Handyman Joins the phpBB.com Modifications Team

The Secret is finally out!!

My brother, Handyman, has been invited to the phpBB.com Modifications Team as of Sunday. This is very special for both of us, and great for me, because it means I can stop keeping secrets from him. :D If you would like to Congratulate Handyman, please do so in This topic.

phpBB Weekly #038 Will Come to You Via Skypecasting

Per my last post on Sunday, David and I have decided to test out an episode on a new service from Skype called Skypecasts in the hopes that it will be a more viable and reliable service than TalkShoe. Again, this will primarily be a test, and we will decide after the fact whether we want to permanently move our show to Skype’s new network.

So, if you want to be here on Saturday, what do you need to do? Well, on Saturday, the phpBB Weekly Skypecasts page will have a “Join this Skypecast” link. You will need to have a Skype account and have downloaded the latest version of Skype for this to work.

Skypecasts does not include a chat room, so we will be congregating on irc.freenode.net in the #phpbb-weekly channel. I will also try to keep my eyes on the Star Trek Guide chatbox as well.

We will not be participating in the TalkShoe Live! chat room, however as a courtesy to our regular TalkShoe streamers, I will try to hook the Skypecasts call in with TalkShoe so that you can listen to the call through TalkShoe’s live stream. Of course, this assumes that TalkShoe cooperates, I’m able to get Skypecasts to connect to the TalkShoe phone number, and I’m only guaranteeing that we will do this for this particular episode.

Also, unless there’s some hidden button or setting that I can’t find until David points me to it, Skypecasts is really nothing more than a public Skype conference call, which means that if you call in, you will be live immediately. Therefore, please make my life so much easier by calling in with headphones in order to prevent echo and background noise, otherwise, I’ll have to stop what I’m saying to scroll through the list and find out who’s making the gossip in order to mute them. I don’t know, if we end up using Skypecasts, we may end up having to hire someone to be an ad hoc call screener. :/

Have any questions about this Saturday’s setup? Leave a note in the comments below or go to the phpBB Weekly forum topic. Also, for those of you who do participate in the show live, we will be asking you to post your feedback in the phpBB Weekly forum (with a feedback link to be announced during the show) to help us decide if we want to make the switch.

Again, thank you for working with us as we evaluate this transition. Going through these growing pains now will help us make phpBB Weekly a better show in the future.

phpBB3 RC5 Released! - Special guest today!

Hi everyone!!

Do you all remember me telling you how hot Tennessee was/is? Well, I decided to beat the heat. -- I moved down to... Dallas Texas!!! And you’re thinking I’m crazy, right? Actually, no. Its been on average about 10 degrees cooler here in Dallas than it has been in Tennessee. Why? I have no idea. They/we are having a mild summer here I guess.
By now I'm sure a thousand questions are conjuring up in your mind: “Texas? what the heck are you doing there?”.
Quite simple actually. With enough motivation, you can move to strange places on this planet.

About 6 weeks ago, I got a call from a company down here called Stratus Technologies (I can see half of you hitting the google link in your browser bar) who hired Handyman and I for Software Engineering positions with the company. We moved down to Dallas about 3 weeks and have been working full time for Stratus since then. Its been great though, Handyman and I are enjoying working together once again. But we also really love Texas and the people here. Its a great Country. (for those of you who did not know, Texas really does seem like another Country apart from the rest of the U.S.)
So this may explain my somewhat sporadic absence from the forums recently. This is due to the fact that Handyman and I are trying to get settled here, as well as trying to finish up some duties for one of the companies that we had worked for in the past (they just can't let go!!). Plus, all my duties with the MOD Team, which has increased very recently. Both Igor (eviL<3) and I have to pick up a lot more duties due on the MOD team due to some circumstances recently.
Handyman and I got to spend lunch this afternoon with drathbun (Dave Rathbun of the Modifications Team). With only 40 or so Team Members spread throughout the world, its pretty awesome that two of them live within 20 minutes of eachother.

Okay, yes, thats nuts. you can all feel free to call me crazy now, though haven't we always been crazy? And thats the reason StarTrekGuide/phpBB Academy exists for all of YOU!

This Newsletter I created really quickly and after midnight, its very short notice, and I apologize, but sometimes its really difficult to find a good slot of time to get this out.
Tomorrow (today for some of you), Marshalrusty (Yuriy Rusko) will be joining us on the phpBB Weekly LIVE podcast at 16:00 UTC (12:00 noon Eastern Time), see below announcement for how to determine when it will be on in your timezone. -- We will discuss many issues especially pertaining to spam, spam prevention, including the phpBB3 CAPTCHA. -- As most of you know, Marshalrusty is a spam prevention wizard. So if you have any specific questions you would like answered, please send them in by replying to the below topic, or best of all, write them in the chatroom on Talkshoe during the show. -- We also encourage you to call in and ask your questions, so don't be shy!!

