[BETA] 'Olympus-Style' Forum Rules 0.7.0

[mad-manne]

... but as you have give Admins the ability to create HTML in here (BBcode would be easier for most, but I saw the discussion above) they can create their own headings etc within the free text box (one for each language supported ?)

So are you trying to convince me, to go back to my initial idea about how to implement the new "title"-feature OR are you just trying to emphasize the abilities the MOD gives?!


My main idea is to keep it as simple as possible, so to allow even not so knowledgeable users to add and use this on their board. With the default setup that comes with the MOD, they would just end-up with what the MOD mainly claims to be: 'Olympus Style' Forum Rules

Then if someone wants to get more out of it, they can ...

• Change the language-term for 'Forum Rules' to their liking
• Add a custom title to each forums where they don't want to use the standard term
• Decide for every forum, whether to display that title at all
• And last but not least: With the ability to use HTML, they have a lot of power to do what ever their skills provide 8)

I think that this should be enough. Let me know what you think ...
... I also hope that others are also still interested in giving feedback?!

Cheers,
Manfred.

[mad-manne]

Using this function, you can allow multi-language support for the title and for the rules themselves.

Hi Pierre, well I was actually planning to use such a construct ...
... anyway I'm not sure what you mean when saying this could also be used for the rules themselves?!

In my MOD(and as far as I know, also with the original Olympus ForumRules) one can setup a different set of Rules(basically just a text-field) for each forum.
So there's no $lang-var for the rules to rely on, if the Rules have not been entered in the ACP/Forum Admin/Managment/EDIT Forum

Cheers,
Manfred.

[afterlife_69]

i think a good idea would be instand of having 'Forum Rules' have a admin configuable title on each forum

But to make that fully compliant to the idea of a multi-language enabled board .. I'd have to make that a bit more sophisticated.

There would have to be a new module in ACP, where you would setup "Titles" for the "INFO-table" on top of the fora. All the "titles" you'd setup in here would make a dropdown-list appearing in the forum-ACP, where you'd have to pick one for each forum!

In the new module, you'd have to enter the "title" in all languages installaed on your board!

So I have started working on implementing the above feature ... plus

Hi Manfred .... is there a way of turning off displaying the words "Forum rules" title within the frame. I want to use the box for more general information about the forum ....

I will also implement this feature, which will bring the MOD to 0.7.0


The first step will come with a list of possible titles to pick from, while the ACP-part to handle these titles(add, edit, remove) will follow with the next release of 0.8.0. That will also include the logic and ACP-part to handle multi-language features for these titles!

But in order to start with a good set of titles that should come with 0.7.0 ... I need user-feedback
Take a look at a screenshot of the new ACP-part in 0.7.0 to get an idea:


As usual with my screenshots, clicking the thumbnail will lead to the big pic 8)

So far the list would contain these items:

• Forum Rules (by nature )
• Please notice
• Don't forget
• ATTENTION

Let me know what you'd like to see in that list ...

Cheers,
Manfred.

is this list going to be lang file based like for example you could seperate with ;

so:
$lang['olfr_titles'] = "Forum Rules;Important;Option3;Option4"

[Ptirhiik]

Simply, in place of writing something like (very schematized) :

Code: Select all

$template->assign_vars(array(
'L_RULES' => $row['forum_rules_title'],
'RULES' => $row['forum_rules'],
));

You write :

Code: Select all

$template->assign_vars(array(
'L_RULES' => _lang($row['forum_rules_title']),
'RULES' => _lang($row['forum_rules']),
));

If the user fills the forum_rules_title with a lang key entry, and so for the forum_rules text fields, ie:
o forum_rules_title : F1_forum_rules_title
o forum_rules : F1_forum_rules

and adds in its lang_main.php(s) for each language the appropriate translation :
o $lang['F1_forum_rules_title'] = 'Forum rules here';
o $lang['F1_forum_rules'] = 'These are the rules for this precise forum';

If he prefers, he can directly fill the fields with a plain text :
o forum_rules_title : Forum rules here
o forum_rules : These are the rules for this precise forum

and not modified his lang_main.php, but so not having a chance to translate them.

If the function find an entry in the $lang[] array, it will use it, if not, it will return the direct value.

[mad-manne]

is this list going to be lang file based like for example you could seperate with ;

Hi afterlife,
you should reread the topic starting from here, because that feature is just about to be dropped again

I thought everything had been explained, but if something stays unclear after reading the discussion from where I pointed you at ... let me know!

Cheers,
Manfred.

