What's upcoming on the next big version: Kunena 5.0?

Because of the substantial changes that this new version introduces (compared with K 4.0), We will tell you what you can expect on the new version.

Upgrading to K 5.0 involves changes that may affect Kunena's interoperability with other extensions installed on your site. For this reason it is advisable that you first test K 5.0 on a test site before you upgrade your live production site(s). At this stage the team is not treating interoperability with other Joomla extensions as the topmost priority. The main priority at this time is about installation/upgrade and operability as a standalone Joomla component.

These are the main changes with K4.0

  • No longer support on J1.6 - J3.4.2. Thats mean the installer will stop if you not have J3.4.3 or newer
  • Removing php 5.3/5.4 support. The 5.3/5.4 support has been depricated. You should update to php5.6
  • Blue eagle/ none hmvc templates will be deprecated, and no longer working on K5.0
  • There will be 3 templates included in the main package.
    1) New template, for none bootstrap templates.
    2) Crypsis, for default Joomla bootstrap support.
    3) CrypsisB3, for bootstrap 3 templates
  • Remove all deprecated Joomla and Kunena code
  • Codestyle
  • New featues:
    - Solved
    - Social share
    - Autosubscription (* Only allowed for B2B)
    - Rating topics
    - Unread
    - WYSIWYG editor plugin
  • more coming in the later versions.


Changes to the operation of the forum at this website following the release of K 5.0

New Template

New website is coming soon, when the last features are done. The template is already finished, and waiting for the final changes.

New Docs

New Docs is also coming on the big change. We have improved many docs, and removed all the depricated Kunena/Joomla versions.
Also we will update our docs, for creating new templates/plugins/modules.

Plugins/Modules

Plugins and modules will be updated. K5.0 will use the default bootstrap core styling also none bootstrap style, like before.

Roadmap

Release dates:

  1. Kunena K5.0 : November
  2. Kunena Big website change : November
  3. Kunena Docs : November
  4. Kunena Plugins/Modules : November

* Dates can be changed any time

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sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 5 months ago
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Josh wrote: And now you are telling me that more is to come. :cheer: Seems like the Kunena team is getting their groove on these days.

I am not sure if the team is "getting their groove". I have written a couple of articles in my blog about some of these recent changes and announcements.
Josh replied the topic:
8 years 5 months ago
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Thanks for the detailed reply. I decided to reply to one of the threads you linked to and got a awesome reply: www.kunena.org/forum/77-General-Talk-abo...scribe-thread#169354

I am very pleased about this. B) And now you are telling me that more is to come. :cheer: Seems like the Kunena team is getting their groove on these days.
sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 5 months ago
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Josh wrote: I'm curious about the "Autosubscription" feature. I read through this entire thread and am still trying to better understand it. Is it a profile setting that allows the user to decide if they want to be automatically subscribed to threads? (phpBB has this feature as well as other forum softwares). This determines if the checkbox is checked or not by default based on a profile preference. Users then are not "forced" to check or uncheck it each time they post in the forums.

Or perhaps this means something else?

We waited for two weeks for the official response. I will try to explain what the autosubscription feature is about.

Yes, you are right, that phpBB has a setting that controls the behaviour of a checkbox that appears when people create a topic (or post a reply to a topic); the checkbox will automatically be checked or unchecked depending on this setting. This behaviour is also implemented in Kunena.

Until K 4.0 was released, the behaviour was controlled differently. We discussed this change in these topics

USER SETTING AUTO SUBSCRIBE THREAD ;
Please disable "Check this box to be notified of replies to this topic" at www.kunena.org ;
Kunena 4.05 bug (Subscriptions) ; and
K 4.0.3 Crypsis "automatically" subscribes to topic; Blue Eagle does not

The reference to "autosubscriptions" in the article Update about upcoming changes is about a new feature for K 5.0 that will force all users to be subscribed to topics on the forum. So, in answer to your question "perhaps this means something else" and because the developers have not replied to your question for two weeks, I can only offer my personal opinion. I believe the answer to your question is yes; it means something else.
Josh replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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I'm curious about the "Autosubscription" feature. I read through this entire thread and am still trying to better understand it. Is it a profile setting that allows the user to decide if they want to be automatically subscribed to threads? (phpBB has this feature as well as other forum softwares). This determines if the checkbox is checked or not by default based on a profile preference. Users then are not "forced" to check or uncheck it each time they post in the forums.

