[AJAX] Helpful Answers - Post Rating System (plus many sub-features)

[Ted S]

Note: While this modification is updated for compatibility, I am only developing features for the 4.x version. I understand many sites continue to use 3.8 for a variety of reasons but dual developing takes time away from adding anything new. I encourage you to develop out your own change and share them back as no modification is ideal for every forum out of the box.

Every day your users contribute hundreds if not thousands of posts making it hard for new members and guests to separate out the best answers from those that are less helpful. The Helpful Answers System offers your members a quick way (AJAX) to rate individual posts as either helpful or not allowing future visitors to understand the benefits of each post.

Designed for maximum flexibility:


This addon is built to be flexible and offers several customization options including:
The ability to show a user's vote stats in posts
The ability to use image or text ratings.
The ability to offer yes/no or scaled 1-10 point ranking.
The ability to turn off negative ratings for a positive only system.
The ability to decide which forums are open for helpful answer ratings.
The ability to audit the system and identify top users and potential abusers.
The ability to ban specific members from using the system.
The ability to customize the AJAX message shown after a post is rated.
The ability to edit all text and messages through phrases.
The ability to show a page with the top helpful posts.
The ability to show rating stats on a user's profile.
Integration with the reputation system for ratings.
Template driven display that can easily be customized to your forum.For advanced users template conditionals and variables let you further extend the functionality to color highlight good or bad posts, include ratings in user?s profiles and much more.

Load & Scale:
This addon is designed to work with small to large sites and is currently being used by sites with more than 2 million posts. If you have questions about integrating with your big board please contact me.

Modification Installation:
This addon requires uploading multiple files, installing a vBulletin product and enabling the feature in any forums you wish. No template modifications are required. Please see the included install file for detailed instructions.

If you are not seeing the rating bar double check that you have enabled the feature in the forum you are in and insure the Manual Template override option is not enabled.

Rating Review & Deletion:
To identify and remove abuse a reporting system is included with this addon and can be found in your vBulletin ACP under the Helpful Answers tab. Through this panel you will be able to view a user's overall rating history and individual ratings and can remove either if necessary. Users can also be explicitly banned from the system.

Reputation System Integration:
Helpful Answers can be extended to directly tie into your reputation system giving users positive or negative points based on the ratings of their posts. There are numerous options on how to handle ratings that can be found in a separate Helpful Answers Reputation part of your vBulletin Settings page.

External Integration:
vB Plaza Modification - http://www.vbplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6359
vB Experience - https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=199556

Anonymous Stats Tracking (optional):
vBulletin forums reach millions of consumers around the world yet little is known about their habits and opinions. This addon was released to the public out of requests but also to further the research of forum user's behaviors and actions through collecting the most basic data on thousands of sites.

By default this addon will pass basic rating data (positive or negative) to a 3rd party site for statistical purposes. Only the most basic data is captured (the vote and your site name) and no user information or specific forum details are logged, not even an IP address.

While you may disable this feature through the administrative options I ask that you consider leaving it in place to help this research effort and insure the continued support of the addon.

The tracking feature uses the php library cURL on a 5 second timeout. If cURL is not installed this option is automatically disabled.

Updates:
- 5/13/2011 - Release of 2.0.6 minor bug fix
- 08/31/2009 - Release of 2.0.0
- 08/07/2009 - Release of 1.9.5 stable

Other Versions:
This addon will work with 3.7 but to avoid issues with different code versions please see the 3.7 version thread here (https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?p=1733619).

Before you download this modification please remember this is a free tool provided as a courtesy to you and support responses are subject to the availability of the author and other members. If you are looking for a professionally supported system this is not the solution for you.

[Ted S]

Tips & Tricks Using Template Variables:

While the Helpful Answers section may appear to only add to a small part of your post it can be used much more extensively to change the color of an entire post, to add a special icon or just about anything else you like. Here are list of the variables available for your postbit and postbit_legacy templates.


$post[totalrank] - The total number of ratings
$post[goodrank] - The number of good ratings
$post[badrank] - The number of bad ratings
$post[helpfulgood] - True if the post is positive overall (more good than bad ratings)
$show[rate_helpfulanswer] - True if the user can rate the post (false if they are banned or have rated it).
$post[helpfulanswerid] - True if the user has already rated the post.
$post[hagoodrank] - The number of good votes the user's posts have
$post[hatotalrank] - The total rank the user's posts have
$post[habadrank] - The number of bad votes the user's posts have


================================================== ==========================

Additional variables can also be found in the user's profile page (if enabled).


$helpfulposts[totalranks] - The total ratings of a member's ppsts
$helpfulposts[goodranks] - The total good ratings of a member's posts
$helpfulposts[badranks] - The total bad ratings of a member's posts


================================================== ==========================

Identify the top rated post.

Step 1 - Enable the top rated post feature from your Helpful Answers Settings.
Step 2 - Add the code:


<if condition="$thread[toppost] == $post[postid] AND THIS_SCRIPT == 'showthread'">This is the top rated post!</code>


To your postbit or postbig_legacy template

This can be changed around to add colors, an icon or anything else you want.

================================================== ==========================

Digg Like Ratings (Format: +6 Yes | No)
Step 1 - Open the template helpful_answers
Step 2 -
Replace the code

<if condition="$post['totalrank']">
<phrase 1="$post[goodrank]" 2="$post[totalrank]">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_x_out_of_y]</phrase>
</if>

With the new code:

<if condition="$post['totalrank']">
+ $post[goodrank]
</if>


================================================== ==========================

(Thumb Up)...5 (Thumb Down)...2
Step 1 - Open the template helpful_answers
Step 2 -
Replace the code

<if condition="$post['totalrank']">
<phrase 1="$post[goodrank]" 2="$post[totalrank]">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_x_out_of_y]</phrase>
</if>

With the new code:

<if condition="$post['totalrank']">
<img src="images/buttons/ha_thumbsup.gif" width="11" height="20" border="0" alt="Good" /> $post[goodrank]
<img src="images/buttons/ha_thumbsdn.gif" width="11" height="20" border="0" alt="Bad" /> $post[badrank]
</if>


================================================== ==========================

Highlighting the top rated post:

Step 1 - Set "Get Top Post per Thread" to on in your Helpful Answers settings.
Step 2 - Open your postbit or postbit_legacy template (whichever your forum uses)
Step 3 - Find all instances of class="alt1" and class="alt2"
Step 4 - At each instance add the following code directly after style="
<if condition="$thread[toppost] == $post[postid]">background-color:#CCCCCC;</if>
#CCCCCC is the color to highlight the post with. You may change this to another HTML Color Code

Step 5 - Repeat this for each instance (there may be as many as 5 depending on the template)
For example:
<td class="alt1" align="$stylevar[right]" style="<if condition="$thread[toppost] == $post[postid]">background-color:#CCCCCC;</if>border: $stylevar[cellspacing]px solid $stylevar[tborder_bgcolor]; border-$stylevar[left]: 0px; border-top: 0px">

================================================== ==========================

Utility Scripts

Three utility scripts are attached to this post which you may need to use if you are modifying the addon or doing a special import. Each of these should be run from your admincp folder and deleted after use.

1. ha_userstats.php - This file will resync user votes for the postbit templates.
2 . ha_old.php - This file will resync vote summaries for version 1.5 and below.
3. ha_revote.php - This file will resync vote summaries for versions 1.6 and above

[esperone]

Sounds good but can u upload the mod files?

[Ted S]

Unfortunately there's no way to hide an addon while you're setting it up here. The files have been posted.

[mad@Max]

I get database error:
Table 'db_vb.vb_helpfulanswer' doesn't exist
Few questions.
This is don't work with ajax?
Why you don't use phrase in postbit?:)

[forexforum]

Does this mod add into the reputation/infraction points? It would be good if we can choose whether to allow infraction/rep points to be counted. It can be like, either choose one or both of the options. Thanks.

[Ted S]

forexforum,

This mod is intended for rating posts and does not deal with rating users or the reputation system. I'd love to get your thoughts if you feel there is a reason or way to relate the two.

[Ted S]

I get database error:
Table 'db_vb.vb_helpfulanswer' doesn't exist
Few questions.
This is don't work with ajax?
Why you don't use phrase in postbit?:)

Lots of questions!

1. Please check to see if you have the table helpfulanswer or anything related to it using phpMyAdmin or a similar tool. If not the installer was unable to create it but you can manually with the query:


CREATE TABLE `helpfulanswer` (
`helpfulanswerid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
`postid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`userid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`yesno` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`dateline` INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
KEY `helpfulanswerid` (`helpfulanswerid`),
KEY `postid` (`postid`),
KEY `userid` (`userid`)
);


Be sure to add any prefix to the table.

2. This addon now offes ajax. Fun stuff!

3. As far as using phrases for the template look for an upgrade soon to handle that.

[Ted S]

I know I just released the core addon a few hours ago but after doing some additional work AJAX rankings are now supported.

