MODing's Most Wanted

[wGEric]

Applications for working on a MODdings Most Wanted project have closed. Assignments for each project have been listed below.

If you missed out, don't fret, you can think of your own ideas for MODs, and who knows we might announce extra most wanted project ideas at a later date.

In order to give MOD Authors ideas on MODs to write as well as get some old MODs within the Development forum into the MOD Database, we, the MOD Team, have come up with the idea of MODing's Most Wanted.

If you want to participate, which anyone can, please send a PM to smithy_dll or wGEric stating which project you would like to work on and where you want to take the project. We, the MOD Team, will then look over your application and if we feel like you are able to complete the MOD, we will set you as the one who is working on the project. More than one person may work together on a project. Only one person or group will be able to work on a project.

Once you are working on a project, it would be nice if you would provide us with updates everyonce in a while. A topic in the MODs in Development forum will be enough. We expect you to fully follow the MOD Standards and work towards submitting the MOD to the MOD Database.

Here is a list of some projects that you may choose to work on. If you have an idea for the list, send a PM to a MOD Team member.

Bot sessions
Project member(s): NeoThermic

phpBB3.0 has a proper bot sessions management system. However phpBB2.0 doesn't, alot of users wishing for better SEO for their forum are left in the dark to apply hacks and tips that are present in KB articles, alot of which is now out of date.

This MOD requires creating on a Bot sessions MOD that is compatible with phpBB2.0.18 and doesn't neglect and 3.0 upgrade path. Requirements of the MOD are using systems such as users, groups, permissions. The MOD should aim to modify phpBB in a minimalistic fashion. There should be admin interfaces to add extra bots and edit them.

A list of resources that may help with this MOD:
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=32328
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=200361
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=150631
http://www.phpbb.com/kb/article.php?article_id=166
http://www.phpbb.com/kb/article.php?article_id=29

MOD Team notes: While this has been attempted in the past, most efforts are incomplete (e.g. NeoThermics unreleased one I am using), or no longer work with 2.0.18. I have never seen this feature been taken to the level in terms of administration and polishedness other MODs have been.

Warnings/Ban Manager
Project member(s): Abandoned! If you want to do this MOD, start a new topic in the dev forum, you do not need to apply for this.
Old Development Topic

Although there are some MODs like this (one by GUI, one by Wooly Spud, and one by neils), these date back to 2003, and this is another highly requested feature for our database.

This MOD should provide a way to send users a warning--basically a "you better stop that" message for when they're doing something wrong. This should be accessible by moderators and administrators. When a warning is issued, there should be a place for the moderators to leave (or not leave) a message regarding why the warning was issued--this can be PM'ed (or e-mailed) to the user if the moderator so chooses to notify them. These warnings should have a time when they will expire--and after x warnings, a certain ban-related action should take place.
The MOD should also provide a location to manage a list of banned users, including the ability to set timed bans (bans will timeout after a certain length of time has passed, or at a certain timepoint), and be able to list a reason for the ban that will be displayed to the user, and a private reason for it that will only be displayed to the administrators.

This MOD should have an EXTENSIVE Admin Settings interface, as well as maintain a 3.0 upgrade path. The admin settings should mostly deal with what to do when a warning is issued, after how many warnings to set bans, and what kind of ban to automatically set, etc. Basically, put as many configuration options as possible here.

AJAX
Project member(s): *=Matt=*
Development Topic (and has been submitted to the MOD-DB)

Add AJAX to different parts of phpBB like inline editing posts, locking topics without a page reload, a list is generated when typing in a username in the PM to field, adding poll options, etc. This should work on most major browsers and if users have javascript disabled, the current/default method (reloading the page) should still work.

Resources:
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=313259
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=295604

Advertisment Manager
Project member(s): Abandoned! If you want to do this MOD, start a new topic in the dev forum, you do not need to apply for this.

This MOD will add a new admin page that lets you easily add, change, and remove advertisements from different places on your board. Some places where advertisements could be placed are, the header, sidebar, footer, within posts (customizable on how often and where the ads are shown in viewtopic.php), etc. You should also be able to choose who views the advertisements (only guests, everyone, only registered users, etc).

Resources:
http://www.phpbb.com/kb/article.php?article_id=342
http://www.phpbb.com/kb/article.php?article_id=18
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=306680
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=201500

Custom Profile Fields
Project member(s): Abandoned! If you want to do this MOD, start a new topic in the dev forum, you do not need to apply for this.

This MOD will let an admin create custom profile fields. The field types should include textareas, text input boxes, radio buttons, and checkboxes. You should be able to edit these profile fields from the edit profile page as well as be able to see what users have put in these fields on the view profile page. Admins should also be able to edit what users have put in these fields from the ACP.

Other things you may want to consider when applying for this MOD is how others could hook into the code (simplified function calls / API to add/remove profile fields), and an upgrade path to 3.0

Resources:
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=153754
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=150925
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=320065
http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=86960

Lock/Unlock Topic on Reply
Project member(s): drathbun
Release Topic

This MOD adds a checkbox on the reply screen that lets moderators and administrators lock or unlock a topic while they are replying to the topic. Olympus has a feature like this. This should be a very easy one to do and shouldn't take very long.

Admin User Registration
Project member(s): Fountain of Apples
Release Topic

This MOD will allow an admin to create a new user account from within the ACP, saving them the trouble of having to log out, register a new user, activate it, etc. The amount of registration details should be minimal, probably best consisting of Username, Email Address, and Password. This process of registering users should be able to bypass User/Admin activation and send an email to the email address with the log in details.

