I'm sure all of you hate this kind of question but really...   where do I begin?

I am new to DNN as well as to OOP.  I need to build in some customizations to the base install for 4.09 but I do not want to lose those customizations when 5.0 is released.  For those of you with extensive experience, please tell me how best to do this.  I realize this could be a fairly lengthy discussion but I really need to get an idea of whether or not I will be using DNN for my base framework.

I agree with Ian entirely.  I think that core code modifications are to be avoided if at all possible.  Where coding is necessary, your goal should be to extend or augment the framework via additional modules.  You should really think three times, possibly four times, before jumping in and working on the core.

But, I'm not going to say that you should NEVER do that, so I would join Ian in asking for more details as to your proposed modification.

Hello again,

What kind of functionality do you need to have for Activites? If we have an idea of what kind of information you want to list, or what kind of functionality you need, we might be able to recommend a good module that has those features. If not, perhaps you could buy the source to a module that would provide a good base from which to start. Either way, I would suggest using or creating modules for your functionality, not modifying the core (as mentioned before).

If you want to have unique features per base (functionality or look and feel), you could do something (loosely) along the lines of the following:

1. Install a DotNetNuke instance.
2. In the default portal, create a the website for your first base.
3. Get your portal all squared away with your pages, skin, etc... 
4. Figure out what module(s) you want, and configure them appropriately within the portal.
5. Export the portal to a template (XML file)
6. Create second portal based on template, and customize again.

However, that could be a maintenance headache, maintaing that many portals. So if you don't need anything too different between portals, I would suggest trying to use modules that could display all of the information for different bases within one portal.

The ideas above should hopefully give you enough to start thinking more about how to approach DNN. So let me know what you think. It's always a good idea to spend a good amount of time planning for these things :)

Take care,

Ian