Exceptionally,  1.7f is  being released  on  a thursday  and without  the
release notes. I  hoped to have the release notes  finished this evening,
but  an unexpected  local  problem  has made  this  impossible. Only  two
sections  are  missing and  they  will  in  principle be  completed  this
weekend. If  you absolutely need an  advance, unfinished copy, drop  me a
note.
 
The reason  for not waiting until  next week is the  INTERBIT change that
will be  implemented over the weekend.  INTERBIT sites and all  the sites
with an "install-as-it-arrives" policy should be running 1.7f by the time
the change  takes place. There  is no need to  install the code  ahead of
your normal schedule if your policy is to wait a few days before updating
your server. The goal is to update  the 50-75% of sites which install new
versions as they arrive, in time  for the INTERBIT update to be postponed
if there are unexpected problems.
 
  Eric