So 2.7 is not bleeding anymore and WordPress developers have finally let the cat out of the bag. A lot of people have been testing it prior to its beta release, and most of the “complaints” are aesthetic-related. I know I’m guilty of some. I’m blaming Jane Wells for whetting my appetite for 2.7 when she posted a couple of articles showing screenshots and detailed descriptions of the new dashboard. But of course, I kid.

Now that Beta 1 is out, it is definitely time to give it a real test drive. I’m not talking about installing it on a subdomain and checking the new features out. I’m talking about real-world scenarios wherein a hundred people try to comment on one of your entries just to test the comment reply button and if it indeed threads comments, one of the new features 2.7 offers. Comment threading is theme-dependent, and it may be as simple as copying and pasting some code, but if you live to customize, it will NOT be a walk in the park.

Take for example, this site’s theme. Customizing the comment form alone gave me headaches for weeks. But I did learn a great deal when it comes to theme customizations and functions when using WP2.7’s built-in comment threading.

The developers also beefed up a lot of the previously offered features. The Media Library is now more customizable. The Comments can be closed if an article is at a particular age. And you can control how deep threading comments will be, which has a maximum of 10 levels, for now.

The new interface, which is a far cry from 2.5, is really a hoot to work with. For me, it basically tells you what you want to know and gets out of the way for you to be more productive in producing your blog’s content. It’s more conducive to writing than before. In other words, I simply love it.

Of course, using a beta version on a production blog is risky, and I know the risks involved. I simply had to do it for the sake of real-world testing and I want to see how it all pans out. I believe the only major hurdle the developers are trying to overcome are the aesthetics of the Dashboard, which is supposedly unfinished and needs a lot of work if you compare it to their target “look.”

Although WordPress won’t be able to release 2.7 on time (November 10th), the progress they show on an almost nightly basis is a glimpse of things to come. I surely can’t wait for 2.7 to be finally released as a stable version.

Cheers to the WordPress developers and their commitment to providing quality software.

P.S.
Comments found on the comments section of the Dashboard were from Ade, L.A., and Carlo. Please don’t sue me.