I am pleased to announce that StefanT will soon be taking over from me as project manager.

MyBB has been an exciting 7 year journey for me and I’ve witnessed an enormous amount of progress during my time. The project is still of great significance to me, however I have recently been unable to dedicate the time it deserves, largely due to several great opportunities that have consumed most of my attention for the last two years. Therefore I have made the tough decision to retire from the project and hand over the reigns to someone fresh and motivated.

A ballot was conducted among the team members to decide my successor. Nominations were open to all team members and Stefan was the successful candidate. I am very confident that the project will be in safe hands under Stefan’s leadership given the excellent job he has done steering development efforts over the past year.

I am also very excited to see what the future holds for MyBB. I hope my retirement will allow some of the newer team members to take greater ownership over the project and help take MyBB to new heights. In particular I’m pleased by the work towards 2.0 which has begun recently and I hope the team will be able to share more about that with you soon.

I’d like to thank the community for their support of the project, and the team who I have greatly enjoyed collaborating with over the years.

Regards, Tim B.

It’s with great sadness that I have to announce Tom Moore (Tomm M on the community forums) has decided to depart from the MyBB Team.

Since joining the dev team in 2009, Tom has been at the forefront of MyBB development, even more so after the departure of Ryan Gordon. Having led the 1.6 series throughout its life, fixing countless bugs and issues, and putting his ideas and talent in to 1.8, MyBB today lies upon Tom’s vision and hard work. His dedication and will has been undeniable and we wish him the best for the future, and with whatever comes next.

What does this mean for MyBB?

While it’s sad to see such a talented developer leave the team, it’s often something which is expected with open source software. We believe that even though we no longer have Tom, there will always be developers out there willing to carry on his vision and continue to bring MyBB to the people. We’re very excited to see what comes next for MyBB, and we hope you are too.

A message from Tom to all…

To all at MyBB,

It’s with a heavy heart that I’ll be departing from the MyBB Team who, in every respect, has been more of a family over the last 5 years. We’ve fought, argued and definitely fallen out more than a few times but a single aim has always been at the front of thinking for every team member (past and present): to create the best free forum software for your community.

This niche software industry, which many thought would be swallowed by social networks, is thriving with seemingly new competitors every week. Each with their own gimmick, of course. But they often fail where MyBB succeeds due to 3 basic principles that haven’t changed in its 10 year history: extensibility, ease of use and functionality.

It’s inevitable that MyBB must change for the modern user, and you shouldn’t fear this, as by following these principles and focusing on putting great content at the heart of the software can only mean another great product from one of the most talented teams I’ve had the privilege to be a part of. The future of this forum software is exciting and I can’t wait for everyone to (eventually!) use it.

I wish you and your communities the very best of luck.

– Tomm

Dennis Tsang has been with the team for a long time, playing numerous important roles and having a lot of input over the years. He took some time to answer your questions!

Being one of the more active, long-time members, what keeps you coming back to MyBB?

MyBB is so easy to work with. The core is easy to understand and use; it’s lean and lightweight. It’s simple to customize. In terms of the community, it’s the perfect size where people can get to know each other and help each other out. There are wonderful developers and themers who produce awesome themes.

Other than MyBB, what are some of your hobbies?

I volunteer with a couple of youth groups, namely youth ministry at St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church in Vancouver, B.C. I am on the council of the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. Youth Leadership Millennium Program.

I am a transit enthusiast and photographer. I love buses and trains. My transit photography can be found at BusTrainFerry.com.

What is it about public transport that you’re so interested in?

I’m most interested in the systems behind public transit operations. For example, here in Vancouver we have a metro line called the SkyTrain, which is fully automated. The automation has intrigued me since I was young and I’ve been trying to figure out how it all works. The vehicles themselves (both buses and trains) are also an interest of mine — the skill required by operators to maneuver the buses through traffic is astounding.

What is your favourite movie?

The Matrix.

Are you as excited about MyBB as you first were about it?

Yes of course. The advent of MyBB 2.0 is very exciting as it’s the first rewrite we’ve done since the inception of the project itself. The web has changed very dramatically in the past few years from both technical and social standpoints. MyBB 2.0 will hopefully take forum software to the next level by harnessing new concepts and technologies and making a usable package in the age of Web 2.0 and beyond, while still maintaining our core roots of powerfulness, simplicity, and extensibility.

What career do you hope to achieve after completion of your course?

Later this year I will be starting as a software developer at A Thinking Ape. Software has always been an interest of mine, and that’s why I went into Computer Science. My particular interests are in mobile and web technologies.

The best day of your life was…

The day I was born.

In your opinion, what is the most underused feature of MyBB?

Threaded Mode on the show thread page. I’ve never used it. Do you use it?

