WoltLab is currently developing the upcoming version 3.1 called Volcano of the popular forum system Burning Board. You will find an overview of the numerous new functions. More than 200 are planned until the final version. Some of the features mentioned on the list are already done, others are currently heavily worked on. Until the end of this year a first public beta version is planned to be released.
User Functions
User Profile and Registration
New User Profile The look of the public user profile has been reworked.
New Friend List The look of the list of friends has been reworked.
Last Visitors The last visitors of a profile are displayed in the profile.
Contact Path A display is available, that shows with whom a user is connected over three corners.
Last Posts The last posts of a user are displayed in his profile.
Registration-IP The IP-Address of the registration is displayed in the profile.
Searchable The user profiles are searchable by search robots and can then be found in search engines.
New Admin Functions Diverse admin functions are available directly in the profile page (e.g. signature or avatar lock).
Birthday Note A note is displayed in the profile if it's the user's birthday.
Style Change If a user changes his style in the profile, the change will be visible immediately.
Style Preview The style picker in the profile also contains a preview.
Attachment list A list of own attachments is available in the profile.
Confirm Friends Friendships have to be confirmed by both parties.
Optional Registrationfields User profile fields can be displayed in the registration form but are only optional.
Friend List: Easy Delete The friend and ignore list can be emptied with one mouse click.
Time Filter for Threads The users can add their own time filter for the thread list.
Avatar Categories The given avatars can be grouped in categories.
Individual Boarddisplay The boards can be excluded from the lists individually by each user.
Subscriptions
Time Filter A time filter for the list of subscribed threads is available.
Easy Delete The subscriptions can be emptied with a single mouse click.
Prompt for Confirmation A prompt for confirmation has been added when unsubscribing all boards.
Additional Information In subscribed boards the number of new threads, the last post and the statistic is displayed.
Link in Header In the page header a link with the subscriptions can be found including the status display.
RSS -Feed The subscribed threads can be accessed via RSS feed.
User Memos
WYSIWYG The WYSIWYG editor can be used for the user memo.
Better Comfort The management of the notes is in general more comfortable.
Categories The notes can be grouped in categories.
Deleting Notes Multiple notes can be deleted at once.
New Commercial Plugin: Community Blog
Categories and tags Blog entries may be sorted by categories and tags.
Comments Users can comment on blog entries.
Overview Blog entries of all users are being displayed on one special central overview page.
New Optional Plugin: Community Gallery
Albums and Tags Images may be sorted by albums and tags.
Comments Users can comment on images.
Overview Images of all users are being displayed on one special central overview page.
Google Maps A map shows the images location, if the information is available.
Slideshow All images may be viewed in an interactive slideshow.
User Lists
Members List The order of columns on the members list can be changed.
Friend List In the members list there is also a link to te list of friends of a user.
Visibility A hidden user is visible for his friends.
Groupleader View The leaders of a group are shown seperately on the team list.
User Record The user record for the users online counts only registered users as option.
Guest IPs In the user online list guests with the same IP address are grouped together.
Order of the Legend The order of the user online legend is equal to the order of the team list.
Intelligent Team List The link to the team list is shown only if there are team members to display.
Display in Team List The user on the team list are optionally shown only once, even if they are members of multiple groups.
Language Display in Members List In the members list a column can be added that shows the language of the user.
User Groups
Groups as Group Leader A group leader can now be a whole user group.
Application Status The status of an application is shown directly in the list of user groups.
Newsletter The group leaders can send e-mails or private messages to all members of the group.
Group Leader Link in Header The page header contains a link to the group leader area including a status display.
Notifications for Group Leader The group leader can get notified via e-mail or private message on incoming applications.
Private Messages
Download The filenames of downloaded files have been improved. Single messages are saved as text file. Also a whole conversation can be downloaded at once.
Coloured Folders An individual colour can be assigned to own message folders.
Text Preview The notification popup also contains the text preview.
Author Information When replying on a message the author of the original message will be specified.
Newsletter The private messages can be send via administration panel to all users, certain user groups or individual users.
Message Filter Filter for incoming messages can be set up.
RSS Feeds The private message can be accessed via RSS feed.
Conversation as Thread The conversation with a user is displayed like a forums thread.
Delete All All messages of a message folder can be selected and deleted at once.
Search Function
Sorting The default sorting of the search results can be defined through administration.
Thread Display by Default "Show results as threads" can be enabled by default. The checkbox in the search form is displayed further up.
Relevance When sorting by relevance new posts are rated higher.
New Search Options Search for threads that are started by a certain user.
Permalink The permalink of a search can be accessed.
Link Added "Mark all Forums as read" is available as a link beneath the search results.
Similar Threads Improved The search for similar threads prefers threads of the same forum.
Sort Results The sort of the search results can be changed afterwards.
Results Display The display of the search results can be changed afterwards.
Search Settings Changeable The settings of a search are displayed on the result page and can be changed afterwards.
