Welcome to Beta 1

[HighlanderICT]

On 10/12/2024 at 9:58 AM, Sunrex said:

It looks like in order to use the beta I have to convert my license.

I understand two things about this:

1) If its not renewed every 2 years I lose the license permanently

2) It's more expensive.

 

1) Thats how the terms read. 

2) If you already have the full suite then it's actually cheaper. Currently I pay $150 every six months, and the new classic 'subscription' is $199 per year so $101 cheaper over the course of a year. 

I will likely convert 1 of my 2 licenses as it's been an active site for 30 years and has been using IPB/IPS since 2007 and I don't envisage that changing much. The other site is dormant (not paid-up with maintenance) so not switching that one yet. Based on conversations with IPS, I can leave the dormant one as it is for now and can still reinstate it later then convert it to classic if I need to. A bit of the best of both worlds really. 

 

[Joel R]

On 10/10/2024 at 4:27 PM, HighlanderICT said:

technically correct but a little bit of smoke and mirrors. The old licenses are perpetual with maintenance and if expired can be renewed any time. The yearly cost is $300 (2 x $150). The 'classic' terms ($199 p/yr) are closer to a subscription where you lose your license if not renewed for 24 months which may affect those of us with dormant licenses we want to reinstate later and prevent us from feeling comfortable converting. 

Will the beta be available to those of us with existing/original and fully paid-up licenses that we can also test? or is this restricted only to those who converted?   

Some thoughts in no particular order (and this is not directed at anyone in particular, but some food for thought for everyone)

1. The new classic terms can be more expensive - or less expensive! - for clients based on your existing selection of apps. With that said, for clients who will be paying more, I want to point out that you're getting access to all the apps at an incredible value without buying the apps (I remember when I was buying the apps, it was something like $850. To upgrade and be able to access all of the apps at only $199 is an absolute steal). 

2. On a more important note, you're getting the IPS ecosystem of apps. Even if you have no intention of using most of them,  independent communities of the future really need to think about building a website of content and resources around their forums.  Having a true standalone forum in this day and age is very hard for new starter communities. Pairing the crowd sourced conversations in Forums with the organized publishing in Pages or Blogs maximizes the organic and the organized.  

At the same time, part of the energy that IPS has invested is in building you a multi-app approach.  One example is in the activity streams: other developers have hard coded lists like New Threads or New Posts or New Images. IPS is generationally ahead in letting you pick and choose content to craft your own activity streams, which is much more advanced.

[shiobi]

Will the new developer documentation be available soon? I'd like to start developing my apps from scratch. When can I expect it to be released? Thanks!