BuddyPress 1.8 beta 1 is out with cool new features for developers and also some new stuff on frontend. 

Here’s what to expect in BuddyPress 1.8:

BP_Group_Extension rewritten

Simplifies writing plugins for extending BuddyPress groups component.

Improvements to Group Administration Panels

Pagination on “Manage Members” panel in the dashboard.

Template Hierarchy

if your theme contains a template at groups/index-directory.php, it will be used instead of buddypress default page for specific location. This how Wordpress theming work, so it will be easier for wordpress theme designers to master buddypress.

Ability to Disable @mentions

Yes, you can disabel @mentions if you dont need it. Add next line to bp-custom.php file:

RSS feeds for activity streams

RSS feed is changed to get "in line with best practices for feed construction".