[WoodiE]

Ted,

Just upgraded my forum to version 1.3 - the AJAX rocks! Nicely done.

[Ted S]

Thanks WoodiE. I've really never dived deep into AJAX and I was pretty pleased to have it go so fast although for a mod like this it was a pretty simple change.

Also releasing 1.3.1 which moves the helpful_answers template to phrases for better translation support and easier editing.

[Ted S]

Thanks for the private feedback; I've added a simple page showing the Most Helpful Answers. This can be disabled through the options and the number of results to show can also be configured.

[buileminh]

How does this impact to server load?

[Ted S]

How does this impact to server load?

Fair question and as I'm sure it will be asked later, I'll break down the different areas of potential impact:

1. Viewing a thread

No new queries are made with this addon but there is a change that impacts the existing post query. Basically with this addon 3 additional fields are pulled from the select routine, 2 exist in the post table and one is from a join on the helpful answers table. Joins certainly add to the query length but as both keys are indexed it's minimal.

There are also a few template conditionals called; while conditionals don't do much to load on their own they do add up if you use enough.

While testing this script I used microstats to measure impact and did not identify any noticeable impact to the page rendering or CPU usage.

2. Rating a post

When a post is rated the script goes through a series of checks including 2 queries to read out data and two updates to insert the vote record and change the post table. This is fairly minimal and since it's a specific request option (rather than something passive that happens when viewing a page) it should be expected.

3. Viewing the most helpful answers page

When enabled this page will run one looping query with a single join. This is not a major process at all.

4. Admin functions

The admin functions are mostly simple querying one or two times per page. The exception to this is doing a bulk delete on a user with a lot of rating history; in this case there's two queries per rating which can be intensive. As such this function is marked as being intensive.

Summed up

It's easy to get worried about a function like this where data is read on every post but I have done my best to minimize any impact. For example, rather than querying tables to get vote totals for every post the totals are stored with the post record and calling them up adds minimal load. Other steps are also taken to prevent load like using an array with banned members and a forum option to check if the forum is allowed to use the addon rather than querying the database for a standalone piece of data.

To be crystal clear, this addon has been used for over a year on a decent traffic forum that runs, as most of the users would say, fast. While there are new functions with the public release this is not an untested app and if it was impacting performance on my sites I wouldn't be using it let alone releasing it.

I'm confident this addon will have minimal additional performance impact but like every addon it does introduce more queries on some pages, more joins, more conditionals and more code which does mean more load. For larger sites I always encourage basic load testing (even just watching load times with microstats is often enough).

Hope that answers your question.

[The3rdNipple]

Database error in vBulletin 3.8.0:

Invalid SQL:

SELECT
post.*, post.username AS postusername, post.ipaddress AS ip, IF(post.visible = 2, 1, 0) AS isdeleted,
user.*, userfield.*, usertextfield.*,
icon.title as icontitle, icon.iconpath,
avatar.avatarpath, NOT ISNULL(customavatar.userid) AS hascustomavatar, customavatar.dateline AS avatardateline,customavatar.width AS avwidth,customavatar.height AS avheight,
spamlog.postid AS spamlog_postid,
deletionlog.userid AS del_userid, deletionlog.username AS del_username, deletionlog.reason AS del_reason,
editlog.userid AS edit_userid, editlog.username AS edit_username, editlog.dateline AS edit_dateline,
editlog.reason AS edit_reason, editlog.hashistory,
postparsed.pagetext_html, postparsed.hasimages,
sigparsed.signatureparsed, sigparsed.hasimages AS sighasimages,
sigpic.userid AS sigpic, sigpic.dateline AS sigpicdateline, sigpic.width AS sigpicwidth, sigpic.height AS sigpicheight,
IF(displaygroupid=0, user.usergroupid, displaygroupid) AS displaygroupid, infractiongroupid

, IF(SUM(photoplog_fileuploads.moderate) > 0 AND 1 = 0,COUNT(photoplog_fileuploads.moderate) - SUM(photoplog_fileuploads.moderate),COUNT(photoplo g_fileuploads.moderate)) AS photoplog_filecount,post.goodrank,post.totalrank,h elpfulanswer.helpfulanswerid
FROM post AS post
LEFT JOIN user AS user ON(user.userid = post.userid)
LEFT JOIN userfield AS userfield ON(userfield.userid = user.userid)
LEFT JOIN usertextfield AS usertextfield ON(usertextfield.userid = user.userid)
LEFT JOIN icon AS icon ON(icon.iconid = post.iconid)
LEFT JOIN avatar AS avatar ON(avatar.avatarid = user.avatarid) LEFT JOIN customavatar AS customavatar ON(customavatar.userid = user.userid)
LEFT JOIN spamlog AS spamlog ON(spamlog.postid = post.postid)
LEFT JOIN deletionlog AS deletionlog ON(post.postid = deletionlog.primaryid AND deletionlog.type = 'post')
LEFT JOIN editlog AS editlog ON(editlog.postid = post.postid)
LEFT JOIN postparsed AS postparsed ON(postparsed.postid = post.postid AND postparsed.styleid = 2 AND postparsed.languageid = 1)
LEFT JOIN sigparsed AS sigparsed ON(sigparsed.userid = user.userid AND sigparsed.styleid = 2 AND sigparsed.languageid = 1)
LEFT JOIN sigpic AS sigpic ON(sigpic.userid = post.userid)
LEFT JOIN photoplog_fileuploads AS photoplog_fileuploads ON(photoplog_fileuploads.userid = user.userid)LEFT JOIN helpfulanswer AS helpfulanswer ON(helpfulanswer.postid = post.postid and helpfulanswer.userid = 1)
WHERE post.postid IN (0,50) GROUP BY post.postid
ORDER BY post.dateline;

MySQL Error : Table 'theguy1_AllBoutLife.helpfulanswer' doesn't exist



My error after visiting a thread

[Ted S]

The3rdNipple,

It looks like the table used to store records was not able to be created by the installer.

You will need to create this table manually by running the following query from phpMyAdmin or a similar database program.


CREATE TABLE `helpfulanswer` (
`helpfulanswerid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL AUTO_INCREMENT,
`postid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`userid` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`yesno` int(10) unsigned NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
`dateline` INT UNSIGNED NOT NULL DEFAULT '0',
KEY `helpfulanswerid` (`helpfulanswerid`),
KEY `postid` (`postid`),
KEY `userid` (`userid`)
);

I suggest you disable the addon until this is done, if you have not done so already.

[Quantnet]

Interesting mod. Watching this closely.
In the update history, the latest should be 1.3.2 instead of 1.3.3

How do you compare this one with Yahoo Answers. Yahoo makes it very easy to find the most useful answer in a long thread.

[Ted S]

Interesting mod. Watching this closely.
In the update history, the latest should be 1.3.2 instead of 1.3.3

How do you compare this one with Yahoo Answers. Yahoo makes it very easy to find the most useful answer in a long thread.

Definitely happy to have your feedback whether you install or not.

This mod has a lot of similarities to the Yahoo Answers site in letting users rate responses which they also do. Future visitors can then identify the more popular/ trusted answers out of the overall batch.

The feature you're talking about where the topic starter picks an answer and has that answer moved to the top of the list is not something this mod tries to solve as that's not about group ratings but rather about an individual post selection. I've developed a feature like that for a few sites but have never made it move the post around. It's an interesting discussion as a forum is different than q&a website like Yahoo Answers and moving a post up in order to say the second spot has a lot of implications for discussion flow. That said, I imagine there are sites with areas that could use an easy selection process like that.

[Rene Kriest]

I would like to see a in-post feature to rate preset phrases:

Color: [rate]
Speed: [rate]
Design [rate]
...Unlike the poll function can you put a voting system up.

[Quantnet]

I'm waiting for a feature where the most useful post in a thread is highlighted using some customizable color palette.
what is your solution when you have 2 equally ranked posts on the level of usefulness? Will they be marked most useful at the same time?

I can see this being very useful for my site and I look forward to installing soon.

P.S Can you post a screenshot of the post in the thread. I like to see how standout it looks currently

[Ted S]

Rene Kriest,

I'm not quite following you here. Are you looking for an addon that allows for rating content (i.e. rating a hotel, a video game, etc...) or a change to this addon which is meant to show which answers are useful?

[Lizard King]

You have a small problem in your templates

<if condition="$show['rate_helpfulanswer']">
<strong>$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_didyoufind]
<a href="./helpfulanswers.php?postid=$post[postid]&rank=1" <if condition="$vboptions[disable_ajax] != 2"> onclick="return helpfulanswers_rate($post[postid], 1);" </if> rel="nofollow">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_yes]</a> |
<a href="./helpfulanswers.php?postid=$post[postid]&rank=0" <if condition="$vboptions[disable_ajax] != 2"> onclick="return helpfulanswers_rate($post[postid], 0);" </if> rel="nofollow">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_no]</a>
</if>

Missing strong closing tag.

Will check the mod a little further.

