Rhett Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 I am going to be brutally honest here.... IPB has failed me and my customers as of late with many issues and bugs, both here on this site (client area) as well as the new gallery. I can fully understand a few bugs, but missing KEY features and functions should NEVER happen. I am very upset from what I'm seeing in the last few months and I would like to suggest a resolution to this issue. Create a small group of customers to actually Beta Test your products AFTER you think they are ready for release. I don't care who the team is, but pick them from volunteers of your current customers. I for one would volunteer my time to do this if needed. I have put a big investment into IPB when I decided to move all my sites over from VB.... and to be honest I have not moved half of my sites still as it's still not a usable solution for a large site... the view new content is still a broken mess as well as the gallery issues that has missing features and broken functions. If you want to tell yourself you already do this internally? then I have to tell you IT'S NOT WORKING.... so please make some changes. Respectfully Your Customer! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 When a product is ready for release we upload the build to the Pre-Releases Forum (which is a subforum of the Customer Lounge, it only appears when there is a pre-release). If you'd like to participate in this testing - please do! :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 Is there a way we can be alerted to these when they are released? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 We do have betas already, as Mark said. You can subscribe to the pre-release forum so you will receive email notifications for when a new topic is created. Topics are only created in there when a product has hit beta, so subscribing is your best bet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariAge Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 You can subscribe to the pre-release forum so you will receive email notifications for when a new topic is created. Kind of hard to do this when it's presently invisible. :unsure: I'd also like to test out betas, as I have to agree with the OP that the software is not getting as much testing as it should before being unleashed on the masses. ..Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyF Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 They are tested internally before appearing in the pre-release forum to catch any show stopping issues that would impact those participating in the testing, such as upgrading / installer problems. Regarding "more testing", well that's what the pre-release forum is for, for those who want to help test releases. :) , we do have an internal team but as I say that's mainly for initial serious problems and / or usability issues. No point having a build in the customer pre-release area if say for example the upgrader is non functional. If you wanted specifics, I can tell you I spent around two days, say about 4 to 6 hours solid testing Blog last month though several builds and at least a dozen installs / upgrades (catching a lot of small and some not so small issues) before it even appeared for pre-release testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 As mentioned, we can't subscribe to a forum if we can't see it... it would take a year to subscribe and watch every one when it did open up.. anyway, the point is more of us need to help out as it's clearly not enough as is.... I will watch those sections and try to catch one open I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3DKiwi Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Just to add. If you haven't figured out by now, never upgrade a live forum or IP module once a brand new version comes out. If you want to test it then use a test forum. The new IP Gallery is prime example of this where even after a couple of updates is still not in state I would consider using. I usually wait until the .0.3 version is out before upgrading on a live forum. I'll likely wait longer with gallery 4. I've seen the pre release announcements and the ability to download a pre release version. Not sure what the issue is. 3DKiwi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhett Posted March 27, 2011 Author Share Posted March 27, 2011 While what you say seems to be true about not upgrading until .3..... I do in fact use test boards and have not upgraded all sites with the latest gallery.. only the test site, which did seem to work ok.... but after a live install you will always find issues. I'm still waiting for things to be fixed before converting some sites.... and I had the intention to convert them 2 years ago.. but the new content issue has kept me from this. Until it's actually fixed, they won't be converted. As far as not upgrading until the third version... if something is marked as stable, all features should work.. bottom line. That's what RC's and beta versions are for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariAge Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 The new IP Gallery is prime example of this where even after a couple of updates is still not in state I would consider using. I usually wait until the .0.3 version is out before upgrading on a live forum. I'll likely wait longer with gallery 4. Same here, I'm a bit aghast at all the problems with Gallery 4.0, so I haven't updated the Gallery on my live forum yet. Disappointed that a 4.0.3 hasn't yet been released.I've seen the pre release announcements and the ability to download a pre release version. Not sure what the issue is. The pre-release forum is invisible except when there is something to download, apparently. Thus, there's no way to (currently) subscribe to that forum so you'll know when new software is posted. ..Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyF Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 The pre-release forum is invisible except when there is something to download, apparently. Thus, there's no way to (currently) subscribe to that forum so you'll know when new software is posted. Perhaps the easy solution to this is to have it permanently on display but simply empty when there's nothing to test ? :) If this did happen then my quick suggestion is to ensure that the pre-release testing versions be removed at release time, so no one decides to use them after the official release. I would imagine that's the primary reason it disappears rather than anything else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariAge Posted March 27, 2011 Share Posted March 27, 2011 Perhaps the easy solution to this is to have it permanently on display but simply empty when there's nothing to test ? :) If this did happen then my quick suggestion is to ensure that the pre-release testing versions be removed at release time, so no one decides to use them after the official release. I would imagine that's the primary reason it disappears rather than anything else. Yeah, leaving it permanently viewable but empty it of files when there's nothing to test would be good. Along with a note describing what the forum is for (although I think that may already be present). ..AL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfarber Posted March 28, 2011 Share Posted March 28, 2011 Just for the record... We have recently revamped our QA process, so some of this is a mix of old procedures and some are new procedures. When a product is "ready", we turn over to an internal QA team who tests it for core feedback and to look for obvious bugs. We then have a group of customers as a private beta testers team who test the software once those issues are resolved. We then put the package into the private testers forum for further testing before releasing as a public release to customers. In other words, in addition to the small group of beta testers you suggest, we have internal QA and we allow our entire customer base to QA the product. If you have further suggestions, feel free to share. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Collin S. Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 For those of you interested, the forum is currently visible for IP.Gallery beta testing: http://community.invisionpower.com/forum/460-pre-release-testing/ :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariAge Posted April 14, 2011 Share Posted April 14, 2011 For those of you interested, the forum is currently visible for IP.Gallery beta testing: http://community.invisionpower.com/forum/460-pre-release-testing/ :thumbsup: Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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