Language Filter The search results are filtered with the chosen language(s).
Forum Functions
Post & Thread Count The number of posts and threads of a forum can be shown in the forums list.
Language Display The language of a thread can be displayed in the thread list with a flag.
Tagging The threads can be tagged - you can search by tags.
Double Post Control Multiple replies in a row of one user in the same thread can be prohibited.
Subforums in RSS Feeds The posts of subforums are contained in RSS feeds.
Page Links in Thread List Threads with several pages get page links in the thread list.
Search for New Posts The new posts since the last visit can be accessed any time through the search popup.
Permission Denied errors Pages with the error message "Permission denied" also contain a form where the user can login.
Improved Display The user is informed that there are more threads available that cannot be seen only because of the chosen filter.
Pagination Pages where the content ranges over several subpages (e.g. threads) have this extra information added in the page title (e.g. "Page 2").
Reason for Editing When editing a post a reason can be added.
Notes for Moved Threads The notes that are displayed when moving a thread can be deleted automatically after a certain time.
Quick Reply A quick reply function is availabe on the bottom of a thread.
Languages for Guests The administrator can choose if guests can only see content of certain languages.
Attachments in the Text Attached images can be included in the text flow.
Portable Attachments The attachments can be taken into other posts.
Sortable Attachments The order of the attachments in the posts can be changed.
Multiple Attachments The upload of multiple attachments has been made easier.
Smiley Categories The smileys can be grouped into categories.
Smiley Display The post form shows only a limited number of smileys by default.
Capitals in Subject Line The exclusive use of capital letters in the subject line can be prohibited.
Style Picker A dropdown in the footer is available to change between different styles.
Public Polls Public polls can be created so you can see who voted for what.
Poll Results The results of different polls on one page can be displayed.
Image Display Enlarging attached images will make use of a technic like Lightbox.
Global Quotes The qoutes can be exchanged through different areas (e.g. forums and private messages) of a site.
Paragraph Quotes The quote function offers an easy way to quote the paragraphs of a post.
Deletion Display The user will be informed how long deleted content will stay in the recycle bin.
Gender Display The gender of a user is displayed next to the post as an icon.
User Online Marking The user online marking can be used also for displaying usernames in a thread.
Centralised Settings The settings for user information in posts, private messages, events etc. have been centralised.
Birthday Note An icon is displayed in a users posts on his birthday.
Administrative Functions
General
PHP Info A PHP Info page is available in the admin interface.
Admin Notifications The administrator will be notified when updates are available or the offline mode is enabled while browsing the forum.
Reworked Menu Structure Menu and options in the admin panel are structured more logical.
Detail Maintenance Many small detail improvements and numerous performance optimisations complete te new administration.
System
Comprehensive Statistics Content of the forum can be statistically evaluated (e.g. number of posts per day, week, month).
Modules can be disabled Several functions can be disabled through a modul control. This way it would be possible to completely disable private messages. No setting will then be found in the option list or user rights.
Additional Package Information For every installed package the installation date and the date of the last update will be displayed.
Update Server When editing update server the complete error message of the last connection try will be shown if available.
Manual Cronjobs Cronjobs can be started manual in the admin interface.
Database Management The database management offers new functions to check, optimise, repair and analyse database tables.
Name Packages Installed packages can be assigned with an individual name. This makes the identifikation easier if you have e.g. two forums installed in one WCF.
IP Block User can be excluded from the forum by IP address.
Options Saveable The options in the admin panel can be saved in an XML file and later restored.
Improved Censorship The censorship offers additional settings.
Users
HTML E-Mails When sending e-mails through the admin interface you can use HTML optionally.
Moderator Permissions Moderator permissions can be set at once for all boards equal to the user rights.
Warning & Locking Users A new comprehensive system to manage user warnings and suspensions has been added.
Avatar Lock Reason When locking avatars you can add a reason that will be shown to the user.
Profile Categories The user profile categories can be managed through the admin interface.
Profile Settings The default values for the user profile settings can be changed - this applies for new registrations. In addition you can change selected settings globally for all existing users.
News Permissions The following permissions have been added: "Can see avatars of other users", "Can read own threads", "Can see user online list", "Can see search robots", "Can see attachment preview" und "Can see admin comment".
User Search The search for users in the administration has been improved and offers new possibilities. Filtered user lists e.g. offer the display of all not activated users. In addition users can be searched that are not member of a certain user group. The search results can be changed (number of results, columns, sort).
Ban Reason When banning a user you can add a reason that is shown to the user.
New Bulk Processing Option A new bulk processing option for users is available (e.g. delete users, send e-mails).
Forbidden User Names You can add user names that cannot be chosen.
Allowed E-Mail Addresses You can define e-mail addresses that can only be taken for registration. Other addresses are forbidden.
File Types for Avatars You can define the allowed file types for avatars for each user group.
Automatic User Groups Users can enter a user group automatically when fullfilling given criterias (e.g. number of posts).
