About the Vanilla 2.1 release cycle
Linc
Admin
This discussion is to gather bits of info I've been dropping about 2.1.
We incremented the version number on the public repository to 2.1b1 (beta 1) last week. What that means is we've taken the first step toward release by saying "OK, we're not going to do anything TOO crazy at this point." It is not a code freeze, feature freeze, or even a light frost. It means we're not going to rewrite major systems or start anymore week-long+ projects.
We're going to do a long beta process. How long? Dunno yet, we'll find out as we go. Don't expect a final release before the end of the year, tho.
I am not releasing a beta 1 package; I'll probably wait til beta 2. There are a number of bugs, changes, and mini-features I want to get into the branch before we do an official beta release. I don't recommend upgrading to the beta release branch. If you want to try out 2.1, use the latest master branch on GitHub instead.
Upgrading: If you do decide to try out some flavor of 2.1, please take extra care upgrading. Proper backups are key. I recommend deleting /themes/mobile and /applications/dashboard/views/default.master.php before copying over your new files. If you don't run utility/update, your site is going to be broken.
Themes: If you have a heavily customized theme, it's critical to test it against 2.1 before upgrading your live site. We changed a LOT of markup. If you took the unhealthy path of redoing the entire style.css file in your theme (rather than adding a custom.css file) you're probably in for a lot of pain. Even if you used custom.css, you'll likely found some CSS rules are now broken, so take care.
Danger: We have not done much testing for installations not in the web root, which is a key point I want to address before releasing an official beta. Use beta 1 in a subfolder at your own considerable risk.
I will be doing a changelog, proper upgrade instructions, and a "What's New?" summary for the official beta release. Until then, explore and have fun if you dare. 
Comments
@Lincoln - I'm not familiar with GitHub and I've already caused some trouble by downloading the wrong thing. Could you clarify what the difference is between the beta release branch and the master branch for the 2.1 download? I'm looking at GitHub and I'm not sure which is the 2.1 master branch.
When viewing the main page of the GitHub repo, make sure it says 'master' in the gray 'branch' box on the left side of the screen. In the attached screenshot, the indicator is directly below the "Clone in Mac" button. To change branches, click that 'branch' button.
I'm confused because in that master dropdown, 2.0.18 and master are checked, and release 2.1b is not checked. You said:
So I'm confused that the master branch seems to default to 2.0.18 and you recommend not choosing the the release 2.1b1
Sorry for my lack of knowledge on this, and I appreciate the help.
The check is a mouse hover effect. There's a check next to 2.0.18 just because it's first and you haven't moved your mouse over the list more. Confusing UI.
'master' is the name of the branch that you default to. '2.0.18' is the name of a different branch. If you simply go to the main repo page and click "Download" you will get the 'master' branch.
Is there a way to just give people a link so that there is no confusion?
https://github.com/vanillaforums/Garden
I was avoiding encouraging people to upgrade to 2.1 yet as I'm trying to avoid an onslaught of bug reports that may or may not be relevant given our work on the release branch.
No offense guys, but if you're confused by GitHub then you probably shouldn't be trying to upgrade your forum to an alpha/beta development release...
I've been using the alpha for a couple of weeks and it's fine. Forgive me if I have not used GitHub, and thanks for the tip.
What posts like this do is discourage people from asking questions they think might be stupid, and the opportunity to learn has been lost.
Why not? Github is for programmers. Those who want to run the software are rarely programmers. They just need a simple link to downlaod the right version. Github puts an unnecessary layer of complexity that impedes simple downloading of the software. Of course Github is a nice tool — for programmers. It makes little sense for everyone else.
Sorry, but I was jived by comments, such as yours, that to me seemed to demand that the developers make an effort to make the process "easier" when, as Lincoln said, that's the exact opposite of what they want to do. Upgrading your forum to an alpha release is risky business and those seeking shortcuts probably don't quite understand what they're getting into. However, I was in a bad mood and could also have misinterpreted the tone.
Just because someone wants to download and run an alpha or beta version of a piece of software doesn't necessarily mean that that person is a developer who needs to see the source code and needs to know how developer tools like github work.
I understand the desire to hide unstable versions of vanilla, but still. If you look at a platform like sourceforge, it has clear, green, big, download buttons, and clear messages such as "Looking for the latest version? Download Silly_app_3.1.stable.jar (18.9 MB)" that guide people to the right place.
@Anonymoose, what you are arguing just isn't productive at all. @lincoln laid out a very reasoned post explaining what we're doing.
We don't have to provide a download for people that don't get github. We aren't your code-slaves.
Sure.
I'm not arguing anything. I get github. Others don't. I'm just explaining that perpective to you, but it seems that you guys don't welcome feedback.
Just because they don't agree with you doesn't mean they don't welcome feedback...
You know what? We work on this stuff every day of every week. Do you really think we don't understand these perspectives? Do you really think we need this explained to us?
I would like to know the brand new things that will come with the 2.1 :-(
I thought Canadians are polite.
I understand that you guys are always on the run, having release pressures, answering customer queries and other tensions all the time. I understand that you guys are building this beautiful software for us for free. I understand that you guys are dedicating your lives for things that matter to community rather then just leaving it there as it it.
But my first though while reading those above statements - Do I really love Vanilla?
Sorry for being judgemental.
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Now that everybody knows where everybody stands on the above bantering, it's time to return to the discussion topic...
Need a reminder what this discussion is about
some key points ....
These guys are going out of their way to field questions. Surely, you must have noticed. Give them more credit.
How to get the most recent release has been answered quite a few times on this forum, and how to identify the version you want has also been answered many times. Using the search feature will help find these answers.
I, personally, would rather see the developers field technical questions (as they were doing), than having to explain why they used the words "really". Leave your ego at home, then browse the forum, have fun, glean some information. But distracting the developers with stuff like this probably is not an incentive to them to field more questions.
Keep up the good work Lincoln, Tim, Todd and anyone else contributing to the development of Vanilla!
I may not provide the completed solution you might desire, but I do try to provide honest suggestions to help you solve your issue.
Will 2.1 include the badges & reactions addon?