BuddyPress 1.1

BuddyPress 1.1 combined core code improvements with a set of new features aimed at site administrators, theme designers and plugin developers. Forums could be set up inside groups through one-click internal bbPress integration, with a global forum directory for browsing public forum posts regardless of the group they belong to. Site administrators gained control over all content within an installation, including user profiles, avatars, spam marking, group management and site activity entries. Activity streams became filterable, allowing feature-specific streams or streams inside custom plugins.

• One click internal bbPress forum integration for group forums
• Global forum directory across groups
• Completely re-written theme handling with one controlling theme
• Total site admin control of installation content
• Filterable activity streams, including in custom plugins
• Status updates feature with actions and filters for external services
• Group extension API for adding new group features

Version 1.0 required two themes: a WordPress home theme for the blog and front page, and a separate BuddyPress member theme for BuddyPress-generated pages. In BuddyPress 1.1 a single theme handles everything, and the software ships with a social network framework theme that acts as a parent theme. The default theme is a child theme based on that framework containing only images and CSS, so building a new BuddyPress theme amounts to creating a child theme. Child themes need not re-create every template file, can override specific templates, and pick up new functionality when the framework theme is updated.

• One single theme controls the whole installation
• Framework theme acts as a parent theme
• Default theme is a child theme of images and CSS
• Themes built on the old system continue to work for at least the next couple of versions
• Existing WordPress themes can be used by copying over the extra framework templates

A beta was published for testing only, downloadable as a zip file or via Subversion, with bbPress 1.0 to be downloaded separately and extracted into the "bp-forums/bbpress" folder of the BuddyPress plugin directory. A release candidate followed for final testing, by which point more than 70 bugs reported since the beta had been fixed and no outstanding bugs remained at the time of writing. Bugs were reported on the project's Trac site under the milestone "1.1", using a BuddyPress.org username and password. BuddyPress 1.1 final was on target for 30 September, and the separate bbPress download was noted as no longer being necessary in the final version.

• Beta and release candidate intended for testing, not production sites
• Downloads offered as zip or via Subversion
• Bug reports filed on Trac under the "1.1" milestone
• Final release targeted for 30 September

The release announcement points to help guides covering different starting positions. New users are directed to a guide on setting up a new installation, while existing users are asked to read the guide on upgrading from 1.0.x before upgrading, with a separate guide for converting a 1.0.x custom theme to 1.1. Developers are pointed to a new version of the BuddyPress Skeleton Component and a guide on creating a BuddyPress child theme.

• Setting up a new installation guide
• Upgrading from 1.0.x guide
• Upgrading a 1.0.x custom theme to 1.1 guide
• BuddyPress Skeleton Component for plugin development
• Creating a BuddyPress child theme guide

Three point releases followed the 1.1 release. Version 1.1.1 was the first, fixing remaining issues with BuddyPress 1.0 theme backwards compatibility. Version 1.1.2 was a security release addressing two vulnerabilities found in 1.1.1, described as essential regardless of the version in use and available via automatic upgrade or manual download. Version 1.1.3 fixed a number of remaining issues and, while not critical, was recommended for stability; full lists of changes are given in the release history.

• 1.1.1 — theme backwards compatibility fixes
• 1.1.2 — security release fixing two vulnerabilities
• 1.1.3 — stability fixes, not a critical upgrade

From BuddyPress 1.1 onwards, bbPress was bundled in the package to make installation smoother, integrated into a dedicated forum component for group discussion alongside a central discussion directory. BuddyPress.org later reported mixed feedback and results from that approach in practice. As part of the WordPress community's "3.org" initiative, bbPress was converted into a WordPress plugin, with the stated intention that a future version of BuddyPress would no longer package bbPress in the download and that both plugins would detect each other being activated.

• bbPress bundled with BuddyPress since 1.1
• Dedicated forum component plus central discussion directory
• Planned move to bbPress as a standalone WordPress plugin