How long can you hold your breath for?

At least the length of the George Massey Tunnel.

Anything else you’d like to add?

It’s been a pleasure to be on the MyBB team. It’s always enjoyable to see people who use our software and love MyBB as much as we as staff do.

Get your questions answered

They can be general to all/any staff or specific to one member, either way, post them in the Questions for team members thread and I’ll ask them if appropriate. A lot of staff have been answering questions in the thread too, so it’s a great ‘open discussion’ thread too! Thank you.

It’s been a while since we’ve had an interview post, so let’s kick things off again with a big one!
Our new product manager, Tim B. took time to answer some questions.

Please tell us a bit about yourself.

Well, I’m an Aussie to begin with, I’m a Software Engineering and Business student at university and I work from home.

Besides MyBB, what are some of your hobbies?

When I’m not at my computer (which is very rarely ), I like to be on my Yamaha dirt bike, or my mountain bike (but I’m usually too lazy for that these days). Some strange hobbies also tend to gain my interest for a short period of time, for example lock picking (my own locks, don’t worry) and petrol powered remote control cars.

What made you join the MyBB staff team?

I had been a member here for quite a while before I joined the team so I had a bit of an attachment to MyBB. When a team member mentioned to me that they were looking for people to join the support team I decided that it was something I wanted to pursue because I felt it would allow my contributions to be more far reaching than I could achieve as a regular member. Upon joining I found that I enjoyed making long lasting improvements to the things that often get thrown in the too hard basket, but were nonetheless important, and so I made a number of suggestions that were adopted (and some that weren’t). I then took on a number of initiatives to improve sections of the wiki and the forum rules and soon after this Dennis announced that he had to step down due to time constraints. As I was doing a lot more behind the scenes stuff at that stage then actual support work I decided to put my name forward and eventually I was chosen to take over from Dennis, an opportunity which I am very grateful for.

The most memorable day of my life was…

Yesterday (I would say today, but it’s not over yet).

What is your dream job?

No job, I would be retired with a considerable fortune. That way I could pursue whatever interest I desired. On a more realistic note, I hope to one day work in the management side of the software development industry, hence why I study business along with Software Engineering.

What do you do to kill time?

I am a master of wasting time. Sometimes that is a good thing, but unfortunately usually it’s not. I have so many favourite time killers, facebook is an obvious one (but who doesn’t love to waste time on facebook these days), another one is a website called Moonbuggy which has random (and hilarious) pictures (if you go googling for it then be warned, it’s often NSFW). I enjoy some really simplistic games, like line rider and various other flash games, plus I occasionally get into Call of Duty and Minecraft. In terms of TV, I almost exclusively watch sitcoms, I have seen every episode of the The Office, The Big Bang Theory, Community, Parks and Recreation, Better Off Ted, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, Outsourced, The IT Crowd, Seinfeld and Trailer Park Boys, plus a few others I probably forgot. I also have to mention that I love buying (pretty random) things off the internet, usually from Deal Extreme or eBay. For example, I have one of those clothes folders that Sheldon has in The Big Bang Theory.

Name an item you wish to own one day, and why.

A yellow Lamborghini Gallardo with black GT stripes, just because I’m cool like that. If you had have asked me a few weeks ago I would have said my new computer but I just bought that.

What made you initially want to learn PHP/MySQL?

I enjoy programming, it not only stimulates your mind but it produces something that can improve the lives of millions of people across the world and I think that’s pretty amazing. I never specifically made the choice to learn PHP/MySQL but through my involvement with MyBB and other things I have been a part of, learning PHP/MySQL became a necessity. I am certainly still learning, but I think that is the way for any programmer, looking back at my programming from a year ago I was a total n00b, and I’m sure I’ll think the same in another year about my programming now.

What do you have for breakfast each day?

I just eat whatever is in the fridge/pantry (left over pizza, pancakes or waffles always go down well). One of my favourite breakfast combos is Vanilla (or Chocolate) Up & Go on Weet-Bix (if you’re not Australian you probably won’t have heard of either of those two things), it sounds a bit strange but it’s awesome, trust me.

Anything else you wish to add?

I don’t think so, other than that I would like to say thanks to the team for making MyBB possible and to the community for making MyBB as successful as it is.

Get your questions answered

I’m always struggling to think of new and interesting questions, so please help me out and post what you would like answered! They can be general to all/any staff or specific to one member, either way, post them in the Questions for team members thread and I’ll ask them if appropriate. Thank you.

Hello MyBB fans!
So it’s been a while since the last “Staff changes” blog post! We’ve had quite a few changes recently and thought it would be a perfect time to give you all an update on our great team.

