If i remember correctly the jump from 1.1 to 1.2 was significant enough to break most plugins.. But there were big changes to the hook system and was unavoidable.. 1.2 to 1.3 was painless.
What's your philosophy on upgrading xenforo?
- Thread starter jauburn
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Which is covered by planning and caution. No one should do their live site until they have tested an upgrade on their test site. And it is usually trivial to do so.
Not at all accurate.
Very few add ons broke.
The biggest change was responsive design. Style upgrades were very difficult.
No such major changes happened to the style in 1.3 hence the perception that it was painless. But several add ons broke with 1.3 too or broke 1.3. Probably about the same amount as 1.2 anyway.
this is especially true if you like so many others came from a certain competing software where Planning and Caution were job numbers one and two.. i've definitely been able to relax some of my old rules regarding software upgrades since migrating to XenForo
Interesting because that was not my experience at all.. 1.2 was a nightmare that took weeks to work through all the various broken plugins where the latest update from 1.2 to 1.3 nothing broke on my forum..
Slightly off-topic, but I'm actually waiting to hear what's new in the next non-maintenance release of xf before I upgrade our fairly large vb 3.8 forum. There are a couple of features I'll have to write myself to make the transition smooth for our users, so I'm hoping at least one of those features will be in the next release.
TPerry
Well-known member
What "immense complication". The most "immense complication" I ever had was the smiley add-on and that was easily solved.
D
Deleted member 6355
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Wait it a stable version is released and the first set of patches and bug fixes come through, then upgrade.
I upgrade my dev site as soon as a new release is out, with all add-ons active, never had an issue. Yes, add-ons should be disabled when upgrading, but I am curious to see which add-on will cause a problem during the upgrade first, and if so, why.
Next I upgrade my site right away and then my wife's site. My wife's site has a few add-ons running that I wrote when XF was first released, never an issue with them.
Next I upgrade my site right away and then my wife's site. My wife's site has a few add-ons running that I wrote when XF was first released, never an issue with them.
This is why I am against add-ons. I have had a few very important add-ons get abandoned, or updates come so slowly that it makes them useless anyway. I only use what I need to, and slowly eliminate those that we really don't need. I don't envy sites that use dozens of add-ons, although I do envy their admins who have the patience to keep all of those updated and working together nicely.
Fortunately, many of the add-ons I've used haven't been broken by upgrades, and since I've stuck with the better add-on developers, I find they release updates in a timely fashion. One of my forums is a "big board" and we simply cannot afford any broken features or downtime, not when we have 1300+ users online during peak hours. I simply use as few add-ons as I can get away with, and it helps greatly during upgrades.I update core XF within a week of any upgrade release that has come out. I've done the same with WordPress. (Amazingly with WordPress, it is very rare I've had a plugin or theme break with WP core upgrades.) With the bug fixes, security enhancements, etc. inherent in any upgrade (XF, WP, anything really), to me it is standard practice to always keep everything on the most current version. Even my computers and Android devices are all on the most current version of the OS.
Which ones are those?
Just to add my actual experiences with upgrading from xen 1.2.4 to 1.3.3:
Yes, indeed, I had a number of issues with a number of plugins, and the issues continue (most recently with photopost). So my take is that those who expressed a desire to exercise caution (or complete refusal) to upgrade xenforo unless an actual problem is being solved with an update are completely justified.
I also sympathize with those who say they install add-ons with great trepidation. Every time you install one of these things, you introduce potential problems down the line...problems that can, at times, be virtually impossible to unravel. And third party styles, in my opinion, should be counted as add-ons.
So my take is that you take one of two paths: you modify the heck out of xenforo, installing styles and add-ons at will, or you forego that entirely and stick with a stock installation (with custom logo) and give yourself the peace of mind of knowing that, at upgrade time, you won't run yourself into days of unexpected work and troubleshooting.
Pick your poison. From where I'm sitting right now, the 1 person who chose "If nothing's broken, don't fix it. Never upgrade unless forced by something/someone" has it right, which is not surprising. The crowd usually has it wrong.
Yes, indeed, I had a number of issues with a number of plugins, and the issues continue (most recently with photopost). So my take is that those who expressed a desire to exercise caution (or complete refusal) to upgrade xenforo unless an actual problem is being solved with an update are completely justified.
I also sympathize with those who say they install add-ons with great trepidation. Every time you install one of these things, you introduce potential problems down the line...problems that can, at times, be virtually impossible to unravel. And third party styles, in my opinion, should be counted as add-ons.
So my take is that you take one of two paths: you modify the heck out of xenforo, installing styles and add-ons at will, or you forego that entirely and stick with a stock installation (with custom logo) and give yourself the peace of mind of knowing that, at upgrade time, you won't run yourself into days of unexpected work and troubleshooting.
Pick your poison. From where I'm sitting right now, the 1 person who chose "If nothing's broken, don't fix it. Never upgrade unless forced by something/someone" has it right, which is not surprising. The crowd usually has it wrong.