I'll expect a few of you there to give us a good hassle too, over the Official phpBB Podcast, which was just released 2 days ago. (yes, Marshalrusty and I were on that podcast as well) There has been a lot of podcasting going on around here lately, what can I say? -- See the announcement below on the phpBB Podcast, its a great episode of 45 minutes packed full of awesome discussions many of you will want to hear. Hey, how else are you going to get the *inside* scoop?

Also this Newsletter, we have the Style of the Month by Frost (Dark Frost on phpBB.com). A Vista based style that looks INCREADIBLE!!! -- Go have a peak at the demo and let Frost know what you think. I’m no Windoz fan, as most of you know I'm a Mac Gui, but I have to admit that style looks like a top-5 phpBB3 Style.

We have the Handyman Display Posts Anywhere MOD, which has been highly popular for phpBB3. He tells me that its nearing completion (actually, hes working on it as we speak). Go have a look!

Well, thats all for tonight. It's past midnight and I have to be up early in the morning.
I'll see all of you on the boards, and HOPEFULLY hear from you in the chatbox of Talkshoe or if you call in.

Until next time!
- David “Highway of Life” Lewis

Read More...

phpBB3 RC4 Released! - MOD Team, phpBB Weekly Update

Hello everyone!

Wow, the last 3 weeks have been a blur... and HOT! very hot down here in Tennessee USA anyways. We’ve had 5 consecutive days over 100°F (38°C), and if you’re familiar with Southern USA weather, you know it has been humid. You know what a sauna feels like? yeah, thats what it feels like here... ALL the time!
Well we have a very packed newsletter for you this month, though this newsletter is about 2 weeks later than it should have been, better late than never, but you’ll soon find out why.

The phpBB Development team recently released phpBB3 RC4, which will, according to Meik (Acyd Burn) hopefully be the final RC release prior to Gold and Final release, which will be an exciting moment in phpBB history.
If you’ve not already, grab the latest RC and update your board, it has some nice enhancements which you can read about in the announcement topic below.
phpBB also won the Community Choice Award for best open-source Communications project, this means bragging rights for the entire year for phpBB.

3 weeks ago to the day (by the time most of you get this letter), wGEric and the phpBB Teams invited Igor (eviL<3) and myself to become a part of the phpBB MOD Team as coders and validators. Ironically, both Igor and myself are Founders of two of the largest phpBB3 MOD Communities on the internet. Igor and I have worked closely on multiple projects and we are both honored for the opportunity that phpBB has presented to us.
At this point, our primary duties will include validating MODs submitted for phpBB3 - though Igor will be working on phpBB2 MODs as well -- and coding projects, including further development and enhancements to the MOD and Styles Databases, which paul (previously paul999) has put so much work into since January to make the MOD Database what it is today. This may explain my suddenly slight lack of presence here on STG/phpBB Academy as I’ve been trying to catch up on all the information and duties that as a MOD Team Member I am responsible for. -- As you can see, I’m finally catching up, so I have time now to write and get this newsletter out.
I still plan on continuing support for all my MODs and getting them all released, though the development process is a little slower now with everything else that is going on. -- But overall this is a benefit to the community as it means that all of you have two more validators that can help get MODs validated and released to the phpBB community that much faster.

Most of you also know by now that I am now co-host of phpBB Weekly podcast with Douglas Bell (Webmacster87 / Fountain of Apples and former MOD Team Member). The last few shows have been quite fun, we had Techie-Michael (Support Team Leader for phpBB) join us a guest speaker on the August 4th podcast, and This last weekend, paul joined us for a moment and discussed the MOD Database. -- I think you will all find those most enjoyable, and encourage each of you (especially the MOD Authors) to listen to those podcasts, which can be found at http://phpbbweekly.net

This months featured MODs is Geoffreaks Easy MODX Script Generator, especially helpful for MOD Authors who make a lot of edits to existing files and you need help creating the MODX XML file needed for the installation package of your MOD. If you are one of those kind of people, then YOU NEED THIS TOOL!! ... its an online tool, so you can use it on the fly.
And finally, the ACP Notepad MOD. This MOD will enable you to leave yourself and other administrators notes in the ACP, a handy little tool for leaving fellow admins messages, and reminder snippets for yourself. -- This is a very well coded MOD and is currently in the phpBB.com MOD Database Queue awaiting validation from ... well, me... (and the MOD team)

Until next time, see you on the boards!!
- David “Highway of Life” Lewis

Read More...

