We’re excited to announce the immediate availability of Community Server version 2.1, Beta 1:

Windows Installer
Download for ASP.NET 1.1

Web Installer (and for upgrades from version 2.0)
Download for ASP.NET 1.1
Download for ASP.NET 2.0

Below are a few of the new capabilities found in Community Server version 2.1, Beta 1:

• Tags – Tags are supported through-out all areas and provide an easy way to categorize content.
• Blog Mirrors – Blog mirroring enables the creation of a blog that mirrors (through RSS) the content from any RSS source.
• Usability – A lot of work has been done to simplify the overall usability of Community Server.
• Anti-Spam Tools – Thanks to all the great feedback we’ve made a number of changes and improvements to Community Server’s rule-based anti-SPAM tools.
• Bug Fixes and more...

While not included in this beta, the final 2.1 version will also include 5 new blog skins with 20 unique variations. Reports are also not included in this beta.

The next version, Community Server version 2.2, will focus exclusively on a much simplified theme system. Version 3.0 will introduce, amongst other capabilities, a full ASMX/REST Web Services stack, very basic content management capabilities, and a few new surprises.