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phpBB facts for kids
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A default installation of phpBB 3.2
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| Developer(s) | phpBB Limited |
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| Initial release | December 16, 2000 |
| Stable release | Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1575: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). (Lua error in Module:Wd at line 1571: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).; Error: first parameter cannot be parsed as a date or time.) |
| Written in | PHP |
| Size | 7.54 MB (compressed) |
| Available in | 54 languages |
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List of languages
American English, Arabic, Argentinian Spanish, Basque, Belarusian, Brazilian Portuguese, British English, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, French, Gaelic, Galician, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Macedonian, Chinese, Mexican Spanish, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Tatar, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Vietnamese
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| Type | Internet forum |
| License | GNU General Public License version 2 |
phpBB is a special computer program that helps people create and run online discussion forums. It's built using a computer language called PHP. The name "phpBB" is short for PHP Bulletin Board. It's free to use and change, thanks to something called the GNU General Public License. This means anyone can use it, study how it works, and even make it better!
phpBB has many cool features. It can work with different types of databases like MySQL and PostgreSQL. It organizes messages in a simple, flat way, not like a tree. You can also create smaller discussion areas called subforums. If a discussion gets too long, you can split it or combine it with another. Users can join groups, add multiple files to their posts, and search for specific words. It also lets you know about new messages through email or other ways.
Contents
The Story of phpBB
phpBB was started by James Atkinson on June 17, 2000. He wanted a simple forum for his own website. Soon, Nathan Codding and John Abela joined the team. They started working on the first big version, 1.0.0. A test version was ready in July that same year.
First Steps: phpBB 1.0.0
phpBB 1.0.0 was officially released on December 16, 2000. More updates for this first version came out later. The very last version in this series was phpBB 1.4.4, released on November 6, 2001. Over time, more people like Bart van Bragt and Paul S. Owen joined the team. This first version of phpBB is no longer supported, and almost no websites use it today.
Building Better: phpBB 2.0.x
In February 2001, the team decided to start from scratch and build phpBB 2.0.x. They had bigger plans for phpBB than the first version could handle. Doug Kelly joined the team shortly after. After a year of hard work and testing, phpBB 2.0.0 was released on April 4, 2002.
phpBB2 was the version before the current phpBB3. It was made to run on older PHP versions. By the time phpBB3 came out in 2007, the developers felt phpBB2 was outdated. They stopped supporting phpBB2 on January 1, 2009. This meant no more official updates or security fixes. However, some unofficial websites still offer help for phpBB2 users.
Many people still liked phpBB2 because it was simpler to manage. It also had many "MODs" (modifications) and styles. These allowed users to change how their forum looked and worked. The main look for phpBB2 was called "subSilver." It was a very new design for forums at the time and inspired many other forum designs.
Some key features of phpBB2 included:
- A special system that made it easy to change the look of the forum.
- Support for many different languages, with 48 translations available by 2007.
- It worked with various database management systems like MySQL and Microsoft SQL Server.
- Ways to add new features and change the look, called MODs and styles.
The last official release of phpBB 2.0.x was 2.0.23, released on February 17, 2008.
Modern Forums: phpBB 3.0.x
Work on phpBB 3.0.x started in late 2002. It was first planned as phpBB 2.2, but the developers realized it was so different that it needed a new main version number: 3.0.0. In September 2005, Meik Sievertsen became the new lead developer.
In March 2007, the phpBB team launched their new website. It used phpBB3 with a new look called "prosilver." This new look was supposed to be a surprise until phpBB 3.0.0 was fully released.
phpBB 3.0.0, also known as "Olympus," was finally released on December 13, 2007. Before its release, experts checked its code for security issues.
In July 2007, phpBB won an award for "Best Project for Communications" from SourceForge.net. They even donated $1000 in phpBB's name to a charity!
The phpBB team also started a podcast in September 2007, where they talked about phpBB topics. Later, they started a weblog (blog) in July 2008, giving users an inside look at their work.
In July 2008, the phpBB teams held their first-ever meeting for users in London. It was called "Londonvasion 2008." This event allowed users to meet the team and learn more about phpBB.
The team kept adding new tools. They released AutoMOD, which helps install modifications automatically. They also released UMIL, a tool to help developers create database scripts for their MODs.
phpBB 3.0.6 was a big update released on November 17, 2009. It added new features like a quick reply box, support for different caching tools, and a better CAPTCHA system to fight spam. The CAPTCHA system helps make sure real people, not robots, are signing up.
