Over the past couple months, you've been hearing about an upcoming release. It's felt like months... years... forever!

It has been over a year since the original Team dissolved and discontinued development, but it's been less than three months since Stiggi and the new Team began testing and revising code.

Several self-imposed "deadlines" the Team set have come and gone. Although there is no such thing as perfection when it comes to software, giant steps were made toward that goal. The two most-requested features were Joomla 1.5/Joomla 1.0 compatibility and SEF compatibility. The new version now allows that and more.

The more cautious personalities of the Team wanted to wait until everything was "finished", but as progress was made, it became evident that GroupJive will never be "finished". It has only just begun. Meanwhile, the GroupJive community has been patiently (or not-so-patiently) waiting for results. The forum posts prompted discussion among the Team. The demand for the upgraded GroupJive was weighed against releasing before everything was implemented. Although there was some hesitance, the conclusion was that you want it now, perfect or not! It was further agreed that the final days before public release require a larger testing base, and the best test is the people who are familiar with GroupJive. That's you!

There are a few things you should know before downloading and installing GroupJive pre-RC:

• GroupJive Pre-RC is not recommended for live or production sites. Use of GroupJive comes with no warranty at any time, but it is stressed that this release is for testing only! Although several testers use it on their own sites, including production sites, please test on a non-production site first!
• GroupJive Pre-RC relies on the CB 1.2 RC3+ framework and will not work on previous versions of CB. If you can't wait for the free public release on December 6, you will need to become a documentation subscriber on Joomlapolis to receive it as a 'thank-you' gift.
• Only the default language file (English) has been upgraded. You are welcome to begin translations of other languages, but the previous files will need to be relocated in the correct language folder to work (i.e.-. /com_groupjive/languages/german/german.php).
• The optional (reworked) Hemi Template included with this version is compatible only with CB 1.2 RC4, available free on Joomlapolis on December 6.
• EventList has not yet been integrated in the new version.
• ... but there is one surprise integration already included in the test download! Don't you just love surprises!

The old forum threads for GroupJive 1.6 testing have been locked but will remain for users and team members to refer to. A new section of the forum has been established for GroupJive 1.7 Development. Please follow these basic forum guidelines when posting, especially to the new section:

• The Team is still concentrating on testing and integration of old and new features. This is a community forum where we help each other. Team Members and Moderators will do their best to respond as quickly as possible when needed, but there are many here that are just as knowledgeable that will jump in to assist you. 
• Do not bump posts to get a response or make duplicate posts in separate threads. This only causes ill feelings against fellow forum members that have subscribed to the post for future information and will often cause others to ignore the posts altogether. It also slows the Team when they have to sift through duplicate threads.
• If you need help ask, but try to return the favor when there is a post you can assist with. We all have something to contribute.
• Post in the appropriate thread to get the fastest response and move developement along.
• Include all relevant information when requesting assistance or reporting bugs and errors.

In September of 2008, a new GroupJive Team formed and original Team Member, Stiggi, accepted his new title of Lead Developer to continue the development of GroupJive. Less than two months later, we are fast approaching a new public RC of a new version of GroupJive with the improvements we have all been waiting for.

Since everything else is new, the GroupJive Team has decided to give the website a new look with a lot of upgrading on the back end:

• Joomla 1.5
• CB 1.2
• Old forums were converted to Fireboard
• DocMan for downloads
• Obviously, a new site template

You can see the only thing that has been yet unchanged is the GroupJive logo. Instead of pulling time away from the fast-paced development and testing to create a new logo, the Team thought it might be fun to let you come up with a new logo representing the new functionality GroupJive will bring to community websites.

There are no rules to limit your imagination. Submissions will be collected until December 14, at which time, the Team will select the semi-finalists. Once the semi-finalists are chosen, GroupJive members will select the semi-finalists and finally, the winner!

Everyone expects winner to mean there's a prize waiting at the end. Well, we're not going to disappoint you. Beat, Lead Developer of Community Builder, has generously agreed to offer the winner a free one-year documentation subscription on Joomlapolis, the home of Community Builder!

During the next few days or weeks, you can expect the site to change as we pull things together and find the time between testing and developing. Keep a close eye out for more exciting announcements coming very soon!

The GroupJive Team

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