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Hyperbole.
If you had major problems going from 1.2.4 to 1.3.3, when you consider that 1.3.0 was released nearly 6 months ago (and it was its initial introduction that may have produced breaking changes, not so much subsequent releases), then if you had problems, you did so because you didn't plan and execute your upgrade correctly.
PhotoPost may well be an exception to the rule as strictly speaking it is not a XenForo add-on. And problems with PhotoPost integration have existed for a long time (Other gallery solutions are available...). The onus is on you to go a little bit out of you way to check with other PhotoPost customers and their developers as to whether there are any known issues.
As for everything else it is straight forward. By the sounds of it you aren't a fan of add-ons. That's fine. There's no point in you installing more add-ons than your community needs. Some people go way to far and regret it... (Don't they, @DRE
) So I'm guessing you don't have too many. In which case it shouldn't be an arduous task to find out their 1.3 compatibility, or even just ask the developer. Did you read the XenForo 1.3 Upgrade Guide by @Brogan? That covered the most common and disruptive issues you might hit during a 1.3 upgrade.
Without knowing exactly what your issues were, it's hard to be specific about how they could have been mitigated. But whatever the mitigation would have been, it wouldn't have been time consuming or difficult.
Please do not listen to @jauburn's hyperbole. The crowd isn't wrong on this one.
If you had major problems going from 1.2.4 to 1.3.3, when you consider that 1.3.0 was released nearly 6 months ago (and it was its initial introduction that may have produced breaking changes, not so much subsequent releases), then if you had problems, you did so because you didn't plan and execute your upgrade correctly.
PhotoPost may well be an exception to the rule as strictly speaking it is not a XenForo add-on. And problems with PhotoPost integration have existed for a long time (Other gallery solutions are available...). The onus is on you to go a little bit out of you way to check with other PhotoPost customers and their developers as to whether there are any known issues.
As for everything else it is straight forward. By the sounds of it you aren't a fan of add-ons. That's fine. There's no point in you installing more add-ons than your community needs. Some people go way to far and regret it... (Don't they, @DRE
) So I'm guessing you don't have too many. In which case it shouldn't be an arduous task to find out their 1.3 compatibility, or even just ask the developer. Did you read the XenForo 1.3 Upgrade Guide by @Brogan? That covered the most common and disruptive issues you might hit during a 1.3 upgrade.Without knowing exactly what your issues were, it's hard to be specific about how they could have been mitigated. But whatever the mitigation would have been, it wouldn't have been time consuming or difficult.
Please do not listen to @jauburn's hyperbole. The crowd isn't wrong on this one.
TPerry
Well-known member
Chris hit the nail on the head... ANY time you do an upgrade, it's incumbent upon you to make sure that your add-ons are compatible. A minor upgrade (like from 1.3.0 to 1.3.3) is not likely to break anything... but an upgrade from 1.1.x to 1.3.x or from 1.2.x to 1.3.x is more likely to. As the forum administrator, it is your duty to research your add-ons to make sure they are compatible with the upgrade. If there are some add-ons that haven't been updated to be compatible, and they are vital to your forum then you wait until they have been updated.
Just upgrading without doing any research is irresponsible. Most issues are very easy to mitigate. Anytime there is a new version out, it is recommended to read @Brogan's upgrade resource - it's there for a reason and will REALLY help answer a lot (not all) of an individuals questions.... but just because a forum owner/admin reads it does not relieve the them of researching the add-ons that they use for compatibility (either in the resource discussion thread or by contacting the developer directly if there is not a discussion thread for it). I don't have enough fingers and toes to count the number of posts that I've seen asking questions that were already answered in the Upgrade Guides.
I wish!
I also wish xenforo would add a gallery solution. I regularly look at the gallery add-ons offered here, and I see nothing that's compelling. And of course all of the add-ons come with the usual caveat: they're add-ons.
TPerry
Well-known member
Correct me if I'm wrong... but is not PhotoPost an add-on? Last I checked it didn't ship with vBulletin and they have a totally separate web site.
And from looking at it, it doesn't appear that much different (from quick glance) as what XenMediaGallery looks like.
EDIT:
Looking at it more, it just appears to be it's own application that bridges with those forums (no different that CopperMine Gallery and phpBB, etc).
Nothing that's compelling? They're integrated into the forum, they're fully supported by active and well reputed developers, and ultimately incredibly good value for money. And I'm not just talking about my own
Add-ons themselves are fine. Yes, a very small percentage of developers abandon their projects, or fail to meet expectations, that is a risk you have to take (albeit a calculated one), but ultimately the concept of add-ons is sound. The behaviours and expectations of the users, on the other hand, can sometimes be where the problem is.
If you upgrade without reading the release notes, you will get issues. If you do not follow advice, you will get issues. If you go and blindly upgrade XenForo without first testing and checking your add-ons, you will get issues.
Is a XenForo with add-ons painless? No. Of course not. Can it be mitigated? Yes! It's all about balance and being sensible.
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