Welcome our new staff members

Please welcome Fábio Maia to the support team, more commonly known as faviouz to us all. faviouz has been a very helpful member on the community forums and has released several plugins and tutorials.
Also welcome Pirata Nervo to the development team! Pirata has been an extremely helpful member and has also developed many great plugins.

Thank staff who have moved on

Our long-time contributor Alan Crisp has left after many years on the team. A while ago he took a job as a PHP developer with skills that he learned while on the team. This very job is what has led to him resigning from the team, with little free time to continue contributing. He thanks us for all the opportunities he was given here, and we thank him for his efforts, sincerely.
We’re also sad to see Conor Calby leave, after a very helpful year on the team he has left due to time constraints as well. We hope he finds the time in the future to return.
Unfortunately one of our more recent additions to the team, thebod, also had to leave due to other commitments.

We are very thankful to anyone offering their time to MyBB and we wish those who left the very best of luck.

Applications are always open

If you would like to be a part of one of the teams we have here at MyBB (development, support, SQA), please take a look at this page for more information.

We are pleased to announce that MyBB has decided to develop an official mascot which will be used for a variety of purposes including promoting MyBB and on possible official MyBB merchandise.

As a result, the MyBB Group is in search for a great creative artist “doodler” who can help sketch and design the MyBB Mascot. The artist must have the creative ability to not only sketch the mascot, but be able to make a high resolution digital copy of the sketch(s). The artist must have the ability to work with a team and have the time to bring the MyBB Mascot to life. In addition, the artist must be willing to assign all copyright for their work to the MyBB Group.

Although this is a volunteer position and will not be a  permanent position on the team, their are benefits to joining:

• The artist will gain access to a specific private forum on the MyBB Community
• The artist will receive an official team badge
• The artist will receive due credit on the MyBB Wiki pertaining to the mascot created

If you think you might be the one to fulfill this position, or if you have an inquiry regarding the position,  do get in touch at the following email address: [email protected]. Be sure to provide some samples of your work, both sketches and digital copies of the sketches. In addition, be sure to provide some background information about yourself, and any other information you feel necessary to share.

If you do not receive a direct response from the MyBB Group it doesn’t mean we haven’t received your application, rather, because we receive many applications, we cannot reply to each one individually. Applications sent in the form of private messages on the community forum will not be evaluated or considered.

Thank you for your time, and best of luck for those that apply.

All,

As a few have noticed, Ryan Gordon, the lead developer of MyBB has parted ways with us. A message from Ryan is below.

All of us here at the MyBB Group wish Ryan well in his future endeavours, and I personally am extremely grateful for the role that Ryan has been able to step up and fulfil over the past few years whilst I’ve not been able to dedicate much personal time toward the project. Ryan’s dedication and passion for everything he did, as well as bringing us some of the greatest MyBB releases to date, will be missed.

What does this mean for MyBB?

The most important thing to keep in mind is whilst this is a big change for us, you can still look forward to exceptional releases of your favourite forum software. Work is underway planning out MyBB 2.0, and from our top-secret prototypes, it’s already looking great.

We’ll have more to announce shortly, but again thank you for your continued support.

A message from Ryan to all…

Dear community,

It is with time that with every profession, interest and passion fade and something new comes along to take over it’s place. It is with this in mind, among other things, that I have decided to enlist my resignation from the MyBB Team.

Over the past 5 years I’ve had the unique experience of journying with this team and working on this product that has taught me so much. Together we have built hundreds of thousands of communities and I know that this will continue for a long time into the future.

I wish the MyBB team and the community best of luck in the future, as I open up this new chapter in my life.

Sincerely,
Ryan Gordon

There has been a great deal of curiosity about the recent additions to the MyBB family so finally I am proud to formally introduce all our new developers to you.

Ryon H

Ryon is an enthusiastic PHP developer with a unique sense of humor. He also happens to speak several languages and apparently lives in a town between a tree and a rock (those are his words). We are also very glad his parents decided to name him Ryon rather than Ryan because that saves us a lot of confusion.

Morgoth

Update: Unfortunately Morgoth has had to leave us already due to some unforeseen issues. We wish him the best of luck with his future.

Morgoth (also known as -Calypso-) is an experienced PHP developer and has come to us from the IPB community where he was well known for developing a number of highly successful plugins.

Sacred

Sacred has also come to us from the IPB community and also has many brilliant plugins to his name. By day he is a Digital Media Manager for a leading online advertising agency and specializes in SEO and e-commerce as well as PHP development.

Dylan M.

Dylan has extensive programming experience and prior to joining the team was well known for his work with extending the MyBB merge system. We are very glad to have him aboard the team as the lead developer for the merge system.

So, please make all our new developers feel welcome and if you see them looking lost and dazed out on the forums don’t hesitate to lend them a hand ;).