It's been a while since the last release, and we've been busy adding features and fixing bugs to make JForum even better than it already is. While the next version is not quite ready for release, it is stable enough to distribute it more widely and let everyone test it. No additional features are planned before the release, and we know of no bugs, so it should be quite safe to install. A servlet container that supports
Servlet API 3.1 is now required, for example Tomcat 8. Some of the features are:
The Trash Can lets you designate one forum as trash can - meaning topics that get deleted are moved to it, rather than actually getting deleted from the database. If the forum is set up to be accessible by admins only, that way you keep deleted topics for future reference without them being publicly visible (which comes in handy on moderated forums frequently)Banners can be shown on assorted pages, up to 3 at the top and up to 3 at the bottom, either as plain text or with HTML, including links. That could be used for announcements or ads.More love for the mobile viewEight new smilies, some of them animated, like ROFLNumerous bug fixes
A full list of new features is at
https://sourceforge.net/p/jforum2/wiki2/NewFeatures270/, upgrade instructions are at
https://sourceforge.net/p/jforum2/wiki2/UpgradingFrom25and26to270/ and you can download it from
https://sourceforge.net/projects/jforum2/files/.
Once the release is final, an upgrade from this beta to the final version should be quite painless, so you can use this version without having to fear another upgrade later on. All feedback is welcome.