1.1.0 - Admin and moderation expansion
Added the admin Version History page, granular admin tool permissions, deleted post/PM/mod-request counters, the Forum Sim Test tool, Spam Ratings, and YouTube auto-embed support. Also continued the CoreBB naming cleanup and removed old compatibility/bootstrap leftovers.
1.2.0 - Mobile and API release
Added the JSON API v1 and the first API-backed mobile forum experience. Mobile users can browse boards, read threads, log in, register, post, reply, quote, edit, send/read PMs, vote in polls, and use basic moderation actions. API writes are protected with CSRF, permissions, rate limits, and existing forum security checks.
1.3.0 - HTML 5, themes, and mobile polish
Migrated the public forum output from HTML 4.01 Transitional to modern <!doctype html>, cleaned up invalid/obsolete table markup, and moved hardcoded presentation behavior into CSS. Added selectable light/dark modes over the legacy VN public theme, softened the dark theme, fixed category expand/collapse behavior, improved username/category/link colors, added subtle rounded corners, and hardened Android Chrome mobile detection.
Big picture
CoreBB went from a modernized legacy baseline to a cleaner, validated, mobile-capable forum with a real API layer, safer admin tools, and a theme system that can finally change colors without rewriting table-era markup.
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CoreBB Stable Pre-Release v1.3.0
CoreBB 1.3.0 is a cleanup and stabilization release focused on the public forum experience. The goal was to keep the classic VNBoards-style layout, but move it away from old hardcoded table-era presentation and into cleaner, modern HTML and CSS.
The public forum now targets modern HTML5 with <!doctype html>. A lot of old HTML 4.01 Transitional-era markup has been cleaned up, including obsolete table presentation attributes that used to control spacing, padding, borders, alignment, and layout behavior directly in the HTML. Those visual rules now live in CSS instead, while preserving the same old forum spacing and feel.
Theme groundwork
This release adds the first real public theme layer for CoreBB. The legacy VN public style is still the active look, but it is no longer quite so welded into the markup. Light and dark mode now apply over that VN-style presentation through CSS.
The footer theme dropdown can now switch between light and dark modes. Dark mode was tuned to avoid the harsh high-contrast look common in quick theme ports, with softer row colors, calmer links, adjusted usernames, gentler category accents, and more comfortable menu/breadcrumb styling.
This does not replace the classic forum identity. It makes it easier to maintain and iterate on it.
HTML5 validation work
A major part of 1.3.0 was getting public forum pages into valid modern shape. The public forum output was migrated away from the old HTML 4.01 Transitional declaration and toward HTML5 validation as the baseline.
Obsolete table attributes were replaced with valid CSS equivalents, including layout details like cell spacing, cell padding, alignment, vertical alignment, borders, widths, heights, and legacy row/column presentation.
The intent was not to redesign the forum from scratch. The intent was to preserve the familiar layout while making the underlying markup cleaner and future-friendly.
Public dark mode
Dark mode received a lot of visual tuning in this release. The early version was functional, but too bright and too contrast-heavy in places. The final version is softer and more coordinated, especially across forum rows, category labels, breadcrumbs, top navigation links, default usernames, custom username colors, quotes, code blocks, and footer controls.
The category accent color was separated from ordinary column headers so it can be tuned independently. Category expand/collapse controls were also changed from old image assets to styled ASCII controls, which makes them easier to color and maintain.
Layout and polish
Several long-standing layout rough edges were cleaned up along the way. Header spacing, legal text alignment, column title coloring, nav spacing, and category row heights were adjusted so the forum layout is cleaner and more consistent.
The public theme also now has subtle rounded corners in selected places. Nothing dramatic, just enough to soften the old razor-edge table look without making the forum feel like a completely different site.
Admin panel protection
The public theme work is intentionally scoped away from the admin panel. Admin pages keep their classic control-panel appearance instead of inheriting the new public theme colors and rounded styling.
Some admin pages also received reset styling fixes so form labels, table headers, action logs, nested tables, and tool pages remain readable after the broader CSS modernization work.
Mobile routing fixes
1.3.0 also improves mobile detection, especially for Android Chrome. Some mobile browsers can present desktop-like signals or get stuck behind an old desktop-view cookie. The routing logic now handles browser Client Hints, common proxy headers, and stale desktop-mode cookies more gracefully.
Explicit desktop mode still works when requested, but a stale cookie should no longer permanently prevent a real phone from getting the mobile interface.
What this release means
CoreBB 1.3.0 is not a flashy feature release in the usual sense. It is a foundation release. The forum should look familiar, but underneath it is much less brittle.
Before this release, changing the forum’s colors meant fighting through presentation hardcoded into the HTML itself. After this release, the public forum can be themed through CSS in a much cleaner way.
Highlights
Public forum output now targets HTML5.
Legacy HTML 4.01 Transitional identification was removed.
Obsolete table presentation attributes were moved into CSS.
Light and dark modes are selectable from the footer.
Dark mode was softened and tuned for readability.
Legacy VN public styling remains the active visual identity.
Category expand/collapse images were replaced with styled ASCII controls.
Category colors, username colors, links, breadcrumbs, and footer styling were refined.
Admin pages remain visually scoped to the classic admin style.
Android Chrome and mobile routing behavior were improved.
Live staging validation reached a clean no-errors/no-warnings result during the HTML5 cleanup.
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The More You Know.
Take what you want from this life. It's yours.
The More You Know.
Take what you want from this life. It's yours.