Third Edition of the Subspace Communications Newsletter

Hello Everyone!

I hope you had a good weekend, I know we did. Finally got some much needed rain, though the lightning strikes have almost outnumbered the raindrops.
This past weekend, had the privilege to join Webmacster87 on the phpBB Weekly podcast episode #21. It was a great show, if you have not yet heard the podcast, I encourage you to head over to the phpBB Weekly Blog and have a listen.
Next week’s podcast will feature recaps of the MOD Authors convention, going on the same day. Please feel free to call or write in and participate. More details are below for those of you who were not able to join into the live chat, and an overview of the show. If you have any comments or questions about the show, please reply to the below topic.

I’m sending out another quick newsletter this week due to the release of phpBB3 Release Candidate 2 (RC2), there are some important updates in this release including many bug fixes and a few new features. Remember upgrades are supported from RC1 to RC2, so have at it!! -- See the below announcement for more details.

This week we are featuring the Auto Groups MOD by A_Jelly_Doughnut, which has been a highly requested MOD, especially for those that are concerned about human spammers, and a reminder for you to join us for the MOD Authors Convention next week (June 30).
Let me know for those of you who are viewing this Newsletter in the archives, if you have not received it via email.

Until next time!
- Highway

Read More...

Second Edition of the Subspace Communications Newsletter

Hello Everyone!
I hope you all had a good June, better than I did at least. We had no rain here, and it was very hot, everything looks so brown. Welcome to summer!

In our second edition of the Subspace Communication Newsletter, WGEric and the phpBB MOD Team are inviting all of you who are aspiring phpBB3 MOD Authors to join us for an all-day MOD Authors Convention on June 30th, I will be there along with most of the phpBB MOD Team. If you are interested in MODing or currently MOD for phpBB3, or just have questions regarding any aspect of MODing, don’t miss it!! See the post for more details on the times.

WebMacster87 (Fountain of Apples) a former phpBB MOD Team member tells us about his phpBB Weekly Live Podcast show. Hopefully some of you will have the opportunity to call or write it to the show your questions or comments... I will be.
Derky tell us about the phpBB3 styles demo, full previews of styles released so far for phpBB3.
Featured MOD this month is Geoffreak’s Thank Post MOD, and WebMacster87 gives us a small glimpse into an important tool for all MODs released for phpBB3... the MOD Update Check, a sequel to the popular Advanced Version Check for phpBB2.

If you are a MOD author, and would like to submit your MOD for consideration as the next featured MOD, please PM me a request.
If you have any questions about this newsletter, have a bug report or suggestion, please let me know through a PM or by clicking the "Reply" button you see below.

Enjoy!!

Read More...

Welcome to the first edition of the Subspace Communication Newsletter

Hello and welcome to the first edition of the new Subspace Communications Newsletter.

This will begin as a monthly publication and will eventually move to a bi-weekly or weekly publication if I can continue to get my ducks in order or find a good way to automate the Newsletter. Each publication will have a little something for everyone, from stats and announcements, to MOD releases and developments. If you don’t want to receive any emails at all from us, Click here to go to your User Preferences and set "Administrators can email me" to No.

In the near future, we will be adding some preferences to allow you to set the frequency of the emails: Never, Major Announcements, Monthly, or weekly.

If you are a MOD author, and would like to submit your MOD for consideration as the next featured MOD, please PM me a request.
This month we have some popular MODs to share with you: .::Frans::. created a nice update script for people who are stuck with Beta5, Igor shares with us his Quick Reply that is currently in development. -- A nice simple solution for those that don’t want the feature-packed Lew21 Quick Post MOD. And Handyman gives us some details about the latest release of the ChatMOD, which has received more than double the number downloads of any other MOD listed for download on StarTrekGuide.

If you have any questions about this publication, have a bug report or suggestion, please let me know through a PM or by clicking the "Reply" button you see below.

Enjoy!!

Read More...

Community Time III - Joomla! Meeting phpBB

We, Chris Justice and myself, met the phpBB crew down in the lobby of our hotel for a few drinks and then headed out to a restaurant for some food and off course more drinks. Talks ranged over the release of phpBB3, press announcements, marketing, GPL and legal issues … and off-course code. What else did you expect when you put the core guys of two...

read more | digg story