks because it's support which what that $30 is advertised to give us and not anything else.

[Bain]

I tend to agree with others here. vBulletin doesn't require you to have an active support license in order to download from vBulletin.org. As long as you hold an active license, you are seen as a customer!

While I like IP.Board... I am seriously considering not renewing and instead hop back to vBulletin because of these very actions. We are customers who paid for our license. We should have the same right as any other customers including the right to download from the resource center.

Things need to start changing and for the better.

[Spirix]

Aren't we supposed to see IPB3 today?

[Mark]

continue to support IPS? We support IPS by buying a license for their product. It's understandable that u need to have an active subscription for support for things like mods and community based support as that isn't what we paid for when we paid for our licenses but to access a product which we have paid to have the right to use is something we should have.

In the end its not about perks because it's support which what that $30 is advertised to give us and not anything else.

The word you missed in your second sentence being continue ;)

At the end of the day, it's been this way for ages.
In regards to mods, skins, etc. Most mod authors choose to make their stuff available elsewhere. In fact, I don't know of a single mod author who doesn't. And even if there is someone, I'm sure a quick PM would be all it takes to get their mod.
In regards to IPB 3, well, you might as well start complaining that the developers, the sales staff and the private beta team got to see it before you - it's just the way they're choosing to do it.
In regards to the customer-only forum, it's not that exciting, currently the active topics are why was invisionpower.com down earlier (there's two of them, four if you include the hosting customers who were also affected).

So yeah... at the end of the day $30 a year for support isn't a lot... if you don't need/want it though, just don't get it.

[Malefickus]

I tend to agree with others here. vBulletin doesn't require you to have an active support license in order to download from vBulletin.org. As long as you hold an active license, you are seen as a customer!

While I like IP.Board... I am seriously considering not renewing and instead hop back to vBulletin because of these very actions. We are customers who paid for our license. We should have the same right as any other customers including the right to download from the resource center.

Things need to start changing and for the better.

I, by all means, am an Apple customer with their iPhone. As one knows, the software on the iPhone is updated from time to time. This doesn't give me any right to be able to preview any new versions of the software being released.

As for the Resources area, I know that with my comparison, one could come back with the App Store, saying that they'd be able to still browse and shop there, even if their warranty period on their phone expired. However, I can't remember where it has been stated, but I do remember reading it a long time ago, that Resources (Then named IPSBeyond) was merely a "perk" offered for those that maintained active support contracts.

Yes, you are still a customer even if your support contract is expired. However, IPS has no further obligations as for support or any other perks are concerned. Even on the vBulletin site, it says for their owned license " Along with this license, you will receive one year of free updates." Nowhere on their site when preparing to purchase the software did I see that one was entitled to even download anything from vbulletin.org. I am assuming that is a "perk" on their end as well.

[whitetigergrowl]

I tend to agree with others here. vBulletin doesn't require you to have an active support license in order to download from vBulletin.org. As long as you hold an active license, you are seen as a customer!

While I like IP.Board... I am seriously considering not renewing and instead hop back to vBulletin because of these very actions. We are customers who paid for our license. We should have the same right as any other customers including the right to download from the resource center.

Things need to start changing and for the better.

And as a Vbulletin customer (as I am too), when was the last time they let their 'customers' get to see something like VB 3 or VB 4 be it a few days or a week prior to it being launched on their own forum? They don't. So as a customer, the only support you get, is lifetime support and mods. And let me say, their mod support sucks IMO. If you fail to make your yearly payment, you don't get upgrades.

So to VB it doesn't matter if you are a customer or not. You see their software when its first made available to use on their main forums. Not a few days or a week early. Would you consider that a perk of being a paying customer? Much of it isn't done so much for the customer as it is to help minimize those trying to pirate.

Some of you want a 1 time fee. How does that benefit IPS, which in turn benefits us? It doesn't. It's called business. If you have a business, and people pay an intial fee to buy your product, then only pay for support or upgrades whenever they want, how does that benefit you? It doesn't. Especially if business is slow. You will be more likely to give a small perk to those paying and keeping current than those not paying.

You paid for a license, not for the service. Just like when you buy a car. You paid for the license. But not for upkeep of the car. Or it's insurance. Etc. That license is for the right to use the product. Same with Vbulletin or that car. It doesn't give you all kinds of rights and privileges. It's just for that 1 right.

Remember that when VB 4 comes out. Ask how many VB customers got to check it out before it was launched on their official forum.

And has been stated, customers will be getting to check it out. Or do you keep missing that part? It's not like only those paying for support see it before it goes gold or something. If you want to get that hyped up over nothing, when customers ARE being able to see it any time now, then so be it. Fact is, you IMO are making a mountain out of a molehill.

[Matt]

Right now the only reason we are not letting more customers in is because we have enough active bug reports to be getting on with. Even with a few hundred active users reporting bugs, we're seeing probably 8 or 9 bug reports on the same issue. If we open the floodgates we'll be wading through hundreds of duplicate issues.

We had planned to give 'customers' (and as Brandon pointed out, it was a pure duplication of the resources access to save us a lot of work) a preview for a few days and then open it up but that's changed as we have so much to be getting on with.