[redlabour]

Is there a Option to exclude Users with less then X Postings from Voting?

Any why did you not use the Hooks at Postbit and Postbit Legacy?

[Mihalis]

I installed this hack but i get a vbulletin database error in any forum i set it on.

[Lizard King]

The solution is just couple posts above :

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=1733745&postcount=16

[WoodiE]

Upgraded to the newest version, but how do I view the new Top 10 page?

[Mihalis]

The solution is just couple posts above :

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=1733745&postcount=16

Thank you for your answer. I must say I feel uncomfortable with the use of phpMyAdmin. Why this mod is unable to create the appropriate tables?

[redlabour]

Is there a Option to exclude Users with less then X Postings from Voting?

Any why did you not use the Hooks at Postbit and Postbit Legacy?

If this will be included and fixed i will uninstall Post Thank You and Post Groan and take this awesome combined Mod. ;)

[tei727]

when i go to the helpfulanswers.php page i get this

It appears you have not selected a post. Please go back and try the link again.

If you feel you have reached this page in error, please contact us for assistance.

[Rene Kriest]

Rene Kriest,

I'm not quite following you here. Are you looking for an addon that allows for rating content (i.e. rating a hotel, a video game, etc...) or a change to this addon which is meant to show which answers are useful?
So my suggestion then would be no modification to your existing great addon.

I am looking for a away to rate individual aspects of a product/picture/point of view etc. not the posting itself. Maybe sort of "poll in poll" feature with a star rating system.

Your systems let people rate other people's comments while I want a feature to let people rate their individual experience (feat. 1 = 3/5 stars; feat. 2 = 5/5) and share it with others.

[mad@Max]

Why don't create a table... I think this character is not necessary:
CREATE TABLE IF NOT EXISTS`". TABLE_PREFIX ."`helpfulanswer` (
Second error (when i click Yes or No):
in javascript window
SELECT post.goodrank,post.totalrank

FROM vb_post

WHERE postid = 4914;

MySQL Error : Unknown column 'post.goodrank' in 'field list'

---------------
So, you should change your query in file helpfulanswers.php on this code:
$helpfulanswer = $db->query_first_slave("
SELECT post.goodrank, post.totalrank
FROM " . TABLE_PREFIX . "post AS post
WHERE post.postid = $postinfo[postid]
");
---------------
Third error:D
In file helpfulanswers.php missed prefix:
$helpfulanswers = $db->query_read_slave("
SELECT postid,post.title as posttile,post.goodrank,post.totalrank,thread.threa did,thread.title as title
FROM " . TABLE_PREFIX . "post as post
INNER JOIN " . TABLE_PREFIX . "thread AS thread ON(post.threadid = thread.threadid)
WHERE goodrank > 0
ORDER BY goodrank DESC
LIMIT 0,$helpans_limit
");

[Ted S]

Is there a Option to exclude Users with less then X Postings from Voting?

Any why did you not use the Hooks at Postbit and Postbit Legacy?

There is not any such option although it's a great idea and something I will include in my next release at the end of the week.

As for your hooks question, I prefer to give users flexibility in how they make the code show up and where but I may change this and auto include the bits down the road if the template change proves to be an issue.

[Ted S]

Thank you for your answer. I must say I feel uncomfortable with the use of phpMyAdmin. Why this mod is unable to create the appropriate tables?

It's possible there is an issue with your configured users mysql rights although a bug has been suggested and I am issuing a new release which you may want to try.

[Ted S]

Upgraded to the newest version, but how do I view the new Top 10 page?

Wonderful question... The page can be found at www.yoursite.com/helpfulanswer.php?do= topanswers

[Ted S]

So my suggestion then would be no modification to your existing great addon.

I am looking for a away to rate individual aspects of a product/picture/point of view etc. not the posting itself. Maybe sort of "poll in poll" feature with a star rating system.

Your systems let people rate other people's comments while I want a feature to let people rate their individual experience (feat. 1 = 3/5 stars; feat. 2 = 5/5) and share it with others.

Got it... You need a new addon.

I'd suggest you post to the free modification request forum to get the idea going as many coders like myself use it to find new and popular suggestions.

[Ted S]

when i go to the helpfulanswers.php page i get this

It appears you have not selected a post. Please go back and try the link again.

If you feel you have reached this page in error, please contact us for assistance.

Loading the page directly will not work yet, in 1.3.3 this will be changed to show the top answers page.

[Ted S]

mad@Max,

Thank you for finding those issues. I will be issuing a release in a few minutes to address the problems.

[Ted S]

Note: Version 1.3.3 has been released which fixes several small issues related to creating the mySQL table for this addon and with two queries. With this update the current mysql query errors will go away and the table will be properly created.

All users are advised to upgrade while those who have experienced database errors should uninstall and then upgrade.

To upgrade simply upload the new version of helpfulanswer.php and install the new plugin file.

[Ted S]

Thank you for your answer. I must say I feel uncomfortable with the use of phpMyAdmin. Why this mod is unable to create the appropriate tables?

To clarify on my earlier comment, this was a result of a bug in the script. If you download the latest version (1.3.3) and install it the table should be created. You may need to uninstall the addon before trying to reinstall.

[mad@Max]

One more suggestion:)
Replace in template helpful_answers_top_bit
Post $helpfulanswer[postid] in thread:
with like this
<phrase 1="$helpfulanswer[postid]">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_top]</phrase>
and add same phrase, as I did for myself:)
And one more. Please add flowing in plugin Helpful Answers -- Cache Template
if (THIS_SCRIPT == 'helpfulanswer'){
$globaltemplates = array_merge($globaltemplates, array(
'helpful_answers_top',
'helpful_answers_top_bit'
));
}

[Quantnet]

Installed 1.3.3 without problem. Did the manual template edit.
I have to read the instruction the second time to realize that I have to enable this for each forum by going to forum manager.

I have the Thank You mod installed and I found that this mod makes the Thanks button jumps to the second line.

[mad@Max]

Check permission in forums setting.

[Quantnet]

Check permission in forums setting.
Yeap, found that.
Updated my post with a screenshot

[Ted S]

Glad you sorted it out

Please keep the suggestions coming as I'll be doing a functionality update Friday to add a few new features (like the option to set a post minimum).

[mad@Max]

Last suggestion about phrases.
<plugin active="1" executionorder="5">
<title>Helpful Answers -- Admin Enable Option</title>
<hookname>forumadmin_edit_form</hookname>
<phpcode><![CDATA[print_yes_no_row($vbphrase[helpfulanswer_forums], 'forum[helpfulanswerbits]', $forum['helpfulanswerbits']);]]></phpcode>
</plugin>
:)

[Andyrew]

I have the Thank You mod installed and I found that this mod makes the Thanks button jumps to the second line.

I have the same problem with spam desimater button.

[Ted S]

Can you link to your forum so I candebug the conflict? Thanks

[rlpartida]

Ted,

Thank you for this addon...

I would like to have this mod working only in a number of forums (not all), is it possible to exclude this hack from working in a specified forum?

Thanks

[Quantnet]

Ted,

Thank you for this addon...

I would like to have this mod working only in a number of forums (not all), is it possible to exclude this hack from working in a specified forum?

Thanks
You have to manually enable this hack to each forum. Go to Forum manager -> at the bottom, select Yes/No for the mod.

[Ted S]

You have to manually enable this hack to each forum. Go to Forum manager -> at the bottom, select Yes/No for the mod.

What he said. This mid I built with the belief that you'll only want it in select forums and as such you'll have to enable it individually.

[Mihalis]

To clarify on my earlier comment, this was a result of a bug in the script. If you download the latest version (1.3.3) and install it the table should be created. You may need to uninstall the addon before trying to reinstall.

Thanx!:up:

I have one more question if its not too much trouble. Where in posbit or postbit legacy I should add the

$helpful_answers

so text will appear before post # & check box? Although i tried multiple combinations, it keeps adding the text above post#, although in the same table.

[mad@Max]

What it is:
// yay, we're on. THANK YOU for keeping this feature enabled

// build the url to call up for tracking
$tracksitename = strip_tags($_SERVER['SERVER_NAME']);
$trackurl = "http://www.moderninsider.com/helpfulratings.php?do=rate&site=". $tracksitename ."&helpful=". $helpful;

$curlHandle = curl_init();
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_URL, $trackurl);
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0); // this is annon. no headers should be sent
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 5); // wait 5 seconds for response
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1); // dont show the page
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_FAILONERROR, 1); // dont show errors
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_MUTE, 1); // dont show output
$content = curl_exec($curlHandle); // make the connection
curl_close($curlHandle); // close it all down
This is enabled by default.