Or perhaps this means something else?
sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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xillibit wrote:

ShockPuppet wrote: thank You Kunena Team for all your hard work.

Why the change to minimum PHP 5.5 ?

We are going to have minimum as Php 5.5 but we haven't said that it will be in Kunena 5.0, we are following developpement of Joomla! 3.5 and if the technical requiements change with this version, Kunena will change too else it will not change. So the mimimun of Php 5.5 could be in Kunena 5.1, or 5.2....

According to the approved plan adopted by the Joomla Production Leadership Team (see Section 6.4 Minimum Technical Requirements),

The minimum technical requirements, such as PHP version, database version, etc., can only be increased for the first release of a new major version.


This, therefore, means that the increase in the minimum technical requirements for Joomla are not envisaged before J! 4.0.0 whenever that may occur.

I overlooked the point made by ShockPuppet earlier (good point, by the way). What happens if a users has another Joomla extension that will not operate on PHP 5.5?

I really think this matter needs to be seriously reconsidered. In my (very) humble opinion, Joomla should be the driving factor for extension developments. We know that some parts of Kunena have not worked with older versions of Joomla in the past (and it's been a pain having to wait for Joomla to release something that will address those concerns) but that's the way of the Joomlaverse. I understand that some extension developers are unhappy with the speed that Joomla is playing catch-up; again, that's just a fairly common criticism among Joomla extension developers (just have a read of some of the material that Nicholas Dionysopoulos—the author of Akeeba Backup—writes!). :laugh:

But getting back to the issue, I am a little surprised that the Joomla team seems to be ignoring the community's concerns. As I suggested earlier , it might be an idea to gauge community's opinions with a quick survey. B)
ruud replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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xillibit wrote: ...we are following developpement of Joomla! 3.5 and if the technical requiements change with this version, Kunena will change too else it will not change. So the mimimun of Php 5.5 could be in Kunena 5.1, or 5.2....

Good call (my opinion), Kunena is not the only component on Joomla websites so changing PHP for Kunena can lead to problems with other components.
I think following the underlying CMS's requirements is best-practise as other components do that as well.
BTW: I run on a very cheap provider and I was pleasantly surprised that they already offer php 7 (and every version below that): just a matter of selecting the version you want and of you go :)
xillibit replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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ShockPuppet wrote: thank You Kunena Team for all your hard work.

Why the change to minimum PHP 5.5 ?

We are going to have minimum as Php 5.5 but we haven't said that it will be in Kunena 5.0, we are following developpement of Joomla! 3.5 and if the technical requiements change with this version, Kunena will change too else it will not change. So the mimimun of Php 5.5 could be in Kunena 5.1, or 5.2....
ShockPuppet replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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thank You Kunena Team for all your hard work.

Why the change to minimum PHP 5.5 ?

We set up a website end of last year through Godaddy which auto set up PHP 5.4 (Native) and its going to cause headaches I assume for many people. For godaddy users, a straight switch in the cpanel from 5.4 native to 5.5 will cause error 500 (i know, it happened to me). I had to work out what extentions i was using with native and enable them for the upgrade but its beyond a lot of casual users to do so and they may need some additional support if new kunena means new php... where will that support come from?
ssh replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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I vote for: "keep moving forward"

As an alternative solution for the problem explained by sozzled
I think Kunena team can also provide a hosting solution exclusive for websites running kunena for a competitive price (Of course, You can count with me if you want to develop this project)
sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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See my earlier post in this topic above.

