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#1 2005-09-02 19:10:42

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

I'm pleased to say that I have been appointed as the Forum Technical Adviser.  My role is add and maintain various mods to the phpbb system.

My first action has been to enable visual confirmation for sign-ups (to reduce spambot signups) and to add blockquote and code to the allowed html list.

Further updates on additional modifications will be made here - when a new mod is added I will begin a new thread explaining it's usage and to allow discussion.

I'm also running a test site at http://www.jiwe.org/phpbb - please sign up and start posting so that we can test some of the mods - in fact I may even hold provisional discussion of the mods there to increase traffic and give use something to work with.

The mods I intend to introduce to the forum include:
· Get last x hours posts - implemented in demo
· Report posts - pending (last one!)
· google search bbcode - implemented in demo
· phpbb search bbcode - implemented in demo
· moderation bbcode - implemented in demo
· Add last user vist date (profile and member list) - admin reasons - implemented in demo
· Ignore users - scraped
· Disable user posting - admin reasons - implemented in demo
· Ignore sigs and avatars - scraped
· Ignore/hide forums (Off-topic) - implemented in demo
· rss feed - implemented in demo
· No off-topic post count - implemented in demo
· Glance - annoucement header on main page a la gentoo forums - implemented in demo
Rationale will be explained on an individual basis.

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#2 2005-09-02 22:54:12

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

OK - I have created patches and implemented the first two mods - please head to http://www.jiwe.org/phpbb/viewforum.php?f=2 for discussion so that we may also test them live

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#3 2005-09-03 01:28:24

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

I have nearly all the forum mods on the new site that don't require a dbase update - I have to work out the best way to do that yet.

My ultimate goal is to be able to send Judd:
1) a tarball that contains any new files
2) a patch for each mod that can be applied or reversed as needed
3) a MySQL file that can be sourced to update the dbase for each mod (where necessary)

I have no idea why these mods are not supplied in this state anyway!

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#4 2005-09-04 22:47:25

xerxes2
Member
From: Malmoe, Sweden
Registered: 2004-04-23
Posts: 1,249
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

hello dibble,

i want this theme: http://www.pythonchallenge.com/forums/
just for a change, big_smile


arch + gentoo + initng + python = enlisy

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#5 2005-09-04 22:52:25

xerxes2
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From: Malmoe, Sweden
Registered: 2004-04-23
Posts: 1,249
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

if it doesn't work we can change again, just to get rid of the uber boring default one, sad


arch + gentoo + initng + python = enlisy

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#6 2005-09-04 23:09:42

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

we're sticking with uber-boring - every mod requires updates to the theme templates so, we're sticking with this one.

Plus, this one is pretty easy on the eye - I may add a high contrast theme for readability for the visually imapired but I think another CSS would be better for that

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#7 2005-09-05 10:23:30

Kern
Member
From: UK
Registered: 2005-02-09
Posts: 464

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

Congratulations on your appointment Mr D

Excellent work smile

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#8 2005-09-06 10:37:04

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

Just so you all know the forum mods will not be implemented for at least two weeks.  This is to ensure that the upgrade process will be flawless and fully reversible.  The mods also require extensive testing, hence my request for testing volunteers smile

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#9 2005-09-07 12:37:02

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

I have done another rejig of the boards - I have updated some descriptions and moved the most popular boards to the top of the forum.

I have now also deleted the Contributions catergory and created a new catergory called Contributions and Userspace - which seemed apt.

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#10 2005-09-13 15:00:01

dtw
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From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

OK - post counting has been disabled in Off-Topic, Try This and TU Voting  smile

Disabled again - it was f'ing up the post count when they were deleted

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#11 2005-09-15 14:50:18

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

xerxes2 wrote:

hello dibble,

i want this theme: http://www.pythonchallenge.com/forums/
just for a change, big_smile

Xerxes - following the work you did with the dark css for the newsletter I would be open to a light on dark theme for the forum.

If you want to try and develop a darker theme based on the regular theme I can give you ftp access to the demo site to test it out.  You would need to provide a few new images but most of it is CSS based.

Interested?  The format MUST remain the same however!  You should only change colours!

I threw together a dark style sheet in about two seconds with firefox.

If an alternative theme only requires the addition of a new css and some new images then that is very easy.

All of the forum mods have been applied as patches so if a new theme can be created by copying the old theme (already patched) to a new dir and simply replacing a few files rather than actually writing templates from scratch then it can be done smile

This zip file basically contains all of the components that can be customized to create an alternative theme smile

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#12 2005-09-15 20:50:43

xerxes2
Member
From: Malmoe, Sweden
Registered: 2004-04-23
Posts: 1,249
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

i'm interested in a dark stylesheet dibble but i don't understand what i should do to get it. just load it up! big_smile


arch + gentoo + initng + python = enlisy

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#13 2005-09-15 21:16:12

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

I have not created a dark style sheet - just a demo.  You just copy the text from the file into the firefox edit css facility and it will update the css to a dark style.

You can the create a brand new dark CSS and forum boarder images for a new theme

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#14 2005-09-15 22:44:33

xerxes2
Member
From: Malmoe, Sweden
Registered: 2004-04-23
Posts: 1,249
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

hmm, can you explain a little bit more, i don't get it,
firefox' edit css facilitie? can't find it,


arch + gentoo + initng + python = enlisy

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#15 2005-09-15 22:45:32

dtw
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From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

it's an extension - you'll need to install it smile

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#16 2005-09-20 23:55:52

scrawler
Member
Registered: 2005-06-07
Posts: 318

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

I like the icon set.

nice.

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#17 2005-09-21 00:20:11

T-Dawg
Forum Fellow
From: Charlotte, NC
Registered: 2005-01-29
Posts: 2,736

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

scrawler wrote:

I like the icon set.

nice.

dude, they've been up for about two weeks now  wink

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#18 2005-09-27 23:27:02

glib
Member
Registered: 2005-09-27
Posts: 46

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

Any chance of getting the 'egosearch' utility from the gentoo forums? I had that link in my favorites so I could always see what was going on in threads I started/posted in.

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#19 2005-09-28 02:30:53

Snowman
Developer/Forum Fellow
From: Montreal, Canada
Registered: 2004-08-20
Posts: 5,212

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

glib wrote:

Any chance of getting the 'egosearch' utility from the gentoo forums? I had that link in my favorites so I could always see what was going on in threads I started/posted in.

You can do a "Search for Author" in the search panel.

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#20 2005-09-28 05:10:13

jftaylor21
Member
From: Arch Linux Forums
Registered: 2004-02-21
Posts: 237

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

you can also click on "watch this topic" and it will email you about any new posts to a topic.

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#21 2005-09-28 07:44:50

dtw
Forum Fellow
From: UK
Registered: 2004-08-03
Posts: 4,439
Website

Re: Ongoing Forum Modifications and Improvements

glib wrote:

Any chance of getting the 'egosearch' utility from the gentoo forums? I had that link in my favorites so I could always see what was going on in threads I started/posted in.

Or try "View your posts" on the index page?  That'd be my first choice I think...

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