[End of a Shadow]

Lock/Unlock Topic on Reply
Project member(s): None

This MOD adds a checkbox on the reply screen that lets moderators and administrators lock or unlock a topic while they are replying to the topic. Olympus has a feature like this. This should be a very easy one to do and shouldn't take very long.

Acyd Burn himself created this modification that can do everything stated.

Admin User Registration
Project member(s): Fountain of Apples

This MOD will allow an admin to create a new user account from within the ACP, saving them the trouble of having to log out, register a new user, activate it, etc. The amount of registration details should be minimal, probably best consisting of Username, Email Address, and Password. This process of registering users should be able to bypass User/Admin activation and send an email to the email address with the log in details.

This modification by OXPUS does exactly as you've written done aside the e-mailing details but I'm sure that can be fixed.

[phantomk]

/me throws up the idea of colorizeing the board

[TerraFrost]

Lock/Unlock Topic on Reply
Project member(s): None

This MOD adds a checkbox on the reply screen that lets moderators and administrators lock or unlock a topic while they are replying to the topic. Olympus has a feature like this. This should be a very easy one to do and shouldn't take very long.

Acyd Burn himself created this modification that can do everything stated.

Admin User Registration
Project member(s): Fountain of Apples

This MOD will allow an admin to create a new user account from within the ACP, saving them the trouble of having to log out, register a new user, activate it, etc. The amount of registration details should be minimal, probably best consisting of Username, Email Address, and Password. This process of registering users should be able to bypass User/Admin activation and send an email to the email address with the log in details.

This modification by OXPUS does exactly as you've written done aside the e-mailing details but I'm sure that can be fixed.

They haven't been released in our database, though. As such, they haven't been subjected to a security audit, haven't been tested to see if they'll install with EasyMOD (being able to install with EasyMOD eliminates bugs that are due to user error - ie. most bugs), haven't been tested to see if they can be used by as wide an audiance as possible (ie. if they're DBAL compliant, translateable, etc), etc.

[ycl6]

Acyd Burn himself created this modification that can do everything stated.

This modification by OXPUS does exactly as you've written done aside the e-mailing details but I'm sure that can be fixed.

However none of those are in your MOD database and the author (for their own reasons) did not submit their modification to the MODDB.

This is one of the reasons we would like to have coders to develop these systems, variants of them are somewhere on the Net, but not here on phpbb.com and have obviously not been validated for their secruity risks and competibility with the latest phpBB.

edit: TF beats me

~Mac

[End of a Shadow]

If thats the case, then both Acyd Burn and OXPUS have been valued contributers to phpBB, I only stated those modifications above as suggestions to contacting those authors themselvse and requesting that they submit them to the MODDB rather having assign a project team to build up these two "wanted" modifications from scratch. Whether or not they are DBAL compliant, translateable, EasyMOD compadible these can be adjusted by the original authors or anyone who gains permissions of the authors. Moreso I do understand the need to make them EM compadible for easier installment, I do not understand why it has to be subjected to EM before being released at all since EM is not a core function of the standard phpBB release. As per the rules, anyone can gain permission directly from the authors to submit and support a modification, if these two were listed as one of the top choices then I'm only passing on a start in support is all.

[smithy_dll]

Acyd Burn has no problems with us listing a lock on post MOD on the list. He currently has no time to write one himself as the lead developer of phpBB.

How people approach the modification, whether from scratch or by asking permission to take over an existing MOD is up to them. We will not be asking for takeover permissions, that will be up to the individual author/team.

There is room in the world for more than one version of a single MODification, and it is our policy that we do allow more than one of the same type of MOD in the MOD DB (see quick reply).

I will also say that no-one needs permissions to implement an idea (unless of course it's patented).


(While to take over a MOD you don't need to ask permissions (GPL), it is a phpBB MOD Team recommendation that you always try to contact the original author out of courtesy)

[asinshesq]

...PM Conversations
Project member(s): None

This MOD will be like GMail's conversations. Private Messages will be grouped together so you can view the history of conversations you have had with users via PM. This is a feature currently in Olympus (it should have an upgrade path).

This is already done. manipe wrote a mod called track pms that does exactly that, and phantomk improved on that by cloning the code that already exists in phpbb for the topic review window. See here: http://www.phpbb.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=334433

[ChALkeR]

You forgot about Caching, If tags in templates and so on =)

I use this mod: http://phpbbhacks.com/download/1657

[smithy_dll]

Theres a template caching system distributed with phpBB in the /contrib folder already, no MOD required, just replace template.php with either the DB or file system based cache you want.

[ChALkeR]

Theres a template caching system distributed with phpBB in the /contrib folder already, no MOD required, just replace template.php with either the DB or file system based cache you want.

And what about IF tags and {L_} ?

[webmacster87]

At that point you're starting to look at this MOD.

[drathbun]

I have a lock / unlock on reply that I will submit. It does not require extra queries (IIRC, the MOD linked already adds extra queries in order to do the work). Mine edits the existing insert / update queries to include the topic status. I'll get it written up and submitted this week.

[ChALkeR]

At that point you're starting to look at this MOD.

a little bit higher:

You forgot about Caching, If tags in templates and so on =)

I use this mod: http://phpbbhacks.com/download/1657

P.S. it is 2.3.1 now.

[computersOC]

Wouldn't it be easier for the developers of 3.0.0 to backport the bot management?