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    EDIT: Still stands, but this will very likely be Jot based, as that’s a damn fine wheel.

    Right. I’m at very early stages of writing a forum addon for MODx. I have many other projects I need to complete first, but forum integration is one of the main sticking points in migrating over some of my sites to MODx, so I am likely to cobble something together by the end of the year.

    I would be interested to hear what people look for in a forum over and above what I intend to have in, so that I can roadmap it.

    Take as read the following:

    • Forums.
    • Posts.
    • Users.
    • Moderators.
    • Moderator actions: Split thread, move thread, move posts, split (duplicate and edit) post
    • Restricted access.
    • BBCode input
    • ’Recent Posts’ screen.

    Probable Additional Features:

    • Ability to import users, posts, thread titles, forums and access rights from phpBB.
    • Ability to insert moderator note at any point in the thread - eg an introductory note for a split topic, added after the posts but displayed as the first post.
    • HTML input
    • Thread tagging.

    Anyone got any other essential features? Bear in mind

    EDIT: Just noticed I didn’t finish that sentence. I cannot recall what I wanted you to bear in mind. Possibly "Bear in mind that this add-on may have add-ons to itself, so inessential optional features are interesting too".
      No, I don't know what OpenGeek's saying half the time either.
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      • 16429
      • 254 Posts
      _ Attachments
      _ Personal messages (using the one included in the manager?)
      _ Personal profile (maybe working with MODx itself)


      Isn’t simpler to stick with a well supported, full of features, specific developed forum done by 3rd parties like SMF?
      Doesn’t they provide a simple way to bridge users from a CMS (like MODx) to the forum?
      These question are purely informative!
        kudo
        www.kudolink.com - webdesign (surprised?)

        [img]http://www.kudolink.com/kudolinkcom.png[/img] [sup]proudly uses[/sup] [img]http://www.kudolink.com/modx.png[/img]
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        Quote from: kudolink at Aug 21, 2006, 07:54 PM

        Isn’t simpler to stick with a well supported, full of features, specific developed forum done by 3rd parties like SMF?
        If you are entirely happy with a specific existing forum, yes. If you are entirely happy with the licensing of a specific existing forum, yes.
        One might wonder why there are so many different forum applications available. Why did Simple Machines not just stick with an existing well supported feature-rich forum?
        The fact is that I like MODx, and instead of continuing to heavily modify phpBB for my requirements I’d like to use the MODx framework to do a forum the way *I* want to do a forum. If I can incorporate the needs of other people, then so much the better.

        In all likelihood, many of the features that I collate for my MODx forum solution will be distinct snippets/modules that can be used in other scenarios. All the features you suggest..
        Quote from: kudolink at Aug 21, 2006, 07:54 PM

        _ Attachments
        _ Personal messages (using the one included in the manager?)
        _ Personal profile (maybe working with MODx itself)
        would be fab to have available to MODx irrespective of whether forums are involved. Indeed, after a recent conversation it is looking likely that this Forum project will emerge as a series of snippets/modules that can be put together to form a giant robot neato forum solution.

        Quote from: kudolink at Aug 21, 2006, 07:54 PM

        Doesn’t they provide a simple way to bridge users from a CMS (like MODx) to the forum?
        Actually I thought this went the other way around, and this MODx site is using SMF users. I may be wrong. Users is a big sticking point in the project, however.

        What would you like on a personal profile? Those can get really mad, with fields for every type of instant messenger etc.
          No, I don't know what OpenGeek's saying half the time either.
          MODx Documentation: The Wiki | My Wiki contributions | Main MODx Documentation
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          Paul, have you seen the xforum snippet that uses Replix? The planned features for replix’s successor looks great for this becoming more evolved..


            "He can have a lollipop any time he wants to. That's what it means to be a programmer."
            • 19726
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            Very nice idea to have a native MODx forum. Would be ideal for my site. Main advantages for me would be that the contentmanagers can also manage the forum from the same environment as the content. Also the use of the same users/groups as used for the site would be great.

            Additional features that I would be essential for me:
            - sticky topics
            - private forums (probably covered by "restricted access", but just to be sure wink )

            Features that would be nice to have:
            - attachments
            - RSS feed for recent posts
            - Smilies grin (would probably be most suitable as a plugin for the forum)
            - Badwords filter (maybe also possible as a plugin)
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              Paul,

              You know I’m a big fan of Vanilla and hope for rapid integration. That said, it (or SMF) is apples-and-oranges to an elegant MODx forum offering, especially one that is factored for reuse of its objects and functions in other parts of a MODx app.

