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Higher Logic has terminated open source Vanilla

On 2 Dec 2024, I received this message from Higher Logic's Director of Software Engineering:

[…]
I am writing to inform you of an important decision regarding the open source offering of Vanilla Forums. After careful consideration, we have decided to deprecate continued support for the open source version of Vanilla Forums. This decision has not been made lightly, but due to resource allocation constraints and our current development focus, we believe it is the right time to make this change official.

Effective January 1st, 2025, we will stop updating the open source version of Vanilla. However, we will continue to host the open.vanillaforums.com website and maintain the open source solution on GitHub so that the community has access to the solution in its current iteration. While we will no longer contribute to it, we welcome and encourage the open source community to continue making additions and improvements. We believe it remains a strong and valuable free solution.

I will be making a formal announcement to the rest of the community at the end of this week. […]

While I replied to this email, I received no response, and no such notice was posted here in December or since. Therefore, I am sharing the news myself since 4 months have elapsed.

This notice supplants my notice last year that official releases had ended. Sometime since then, Higher Logic removed the Addon directory without notice.

I strongly object to Higher Logic's choice to not continue security releases for a transition period. I therefore strongly recommend migrating to another forum software, like Flarum, immediately. Your forum will eventually become compromised without ongoing security updates.

Last year, I appeared on the Community Signal podcast and the title of our episode was When Open Source Community Software is Bought By Private Equity.

I have now disabled new user registrations on this forum, but have enabled existing members to invite users if they want (assuming that feature still works). Unfortunately, I expect spam would start to overtake the site as the moderators have largely abandoned the site and I only check in periodically, so I regard this as a necessity.

Good luck out there, and keep building communities.

Linc

1

Re: Vanilla 4.0 RC1 is now available

Big improvements to SEO with title tags and canonical tags displaying as they should unlike 3.3

Not sure about the meta description appearing twice on the homepage though. The title is there twice as well.

Also it would not install with my first choice of database password that included a '&' permission denied (tried 3 times) but installed ok with a simpler password

ianw5555

2

Re: A little re-arrangement

Ah, it was 'you general' not 'you you' in your post :-)

Kaspar

1

[Vanilla Forums 2.1.8p2] Moving forum out of the root domain, want it to remain accessible. Help?

Hi all, we have a really old piece of Vanilla community forum that, as far as I can tell, is running Vanilla Forums 2.1.8p2. What we want to do is to move it to a subdomain, so like from domain.com to domain.com/forum, while keeping all the existing content accessible. I tried looking for instructions on this but couldn't find anything definitive. Any help?

Thanks!

Tuism

2

Re: Vanilla 2024.002 Open Source Release

https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/comment/265176#Comment_265176

Here you have it:

https://open.vanillaforums.com/discussion/39499/built-release-2024-006

luisgzafra

1

Re: hCaptcha Support for Vanilla 2021 Version

Ahh.. I will use "Ask a Question" next time.

daocaoit

2

Charting the DSA Expedition with Vanilla Operating Systems: Crafting a Holistic Roadmap

Greetings, fellow adventurers

As I prepare to begin on my voyage into the domain of data structures and algorithms (DSA), reading this article sparked my interest in the thought of bringing vanilla operating systems (OS) into my learning trip. Vanilla OS, noted for its simplicity and accessibility, provides a unique platform for exploring and testing DSA concepts in a raw and unadorned context. Can you contribute your experience to developing a thorough roadmap that elegantly incorporates DSA concepts with vanilla OS exploration?

Here are some aspects I'm eager to delve into:

Vanilla OS Integration: How can I effectively integrate vanilla operating systems into my DSA learning journey? Are there specific vanilla OS distributions or configurations that lend themselves well to exploring and experimenting with DSA concepts?

Foundational Concepts: Starting with the basics, what are the fundamental data structures and algorithms that I should prioritize mastering in DSA? How can I leverage vanilla OS environments to implement and test these foundational concepts in a hands-on manner?

Progression Path: As I progress in my DSA learning journey, what are the key milestones and topics that I should aim to achieve? How can I leverage vanilla OS environments to deepen my understanding of advanced DSA concepts and algorithms, such as tree traversal and dynamic programming?

Practical Application: Practical application is essential for reinforcing DSA concepts. How can I utilize vanilla OS environments to develop and deploy DSA-based projects or applications? Are there any vanilla OS-specific projects or challenges that I can undertake to further hone my DSA skills?

Your views and advice on developing a roadmap that smoothly merges DSA notions with vanilla operating system investigation will be important as I begin on this exciting journey. Thank you for sharing your skills and guiding me through the DSA environment with vanilla OS as my faithful friend!