If you are familiar with Ubuntu, you would like Mint. My first impressions when I first used Mint were that it was a lot like Ubuntu, but more refined and polished.

I must say I’m impressed with the new look in Ubuntu especially on my netbook’s small screen. I synced my Dropbox to that install and now all my files are there too. I’ll be playing with it more.

Aside from Ubuntu I’ve played with Debian, Fedora, and a couple other popular distros but keep coming back to Ubuntu.

In January, I plan on getting a new desktop was really planning on going with an iMac but I misewell spend less and get a more powerful Windows box that can run Ubuntu. Heck I might even play around with Linux Mint.

I had been waiting on a commercial add-on to be updated, so I could upgrade one of my IP.Board sites. And just as that is about to happen, I see IPB3.2.1 has been released and everyone is now having problems with search engine member group warnings. Mark from IPS says it’s OK to just ignore the message, since the setting has been removed. Which offers exactly zero explanation as to whether or not search engines are still part of the guest group of not. ?!? I had enough problems with IPB 3.1.3, there’s no blinkin’ way I am going to risk an upgrade to 3.2.1, without knowing one way or another.

IP.SEO is capable of creating havoc with a well-indexed, well-established Web site, if the admin doesn’t know exactly what he is doing. I posted my opinion of IP.SEO on the Admin Extra site a few months back and got the topic locked for my efforts. It seems the IPS forum over there is moderated a bit more closely than it was 13–14 months ago.

In late 2009, I didn’t have enough good to say about Invision. That was then and this is now. And allowing someone with zero SEO experience/background/interest work on the development of an application they bill as IP.SEO is just one example of why I wish I had never converted my sites. If I could smoothly convert my sites back to vBulletin 3.8.x, without all the password trauma, I would have been gone months ago. My decision to switch to Invision Power Board was a bad one.

Q. How do you run a “successful” web development company without someone that has at least an “interest” in SEO?

A. You don’t…

Yes, IP.SEO shows all the signs of a doomed project. Before you started slipping me the early bits of what became IP.SEO for testing, I had always used the sitemap generator stoo2000 had released. And never had any problems with it. Sadly, when IP.SEO was released, stoo dropped development on his project. I sure wish that hadn’t happened, because IP.SEO is now reduced to little more than just a sitemap generator. For an app that showed great promise at one time, it has been a tremendous disappointment to watch it become what it is.

We’re at Day Eleven with no response from Mark, in my Tracker submission. Actually, it’s been eleven days since I’ve seen any evidence of any of the IPS staff making any attempt to sort any of the reported IP.SEO issues. At one point, Giuseppe was trying to field some of those issues, but he’s now away, as well. I’ve no doubt that the release of IPB 3.2.0 and all of the new apps have put a strain on the IPS staffers, but did this somehow sneak up on them? Could they not see what was going to occur during such a massive release?

I must admit my frustration with IP.SEO is slowly evolving into outright amusement. Each time I see Charles Warner reminding someone about how great Invision’s support is, I look at the Tracker and marvel at the issues that have gone for days with absolutely no response from anyone at IPS.

Invision was in position to attract a lot of disaffected vBulletin customers, but their poor management strategies are going to drive away that many and more, if they cannot pull their fingers out.

I’ve a couple forum projects I would like to already have up and running, but software options are keeping me in a holding pattern. I’m thoroughly frustrated with Invision. IPB 3.2.0 shows some signs of promise, but when other applications are playing up, there’s no advantage there. I’m sorry to see Invision adopting a bit of the XenForo look, because there are elements in XenForo that leave me cold. vBulletin 4 is a trainwreck and I want nothing to do with that mess. I am particularly interested in Launch.forum, because some of those individuals came from Crawlability, the company behind vBSEO. But Launch.forum seems to be stuck at some stage of development and I’ve noticed Joe Ward is now commenting on a lack of funding, so who knows if that project will see the light of day within the next year, if ever? If it were released tomorrow, it’s still going to be some time before enough apps are developed to make it a viable option. When Launch.forum was introduced, four months ago, I was ready to purchase a couple licenses, but time and tide wait for no man.

I have two IP.Board licenses, two IP.Content licenses and an IP.Blog license going unused. But I also have a two vBulletin licenses with a two vBSEO licenses. And as much as the idea of taking a step backwards bothers me, I’m really tempted to set up a couple of vBulletin 3.8/vBSEO sites and start developing them. I have an old vBPicGallery license and a GARS license, so I could get a site with a lot of functionality up and running in very little time.

One thing is certain — sitting here with the ideas in my head is getting me nowhere. Fast.

Unfortunately, IP.SEO was my pet project and I was the only person that really had interest enough in SEO to manage it. So as a result, now that I am no longer with IPS, it appears to be in maintenance mode only. As you mentioned, Mark has no experience or particularly any interest in SEO, and he’s also an incredibly busy person at IPS, so it is largely being left to fester.

I’ve offered more than once to take on the project outside of IPS, or even maintain it under the IP.SEO name despite no longer working there… but to no avail. I hope they invest a bit of time in it soon and at least make it work like it should; it’s a real shame to see all the hard work that went into it going to waste.

You and I obviously have a very similar sense of humor! Myself, the Waving Wednesday girls (Victoria and Carolina) really do have a blast doing the #wavingweds especially when we have enough time in advance to do something a little more elaborate. The “Dog the Bounty Hunter” theme we did for you was definitely one of our favorites. The girls loved getting to play with the paintball gear, the outfits, and the glasses.

In many ways, you might say “Hey — isn’t this the opposite of the concept of viral?”. One to one shout-outs most often relying on inside jokes are not really the best strategic fit for a “big audience”! However, besides being fun, what we really love about it demonstrates a willingness to do a little extra work (sometimes a lot), and take some time out to focus on “people” and “friends” (rather than just “users”). Along the way, it’s allowed us to develop friendships and fun exchanges with people, that we may never get to meet in real life … but who instantly become a part of what makes my own online experience a lot more fun everyday! I wish I could do these things every day!

As a side note, I’m not sure I’ll be brave enough to get those extensions. I tried on a wig in a costume store around Halloween time… and let’s just say I’ve got a nose that can smell Sunday dinner on Thursday. I’d look more like a Fraggle than a Bounty Hunter!

Mike — I want to thank-you for the tremendous support with Launch.forum. We’re the new guys, and we have a lot to prove. Alpha is just the starting point for lots of great things to come, but we won’t be able to hit the mark without the support, encourage, and *feedback* of everyone. So far we’ve been fortunate to have some very important people in the forum world, both experienced and highly knowledgeable, drop in to check it out and say hello. That’s very encouraging to us… enough so to keep the Waving Wednesdays pumping out… Now I just have to figure out how we can schedule more time with our Waving Wednesday girls. They have a very busy schedule between school and their gymnastics. Of course, the best thing about the gymnastics is that in a few years, we can turn out some really cool ninja themes. I might be getting ahead of myself here…