Merge branch 'release/v2_6_1' into dev
Landing 3.0.0.alpha

Sync'ing the 'dev' branch with the 'feature_3.0dev' branch at commit 68c6d11fc36761ae1a5e6cdc3457be16f2e9704a

The branch 'feature_3.0dev' is now locked and preserved for historical purposes.
Merge branch 'release/v3_0_0_alpha'