Display
Individual Icon Folder An own icon folder can be set for each style. Missing icons will be inherited of the default folder.
New Style Export The export of styles has been reworked. Own templates and icons can be exported. The filename consists of the name of the style.
Improved Style List The list of styles consists of several pages if there are many styles installed. For each style the number of users is displayed.
Copy Styles Styles can be duplicated with a single mouse click.
Disabled Styles Styles can be created as disabled. In the several subforums disabled styles can be taken.
Internet Explorer Support When editing a style you can add special CSS code that only works for Internet Explorer 6 and 7 (IE-Fixes).
Refresh Styles All or chosen styles can be refreshed with a mouse click. The data of single styles can be updated directly via import of a file ("variables.xml").
Standalone Applications The style management supports several installed standalone applications. The default style and disabled styles can be set for each installed standalone application individual. Furthermore you can set in every style if the page logo should be taken from the standalone application or defined individually.
Scaled Preview Image The preview image of a style will be scaled if applicable.
New Style Settings The style editor offers some new settings (e.g. outer border for the page, search field border etc.).
Multiple Inheritance The template groups support a multiple inheritance of templates.
Automatic Template Groups While adding/editing templates a new templategroup will be created automatically if applicable.
Menu Management The main menu of the forum can be edited in the admin panel. A separation into header and footer menu is possible as well as adding new menu items.
Number of Language Variables The number of language variables is shown in the list of languages.
Image Size Configurable The maximum size of external images in threads can be configured (Javascript scale).
Content
New Forum Settings Single forums can be excluded from the search and similar threads system. The number of posts and threads to be displayed on a page, the sort of posts and the thread rating can be enabled for each forum individually.
Quickjump while Adding a Forum When editing a forum you can change the forum through a quick jump easily.
Depth The depth of the forums list can be changed for the start page and the forums page individually.
Style Settings The style settings for forums have been extended.
Prefix Options The prefixes can be added globally. For each forum you can separately choose if global, local or all prefixes should be taken.
Minimal Word Length The minimum number of characters and number of words for new threads and posts can be specified.
Extended Bulk Processing Posts can be managed in a bulk process. Links to moved threads can be removed or prefixes of threads changed. Posts and threads can be deleted automatically for given criterias.
List of Forums The list of forums when changing the user permissions looks equal to the general list. The title of forums can directly be changed on the list page with a double click. Also categories can be closed and opened persistent in the admin interface.
Attachment Management A list and management of all attachments is available in the administration. Attachments can be managed in a bulk process.
Poll Options The maximum number of poll options can be defined.
Management of Help Topics The user help can be managed easily through administration. You can add new topics or change existing ones.
Disable BBCodes The BBCodes can be disabled individually.
Installation
URL Preview When entering the installation path during the installation a preview for the resulting URL will be shown.
Error Diagnosis An improved troubleshooting has been implemented for handling errors during installation of files.
Moderative Functions
Merge Posts Different posts (respectively their texts) can be merged to one post.
New Permissions The permissions "Can view deleted content" and "Can delete finally" have been separated from each other.
Disabled Posts The posts and threads can be created disabled.
Deletion Note A note is visible for the moderator who deleted a thread or post.
Deletion Reason A reason for deleting a thread or post can be entered.
Empty Recycle Bin The recycle bin for deleted threads and posts can be emptied with a single mouse click.
Mark all posts The button to mark all posts is available in the moderation panel.
Recover All It is possible to recover all marked posts and threads.
Delete All It is possible to delete all marked posts and threads finally.
Moderation Link The page header contains a link on the moderation panel including a status display.
Inline Edit The posts can be edited "inline".
Technical Improvements
Extended Template Engine The template engine has been extended a lot.
Template Scripting The dynamic language variables also support template scripting.
Flexible Cachesystem Between different types of caches can be switched (e.g. file system, Memcache, eAccelerator).
Update Log The changes of a package update will be logged and are available through the admin interface.
Updates with Proxy A proxy server support for the package update has been added.
Util Classes in Standalone Applications The __autoload() function also searches in all package folders.
Pagelocations Case Insensitive The Pagelocations are case insensitive now.
Event Listener Priority The execution order of event listener can be controled by priorities.
CSS -IDs in Main Menu The main menu links have all a unique (CSS-)ID so it is easier to do individual CSS changes.
Language Independence PAGE_TITLE / PAGE_DESCRIPTION as well as the Legal notes page can be filled with language variables.
Captcha Extended The captcha offers more versions.
Security The security token system is widely in use.
IP-Block Validation The block validation of IP addresses of sessions can be enabled.
Style API reworked The style API has been cleaned up and standardised.
More Placeholders Several additional placeholders are available in the templates.
RTL/acronym>-Support Support of RTL languages like Arabian, Hebrew and Persian has been improved largely.
Command Line Import The importer now supports importing by command line.
Javascript Framework We implemented the Javascript framework Prototype and Scriptaculous.