The latest release from Pligg v1.0 came with a lot of promise. New features, a new admin panel and what was belived to be a more stable version. This sadly is not the case.

While the latest version is on the right track, it should NOT be available for download unless it is for testing only.  But if you go to the homepage of Pligg and click the download button, it’s what you get.  This is only hurting Pligg as it is making members more frustrated and upset because this release has no business being the default download.

I’m not going to get into reviewing this release because I already did that back on February 19th with my post Pligg v1.0 RC1 Review,  this post is to alert new members of Pligg that using the download provided by the Pligg developers is a waste of time.

I cannot put my finger on what happened in this version to make it a disaster, perhaps they spent too much time on the admin panel, which works, or the template, which is awful, or maybe it was the Groups addition, which seems to be one of the only working parts of this release.

When I reviewed this release I said that it was commendable that they were able to create the Group feature, and I still feel this way, though not many Pligg installs need it or should use it unless you have a great traffic base.  While it was asked for in the forums, it came at the price of a now worthless CMS.

Anyone who downloads the latest version or upgrades to it, will be sorry as it will result in headaches and a lot of fist pounding.

For the sake of the project, I plea to the developers to make the default download from the homepage, download the 9.9.5 version and work on the kinks and errors with this release before telling new members to download it.  But for some reason I do not see this happening.

We will NOT be releasing any templates for the 1.0 version as it only encourages people to upgrade or download it.  Instead, we will start releasing templates for the 9.9.5 version to encourage people to stick with v9.9.5 until the developers have all the kinks worked out of v1.0.

This brings me to my next point, the developers.  I will say this again, I love the CMS but have issues with the developers.  Period.  About a year and a half ago I was banned from the Pligg forums and rightfully so.  However, I recently decided that I would attempt to have my member name (Geoserv) reinstated.  I emailed the admin team asking for a truce and for the reinstatement, a week later no reply.

I summized they are probably busy working the errors with this releases, but then I also realized that I was getting responses from none other than chuckroast when he was receiving emails asking for assistance with modules from the module store that I had purchased to see what I would get and to see what support I would get on.

If you give them money, they will come!

Want the developers attention, give them money, they will reply almost immediately.  But if you submit a general question, good luck getting help.  Chuckroast will reply in the forums, but it will almost always be a smart remark or a remark only an egotistical !@#hole will give or it will be as useless as the current version is.

I did all of this as a test to see where their real attention lies, it’s on their worthless modules that they are trying to pawn off on you to get your money to support a version that is worthless.

Again, they are only interested in making money with worthless modules and not developing the CMS.

I listed a couple of these modules here and told you how to get the same thing for free.  That shows that I am interested in only one thing, making Pligg users happy, not profiting from it.  I will be exposing more modules soon as well.

Again, I am not bashing the project, anything open source I am on board with, but for all Pligg users you need to be concerned.  If the developers, 2 at present, continue on this current path it will certainly mean the end of this CMS.  People will not support a script that is flawed and only interested in ripping you off.

Pligg’s head developer and the only one with a brain, Ashdigg, left the project and started his own at Social Web CMS, and most likely because he saw this crap coming.  Now, do I suggest you drop Pligg for Social Web CMS, no.  But I encouage you to look at the past and what Pligg was back when Ashdigg was there.  It was a much better run script that didn’t focus on ripping you off, instead it focused on actually coding a script and helping members, you know the members who helped Pligg get to where it is now.

Without people like Ashdigg, LincolnHawks, davemackey and myself, Pligg wouldn’t have some of the things it has today.  But they don’t see that, they simply see us as enemies, too bad sice we are some of the few actually working to help it.

Thats my rant.

Now, for those of you looking to download the v9.9.5 version or to revert back, I have attached it below, it is the original 9.9.5 version, I recommend you use it until v1.0 gets a lot more work done to it.

  Pligg v9.9.5 (939.7 KiB, 405 hits)

What do you think of the latest version?