[mad-manne]

Simply, in place of writing something like (very schematized) :

Code: Select all

$template->assign_vars(array(
'L_RULES' => $row['forum_rules_title'],
'RULES' => $row['forum_rules'],
));

You write :

Code: Select all

$template->assign_vars(array(
'L_RULES' => _lang($row['forum_rules_title']),
'RULES' => _lang($row['forum_rules']),
));

This is a very clever idea ... and I had already understood it. I was just unsure why you would also suggest this for the Forum Rules themselves ...

These are nowhere in any language-file and they are not even supposed to be there, because the user can only enter them in ACP and then they are stored away in the forums_table.

So as I said before, I will use a construct like you describe for the $rules_title but not for the Rules themselves

Thanks for your thoughts,
Manfred.

[afterlife_69]

is this list going to be lang file based like for example you could seperate with ;

Hi afterlife,
you should reread the topic starting from here, because that feature is just about to be dropped again

I thought everything had been explained, but if something stays unclear after reading the discussion from where I pointed you at ... let me know!

Cheers,
Manfred.

For each forum you can define a custom-title. This one will just read as you input it into the textbox, and thus will not be language-specific.

love the idea

[mad-manne]

love the idea

I hope to be back with 0.7.0 until tomorrow

[chilling]

hope to be back with 0.7.0 until tomorrow

Gosh you've been busy with lots of intellectual discussion on this forum while I've been out for the day... sorry didn’t mean to throw the ‘cat among the pigeons’.

[mad-manne]

sorry didn’t mean to throw the ‘cat among the pigeons’.

Not quite sure what that saying means .. but all I need to know is:

So are you trying to convince me, to go back to my initial idea about how to implement the new "title"-feature OR are you just trying to emphasize the abilities the MOD gives?!

Let me know, 8)
Manfred.

[chilling]

So my new idea goes as follows:

• By default the title for the ForumRules-BOX will be 'Forum Rules', and this is a language-variable and as such will support the multi-language idea already present in phpBB
• For each forum you can define a custom-title. This one will just read as you input it into the textbox, and thus will not be language-specific.
  Anyway, I think that this isn't even necessary, as the Rules(or better the informative text) you enter as ForumRules is also most likely to be in your board's main language!
• If you leave that custom-title field blank, the title will be 'Forum Rules' and as said before, that's language-specific.
• Ability to turn off the display of the title for each forum
• And if someone dislikes the term 'Forum Rules' in general, he doesn't have to enter a different custom-title on each forum, but rather he just changes that term in the language-file!

This certainly covers all the options and sounds excellent …. I would go with the above.

To cover the language options for the non-default languages of the actual "Rules", these could be kept in separate table and only queried if the user-display language is not the default ..... but that is for a later version .

But I would suggest that the ability to use BBcode rather than HTMLcode, ie like the signature box, should be the next enhancement – as I am sure there are quite a lot of administrators who have little if any HTML knowledge, especially in situations where the phpBB forum is provided as part of the ISP hosting package.

[mad-manne]

This certainly covers all the options and sounds excellent …. I would go with the above.

... and that's how it's gonna be

... these could be kept in separate table and only queried if the user-display language is not the default ..... but that is for a later version .
... / ...
But I would suggest that the ability to use BBcode rather than HTMLcode, ie like the signature box, should be the next enhancement ...

You might be right ... but as I will have to spend some time to understand all that BBcode-parsing stuff ... but even more because I finally want to submit some of my MODs to the MOD-db, I'll close the feature list for the moment and concentrate on adding what has been said and after a short amount of BETA with 0.7.0 I'll make it a ReleaseCandidate and submit it soon afterwards.

The rest of the features can then gladly go into the next major version.

Cheers,
Manfred.

[chilling]

...I'll close the feature list for the moment ... and submit it soon afterwards.

Sound the best - at least then it's one down and two to go .... can't your Forced Login go to RC as well - we've been using it since you first released it - actually we don't have the latest version loaded as I jumped before the gun and have not got around to sorting out the patch ..... but am very please to repor we have never had any problems with it

[mad-manne]

.... can't your Forced Login go to RC as well - we've been using it since you first released it - actually we don't have the latest version loaded as I jumped before the gun and have not got around to sorting out the patch .....

Yes, that's true .. almost all of my MODs should appear as RC soon, that's what I'm working on. Trying to free my mind and resources to make progress with the tough stuff

About the ForcedLogin Explained-MOD .. I'll actually see if I can provide an update from 0.1.0

There's also one other MOD I started, that will be a perfect companion to the ForcedLogin-MOD ... it's still in DEV, and it didn't see much attention so far.
I might switch that down one gear, and thus it will take a while until I can release a BETA.

Cheers,
Manfred.

[chilling]

There's also one other MOD I started .... and it didn't see much attention so far.

If you are bored there is a MOD by Niels Self auth [2.0.6/EM] which appears to have been abandoned and there are a whole range of people calling out for it - including me!