Gentlemen,
it looks as if the messagetag issue was my mistake. The folks at vB told me that if volatile=1, the setting will be removed at the next upgrade, so I have to set it to 0, in order for message tag to remain in the settings after the upgrades.
To rectify this issue, please run the following query:
PHP Code:
update `setting` set volatile=0 where varname='messagetag'
Remember to add any TABLE_PREFIX if you are using one.
The installation instructions have been changed accordingly.
The funny thing was, that at some time in the past, I had suggested to another developer here, to set volatile=0 in his settings, so that they do not get overwritten at the upgrades. However, in my mind, I had it the opposite way! Go figure.
Rgds