I learned yesterday when I was checking out phpBB version 3.1.6 that all styles pre 3.1.6 have been made obsolete. The differences in how styles work from 3.0 to 3.1.6 are so drastic that it's not an upgrade when one moves from 3.0 to 3.1.6. More like a conversion where one has to exclude the styles. And start from scratch. I'd say that must be a major disaster for most phpBB fans who had been loyal supporters of phpBB
Already in 2014 when I put together a phpBB Forum with old styles, I discovered that all of the really great tutorials were 2012. Meaning for me that phpBB started to go into decline in 2013. More and more people were moving to alternatives, blogging and maybe myBB, BBPress, etc.
phpBB is not the only Forum with a major leap from one version to another. myBB also has a major change from its 1.6 to 1.8. BUT I think the major change for phpBB is more significant than myBB. At least myBB has been very well supported, but if others are like me, the only reason I've been hanging on to phpBB was because of the styles. And now that all of of the styles have become extinct, why bother with phpBB any longer?
Already in 2014 when I put together a phpBB Forum with old styles, I discovered that all of the really great tutorials were 2012. Meaning for me that phpBB started to go into decline in 2013. More and more people were moving to alternatives, blogging and maybe myBB, BBPress, etc.
phpBB is not the only Forum with a major leap from one version to another. myBB also has a major change from its 1.6 to 1.8. BUT I think the major change for phpBB is more significant than myBB. At least myBB has been very well supported, but if others are like me, the only reason I've been hanging on to phpBB was because of the styles. And now that all of of the styles have become extinct, why bother with phpBB any longer?