As a suggestion, instead of making the decision that K 5.0 will require PHP 5.5 now, how about running a community survey to gauge community support? You can make the case for PHP 5.5—and why you believe it's needed for Kunena to move forward—in a new topic and ask people to vote for the following proposition and allow peoople to respond accordingly:

What should be the minimum version of PHP for K 5.0?

  1. PHP 5.3.31 (the minimum version required for J! 3.4)
  2. PHP 5.4.31 (as recommended for K 3.0/K 4.0)
  3. PHP 5.5 (currently supported by PHP.net)
  4. PHP 5.6 (the latest version supported by PHP.net)

Alternatively, if people wish, they can use the Thank You feature here to show their agreement with what I have written (or how you may choose to respond) or they can reply to this topic.
sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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810 wrote: We are also going to deprecated Php 5.4

So you need to Update Php

min : 5.5..
Req : 5.6

See: php.net/supported-versions.php

I think that's a step too far. Even Joomla's own technical requirements are only PHP 5.3.31 (although they recommend PHP 5.4, or higher).

Just because the PHP website says that PHP 5.4 is no longer officially supported (or that PHP 5.3 "died" on 14 August 2014 ) does not negate the need for continued support for those who may require additional time for their webhosting providers to catch up. :whistle: Have a look at the configuration reports provided by your users to see what version of PHP they are currently using and use that as a determining factor in deciding what minimum version of PHP should be used rather than what version is "supported" by PHP.net .

I would suggest that the primary factor, in choosing the minimum versions of server operating system software to operate one's website, is whatever is needed in order to run Joomla. For example, some years ago my webhosting provider at the time was not using the minimum operating system software (I can't remember if it was PHP mySQL or something else) required for whatever was going to be next major release of Joomla. Because Joomla was moving forward—and I wanted to maintain my involvement with Joomla—I changed webhosting providers in order to remain up-to-date. My forum needs were a secondary consideration. The changeover involved a few hundred dollars but it was worth it because Joomla has gone from strength to strength. B)

If K 5.0 will require PHP 5.5 then I hope you will still be providing support for K 4.0 for a long time. In my own case, I am running PHP 5.4.41. I would also suggest that if you abandon K 4.0 (within one month of releasing K 5.0, as you indicated in your article) you will lose the majority of people from this community. I, for one, will not be upgrading to K 5.0—I will not even be able to test it—if PHP 5.5/6 is required in order to run it. :angry:
810 replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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We are also going to deprecated Php 5.4

So you need to Update Php

min : 5.5..
Req : 5.6

See: php.net/supported-versions.php
sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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I do not have the interest to debate this matter here. I have already put my case forward in other places and, if people don't care, that's their problem. At the end of the day it will only require one complaint put to the authorities and the Kunena developers may find themselves in more trouble than they bargained for.

Yes, it's one thing to put a warning on merchandise and say "stay out of here if you are not qualified to modify the product" and it's an entirely different matter if the merchandise does not have tamper-proof safeguards to prevent its possible misuse.

In my opinion, a "warning" is not a safeguard against potential misuse.

Returning to the "car" analogy, most vehicles used in crimes are stolen. It is a requirement, these days, for motor vehicle manufacturers to equip cars with engine immobilisers. However much we play games with analogies, the fact remains that from just about any way you look at this, freely placing the means to illegally invade peoples' privacy with web software makes the author of that software an accessory to the illegal misuse of that software.

By the way, although we're not discussing "hacking"', one doesn't have to have a notice placed somewhere to say that it's illegal to hack into a website. "Hacking" (in this sense) is illegal anyway and most countries have anti-hacking laws. So, no, it's not a case of "it's not illegal because no-one said otherwise." It's illegal because the law says it's illegal.
ruud replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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I think (but I am not a legal expert) that a must is to notify.
I once was involved in a project to disclose ones workplace via the internet. Legal department told us to create a notice on the web page ("Unauthorised access, or usage of this computer system in breach of internal policies, is prohibited and may result in legal or disciplinary action being taken against you").
Without that notice is was 'legal' to try to hack your way into the system: nobody told you that you where doing illegal things....
sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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ruud wrote:

sozzled wrote: 2) The article makes the point that autosubscribe will only be "allowed for B2B". How will K 5.0 ensure that websites where autosubcribe is implemented are used only for B2B purposes to ensure its legality ?

