BuddyPress 2.1 is right around the corner with Beta 1 landing in the hands of eager testers today. The upcoming release includes several improvements that make BuddyPress easier to use, more secure, and faster than ever.
BP 2.1 is set to introduce a totally revamped @mentions interface with built-in auto-suggestion and beta testers will want to put it through the paces. Here’s a quick demo:
The brand new URL profile field type is also making its way into this release. It automatically creates a link from the URL entered in the profile field.
Highlights for the upcoming release demonstrate continual improvement on the project:
- New @mentions interface: type a @ when leaving a status update or commenting on an activity item or blog post, and the new suggestions panel will open.
- Set better passwords with the password strength meter on the registration and user settings pages
- When a user attempts to change their email address, the new address requires email verification before the change is applied
- New “URL” XProfile field type
- Continued performance enhancements, particularly on the Members and Groups directories.
- Higher quality translations (automatically fetched by WordPress), courtesy of BP translation volunteers
BuddyPress 2.1 also includes a lot of under-the-hood tweaks. This release offers better compatibility with themes that load template content in advanced ways, such as Stargazer. It will also formally deprecate the BuddyBar. The term “Avatar” has been renamed to “Profile Photo,” which is more universally understood and translatable.
All of the features and improvements above could use testing. Grab a cold beverage and take the beta for a spin this weekend. You can download a zip from the Beta 1 announcement post.
That mentions will take a hell lot of time with a few tousands of registered users :/
I hope it will be optional.