[Hasann]

What it is:
// yay, we're on. THANK YOU for keeping this feature enabled

// build the url to call up for tracking
$tracksitename = strip_tags($_SERVER['SERVER_NAME']);
$trackurl = "http://www.moderninsider.com/helpfulratings.php?do=rate&site=". $tracksitename ."&helpful=". $helpful;

$curlHandle = curl_init();
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_URL, $trackurl);
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_HEADER, 0); // this is annon. no headers should be sent
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_TIMEOUT, 5); // wait 5 seconds for response
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1); // dont show the page
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_FAILONERROR, 1); // dont show errors
curl_setopt($curlHandle, CURLOPT_MUTE, 1); // dont show output
$content = curl_exec($curlHandle); // make the connection
curl_close($curlHandle); // close it all down
This is enabled by default.

if you enabled this option to yes that your site rated his site to helpfully

I don't know the main reason why and for what it is?

[buileminh]

How much impact does this mod have on server load/system performance?

[mad@Max]

Yes, but for what it's? I don't want send any info from my site! Yes, you can say "just disable it", but i don't think that this is somebody enjoy.

[Regs]

^ read the full instruction/notes for this mod, it explains what it is all about.

[Ted S]

Yes, but for what it's? I don't want send any info from my site! Yes, you can say "just disable it", but i don't think that this is somebody enjoy.

Thanks for the question. As stated in the main post, the readme and the admin this is a tracking routine which is used to capture the number of votes and positive votes made.

This feature is entirely optional and sends no data about the post or the user, not even am ip address. The purpose of this is to get basic stars that show forums are positive places for consumers. All results will be freely published for the VJ community.

Again, this is entirely optional ans can be turned off with one click. I've done my best to bold this so there is no confusion on it.

[Ted S]

Thanx!:up:

I have one more question if its not too much trouble. Where in posbit or postbit legacy I should add the

$helpful_answers

so text will appear before post # & check box? Although i tried multiple combinations, it keeps adding the text above post#, although in the same table.

To add this to an existing row you will need to nest it within an table placing the variable in one cell and the other items in another. This will stop the line from breaking.

[Mihalis]

To add this to an existing row you will need to nest it within an table placing the variable in one cell and the other items in another. This will stop the line from breaking.

Thank you! I will try that.:)

[Ted S]

How much impact does this mod have on server load/system performance?

Please see https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showpost.php?p=1733729&postcount=14 which explains the queries used.

[Andyrew]

Users can click helpfull on own posts. :confused:

[Andyrew]

Wonderful question... The page can be found at www.yoursite.com/helpfulanswer.php?do= topanswers

I think that should read www.yoursite.com/helpfulanswers.php?do= topanswers
;)

[Ted S]

Users can click helpfull on own posts. :confused:

Hum. I'll look into this as that shouldn't be possible.

[Quantnet]

I can confirm that this mod put the Yes/No under every post, so the poster can click Yes on his own posts.
latest version of everything

[Ted S]

Thanks. I'm working on that issue right now as well as a couple of functionality improvements. Expect an update in a few minutes after I finish testing.

[Rene Kriest]

Hum. I'll look into this as that shouldn't be possible.
Pls make this an option! Sometimes it is helpful to rate your own posting.

[Ted S]

Pls make this an option! Sometimes it is helpful to rate your own posting.

Not sure I see the logic but it's easy enough to make it an option so you got it!

[Ted S]

Version 1.3.4 has been releases which addresses several minor bugs and adds functionality. Here's a complete list of the changes:

- Bug Fix: Templates 'helpful_answers_top' and 'helpful_answers_top_bit' are now cached.
- Bug Fix: English text in topanswers routine now uses phrases
- Bug Fix: Users may not rate their own posts (see new feature)
- New template: 'helpful_answers_error' is used to show ajax errors
- New feature: Admins may require a minimum number of posts before a user can rate posts
- New feature: Admins may now enable self rating to let users rate their own posts
- New feature: User related errors now print back to ajax users (allows user to understand issue)

Updating is recommended but not required.

[Razasharp]

Fantastic mod Ted!!

Anyway to get this so it has some effect on the user's reputation too? Eg, if someone gets 10 positive points they get 1 positive rep point - negative if 10 negative posts? This would make this a killer feature! I've been asking the vB devs for something like this for yonks! Thanks! (maybe they should buy it off you and include it in vB!)

[Ted S]

Thanks for the comments Razasharp.

A few members have asked about impact on the Rep. system so I will be updating the addon early next week to include an optional tie-in. I like your ideas but they may be a bit server intensive... how about a positive point (or points, you'd set the scale) for each vote they get [negative for a negative vote].

[Quantnet]

Some feedback after installing 1.3.4

Reading the installation instruction for the template edit,

In the search box enter "$template_hook[postbit_controls]".
Add the code $helpful_answers directly above this line.

This should be below instead of above

When I use above, it will split the Thanks button from Post Thank You mod which I reported a few pages back.

Now, using below, it is fine.

Also, when i set it up not to allow poster to rate their own posts, beneath those own posts, there is a line without the rate part.

[Razasharp]

Thanks for the comments Razasharp.

A few members have asked about impact on the Rep. system so I will be updating the addon early next week to include an optional tie-in. I like your ideas but they may be a bit server intensive... how about a positive point (or points, you'd set the scale) for each vote they get [negative for a negative vote].

Could you do it so that it uses the givers 'rep power' ? And so gives the person receiving the points what they would have got had the person used the rep system instead?

Or how about a simple 'halving' or the givers rep power - so there is still value in the rep system too?

Thanks for considering these ideas Ted! Always interested in stuff you do/say. (You know me from Taz under a different handle - hint, I always used to tell you to start a blog!) :up:

[Ted S]

Some feedback after installing 1.3.4

Reading the installation instruction for the template edit,

In the search box enter "$template_hook[postbit_controls]".
Add the code $helpful_answers directly above this line.

This should be below instead of above

When I use above, it will split the Thanks button from Post Thank You mod which I reported a few pages back.

Now, using below, it is fine.

Also, when i set it up not to allow poster to rate their own posts, beneath those own posts, there is a line without the rate part.

Thanks for the install feedback, I'll change the guide!

As for the blank link; that's caused because there is no data to show in the box as no one else has rated the thread. Rather than adding yet another conditional I've left the line showing.... once someone rates a thread this will look better. Of course the number of posts a user has made is fairly small compared to those of a whole site so this will rarely show.

[Ted S]

Could you do it so that it uses the givers 'rep power' ? And so gives the person receiving the points what they would have got had the person used the rep system instead?

Or how about a simple 'halving' or the givers rep power - so there is still value in the rep system too?

Thanks for considering these ideas Ted! Always interested in stuff you do/say. (You know me from Taz under a different handle - hint, I always used to tell you to start a blog!) :up:

Interesting ideas, I'll gather some more feedback and work off of what everyone wants.

And hello. :D

[Razasharp]

Thanks Ted, I'm sure whatever you decide on will be kick ass :D

Also, something a little related, have you thought about thread rating in a similar manner? (Based on people's rep power) - perfect way to highlight really useful threads, and because it uses the rep system's rep power, you know it can't get 'spammed' (so multiple accounts are not anything to worry about). Would compliment this hack perfectly - and further promotes the value (like this hack+rep-tie-in) of being a 'good' member in our communities; so good behaviour/interaction is rewarded by more say and influence.

[Ryuk]

great mod, I hope in a future time, one doesnt needs to do the template edits :3 ill save bookmark this mod for future updates

[Ted S]

Thank you for the comments.

The variable modification is intentional as not every user wants the options to appear at the same place.

[mad@Max]

Ted S, can you make some variable calculated the difference between number of good post and bad post, like $post['overallrank'] = $post['goodrank'] - $post['badrank'];?

[Ted S]

Ted S, can you make some variable calculated the difference between number of good post and bad post, like $post['overallrank'] = $post['goodrank'] - $post['badrank'];?

Definitely. I've added this to my source code so when 1.3.5 comes out it will be there. It may be a few days before I release that however as I just put out a big launch this morning and don't have any other minor updates to necessitate a release.

In the meantime you can hardcode this to the plugin file as you know or just use the 3 existing variables, goodrank, badrank and total rank for display purposes.

[mad@Max]

I better wait the new version:)

[Ryuk]

Thank you for the comments.

The variable modification is intentional as not every user wants the options to appear at the same place.

how about an "option" to "automatically add the template"? that would be awesome

[Ted S]

how about an "option" to "automatically add the template"? that would be awesome

Wish there was a way to do both; don't think there is.

[Quantnet]

Feature suggestion:
The post rated most useful in a thread will be highlighted so it stands out.

[Razasharp]

Maybe sort by most useful/highest rated instead?

A lot of sites do this for comments on news etc..

[Ted S]

Thanks for the suggestions. Both are doable and I'll add them next week.

[biocyberman]

Hello Ted_S,
Could you make it possible to rate answer with stars or numerical values (1~10) and a listing of top 10 (or some number) posts in a thread?
The binary yes-no answer is still not satisfactory, IMO.

Thanks in advance.

[Ted S]

Hello Ted_S,
Could you make it possible to rate answer with stars or numerical values (1~10) and a listing of top 10 (or some number) posts in a thread?
The binary yes-no answer is still not satisfactory, IMO.

Thanks in advance.

