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EDIT: Posted this in wrong section, please remove.

Status updates have been removed in v5.
Signing in with a Display Name has been removed in v5, email addresses must be used instead.
Open tagging has been replaced with a new system in v5.
Pages: You are using custom PHP blocks. These will no longer function in v5.

Why on earth are we losing features that we have had access to up until this point?
I understand iterating on features but the complete removal of Status updates, Display Name login and PHP blocks is a baffling decision.
Please reconsider and let us keep the product that we have been paying for, or at the very least make the patch an optional one.
We are people with a hobby and not developers, losing functionality or finding additional ways of making things work due to patches like this is a nightmare scenario.

All we ask is to maintain a semblance of backwards compatibility, as paying customers -- is such a thing really too much to ask for?

Edited by Aldro

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Hi @Aldro,

Taken from the deprecation tracker:

  • Status Updates - The profile status updates system is a holdover from decades ago and will be removed in Invision Community 5.

  • Display Name for Login - The ability to use a display name as a log in is deprecated and will be removed. Using an email address as part of the log in process is more secure than using a publicly visible display name.

  • Tagging - This has been overhauled as per Matt's blog entry here; Invision Community 5: Tagging Reinvented - Invision Community.

  • Pages - This has also been overhauled as per Ehren's blog entry here; Invision Community 5: Page Builder - Invision Community.

Display names definitely suit a purpose but do create an instant vulnerability as display names are available to anyone. The less information you offer on a silver platter, the better. Your members will adapt, and it will be business as usual.

Not everyone will be happy when things are changed or removed, but there is always a thought process behind the decision to remove any feature from Invision Community.

I think Matt said it best in a topic that has been discussed with one of your concerns already; if nothing changed, then we'd still be using this:

1.png.31ecbb2dc226446952a87657c6cabdb8.p

EDIT: Posted this in wrong section, please remove.

Status updates have been removed in v5.
Signing in with a Display Name has been removed in v5, email addresses must be used instead.
Open tagging has been replaced with a new system in v5.
Pages: You are using custom PHP blocks. These will no longer function in v5.

Why on earth are we losing features that we have had access to up until this point?
I understand iterating on features but the complete removal of Status updates, Display Name login and PHP blocks is a baffling decision.
Please reconsider and let us keep the product that we have been paying for, or at the very least make the patch an optional one.
We are people with a hobby and not developers, losing functionality or finding additional ways of making things work due to patches like this is a nightmare scenario.

All we ask is to maintain a semblance of backwards compatibility, as paying customers -- is such a thing really too much to ask for?

That and features that could easily work for self hosted customers only being available to cloud customers. I certain things may not work on shared hosting but those that run a VPS or dedicated server have the ability to run pretty much anything, but ultimately it's the decision of the staff here what they want to do or not do and it's our choice as customers whether to use the software anymore or not.

Personally I love the overall look and feel of v5 and as has been stated they have been talking about certain things that would be removed or overhauled so it is what it is. Features can be added back if someone creates an extension to do so.

Status updates have been removed in v5.

If there is any consolation, here you have an option for the status updates: https://www.invisioneer.org/files/file/459-ustatus/

I'm still missing many things removed from version 3. I admit that I like many things introduced with version 4 though, and I'm still a bit "meh" about version 5, but I'm not using it on my site yet to give a qualified opinion. I think I'll be a late adopter as I was a late adopter of version 4 too. The problem is that generally the more you leave it for later, the painful upgrades become.

  • Author

Hi @Aldro,

Taken from the deprecation tracker:

  • Status Updates - The profile status updates system is a holdover from decades ago and will be removed in Invision Community 5.

  • Display Name for Login - The ability to use a display name as a log in is deprecated and will be removed. Using an email address as part of the log in process is more secure than using a publicly visible display name.

  • Tagging - This has been overhauled as per Matt's blog entry here; Invision Community 5: Tagging Reinvented - Invision Community.

  • Pages - This has also been overhauled as per Ehren's blog entry here; Invision Community 5: Page Builder - Invision Community.

Display names definitely suit a purpose but do create an instant vulnerability as display names are available to anyone. The less information you offer on a silver platter, the better. Your members will adapt, and it will be business as usual.

Not everyone will be happy when things are changed or removed, but there is always a thought process behind the decision to remove any feature from Invision Community.

I think Matt said it best in a topic that has been discussed with one of your concerns already; if nothing changed, then we'd still be using this:

1.png.31ecbb2dc226446952a87657c6cabdb8.p

The username vulnerability is limited to logging into an account on our forums. Why can't we make that call ourselves? Force email on AdminCP sure but why demand it of the users when we don't want it?

