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4.1.12 is only a few days away from release, and should be going on vb.com very shortly.
Its a mix of fixes, improvements and of course Forum Runner integration.
In the CMS quite a few bugs have been fixed, covering widgets, articles, previews, comments and tagging.
The posting of CMS comments has also been upgraded to use ajax in the same manner as forum posts and blog posts, i.e. not reloading the whole page again.
A few more user hook requests have also been added, both in templates and the code.
Several problem queries have been looked at and improvements made, which will help with server resources.
On top of this, three more areas have been converted from using 'bit' templates to the vb:each syntax, thus saving on more multiple template rendering calls.
The three areas done are the Memberlist display, The Who's online Display and the Infractions listing on the usercp page.
A number of the small remaining CKE issues have been looked at, and the mode switch button has been moved back to the right (where it always used to be).
Internally, a number of small code errors and inconsistancies have been fixed (mostly invisible to the user, but fixing unnecessary resource usage or potentil bugs).
Finally, a number of MAPI updates and fixes for the Mobile apps, required for them to move on to the next version (1.3).
A list of all the current approved jiras for 4.1.12 can be found here ;
Regarding Skimlinks, I used to feel the same way as you. I had no interest in using it. Then one day I decided to turn it on and see what happened. Soon thereafter checks started coming in the mail, and now I love it.
I've installed 4.1.12 and I still have the same feeling that I have had for a couple of months now . . . . . . you really messed up the "Greater Customization" ability and made it a long, drawn out and arduous task.
I like that you have made more options avalible to customise, but actually trying to figure out what each one is for is a very painfull task. When I am providing a solution to a client or selling them something, I want to make sure they know how to use it or it's easy to use.
If I buy a commercial software product from anywhere else I get some sort of a manual or instructions on how to configure. If I buy VBulletin I get nothing and having to wade through thousands of posts or a 43 page user written guide that is now out of date because you have changed things. This user written guide was one of the best things around.
You have a great product but the administration and configuration side of things is an absolute nightmare compared to what it used to be with VB3.
I hope the next update looks at this issue or are you now only targeting expert level web developers?
So, If I had to recomend a forum for clients to setup, would I recomend VB4? The simplae answer is No. Sorry, but your not selling a product that is easy to use from a configuration viewpoint.