The binary ratings are the purpose of this feature; stars or a 5 or 10 point scale was not the idea behind the addon. This addon is meant to show the utility of a post much like how Yahoo Answers or any of the thousands of other Q&A style forums work. A user is asked what posts they like or dislike showing an aggregate rating of how many people found it helpful.

It sounds like the issue isn't about satisfactory rating options but rather about a mismatch in what you're looking to do and what this is intended to do.

While I would love to accommodate and build this option in so both were possible what you're looking for is simply a different addon. Not that I don't like the idea but simply that merging the two systems together would basically mean adding a lot of bad overhead to each that just isn't needed.

Gutting this hack and putting in just a star or 10 point system would seem a lot more logical to me to get your intended functionality.

[Razasharp]

Thanks for the suggestions. Both are doable and I'll add them next week.

Great stuff, thanks Ted! This will be handy for more than 'forums' then :)

I really hope it gets tied in with rep somehow, that would be bliss :D or maybe have some other summary on the users profile/postbit? To say how many of their posts are positive/negative and work out a rep for them that way (maybe positive points minus negative ones perhaps) or just a ratio as a percentage? Or how about getting positive points in some sections are somehow 'worth more' (so less value in say off-topic forums?).

[Ted S]

Rep system tie-in is coming... Check for version 1.5 next week.

[Razasharp]

Thanks Ted - you're a star!

[iJoe]

This isn't working for me at all :( I click "Yes it did" and it takes me to http://nexdana.com/forum/helpfulanswers.php?postid=1301&rank=1

But no table shows and it's not logging to the database

[TimberFloorAu]

Where do we view the stats of who has found post useful or not ?

Thanks

[Ted S]

Where do we view the stats of who has found post useful or not ?

Thanks

Look for the link in your admin panel under statistics and logs.

[Ted S]

This isn't working for me at all :( I click "Yes it did" and it takes me to http://nexdana.com/forum/helpfulanswers.php?postid=1301&rank=1

But no table shows and it's not logging to the database

Are you getting any database errors as a result?

[Quantnet]

Now, back to the blank line under the your own posts. Can you use conditional in your code to not display it in your own posts?

[Ted S]

Now, back to the blank line under the your own posts. Can you use conditional in your code to not display it in your own posts?

You'd need to use two conditions, one to see if there are any votes and the other to see if the user can vote. In the next release this won't be an issue.

[Ted S]

I will be working on version 1.4 tonight or tomorrow and am locking down the feature list shortly:

Here's what's currently planned for the update.

- (Feature) Most highly rated post can be higlighted.
- (Feature) Sort posts by most helpful.
- (Feature) Rating a post can give poster +/- rep points
- (Feature) Show # of helpful ratings & overall stat in users profile
- (Admin) Bulk tool to enable system in forums
- (System) Don't show HR line if no votes and user cant vote
- (System) Auto add to templates for easier installs
- (System) Add overall rank variable for template conditionals

If you have any additional suggestions or wish to comment on how you would like these features to work now is the time.

[Razasharp]

Sounds pretty good to me Ted - nice one!

Just a quick note re the rep points, will this be based on the givers rep power? (either full or half or admin setable %) (I hope so)

The only thing I'd like to see - is a similar system for thread ratings, so there's similar effect for 'useful threads'.

[Ted S]

Just a quick note re the rep points, will this be based on the givers rep power? (either full or half or admin setable %) (I hope so)



Explain...

[Razasharp]

You have: (Feature) Rating a post can give poster +/- rep points

Will the rep point given be based on the 'givers' rep power? (ie the person rating the post)

So if I have a rep power of 10 and someone else has a rep power of 5, when I rate someone's post they get more rep points than if their post was rated by the guy who only has 5 rep power?

Maybe it's best to reduce the amount of rep points given by half of the givers rep power - so there is still value to the rep system. So eg if I had 10 rep power, and when I rate a post they get 5 rep points instead of 10 (half).

It's basically to retain value of the rep system too (which is a good thing because it has anti-abuse measures such as only being able to rep someone X amount of times or per day etc).

[Ted S]

I don't use the rep system much... can you explain the power system (i.e. can one site have rep powers of 5,000 while another has 10 or are they always the same?) and how it's assigned?

[Quantnet]

If you have any additional suggestions or wish to comment on how you would like these features to work now is the time.
The line where members see Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
should be centered or with some customizable background color that makes it easier to see, and thus use.

As is, it's a bit difficult for new members to see if they are not told. The current position is right under the Quote, Edit, Reply, etc buttons so it's a bit crowded.

[The3rdNipple]

Hmm.. I'll give this a shot when the version is stable. One suggestion is that maybe make it like the AJAX Post Thanks and have it included in your postbit or is that already done?

[Razasharp]

I don't use the rep system much... can you explain the power system (i.e. can one site have rep powers of 5,000 while another has 10 or are they always the same?) and how it's assigned?

Ok....

The rep system in vB allows members to give rep points (positive, or negative if admin enables it for their usergroup) to posters if they make a good/bad post.

As people are given more rep points, their own rep power increases - so when they give positive or negative rep, the number of points they give depend on their own 'power'. There are also other ways which increases members rep power, such as number of posts made, time registered etc (all set in admin cp).

This is great because it gives people the incentive to post good posts, because not only do they get more points but it makes them more influential in rewarding others. This is also a good incentive not to make bad posts - cos they get minus points that subtract from their total.

The rep system can have limits set by admin, eg, you can only give X amount of rep points in a day, or can only give member a member points once per 15 other points you give out. This is to prevent abuse.

However it is also it's downside, as it doesn't tell you whether you can 'not' give someone a rep point until you click on the button to give them one, then a pop up appears to say why (so people get fed up with giving them). Incorporating it into your hack is MUCH better, because it will allow them to give as many as they want, however, to keep from it being abused _and_ to retain value of the rep system, I think it would be wise to make sure that rep points given with your hack are not as much as rep points given through the rep system. So I would suggest that value is halved, or better still let us put a percentage to it. Eg, when a post is rated it only gets 10% of that persons rep power as points. So if I had a rep power of 100 when I rate a post with your hack they only get 10 points (10%) (in contrast if I give someone normal rep they get 100, ie my full power rating).

Does that make it clearer? If not just let me know which points you want me to elaborate on. The rep system is great, but has some flaws in the stock set-up, your hack would make it fifty times better!

[Ted S]

Great explination... thanks.

My idea was to make the rep tie in an option (obviously) with an admin defined option to set the rep given per a positive rating (and the rep taken away for a negative one, or 0 to not do this).

This is fairly straight forward and basic and doesn't worry about power but it sounds like power is something important so how about a manual option to set the rep points OR the ability to set the % of a user's rep power?

Of course this can be evolved more down the road -- I'm a believer in getting something out there that people like and that works but not trying to build every feature possible at once as it's just too hard to know what you'll want until you're really "in the weeds" using it.

[Quantnet]

I don't use the rep system and don't plan to so the #1 priority for me is for new members to quickly and easily find out the most useful answers in a thread/forum.
We are sure tired of questions being asked over and over again so if members find out the most useful answer for the kind of questions they have, it'll save everyone time.

[Ted S]

I don't use the rep system and don't plan to so the #1 priority for me is for new members to quickly and easily find out the most useful answers in a thread/forum.
We are sure tired of questions being asked over and over again so if members find out the most useful answer for the kind of questions they have, it'll save everyone time.

Nothing will ever stop question repeats but version 1.4 will help as it will offer reordering of posts by rank. And of course using conditional you can already highlight or color code good or bad posts.

[Razasharp]

OR the ability to set the % of a user's rep power?

If by that you mean we can set a % so that when a member rates a post the amount of rep points given are a % of their rep power, then that's perfect :up:

[dvbusuario]

Is compatible with vBulletin 3.7.5?

Thank You!

[Ted S]

Is compatible with vBulletin 3.7.5?

Thank You!

Please read the hack description for compatibility information.

[WoodiE]

WOW - this add-on surely has taken on a life of it's own. Nice job Ted!

[Ted S]

The line where members see Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No
should be centered or with some customizable background color that makes it easier to see, and thus use.

As is, it's a bit difficult for new members to see if they are not told. The current position is right under the Quote, Edit, Reply, etc buttons so it's a bit crowded.

This is a template that you can move or recolor as you see fit. Each site has it stand out differently based on their style and buttons.

[Ted S]

This isn't working for me at all :( I click "Yes it did" and it takes me to http://nexdana.com/forum/helpfulanswers.php?postid=1301&rank=1

But no table shows and it's not logging to the database

I've tracked down this bug... Look for a fix in version 1.4.0 due for release Monday or Tuesday.

[Ted S]

Snip.

[iJoe]

Are you getting any database errors as a result?

Nope, it just point blank won't work :p

I'll wait for this upgrade, hopefully that will work

[Ted S]

Nope, it just point blank won't work :p

I'll wait for this upgrade, hopefully that will work

It should as I was able to get (and fix) the same issue on my test site.