As long as accessible alternatives exist for PHP and Tagging, that is OK.

But Status Updates was universally loved among our users. Holdover or not, please consider not removing features that already exist and are accesible to members, in the future.

I just realized Plugins won't work either. Is there any way for us to convert them to applications? Many of our plugins have no developer around. Are we to just accept losing all of that? What are our options?

Still don't understand changing to email only log in, the big social media sites like Instagram / X etc are not bothered about this. It was a bad move two years ago and still is now.

  • Author

Still don't understand changing to email only log in, the big social media sites like Instagram / X etc are not bothered about this. It was a bad move two years ago and still is now.

Exactly, many people have multiple emails and it's already such a hassle tracking the email - password combination across all of your accounts on the net.
Username has simplicity going for it and if you were trying to get access, you would get blocked within 5 failed attempts anyway (atleast on our forums).
Forcing an email just doesn't make any sense in our situation, it's a gaming forum and so let your clients make the choice!

Edited by Aldro

  • Author

If there is any consolation, here you have an option for the status updates: https://www.invisioneer.org/files/file/459-ustatus/

I'm still missing many things removed from version 3. I admit that I like many things introduced with version 4 though, and I'm still a bit "meh" about version 5, but I'm not using it on my site yet to give a qualified opinion. I think I'll be a late adopter as I was a late adopter of version 4 too. The problem is that generally the more you leave it for later, the painful upgrades become.

Thanks, thank god for that.

My current concern is about the plugins we will lose that no longer hav developers around. Do you know if there's a way for us to manually turn those into applications??

Exactly, many people have multiple emails and it's already such a hassle tracking the email - password combination across all of your accounts on the net.
Username has simplicity going for it and if you were trying to get access, you would get blocked within 5 failed attempts anyway (atleast on our forums).
Forcing an email just doesn't make any sense in our situation, it's a gaming forum and so let your clients make the choice!

I'm sure I have lots of members using dormant emails too, as my forum goes back 20 years with many members from the start still around now

as my forum goes back 20 years with many members from the start still around now

same here, login method should be down to admin/user choice not forced by the software

Its putting me off upgrading as this pretty much breaks the forum for a lot of old members

  • Author

I'm sure I have lots of members using dormant emails too, as my forum goes back 20 years with many members from the start still around now

same here, login method should be down to admin/user choice not forced by the software

Its putting me off upgrading as this pretty much breaks the forum for a lot of old members

Absolutely right there with you.

Fortunately, I disabled the username at the beginning of my forum a long time ago, due to repeated hacking attempts, so disabling this feature did not affect me😊

I just realized Plugins won't work either. Is there any way for us to convert them to applications? Many of our plugins have no developer around. Are we to just accept losing all of that? What are our options?

Yes, they can be converted to apps. If you don't have the know how on how to do that yourself, the only options left imo are to either start learning how to code or hire someone else to do that for you.

Thanks, thank god for that.

My current concern is about the plugins we will lose that no longer hav developers around. Do you know if there's a way for us to manually turn those into applications??

I guess you'll have more of a chance of someone creating applications from scratch when the original developers have moved on. If some are vital to you, you can always commission one for you from some of the developers who are still around. In that case just make sure that if they are plugins with existing data, not to upgrade to version 5 until you've found an alternative in place for the plugin/s in question.

Still don't understand changing to email only log in, the big social media sites like Instagram / X etc are not bothered about this. It was a bad move two years ago and still is now.

But Meta doesn't care if you are hacked or have your account stolen, they won't help you get it back if it happens. They can't prevent scammers from cloning your account, and if you report it - they'll say it doesn't go against their community standards. Yes, an element of this is due to them using AI to moderate but even when you get a human they are just as dumb. I only recently made the change and much prefer it. It should prevent people from joining with fake emails if they are inclined to stick around, and it creates a good marker for those who join without any true intention of being involved.

There are things I have been concerned about with v5, but sometimes you have to accept that progression means changes conflict.

Its putting me off upgrading as this pretty much breaks the forum for a lot of old members

Inform them ahead of time if you do make the switch to v5, before you do, change it on v4.7 so that people can get used to it ahead of major changes. Therefore, they are likely to settle and familiarise themselves with the change.

My community has a lot of older members, and they have made the change perfectly fine. These are non-tech savvy people who I have had to explain similar things to in the past. (Not that I mind explaining anything)


Most plugins, if they are worth keeping, should be picked up by someone.

The main thing is to be supportive of the devs who do release high quality resources, and be a part of their community. I used to hate the idea of being on 10 or more dev sites, but I actually prefer it. You learn to appreciate what they do a lot more, when you see them regularly releasing new resources and maintaining their existing ones.


