User:Darth Stabro/MyBB

MyBB, originally MyBulletinBoard, is a free and open source forum software which is developed by the MyBB Group. It is written in PHP, supports MySQL, PostgreSQL and SQLite as database systems and has database failover support. It is licensed under the LGPL.

MyBB 1.0 and 1.1
Founded as DevBB in 2002 by Chris Boulton from a fork of XMB, the first public release (RC1) of MyBB was published on 10 December 2003. It wasn't until 2 years later, on 9 December 2005, that MyBB 1.0 was released.

On 9 March 2006, version 1.1 was released. The last version of this series was 1.1.8, a security update released on 20 August 2006.

MyBB 1.2
On 2 September 2006, with a revised and rewritten code base and over 40 new features, MyBB 1.2 was released. Support for the 1.2 series officially ended on 1 June 2009, although security updates were available until 31 December 2009.

The final version of the 1.2 series, 1.2.14, was a security and maintenance update published on 17 July 2008. Several security patches were available in consequent security updates for users still using the 1.2 series.

MyBB 1.4
After a long beta phase MyBB 1.4 was released on 2 August 2008 complete with over 70 new features, including a completely revised and redesigned Admin Control Panel (ACP).

On 12 October 2008, MyBB 1.4.2 was released. This version changed MyBB's license from proprietary to GNU GPL v3. The change in license was driven from a request from KDE who, in a related announcement, launched their first web-based community using MyBB as an alternative to mailinglist.

On 2 May 2009, due to time constraints, founder Chris Boulton left the day to day responsibilities to Dennis Tsang (previously the Support Team Manager) who took over as Product Manager of MyBB. Matt Rogowski would later take over Dennis' responsibilities as Support Team Manager.

So far, much of MyBB's development happened internally on a closed cycle. After switching to an open source license, on 19 August 2009, the Group opened development access so that users had access to the official bugtracker and read access to the subversion repositories.

The final version in the 1.4 series was 1.4.16, released as a security update on 17 April 2011. Support for the series ended on 1 July 2011 for both maintenance and security releases.

MyBB 1.6
On 3 August 2010, on the 2 year anniversary of MyBB 1.4's release, MyBB 1.6 was released with over 40 new features and included many tweaks, fixes and performance optimizations. The 1.6 series is distributed under the GNU LGPL v3 and requires at least PHP 5.1.

During the 1.6 series, several senior members of the MyBB Group changed positions. On 3 October 2010, Tim Bell was promoted to Product Manager with responsibilities of running the day to day operations of MyBB as well as the marketing aspect of the MyBB product. Dennis Tsang took a position as Technical Advisor, helping with software design and development of MyBB.

On 5 December 2010 Ryan Gordon, the lead developer of MyBB for the past 5 years, resigned to pursue new challenges. As a result, Tom Moore took over Ryan's responsibilities for development and Dylan M took over management of the MyBB Merge System.

MyBB 1.6.4, released 26th July 2011, was one of the largest MyBB updates and the first release in MyBB's history that required all core files to be replaced due to errors in previous releases of 1.6. It was also the first release to include feature changes which are normally reserved for major point (feature) releases. The step to include new feature updates was taken to extend the life of the 1.6 series while MyBB's next series, MyBB 2.0, is being developed.

On 25 November 2011, MyBB 1.6.5 was released. This version included over 10 new feature updates, including reCAPTCHA support and advancements to prevent spam users.

As of December 2011, over 300 bugs/issues have been fixed in the 1.6 series.

MyBB 2.0
The next major release of MyBB will be 2.0, targeted for a release within MyBB's typical release cycle. Currently in planning/early development, it is being rewritten from scratch in a MVC method.

On 7 July 2011, MyBB announced some 2.0 project information. The software is being written using the Yii framework and will be including conversation-style personal messaging (PM) systems, a simplified User CP and Moderation Queues.

Donation Drive
On 27 April 2010, the MyBB Group started a donation drive in an effort to purchase the mybb.com domain name. The Group needed to raise $5,000 from community donations for the transfer, and with Chris Boulton and community member Labrocca personally providing $1,000, that left $3,000 from the community.

Just a month later, on 27 May 2010, MyBB.com was transferred and in use across the site.

Database Support
MyBB supports multiple database engines. It currently supports MySQL, PgSQL, and SQLite v2 and v3. MyBB also database failover support so that if one database fails, MyBB will load the next database on the list. Master and slave databases are also configurable.

Plugins & Themes
MyBB plugins are written in PHP and use hooking techniques. Unlike other software like WordPress, plugins need to be uploaded via FTP, uploading from the admin panel is not supported without a plugin. However, this is an upgrade over phpBB, where all modifications are core file edits.

MyBB themes are written using XML and are packaged with the images accompanying the theme. The XML file includes all modified MyBB templates and CSS stylesheets.

There are over 2,400 plugins and themes on the MyBB mods website. Many other MyBB resource sites, such as MyBBCentral or MyBB-Plugins also offer exclusive, and sometimes paid, plugins and themes.

Security
MyBB has a relatively low-risk security record. In August 2008, MyBB performed a security audit (provided by GulfTech) which led to the release of MyBB 1.4.2 on 17 September 2008.

Once MyBB has been given a high-risk security exploit notification, a patch is typically available within 24 hours.

In October 2011, MyBB found 3rd party code had contaminated the 1.6.4 release files. This code could be exploited to open a security vulnerability on a forum running the affected version. It was later found that a security flaw in the custom CMS MyBB uses to power its website allowed a malicious user to alter the download files to include their own code.

As a result of the intrusion, the MyBB Group now hosts downloads via Github to ensure the security of a release. A Forum Security section on the MyBB Community Forums opened in 2011 to provide support for users who have been a victim of an exploit, regardless of whether the fault lies with MyBB.

Throughout 2011, automated registrations caused forum spam in many MyBB powered forums. In MyBB 1.6.5, released on 25 November 2011, additional methods were added to help administrators locate spam users and manage them effectively as well as providing standard reCAPTCHA support.

Merge System
The MyBB Merge System allows you to convert from Invision Power Board, phpBB, Simple Machines Forum, PunBB, or vBulletin to MyBB, or merge two MyBB installations together.

Reviews
MyBB has a 9.6 out of ten review at forum-software.org and was named the best free forum software of 2011 by the same site. It has a 4.33 out of 5 review at HotScripts, and has been recommended by cloud computing company Standing Cloud. It has been features in magazines such as The H and runs some of the largest forums on the web, including Hackforums, NCAAbbs, and several EA Sports boards.