[dave_lilley]

I am also having issues with the integration of pp-classifieds with phpbb2. I set the setting you listed, and pp-classifieds takes on some of the characteristics of phpbb2, but overall, it is still pretty far from looking like phpbb2. It that because pp-classifieds uses different tags for similar items in phpbb2, or is pp-classifieds just not set up to correctly read the phpbb2 style sheets? I ask because it doesn't quite look right. I appears that PhotoPost has spent a good deal of time making sure that pp-classifieds integrates with vBulletin, and I know that vBulletin is widely used, so good integration makes good business sense. However, I would also like to point out that in the latest survey, phpbb2 has nearly as large of an installed base, and it would be nice if support for phpbb2 were given as much attention, especially considering that I paid the same amount that vBulletin users paid for their licenses.

As with the styles option, frankly, some of the menu wording is less than obvious since it is targeted to the vBulletin customers. Even when it does apply to other forum tools, such as phpbb2, it doesn’t work quite as expected. At first, it didn't appear to me that setting the styles option to "yes" did anything, since pp-classifieds still didn't look right.

Before I paid for my license, I called and asked questions about integration, and I was told that it integrated very well with phpbb2. However, as I found out early during the installation, there were problems in pp-classifieds. These problems had already been fixed in other PhotoPost products, but not in classifieds. As a software developer, I understand that it can be difficult to keep up multiple code bases of similar products. However, given that PhotoPost classifieds shares parts of its code with other PhotoPost products, as a consumer, I would expect that if the problem were fixed in one product, it would be fixed in all. This is especially true when other users of this software have identified the problems, such as the usergroup problems. The code was posted in the forums, but not everyone who buys the license for pp-classifieds is a developer or somebody more familiar with the product. Instead of posting the fix, why not attach the file with the corrected code in a post, or release a patched version of the code. I expect an open source product to have limited support, but this is a commercial product, and I guess I expect it to have a level of support commensurate with other commercial products. At the very least, I expect a little more help and less sarcasm in the support forums. I understand you guys have a tough job, but the irritation and aggravation at customer questions comes through loud and clear.

This is not meant an attack on anyone here, so please take this as constructive criticism. I appreciate the forums your company has provided for support. I appreciate the product, and I will work on it to try to make it work for me. Nevertheless, your company might want to review your level of customer support and whether your customers are getting the support they deserve.