How do eg car manufacturers ensure that their cars are not used as getaway cars in a bank robbery?

That is an unfair analogy.

A better comparison would be, "How does Microsoft ensure that a person using the Windows operating system have the legal right to obtain updates?"
xillibit replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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rgblogs wrote: Will there be any feature to enable or disable fields in profile information?

Hello,

That's not a feature planned for Kunena 5.0, we have couple of features planned ( github.com/Kunena/Kunena-Forum/issues/3396 ) for this release. But this is just a plan and all the features will be included if we have enough time.
ruud replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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sozzled wrote: 2) The article makes the point that autosubscribe will only be "allowed for B2B". How will K 5.0 ensure that websites where autosubcribe is implemented are used only for B2B purposes to ensure its legality ?

How do eg car manufacturers ensure that their cars are not used as getaway cars in a bank robbery?
rgblogs replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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Will there be any feature to enable or disable fields in profile information?
rgblogs replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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Will it be possible to easily upgrade from 4.0x version?
810 replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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autosubscribe:

This feature is almost 4 years in the core package. We started to redo the feature to include it on K4.0. But the code isn't fully working. That's why we closed the topic. And move the task to K5.0

Webmasters are always responsible for the enabling on features. We can't detect if you are a business or working on a intranet. We can only give a warning when you enable the feature.

Php:
Php 5.3 will be deprecated from the install yes. The last months there found a lot of vulnerables in server software. That's why we increase the minimal php version.

The lasted 5.4 version is 5.4.45. So we are thinking of minimal version of 5.4.33

That we need to check what later version are available.


Forum template options:

4) After the first beta of K5.0 will be docs available for creating templates.
The easiest way is to edit crypsis or edit the new template.

5) What kind of resources do you mean. Template builders can use docs.
sozzled replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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I am pleased to see that the developers have made an effort to communicate a broad plan of upcoming developments to Kunena (K 5.0) as well as advance information about the forthcoming K 4.0.6 .

I would like to ask a couple of questions, please.

Autosubscribe

The suggested improvement to add an autosubcribe feature as part of K 5.0 was first indicated as a "target" for K 4.0. The discussion at GitHub (that has now been closed) suggested that this feature would be factored into K 4.0.6, if my understanding is correct, but the blog article suggests otherwise.

1) Has the autosubscribe feature been deferred to K 5.0 or is it still intended to be included in K 4.0.6?

2) The article makes the point that autosubscribe will only be "allowed for B2B". How will K 5.0 ensure that websites where autosubcribe is implemented are used only for B2B purposes to ensure its legality ?

PHP 5.5

The article mentions that, from K 5.0, Kunena support for PHP 5.3 will be deprectated—I assume that there will be a check to prevent attempted installation if a website uses PHP 5.3 (or lower). The article recommends that people upgrade to PHP 5.5.

3) What is the minimum version of PHP required to install K 5.0?

Forum template options

4) With the arrival of K 5.0 and the removal of Blue Eagle support (and therefore all alternative templates that are derived from Blue Eagle) and the focus now on Crypsis, what resources will be made available for members of the Kunena community and other template developers to be able to design and construct their own templates?

5) Will resources be freely available for members of the Kunena community to be able to design and construct their own templates, or will an additional cost be required to make those resources available?

Thank you. I look forward to seeing the replies to my questions. :)
ssh replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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Great.
This is a great opportunity to include the "Related Topics" feature
ruud replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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Looking forward to it! Keep up the good work
nsprime replied the topic:
8 years 6 months ago
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This is good news. Long live Kunena.