The last stable version of phpBB 3.0 was 3.0.14, released on May 4, 2015. Support for phpBB 3.0.x ended in November 2015.
Responsive Design: phpBB 3.1.x
In 2009, the phpBB Development Team started working on phpBB 3.1. This version was code-named "Ascraeus," named after a mountain on Mars. They planned many new features, including a completely new Moderator Control Panel, better private messaging, and a new way to handle user logins.
A big change happened on July 29, 2009. The team decided to change how they numbered their versions. This meant that "Ascraeus" would be phpBB 3.1.0, not 3.2.0 as first thought. They also promised to keep supporting older versions for a while after new ones came out.
In January 2010, Nils Adermann became the new Lead Developer. phpBB also moved its code storage from Subversion to Git in March 2010. This helped developers work together better.
phpBB 3.1.0 "Ascraeus" was finally released on October 28, 2014. This version brought a "responsive design," meaning it looked good on phones and tablets too! The last stable "Ascraeus" version was 3.1.10, released on October 12, 2016.
New Features: phpBB 3.2.x
The first test versions for phpBB 3.2.x, code-named "Rhea," came out in 2016. phpBB 3.2.0 was officially launched on January 7, 2017. This version brought important changes and new features. It had a new installer, a better BBCode system that supported emojis, and full support for PHP 7.1.
Modernizing: phpBB 3.3.x
The first test version for phpBB 3.3.x, called "Proteus," was available on December 23, 2019. phpBB 3.3.0 officially launched on January 6, 2020. This version built upon 3.2 "Rhea" and was a big step towards a more modern base. Since version 3.3.3 in 2021, phpBB supports the newer PHP 8 and MySQL 8.
MODs and Extensions
"MODs" are code changes made by the phpBB community. They are used to add new features or change how phpBB looks. The word "MOD" is capitalized to avoid confusion with "mods," which are forum moderators. These MODs are not made by the official phpBB developers. The phpBB Extensions Team checks these MODs. If they meet the team's rules, they are available for download from the phpBB Customisations Database. For phpBB 3.1.x and newer, MODs are now called "Extensions."
MODX: How MODs are Described
MODX is a special file format that uses XML (a way to organize data). It describes the steps needed to install a MOD. While it can be used for any web program, it's mainly used for phpBB MODs. The phpBB Extensions Team requires MODs to follow MODX rules. Using XML helps tools like AutoMOD automatically install the changes.
AutoMOD: Automatic Installation
AutoMOD is a tool made by the phpBB Extensions Team. It reads MODX files and automatically installs phpBB3 MODs. Users just upload the MOD files and run AutoMOD. It then makes the necessary changes to the phpBB files. AutoMOD also helps the team check if MODs can be installed correctly.
The current version of AutoMOD is 1.0.2. AutoMOD took over from EasyMOD, which did the same job for phpBB2. EasyMOD is no longer supported.
UMIL: Database Helper
The Unified MOD Installation Library (UMIL) is a tool that makes it easier to install and uninstall database changes for MODs. It helps set up the forum for a new MOD, like adding or removing tables in the database. UMIL is free to use and the latest version is 1.0.5.
Keeping phpBB Safe
In the past, there were some security issues, like the Santy worm in 2004. This worm used weaknesses in old phpBB2 versions to mess up websites. Even though these problems were often with outdated versions, they made people question phpBB's security.
The phpBB Team tries to fix security issues very quickly. They release new versions as soon as possible when a problem is found. They even had experts check phpBB3's code for security before it was released.
To prevent future problems, phpBB2 added a system that made administrators log in again when accessing important settings. This was to stop attackers from gaining control.
In November 2005, the phpBB Group created an "Incident Investigation Team." This team helps users whose phpBB forums have been attacked and looks into new security threats.
The CAPTCHA system in phpBB2 was sometimes easy for robots to get around, leading to a lot of spam. phpBB3 has much better anti-spam tools. These include a stronger CAPTCHA system, ways to suspend users, and logging user actions. The best way to fight spam now is often using a "Question & Answer" challenge, which was added in phpBB 3.0.6.
phpBB 3 also tells the administrator when new versions are available. This helps users keep their forums updated and secure.
The phpBB Community
phpBB has a large community of users. These users help the project by creating Extensions, MODs, and Styles. They also provide extra support to other users, helping answer questions and solve problems. The community is encouraged to help improve the main phpBB code too.
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