[Ted S]

I'm pleased to announce the release of version 1.4.0 which contains several major feature updates and a few bug fixes. See the complete change log below:

- (Feature) Added optional integration with the reputation system
- (Feature) Added optional variable to identify the top rated thread in template conditionals
- (Feature) Added optional statistics to a user's profile
- (Admin) Added Bulk tool to enable system in forums
- (Admin) Option to disable automatic template plugin
- (System) Add overall rank variable for template conditionals
- (System) Auto add to templates for easier installs (no more templates to edit)
- (System) Added hook locations throughout addon
- (Bug) Fixes issue where non-ajax users weren't getting votes counted
- (Bug) Don't show HR line if no votes and user cant vote

This wraps up most of the requested features on my list. If there's something you would like to see added that was not put into 1.4.0 please let me know.

And of course as a new release please report any bugs or errors you find.

[Quantnet]

Very nice, Ted.
Installing and will give you some feedback shortly.

[Quantnet]

Everything seems to work so far. I'm looking into the option where i can set the background color.
First error
Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 65 when you select Yes for Enable Profile Voting Stats
If you also select Yes for Manual Template Placement, then the error goes away.

[Ted S]

Thanks for the bug report. I've released 1.4.1 which resolves that error.

At this point there isnt an option to set the background color; you can use template conditionals to change the formating as you see fit (i.e. for good posts, bad posts, etc...).

[Ted S]

Version 1.4.2 posted which fixes a mess-up in the admin option phrases causing some confusion over a stats tool. Just a mislabeled field, upgrading is not necessary.

[Sun Boy]

seems like a great mod.. but unfortunately I've been unable to install it :( .. the installer page keeps loading and then I get a "time out" error, and the mod is not installed..
any help?

[WoodiE]

Just upgraded to 1.4.2 and just just two questions.

1. Since I have been running the old version - do I need to go back and re-edit my templates to remove the code I had to add for the previous versions?

2. Enable Profile Voting Stats - II doesn't seem to work. I can enable Stats I and it shows in the users profile how many times they have voted. If I enable Stats II as well nothing changes in their profile. If I disable Stats I and only leave II enabled then the users profile has the legend box "Helpful Postings" but no information. Any suggestions for this?

[WoodiE]

Just thought of this, but a cool feature if possible. If there is a hook to add a link to the Features menu then maybe the option to add a link to the Top Rated posts would be nice.

[Ted S]

seems like a great mod.. but unfortunately I've been unable to install it :( .. the installer page keeps loading and then I get a "time out" error, and the mod is not installed..
any help?

Sounds like you may be having issues with accessing your mySQL database. What other mods have you installed?

[Ted S]

1. Since I have been running the old version - do I need to go back and re-edit my templates to remove the code I had to add for the previous versions?

That's up to you. If you prefer you can leave the code and just change the options to "Enable Manual Override"

[/quote]


2. Enable Profile Voting Stats - II doesn't seem to work. I can enable Stats I and it shows in the users profile how many times they have voted. If I enable Stats II as well nothing changes in their profile. If I disable Stats I and only leave II enabled then the users profile has the legend box "Helpful Postings" but no information. Any suggestions for this?

Are you sure you're looking at a profile for a user who has had their threads rated?

[Ted S]

Just thought of this, but a cool feature if possible. If there is a hook to add a link to the Features menu then maybe the option to add a link to the Top Rated posts would be nice.

It's early but I'm not quite following this... can you explain a bit more?

[WoodiE]

It's early but I'm not quite following this... can you explain a bit more?

What I'm asking is, is there a way to add an option to this add-on to automatically add a link to the Top Rated Threads list into the Navbar drop down menu called "Features"?

I think the only way to do this would be to manually edit the navbar template which I have already but didn't know if there was a way to do this automatically - similar to how you've auto add to templates in the postbit.

Make sense?

[Ted S]

I don't believe "Features" is a navtive part of the navbar (it's something manually put there) so it's unlikely there would be any hooks to it.

While I am a believer in making life easy and keeping the mod as quick to install as possible, some things are better when you have to customize them as one size does not always fit all. Placing an item into a nav drop down has a lot of impact on the rest of the site so I'd rather have those who want it do it manually in the way they want it. Hope that makes sense.

[mad@Max]

All work nice. One suggestion. When reputation is enabled and after voting in profile adding comments to given reputation as "Helpful Answer Rating", ignoring positive it or negative.
Would like to see the phrase were different:)

[Razasharp]

Nice one Ted - will be installing it on a test board later and will give further feedback if necessary. Thanks for a great hack!

[mad@Max]

And one more. On page member.php, please cache template helpful_statsbit.
How about collapsing of negative posts?

[Ted S]

Thanks Max.

I'll be caching that template (hate how I keep forgetting to do that!) and get that text phrased!

For the collapsing negative posts I hadn't thought of that but will look into it.

[WoodiE]

I don't believe "Features" is a navtive part of the navbar (it's something manually put there) so it's unlikely there would be any hooks to it.

While I am a believer in making life easy and keeping the mod as quick to install as possible, some things are better when you have to customize them as one size does not always fit all. Placing an item into a nav drop down has a lot of impact on the rest of the site so I'd rather have those who want it do it manually in the way they want it. Hope that makes sense.

Ted,

Makes sense and I understand... just to correct myself. While I have it called "Features" on my site - the vBulletin default is "Community". At any rate, thanks!

[bigtime]

Great addition! How can I make the link on the helpfulanswers.php (http://www.defend.net/deluxeforums/helpfulanswers.php) page link to the permalink?

For example, link to:
http://www.defend.net/deluxeforums/mixed-martial-arts-mma-bjj-forum/31398-gsp-penn-rematch.html#post317540

instead of:
http://www.defend.net/deluxeforums/317540-post.html

Thanks in advance,

Tim

[Ted S]

Tim,

You'll need to edit the template helpful_answers_top_bit with your custom url structure.

[DobieGillis?]

I already have a ds stor file, will this overwrite it and will that cause problems?

[Ted S]

I already have a ds stor file, will this overwrite it and will that cause problems?

ds stor file? I'm not familiar with that?

[DobieGillis?]

ds stor file? I'm not familiar with that?

I'm sorry, ds_store. my bad!

[Andyrew]

I'm sorry, ds_store. my bad!

You dont use ds_store files, there files created by apple mac computers, you can just delete ds_store files

[DobieGillis?]

You dont use ds_store files, there files created by apple mac computers, you can just delete ds_store files

thanks, better support than the coder...appreciate it

[Ted S]

thanks, better support than the coder...appreciate it

Glad Andyrew was able to answer you. And I'm so sorry for not knowing about files that have no relationship to the addon and are specific to an OS I don't happen to use...

[TimberFloorAu]

Look for the link in your admin panel under statistics and logs.

So how can we echo these results onto the forum ? or on a special page for Helpful answers stats ?

[Ted S]

So how can we echo these results onto the forum ? or on a special page for Helpful answers stats ?

My appologies as I'm not recalling the original quote. What variable do you want to echo and where (seperate page vs all pages)?

[TimberFloorAu]

My appologies as I'm not recalling the original quote. What variable do you want to echo and where (seperate page vs all pages)?

Apologies Ted.

We would like to display this kind of stats screen to our users.

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/attachment.php?attachmentid=94059&d=1233715795

[TimberFloorAu]

Another thing I aint quite got my head around.

If you find a post Unhelpful.

The result says.

0 out of 1 person found this post helpful

shouldnt that explicitly read:

1 member found this post unhelpful
5 members found this post helpful

etc etc

[Ted S]

Apologies Ted.

We would like to display this kind of stats screen to our users.



Im so sorry but I'm not following you... That page exists to show to your users; is there something you want changed in it or do you just want to embed it into another page?

[Ted S]

Another thing I aint quite got my head around.

If you find a post Unhelpful.

The result says.

0 out of 1 person found this post helpful

shouldnt that explicitly read:

1 member found this post unhelpful
5 members found this post helpful

etc etc

This feature is modeled after a few sites that do something similar and the verbiage was written for the site I first built it for.

Of course that doesn't mean there aren't other ways to approach it that work just as well or better. You can easily change the text either by editing the template helpful_answers or by changing the proper phrase. Variables are available to tell you bad ratings ($post[badrank]) as well as good ratings ($post[goodrank]). Play around and make it work right for you.

If you need help just let me know...

[Quantnet]

I was running the Rating history stat and found one user which the stats showing he rating twice for the same post. I was able to remove one of them.
Is this something of a bug?

[Ted S]

Shouldn't be possible... Perhaps it was the same thread? Let me know if it happens again.

[TimberFloorAu]

< must be the thickest fella on the planet.

Where can our users see the list of feedback Ted ?

Perhaps I have missed something , vitally obvious.

Ste

[Ted S]

Oh! Now I get your question... Wow my bad on that one big time!

www.yoursite.com/helpfulanswers.php (http://www.yoursite.com/helpfulanswers.php)

The list is an admin option so be sure it's properly setup or you'll get an error.