              I don’t have a lot to add to the features already described but I’ll tell you that what I like most about Vanilla is that it can be engineered to ’blur’ the lines between ’blogs’ and ’forums’ or, more precisely, ’blog posts’ and ’commenting’.

              (Of course, I’m not saying that stand-alone forums like this one don’t have a major place).

              I have found that anything reducing the impedance level so end-users ’post/comment’ without even noticing that they are part of a conversation is awesome. Classical ’forums’ impose a now-canonical set of interface/behavioral assumptions that don’t match well to blog/site posts/articles ... while blog commenting is so transient and noise-driven (as well as hard to cite/search/organize) that many blogs simply give up on conversation.

              In other words, to me the still unaddressed use case is blog/article seamlessly linked/related to conversational threading. A user could come at that conversational thread either by way of the article or by way of the forum or, for that matter by way of RSS, etc. The blog/article with its attachable thread represent different, bi- or tri-directional entry points to a single conversational node.

              If your work provides that explicitly or ’just’ makes it possible to assemble such an interface from your parts, I’ll be thrilled.
                • 22815
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                Quote from: doze at Aug 23, 2006, 04:15 PM

                Paul, have you seen the xforum snippet that uses Replix? The planned features for replix’s successor looks great for this becoming more evolved..
                I have, and basing things on that work was actually part of my original "cobble something together" plan. Having been approached by bS following my original post, I can confirm that the Replix successor will definitely be part of anything I do forum-wise. However, I am keen to identify the areas that make sense as individual modules/snippets/whatever.

                Quote from: Mitch at Aug 23, 2006, 05:34 PM

                Main advantages for me would be that the contentmanagers can also manage the forum from the same environment as the content.
                Yes. I’m thinking it will at least be integrated as a module, or a couple of modules similar to Polls Module.

                Quote from: Mitch at Aug 23, 2006, 05:34 PM

                - sticky topics
                Yes.

                Quote from: Mitch at Aug 23, 2006, 05:34 PM

                - private forums (probably covered by "restricted access", but just to be sure wink )
                It was indeed. Actually, there is scope for another kind of private forum - a cross between a PM and a forum, where a user could create his own restricted-access thread just by inviting people in. Anyone know of any examples of this in other systems? Indeed, I’d like to have PMs grouped into threads, kinda like Google Mail does mail.

                Quote from: Mitch at Aug 23, 2006, 05:34 PM

                - Smilies
                Actually, if treated right as a secondary parser sweep, "Smilies and Other Automatic Text To Image Conversions" could be quite exciting for MODx. You could potentially have all sorts of image references that could have shorthand forms - eg :companylogo:
                But that’s probably getting ahead of ourselves. smiley is in. cool I am less keen on.

                Quote from: RussLipton at Aug 24, 2006, 03:30 PM

                [Vanilla] (or SMF) is apples-and-oranges to an elegant MODx forum offering, especially one that is factored for reuse of its objects and functions in other parts of a MODx app.
                True. Although there’s every chance that I’ll need to write some MODx-based interrogation of other forum DBs soon; I think it’s important to remember that behind every PHP/MySQL forum, there’s a MySQL db that MODx can happily query.
                Quote from: RussLipton at Aug 24, 2006, 03:30 PM

                I don’t have a lot to add to the features already described but I’ll tell you that what I like most about Vanilla is that it can be engineered to ’blur’ the lines between ’blogs’ and ’forums’ or, more precisely, ’blog posts’ and ’commenting’.
                Yes, this I like. The line is blurred in real life - BBC’s Newsnight keeps plugging its "forum cum blog". I fully intend to keep things modular.

                Quote from: RussLipton at Aug 24, 2006, 03:30 PM

                I have found that anything reducing the impedance level so end-users ’post/comment’ without even noticing that they are part of a conversation is awesome. Classical ’forums’ impose a now-canonical set of interface/behavioral assumptions that don’t match well to blog/site posts/articles ... while blog commenting is so transient and noise-driven (as well as hard to cite/search/organize) that many blogs simply give up on conversation.
                Actually, the one thing that I find is crucial to Vanilla is that the default view is the "Recent Posts In All Categories". Sure, the "Here’s A Load Of Confusing Categories" view is available, but if you want to join in an existing conversation all you need to do is skim the subject lines to find the sort of thing you have an opinion on. This here MODx forum clearly has a lot of people who mainly read the "What’s Been Going On" section, because there are many times when an answerable post has languished for days - even at the top of a forum - but not heated up until someone has found it again and got it back on the recent posts view.