I feared that v5 would ruin my prospective of selling merch, but I think it's important to stress trying v5 even if it's in a local environment.

I wouldn't migrate from IPS over something like a username change, and I wouldn't risk remaining on 4.7 beyond the supported time frame. It's good IPS are keeping security and support open for 4.7 users for some time; it gives you plenty of time to access and see how v5 evolves over time.

Inform them ahead of time if you do make the switch to v5, before you do, change it on v4.7 so that people can get used to it ahead of major changes. Therefore, they are likely to settle and familiarise themselves with the change.

how do you inform members of 20+ years if they no longer have access to the email they used ?

Some of these members have stayed logged in for years or they rely on their username to login when they visit

the first they will know of the change is when its impossible for them to log in anymore

surely a better transition would be something along a prompt page warning people that next time they login they will need an up to date email rather than just being locked out ?

Its hardly the way to treat loyal old time visitors and members

surely a better transition would be something along a prompt page warning people that next time they login they will need an up to date email rather than just being locked out ?

You could use the Alert System for this.

You could use the Alert System for this.

And what about those members who haven't logged in for a while, maybe over a year or even further back. I often have old members come back after years away, so when that happens they won't be able to log in

Edited by marklcfc

And what about those members who haven't logged in for a while, maybe over a year or even further back. I often have old members come back after years away, so when that happens they won't be able to log in

I would bet most of those individuals who have forgotten what email address they registered with also have forgotten their password. Therefore, if their email is dead they're going to have to contact you to gain access to their account regardless.

Think making steps in this direction at an early stage will help you frame this in a positive light for your members. Flipping a switch without alerting them will indeed cause issues but slowly progressing it and alerting them over a period will make this a nothingburger ;).

And what about those members who haven't logged in for a while, maybe over a year or even further back. I often have old members come back after years away, so when that happens they won't be able to log in

Lost password works great. If that does not work, they can click “Contact Us” for you to help them.

This has been announced for literally YEARS so owners have had time to be thinking and preparing for it.

how do you inform members of 20+ years if they no longer have access to the email they used ?

Some of these members have stayed logged in for years or they rely on their username to login when they visit

the first they will know of the change is when its impossible for them to log in anymore

I'm quite certain that 100% of your community has signed out at one stage or another. There's been bugs which have caused this, but they may have their information saved which allows them to easily sign in. Also, devices change and cookies don't cross over.

Informing your community ahead of time is exactly why I suggested you prepare for the change.

You could run a poll to find out who has lost their emails/passwords, but again I would assume most would contact you about issues instead of ignoring them.

surely a better transition would be something along a prompt page warning people that next time they login they will need an up to date email rather than just being locked out ?

Its hardly the way to treat loyal old time visitors and members

I try to do admin announcements regularly for important information, also have a discussion on changes and issues where I update my community ahead of time. You could also send a bulk email out warning people, but this doesn't help with forgotten, lost or fake emails. I tend to find someone has lost their email, they will request it to be changed, or will change it themselves. For me, I think it's just part of informing the community, but I had no objections. Perhaps address the issue outline and ask for feedback from your community; just try to put your personal thoughts in it and approach it open-minded because this will ensure honest feedback.

If you say you're against it, it will likely sway opinions.

If you've used Facebook, Gmail or any other registration processes to make things easier to join.

If these details change, and the member hasn't added an email or password - you would encounter a bigger issue. I have Apple, and I notice there's privacy emails which I am not sure how they exactly work, but I would have to assist those members to be able to sign in. It's not that difficult to associate genuine members having issues with people seeking to gain access to an account which isn't their own.

I'm sorry, but will we be unable to run custom PHP blocks in v5?

I'm sorry, but will we be unable to run custom PHP blocks in v5?

I think it needs to be wrapped in HTML.

I'm sure I have lots of members using dormant emails too, as my forum goes back 20 years with many members from the start still around now

I'm sorry, but as someone who has had a football forum for over 11 years now, we made the switch over 3 years ago, and it had virtually no effect on our members. We had one or two members contact us via our support and had them back up and running in no time. But, it's not the big deal that you seem to think it is.

All you have to do is notify your members in advance (Actually, now would be a good time) that you are going to make the switch in the near future and that their email address should be up-to-date.

If you give your members plenty of time, the switch over will be less of an issue.

Also, another reason for getting your members to keep their email addresses up-to-date, will be to prevent email bounces from your server. If you have bad or non-existent member email addresses, then you really should be getting them removed.

Edited by TDBF

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