J1.5 HOT? Am I missing something?

Point taken - I will add notes to each of our download descriptions - now getting people to read this is a different challenge.

Some terminology to note:

when you see the terms:

component, extension, module, plugin

these are Joomla terms and are installed using the Joomla installer.

Actually the term plugin was used by CB first and Joomla adopted it for the elements that were previously known in the Mambo world as bots.

So we now use the term CB Plugins and all CB plugins are installed using the CB Plugin manager.

It's when you talk about Mambo I start to get lost. It took me a long while to realise Joomla sprang from Mambo years ago (2005?) and as far as I know it doesn't really exist any more (last release 5 years ago?), yet parts of your site/software still cater for it and mention it in plugin/site/admin descriptions that look like they should be updated to 2013, e.g the description for CB Blogs starts with "Been missing the Joomla 1.0 mamboblog? Well this cool CB plugin adds blogging to your website..." - I've been using CB for 3 years and I've still never missed 1.0 Mamboblog!

The one particular thing I miss with any/all CB plugin info is knowing what's new/been fixed/an improvement/etc in each new version of a particular plugin.

Also, once getting into the nitty-gritty settings of each plugin I do find myself wondering what a lot of the settings really do and whether they are good or not, or what to enter in them! The manuals never really tell me and even trawling the forums leaves me wanting at times. e.g. what is "enable content plugins" and what does it really do, do I need it, is it a good idea, old, new, something for special circumstances? I have no idea and searching the web hasn't found me much explanation.

I realise things will hopefully get a lot simpler when CB 2.0 comes along and maybe it would be a good chance to clear up some of the deadwood and old information lying around? Should you still be catering for old systems and technologies? The internet has moved on so much in just the last couple of years let alone going back to 7-8 years ago such as the Support/Articles part of your site that has info from 2005/6.

I'm not criticising, I realise there is history and development here with CB and Joomla itself, but for us newbies (3 years only!) much of what's available is very confusing and at times contrary or confused in advice and without adequate information to fully utilise as non-programmers, i.e. some of the plugins require entry of complex regular expressions that go way over my head (although I'm not afraid to tweak code/css/etc), they are obviously useful, but the site has no central resource of useful examples or regularly updated collation of these that have been developed over the years for all the weird things we've asked for help with.

One day maybe?

mrartist wrote: It's when you talk about Mambo I start to get lost. It took me a long while to realise Joomla sprang from Mambo years ago (2005?) and as far as I know it doesn't really exist any more (last release 5 years ago?), yet parts of your site/software still cater for it and mention it in plugin/site/admin descriptions that look like they should be updated to 2013, e.g the description for CB Blogs starts with "Been missing the Joomla 1.0 mamboblog? Well this cool CB plugin adds blogging to your website..." - I've been using CB for 3 years and I've still never missed 1.0 Mamboblog!

Yup, Community Builder has a long history - even longer than Joomla.

With CB 2.0 we will be dropping many legacy features like the built-in mamboblog and yanc newsletter support.

The one particular thing I miss with any/all CB plugin info is knowing what's new/been fixed/an improvement/etc in each new version of a particular plugin.

Agree - we are working in CB 2.0 to improve this so you can see right from your website panel what upgrades exists and you will be able to easily upgrade from there.

Also, once getting into the nitty-gritty settings of each plugin I do find myself wondering what a lot of the settings really do and whether they are good or not, or what to enter in them! The manuals never really tell me and even trawling the forums leaves me wanting at times. e.g. what is "enable content plugins" and what does it really do, do I need it, is it a good idea, old, new, something for special circumstances? I have no idea and searching the web hasn't found me much explanation.

Please feel free to ask whatever question you have and we will try and explain and help.

I realise things will hopefully get a lot simpler when CB 2.0 comes along and maybe it would be a good chance to clear up some of the deadwood and old information lying around? Should you still be catering for old systems and technologies? The internet has moved on so much in just the last couple of years let alone going back to 7-8 years ago such as the Support/Articles part of your site that has info from 2005/6.

Do not confuse legacy support with old technologies - There are many really nice leading edge technologies in CB and CB plugins and they will be even more in CB 2.0.

I'm not criticising, I realise there is history and development here with CB and Joomla itself, but for us newbies (3 years only!) much of what's available is very confusing and at times contrary or confused in advice and without adequate information to fully utilise as non-programmers, i.e. some of the plugins require entry of complex regular expressions that go way over my head (although I'm not afraid to tweak code/css/etc), they are obviously useful, but the site has no central resource of useful examples or regularly updated collation of these that have been developed over the years for all the weird things we've asked for help with.

One day maybe?

The day we stop learning is the day we stop living ....

Feel free to ask any question you feel will help you learn and use CB solutions better.

I am going to guess that it might be pointless pointing out that the team member responses here are terse and unapologetic whereas those from the rest of you (thank god) actually explained things, no?
I thought so!

Thank you NON team members for helping me make sense of this.

beres wrote: I am going to guess that it might be pointless pointing out that the team member responses here are terse and unapologetic whereas those from the rest of you (thank god) actually explained things, no?
I thought so!

Thank you NON team members for helping me make sense of this.

Hi again.

I have always tried to address issues you have posted.

If I missed something please post again and I will try (as always) to explain.

You're welcome Beres. It's often hard finding the information here on many things, and when you do it might be old and doesn't always work as expected. But perseverance does pay off in the end, but it's not easy and is often a case of trial and error.

Nant, we can't keep asking endless questions on this forum, I don't understand why the information gleaned from user's problems aren't compiled into an adequate knowledge-base of solutions that can be more easily consulted? One aspect I would say needs serious improvement is the whole documentation of CB and it's related plugins/extras, keeping it up-to-date and explaining things in more concise detail rather than often a replication of what is available under the tool-tips or leaves one non the wiser, if it's mentioned at all!

On the forum, often questions leave one wanting in their answers and maybe more viewers should pitch in with help, but I suspect the main viewers here are all needing the help to try and fathom out their own issues rather than spend time acting as a support guru.

Hopefully CB and everything related will all get a bit more obvious and simplified once CB 2.0 arrives but I suspect the documentation aspect will take more time and still be confusing and leave us full of of "what-ifs", "whys" and "what-fors"?

If I might suggest, when CB 2.0 does get here, leave this version of the site as an archive to refer back to and start afresh concentrating on explaining each plugin's benefits, possibilities and usage examples. Perhaps a visual navigable map/diagram of how everything is interrelated would go a long way to help old and new users get to grips with the potential of what is obviously a very clever, but somewhat convoluted set of solutions.

Starting afresh with CB 2.0 would clarify the current state of CB and what can be done now, with today's Joomla rather than encompass the last 10 years of Joomla and CB development.

On a point of actual documentation, I must say the best help-files and manuals I have read are from Akeeba. They can be necessarily longish in places but are concisely written with an element of humour and humanity. They are careful to cover all the potential issues and when a support issue is noted, the author is careful to encompass that detail in the help files and documentation. With something as complex as CB, this is what I miss the most. If people don't read the documentation, then they only have themselves to blame, but if suitable documentation is not there in the first place, well...

I'm not trying to be critical or condemning, but from the outside looking in, these are the problems I see, and I want to see CB be as good as it could be. At the moment I feel everything is just a wee-bit overly complicated in ways that hinder everyone's progress in ways that needn't exist.