[Smitty]

Originally Posted by Ohiosweetheart

Many of them are business people who want, and appreciate, a schedule so that they can plan accordingly.

<Giggle...> Asking for a schedule in software is silly.</Giggle...> How many years did Vista take? All that money and all that time and look what MS put out....

Goodness - I can hardly believe all the 'beefs' about a schedule and template mods in this thread.

My suggestion - Relax and plan as best you can, and always wait at least 2 weeks after the 'gold' release to upgrade (more for more major software releases, like 8 to 10 weeks). If you have a good, solid site/forum, your visitors won't notice a 2 to 4 week wait in regard to a vB software update (Realistically, how many of your forum visitors are bugging you about when you're going to install 'The Latest' vBulletin update {unless you've been promising things you don't KNOW you can produce}?). If one is so anxious to update, I suspect vanity or hyperactivity is involved (if not simply personal impatience). Heck, even this site - vBulletin.org - doesn't update their forum software the minute or day that vB releases an update.... from what I see, this site is still on Version 3.6.10. Now - What does THAT tell us???? Hmmmmm.....? Personally I don't CARE when this site upgrades. It works. It works well. I'm a happy camper just as it is.

I've read all the template complaints and such with respect to 'special styles' and what not. I have quite a few templates modded. I have a list in an excel file. It also has about 8 significant php and xml files which I have to change when the main files change. The vB people have gone out of their way to list templates which are changed (not to mention changed Phrases...), including the admin panel checks. I have my list and I'm ready for major changes. I'm a Mac person so I use BBEdit and 'Compare Files'. Quick and easy. I do have a couple of PCs here, but don't do much real work on them. I'm sure there's a PC text editor which does the same, but I'll leave PC recommendations to PC people.

I am a 'business person'. I'm a semi-retired consultant who keeps a forum online which is a quite profitable addition to my retirement. In fact, my whole forum depends upon 'business' people. I'm not a programmer, although I do count looking back to taking PL1, FORTRAN and Cobol back in 1974-6. Over 30 years ago I was taught 'patience'. And if your site/forum is really important to you, the 'work' involved shouldn't be a significant issue. An 'irritant' I'll grant you, but.... Not 'work'.

My Opinion: For anyone whose site is important to them:

• Keep track of the changes you KNOW you'll need to make.
• Keep track of the 'mods' (aka addons, etc.) you have installed and any related template or other changes. vB 3.7.1 broke several 'mods' and people got mad. If they had waited 48 hours to see the 'fallout', they would have known what to expect. I haven't upgraded because I saw immediate reactions (people complaining about installed 'mods' failing).
• Plan as best you can. Have something written out.
• Don't rush the programmers. You'll only induce mistakes and problems.
• If waiting a few weeks (or even a couple of months) to upgrade is a problem, you're making things worse for yourself. vB 3.7.1 just came out. I've seen the crying from people who whose mods broke and such - It's obvious none of them tried everything out on a test platform board. I have no sympathy for them.

In part, I 'make a living' off of my major site. I'm definitely a 'business person'. In fact, I'm a 'business person' who is in a business totally unrelated to software. In fact, my 'business' is charging companies to tell them how to 'do' business.

I know that software upgrades require a plan on the part of the 'business person' (or whoever is 'minding the site') more than a plan is required from the software vendor. Believing what any software supplier says is suicide... As a business person my #1 thought is what is my plan if this company goes out of business (or an installed mod I 'need' is not updated, among many other things).

If you are a business person, you plan your 'user experience' with 'catastrophe' planned for (especially if you don't have a test platform to check everything out on).

I am a VERY happy vB user since August 2001 and I have absolutely NO complaints about the vB team and their many upgrades during the last 7 years.

I haven't upgraded to 3.7.1 and don't plan to for a while. It has nothing to do with security. I can wait a few weeks to see what shakes out of the 3.7.1 update.

--------------- Added [DATE]1212109900[/DATE] at [TIME]1212109900[/TIME] ---------------

Originally Posted by Ohiosweetheart

As I said hun, if you read them, many of the requests are by business people, or "big board" admins who have requested an upgrade schedule, and are very glad that they can now plan for them.

No, they can't expect a firm, guaranteed 'update schedule' or plan. 'Things' happen..... If you believe that you're wishing upon a star.... If you're telling clients that, ummm.... Well.... I sure wouldn't.