                Yes, what impedes conversation is increased thought. Although I’ve been responsible for a net increase in forums here at modxcms.com, I’d much rather view things together. Much of a Moderator’s role is filing stuff into the right subforum. I have a solution. But first, more on your illuminating post.

                Quote from: RussLipton at Aug 24, 2006, 03:30 PM
                In other words, to me the still unaddressed use case is blog/article seamlessly linked/related to conversational threading. A user could come at that conversational thread either by way of the article or by way of the forum or, for that matter by way of RSS, etc. The blog/article with its attachable thread represent different, bi- or tri-directional entry points to a single conversational node.
                I think we’re largely on the same page here. I want to link conversations together. If a blog post is prompted by comments in a forum, I want them linking to each other. I want a third choice between New Reply and New Thread - sort of New Thread In Response, which would start a new thread but leave a link to it in the main thread. That is, an actual system for off-topic tangents. Yes, keeping it simple is a challenge but I’m all in favour of that.
                Quote from: RussLipton at Aug 24, 2006, 03:30 PM

                If your work provides that explicitly or ’just’ makes it possible to assemble such an interface from your parts, I’ll be thrilled.
                I truly hope you will be thrilled.

                Oh, I said I had an idea to solve the complex subforums problem: restricted-list tags. I’ll come back to that later...
                  No, I don't know what OpenGeek's saying half the time either.
                  MODx Documentation: The Wiki | My Wiki contributions | Main MODx Documentation
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                  Like MODx? donate (and/or share your resources)
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                  Small feature request to add, but maybe important to many. Post count tracking for users, maybe available count by total/subforum/thread...


                    "He can have a lollipop any time he wants to. That's what it means to be a programmer."
                    • 22815
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                    Yes, actually it’s useful to know how many posts someone’s made in the real forums and how many were in chit-chat off-topic games stuff.
                      No, I don't know what OpenGeek's saying half the time either.
                      MODx Documentation: The Wiki | My Wiki contributions | Main MODx Documentation
                      Forum: Where to post threads about add-ons | Forum Rules
                      Like MODx? donate (and/or share your resources)
                      Like me? See my Amazon wishlist
                      MODx "Most Promising CMS" - so appropriate!
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                      In my opinion forums are too static. They can not grow or slim down by their own. An administrator "aka moderator" is needed to control the content. The forums look all the same. They’re boring.

                      yes yes yes...Now I’ll suggest some things a forum should be able to do. I’s not futuristic, it’s just better.

                      Everywhere on the website should be a possibility to add content like "comments" with one click.
                      These comments should be analyzed by a semantic "weak ai" a so called bot which scans posts,page views, clicks etc to make suggestions if a forum should be created to all end users in form of a poll at the specific page.
                      Forum categories should be ordered dynamic semanticaly, else there would be a flood of categories and requests.
                      The website should create automatically userprofiles in the background and conform the forums to the user. In example look at pandora.com It suggest tracks based on your interest and it matches very often. Use of semantic meta information like those in the header of a website (*.rdf) should be made to collect information about every single site. A so called site self analysis is needed like the semantic meta analysis. Because a site changes with every new comment.

                      Another way to show what I mean:
                      Title = Sperm
                      Content = Baby
                      Comment = Mother
                      Vote = Father
                      A Forum which is created on basis of an intelligent analysis = Grandma
                      A Forum category in which this forum subject is moved to on basis of an intelligent analysis = Grandpa
                      A "weak ai" bot that scans for inapproriate content everywhere.

                      OK I know that this project would cause Massive traffic, but don’t forget most traffic comes from the bots and is internal traffic. The other traffic comes from the end users which is slimmed down by using AJAX.
                      The bots need short-term memory in form of (my)sql and a long-term memory in form of the Websites which are automatically created...this makes the need of a second template editor, but not for us but for the bots..
                      -> very good library of information in my opinion http://beat.doebe.li

                      yeah very fastforward and effective way of solving problems huh`?
                      I would write if I had time, but I’ve none, really! We’ve to write soo many exams and so this times omg..

                      people come so often with the word "impossible "...I hate that word..