Um... I'm pretty sure "category URL name" did not exist in the 1.* generation. Are you sure that's the version you're using? Please advise!

BTW there are some drawbacks to the cat URL name thing, but wow did it really go back that far and I somehow missed it?

The version is 2.3.0-RC1 I screwed up selecting the version #.

b2evolution now has a field for "category URL". This field will be used if your blog settings are such that the "category URL" will be used in the link to a list of posts in any given category. So now we have a situation where b2evolution must be able to resolve exactly what the "category URL" refers to, and therefore b2evolution requires that this field be completely unique.

The problem you've hit on is that "sports" is a pre-existing category and therefore can not be used again - as a "category URL". It can be used as a category name in every blog on your installation, but it can not be used in the "category URL" field.

So try this: "sportsNN" where NN is the blog ID number of the blog that your sports category is in. That would create something unique AND not be duplicated no matter how many blogs of yours have a category named sports.

Personally I think this is a bug, but one might also see it as a new feature that needs to be fully developed.

I think it is more of a feature that needs to be fully developed, although I did not post my ideas about it lol... or maybe I did @_@

The way it can be done without putting XX as a prefix or suffix is the system to hiddenly use some numerical ID system or combination of both.

For example, we all know that each categories are listed on a "per blog" basis. The system can just take the blog the category is listed at and voila. But, I think it will be hard and will require re-coding, since the categories feature of b2e is decentralized and stands on its own, unaffected by the other features.

Although personally, I would prefer a centralized category system. One whole list of categories, then we can just add "checkboxes" to each categories on a per blog basis so we can choose which categories are available on each blog.

Now that will surely require a complete re-coding because b2e's "post system" is attached to the categories ^_^ not the blog system. Which in turn, the post system should be decentralized as well and stand on its own... and so . . . . . . . .

Hehe..

Anyway, what I did with mine is I add numberical XX prefix. Search engines still read it regardless.