[TimberFloorAu]

Oh! Now I get your question... Wow my bad on that one big time!

www.yoursite.com/helpfulanswers.php (http://www.yoursite.com/helpfulanswers.php)

The list is an admin option so be sure it's properly setup or you'll get an error.


Thanks Ted !!!! :)

Please could you give me the relevant code in <dd><a href="helpfulanswers.php">Helpful Answers</a></dd> so that when a link is clicked it opens in target="_blank" please

Ste

[Ted S]

You already have the code... target="_blank" is what you need to add to the link (i.e. <a href="X" target="_blank">

[TalkPhotography]

Is there any way to enable this for only certain forums, or even better, only certain threads? (Long shot I know...we are looking for a 'post voting' system for our competition threads, and the basics of what this does is the closest we can find).

Thanks :)

[Ted S]

Is there any way to enable this for only certain forums, or even better, only certain threads? (Long shot I know...we are looking for a 'post voting' system for our competition threads, and the basics of what this does is the closest we can find).

Thanks :)

Certain forums absoltely (this mod doesn't appear anywhere into you enable it in a forum).

Certain threads, not by default but you could customize it very easily to do so.

[vbuser99]

I have just installed 1.4.2 version.

Have a few questions:

1. Is "Ban User from Getting Thanks" a working feature? I could't make it work, userid still can get Thanks!

2. In the file headers I see old version labels, is zip file updated correctly? These are from 1.4.2 zip file:

// Hepful Answers AJAX Code -- Version 1.3.0
|| # Helpful Answers Rating Script version 1.4.0
|| # Helpful Answers Admin Script version 1.4.0

Thanks in advance!

[TimberFloorAu]

You already have the code... target="_blank" is what you need to add to the link (i.e. <a href="X" target="_blank">

Cross purposes again.

I said WITHIN that php file.

Not to that php file.

So each itemised thread that has received pos/neg feedback listed chronologically. Should open in a new window, because it opens to self at the moment.

As its your mod, i dont wish to open up the code and re do it, without permission.

I am presuming its something very simple within the prodcut xml

such as:
<if condition="$show['rate_helpfulanswer']">
<strong>$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_didyoufind] <a href="./helpfulanswers.php?postid=$post[postid]&rank=1">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_yesidid]</a></strong>
</if>

changed to

<if condition="$show['rate_helpfulanswer']">
<strong>$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_didyoufind] <a href="./helpfulanswers.php?postid=$post[postid]&rank=1" target="_blank">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_yesidid]</a></strong>
</if>

[biocyberman]

The binary ratings are the purpose of this feature; stars or a 5 or 10 point scale was not the idea behind the addon. This addon is meant to show the utility of a post much like how Yahoo Answers or any of the thousands of other Q&A style forums work. A user is asked what posts they like or dislike showing an aggregate rating of how many people found it helpful.

It sounds like the issue isn't about satisfactory rating options but rather about a mismatch in what you're looking to do and what this is intended to do.

While I would love to accommodate and build this option in so both were possible what you're looking for is simply a different addon. Not that I don't like the idea but simply that merging the two systems together would basically mean adding a lot of bad overhead to each that just isn't needed.

Gutting this hack and putting in just a star or 10 point system would seem a lot more logical to me to get your intended functionality.

Thanks for your time and your discussion, Ted_S.
Yes you are right. I am looking for a different rating system, which I think hasn't been made yet.
I have been searching and trying several Mods to satisfy following feature but haven't got one:

Let reader answer the question: "How helpful do you think of this post?" by giving more informative and qualitative answer rather than "yes" or "no".
Add quick search in thread tool to sort posts in a thread according to their sum of score. Add link in member search or forum-wide search to sort members according to their sum of score got in whole forums or a specific forum.
Rating moderation by staff members

That's is my dream. The mod actually does above features will do some thing. There will be no need for "post thank you hack", "post groan hack", "post rating system hack", and your
"Helpful answer" hack (sorry). And I am sure a lot of vb forums are using one of these hacks. So a more complete handling would be to have conversion tools for forums using those hack into this "unified" post rating system :) Upon score from this system, member prestige is more rational.
Nonetheless your mod is the closest one to have potential to fulfill mentioned features.

[GriZzm0]

@ The one who said the "Add Product" page never stopped loading.
I had the same problem. Our MySQL user didn't have the alter privilege which caused this to happen.

@ Modification author.
Great product, thanks. ;)

Found a small error tho. On the showpost.php page you see the "Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No" text even tho you've already clicked on one of those before. This does not happen on the showthread.php page.

[Ted S]

1. Is "Ban User from Getting Thanks" a working feature? I could't make it work, userid still can get Thanks!


Strange. I'll have to add it to the to test list. It did work when I tried it initially.


2. In the file headers I see old version labels, is zip file updated correctly? These are from 1.4.2 zip file:

// Hepful Answers AJAX Code -- Version 1.3.0
|| # Helpful Answers Rating Script version 1.4.0
|| # Helpful Answers Admin Script version 1.4.0

That's fine. I really shouldn't even have versions in their as I don't change them for minor updates (sometimes the code changed is quicker than finding all the version numbers).

[Ted S]

@ The one who said the "Add Product" page never stopped loading.
I had the same problem. Our MySQL user didn't have the alter privilege which caused this to happen.

@ Modification author.
Great product, thanks. ;)

Found a small error tho. On the showpost.php page you see the "Did you find this post helpful? Yes | No" text even tho you've already clicked on one of those before. This does not happen on the showthread.php page.

@GriZzm0 Thanks. (wanted to RT one of the lines but couldn't pick one...)

I'll be sure to look at that bug before 1.4.3

[Ted S]

Thanks for your time and your discussion, Ted_S.
Yes you are right. I am looking for a different rating system, which I think hasn't been made yet.

I have been searching and trying several Mods to satisfy following feature but haven't got one:
Let reader answer the question: "How helpful do you think of this post?" by giving more informative and qualitative answer rather than "yes" or "no".
Add quick search in thread tool to sort posts in a thread according to their sum of score. Add link in member search or forum-wide search to sort members according to their sum of score got in whole forums or a specific forum.
Rating moderation by staff membersThat's is my dream. The mod actually does above features will do some thing. There will be no need for "post thank you hack", "post groan hack", "post rating system hack", and your
"Helpful answer" hack (sorry). And I am sure a lot of vb forums are using one of these hacks. So a more complete handling would be to have conversion tools for forums using those hack into this "unified" post rating system :) Upon score from this system, member prestige is more rational.
Nonetheless your mod is the closest one to have potential to fulfill mentioned features.

Not a bad dream if I do say so myself. :D

A few comments to you because you should understand what you want, it helps in getting it.


Let reader answer the question. Not difficult to do, heck you could extend this mod to do it fairly easily... Right now I have a column for goodvotes, totalvotes with each post. All you'd need to do is change the rating from 1 point for each to 10 possible. Change the script to record the number value and change the votes table to hold the individual score. Divide the goodscore by the totalvotes and you get an average.

It's not as insane is it sounds.

Add quick search in thread tool to sort posts. Unfortunately there's no hooks in the queries so that means code edits. Users hate code edits so coders hate making hacks with them.

sort members according to their sum of score. Not simple code but not that difficult either. The main issue here is the overhead as you try to break things out (i.e. top user with threads in a category).

Rating moderation by staff members. I'm a huge fan of this myself but haven't figured out a good way to do it in forums. With review scripts (i.e. product reviews) you can do "staff review" but for a post you'd either have to have comments on the post (which doesn't make a ton of sense when the user can just post back) or denote that a staff member ranked it on a star scale.

I wanted to make the post order hack but the code edits stopped that. But I am up for diving into the first and the last feature requests if there's more interest.

[Ted S]

Cross purposes again.

I said WITHIN that php file.

Not to that php file.

So each itemised thread that has received pos/neg feedback listed chronologically. Should open in a new window, because it opens to self at the moment.

As its your mod, i dont wish to open up the code and re do it, without permission.

I am presuming its something very simple within the prodcut xml

Your code is right but there's no need to change the product file. What you are editing is in a template and you can customize that template however you like... Customizations aren't just allowed, they're encouraged (seriously).

[TimberFloorAu]

Cheers Ted.

Ste :up:

Ok have looked in templates: not getting very far, as the page is propogated by:

<td class="tcat">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_post]</td>
<td class="tcat">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_good]</td>
<td class="tcat">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_total]</td>

Not sure on where in the postlink we can add target="_blank"

[Ted S]

Cheers Ted.

Ste :up:

Ok have looked in templates: not getting very far, as the page is propogated by:

<td class="tcat">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_post]</td>
<td class="tcat">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_good]</td>
<td class="tcat">$vbphrase[helpfulanswer_total]</td>

Not sure on where in the postlink we can add target="_blank"

Wrong template. You need the bit one, that's the header row that shows the column titles.