It's nothing personal and it's not an underhand way of getting you to pay for support if you don't need it.

[TrixieTang]

Think about this, there's a car company that also has a magazine, you bought a car from them and as a resulot are a customer, you aren't subscribed to their magazine however.

They reveal they're sending a special CD with an issue that has a preview of their new model, would you honestly expect to get that CD if you aren't subscribed to their magazine? You're all treated as customers, but if you aren't a subscriber then why should you be given subscriber perks?

And also, to Comtech, why is it that every time I visit your forum you seem to be using a different software? I'm almost positive that you've switched from IPB to vB then back to IPB before, choose a software and stick with it for once. :rolleyes:

[FCB-Mo]

Right now the only reason we are not letting more customers in is because we have enough active bug reports to be getting on with. Even with a few hundred active users reporting bugs, we're seeing probably 8 or 9 bug reports on the same issue. If we open the floodgates we'll be wading through hundreds of duplicate issues.

We had planned to give 'customers' (and as Brandon pointed out, it was a pure duplication of the resources access to save us a lot of work) a preview for a few days and then open it up but that's changed as we have so much to be getting on with.

It's nothing personal and it's not an underhand way of getting you to pay for support if you don't need it.

Fair play but my qualm is that it would have still have been nice to be able to see the new system in action, even if you don't wish to give us access, at least a screencast or two showcasing the new functionality so that us customers with support don't have to remain in the dark or have a public forum in which people could discuss IPB3 so that we could get an idea of how good it is and the new bits and pieces.

[Bain]

And also, to Comtech, why is it that every time I visit your forum you seem to be using a different software? I'm almost positive that you've switched from IPB to vB then back to IPB before, choose a software and stick with it for once. :rolleyes:

It is called testing.
The next time you talk to me you had best not make it sound like you are coming out against me. You and IPS will not like my response.
Especially with all the faeces I've had to deal with this past month.

I am not in the mood to be kind to idiots who dont know to mind their own f'in business.

[Keith J. Kacin]

Keep it civil everyone. No name calling.

[Bain]

Keep it civil everyone. No name calling.

Then you keep him off me. I've dealt with my Dad being dead twice & not knowing if I would ever see him again.
I don't go personally against anyone until someone speaks personally toward me in a negative way.

[TrixieTang]

I wasn't trying to attack you, I was simply stating the facts after you attacked IPS with little reason at all.

I'm sorry to hear about your dad, and I'm not trying to be rude here, but if you're in a mood where you snap at people over forum postings, well, I think you really should be focusing on real life matters rather than online...

[Bain]

I wasn't trying to attack you, I was simply stating the facts after you attacked IPS with little reason at all.

I'm sorry to hear about your dad, and I'm not trying to be rude here, but if you're in a mood where you snap at people over forum postings, well, I think you really should be focusing on real life matters rather than online...

I agree to a point. I apologize.
I come here to get unwound after dealing with real life.

The forum is used to run has been down for about a month now due to what happened.
I used to go between vb & ipb only during testing to see which of those were better suited.

[whitetigergrowl]

Fair play but my qualm is that it would have still have been nice to be able to see the new system in action, even if you don't wish to give us access, at least a screencast or two showcasing the new functionality so that us customers with support don't have to remain in the dark or have a public forum in which people could discuss IPB3 so that we could get an idea of how good it is and the new bits and pieces.

It's in alpha. Things we see during alpha very easily could change and what you stated would defeat the purpose. People will remember those screenshots then complain that "things have changed" and that "now they are unhappy because some things got moved or changed". Like was said above, doing it too early would open the flood gates by building preconceived ideas. Do you really want that? I hope not.

It's alpha. Things will change yet. It would be best to look at it when it's closer to ready than when it's too early and expectations have been built up from an alpha early build release. If you get used to a specific way of things in the alpha and they change it, you could set yourself up for disappointment.

I feel it's best to wait until they feel more comfortable with it going public. It's soon though, no doubt.

So what happens if they show a screenshot of a feature. Then before going beta they realize that feature is better suited for the next major build of IPB 3 as it's not fully ready. Now you have people all upset because it showed in pics it was coming.
I have to agree with them on this. So what if you have to wait a few more days. It's coming. And you'll be able to see it and play with it in a more finalized form. WITH fewer bugs and issues. Isn't that what you want? Or do you want a buggy experience and a bad taste left in your mouth from it? Remember to be careful what you wish for.

I agree to a point. I apologize.

I come here to get unwound after dealing with real life.

The forum is used to run has been down for about a month now due to what happened.

VB and IPB will always change and be different from each other. They share some common basic functionality but that's where it ends. One will always have something over the other. Even if it's just by a version or so. Flip flopping really solves nothing and I have found discourages members. Stick with what you feel has the best long term value for your members. Not just because you like a feature or 2 that one has over the other for the moment. Believe me, members hate forum software flip flopping/

[joelle]

I have heard that IPB and VB are going to merge. :D

[Richard Myers]

I've always much preferred IP.Board for the modifications available, their support staff and the winner for me is the ACP. Far easier to use than any other.

Are there likely to be any major changes for the 3.0 ACP? I've been out of the loop for a while and finally purchased another license last week.