[Ted S]

Based on comments from a few members (and mainly biocyberman) I've added a second rating option to the script. This option allows for posts to be voted on from 1 to 10 rather than just being marked as "helpful or not helpful".

The ten point scale is an optional feature which is enabled globally (either you use one or the other). There are a few features that won't work with the ten point scale including the profile stats, the no negative option and others. However there are also some new features with the ten point scale.

I encourage you to try this out on a test site (or your live site if you're looking to switch over) and give me your feedback.

To remove all previous votes (required if changing methods) run the queries:

UPDATE post SET goodrank = '', totalrank = '';
DELETE FROM helpfulanswer;


If you use table prefixes be sure to include that as well.

Note: This is in beta and while it works fine on my system I'm leaving 1.4.2 as the official version until I get some feedback on how this works.

Second Note: To get this done I used numbers (1 2 3 4 5....) for rankings rather than stars. I will be looking into adding a simple star image in the future and encourage suggestions on that image.

[Ted S]

Changes in 1.5.0
- (Feature) Addition of ten-point rating scale (optional)
- (Feature) Addition of profile stats for ten-point rating scale
- (Feature) Modified display of top ratings page for ten-point ratings
- (Bug) Rating's still show up in showpost template after user has voted
- (Bug) Individual user can't be banned

[Hateman]

Hi,

how can i activate it for all forusm via sql?

[GriZzm0]

Hi,

how can i activate it for all forusm via sql?

Use the bulk tool in the admin cp instead.

[Rene Kriest]

Not sure I see the logic but it's easy enough to make it an option so you got it!
Thanks! :)

Well I plan to use your great addon to cast votes about items to buy. That's why it is ok to rate your own opinion about it. Good experience should be rated positive or given a rating above 5. It is not the quality of the posting but the mentioned product itself that counts then.

[Quantnet]

just tried out the 1.5 version and here are some bugs
When import the XML file, got this error

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/quantnet/forum/public_html/forum/admincp/plugin.php(1995) :eval()'d code on line 4

It may have something to do with the extra < still left in the mode setting panel under
Enable Profile Voting Stats - I
Does not work with 10 point scale. <

I'm not sold on the 10 scale idea. Either a post is useful or not helpful. There is no such thing as 80% helpful.

Going back to 1.4.2

[Ted S]

just tried out the 1.5 version and here are some bugs
When import the XML file, got this error

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/quantnet/forum/public_html/forum/admincp/plugin.php(1995) :eval()'d code on line 4

It may have something to do with the extra < still left in the mode setting panel under
Enable Profile Voting Stats - I
Does not work with 10 point scale. <

I'm not sold on the 10 scale idea. Either a post is useful or not helpful. There is no such thing as 80% helpful.

Going back to 1.4.2

Thanks for the bug report. Unfortunately the < is not the issue, I didn't have that error myself... did you try a new install or just an upgrade?

The ten point scale definitely isn't for everyone and it's certainly not going to be the default option for this addon. Those that use it I imagine won't be asking if a post is helpful but rather to rate that post for another reason... like a product rating.

[Ted S]

Thanks! :)

Well I plan to use your great addon to cast votes about items to buy. That's why it is ok to rate your own opinion about it. Good experience should be rated positive or given a rating above 5. It is not the quality of the posting but the mentioned product itself that counts then.

Makes sense to me.

[Andyrew]

just tried out the 1.5 version and here are some bugs
When import the XML file, got this error

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_STRING in /home/quantnet/forum/public_html/forum/admincp/plugin.php(1995) :eval()'d code on line 4


I got the same error by upgrading.

[Ted S]

I got the same error by upgrading.

I was never able to get this error myself but am wondering if it was perhaps an isue with the zip archive. I've made two other small changes and released 1.5.1 which hopefully fixes the issue.

If you still get that error please copy the entire page and let me know if the upgrade fails or is applied so I can track this one down.

Thanks!

[Ted S]

Version 1.5.1 has been released.

This is a minor fix that adds a redundancy check to insure votes on the ten point scale option are not over 10 points.

This update also removes an extra > character in the options area.

Upgrading is optional.

[Andyrew]

I was never able to get this error myself but am wondering if it was perhaps an isue with the zip archive. I've made two other small changes and released 1.5.1 which hopefully fixes the issue.

If you still get that error please copy the entire page and let me know if the upgrade fails or is applied so I can track this one down.

Thanks!

Hi Ted

although i got this error flash up for a second while importing the product, the upgrade still worked fine when i upgraded to 1.5.0

[Andyrew]

Just upgraded to 1.5.1 and got the same error when importing the product, but it flashes up fast then goes back to product screen as the product has been installed.
So not sure how i can copy the page as i don't get chance as it happens so quick.

[siriuxs]

Hi, I want enable this plugin in all of my forums, but there isn't an option... I can eabled it in every forums and sub-forums... :(

There are a fast method?

Excuse me for my bad english but I'am italian...

[Andyrew]

Hi, I want enable this plugin in all of my forums, but there isn't an option... I can eabled it in every forums and sub-forums... :(

There are a fast method?

Excuse me for my bad english but I'am italian...

Option in admin control panel

[Ted S]

Hi, I want enable this plugin in all of my forums, but there isn't an option... I can eabled it in every forums and sub-forums... :(

There are a fast method?

Excuse me for my bad english but I'am italian...

Check the instructions or just go to the Bulk Enabler tool in your admin cp.

[Ted S]

Option in admin control panel

Thanks for posting that and for the information on the error. I'm going to take a look at it again over the weekend but it sounds like it's not stopping the install which is what matters.

[biocyberman]

I'm not sold on the 10 scale idea. Either a post is useful or not helpful. There is no such thing as 80% helpful.
Going back to 1.4.2

Well it totally depends on what question you are asking the readers. Let me try some examples:
"Is this anwser helpful for you?". The multi-choice answer would be: Not helpful at all, some what helpful, helpful, very helpful or totally satisfied. In the same idea, multiple choice answer can be from 1 (not helpful/useful at all) to 10 (totally satisfied). And all kind of other stuffs you want to put in instead of yes or no.
After all, as Ted_S already said, it's up to the forum owner to decide which option, binary or multi-level scales, to use.

@Ted_S: Really appreciate your effort in making this mod more flexible and more powerful. I will test and let you know my feed back soon this weekend.

[Quantnet]

Just upgraded to 1.5.1 and got the same error when importing the product, but it flashes up fast then goes back to product screen as the product has been installed.
So not sure how i can copy the page as i don't get chance as it happens so quick.
what i did is press PrtScr button when that appears.

[siriuxs]

But Why it compare on the left and on the right?

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/ (http://www.pchs.it/image-hosting/out.php/i4600_Immagine.jpg)

[Ted S]

But Why it compare on the left and on the right?



Your screenshot is too small for me to make out properly... Are you seeing the code twice? If so be sure you either have the $helpful_answers variable in your template with manual templates set to on or don't have the variable or the option on.

[Simon Lloyd]

I have uploaded 1.5.1 and it seems to work fine, except, where can i find the stats page or the most helpful post page etc.?, i have looked around i can't find them in the admincp or in the usercp.

[Ted S]

The top page is helpfulanswer.pup

[Simon Lloyd]

Thanks for the reply but i have tried that and get nothing.?
EDIT: Tried http://www.thecodecage.com/forumz/helpfulanswer.php

[Ted S]

Sorry, it should be helpfulanswers.php

[Simon Lloyd]

Haha!, yes, i went back through the files and found that, thanks for replying though!, where can i see the other statistics that you have shown a pic of (vb standard colours)?

[siriuxs]

But Why it compare on the left and on the right?

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/ (http://www.pchs.it/image-hosting/out.php/i4600_Immagine.jpg)

up...up....

[Simon Lloyd]

Haha!, yes, i went back through the files and found that, thanks for replying though!, where can i see the other statistics that you have shown a pic of (vb standard colours)?Never mind!, i logged out of AdminCp and then back in and the Helpful Answers dropdown was there!

Nice mod!

[Ted S]

up...up....

I'm assuming you want to move the box up but you'll need to be a bit more descriptive than that if you want support and please, post a larger screenshot. Thanks!

[Ted S]

Never mind!, i logged out of AdminCp and then back in and the Helpful Answers dropdown was there!

Nice mod!

Awesome! Glad you like it and were able to find the stats panel.

[forexforum]

forexforum,

This mod is intended for rating posts and does not deal with rating users or the reputation system. I'd love to get your thoughts if you feel there is a reason or way to relate the two.

Hi Ted,

I better get this question out again as you are online! So, now for every rated post it will provide an option to add to the reputation points? I saw your mod added the feature but just want to confirm again. Thanks. :D

[Ted S]

Hi Ted,

I better get this question out again as you are online! So, now for every rated post it will provide an option to add to the reputation points? I saw your mod added the feature but just want to confirm again. Thanks. :D

yup! You got it right

[siriuxs]

But Why it compare on the left and on the right?

http://www.pchs.it/image-hosting/out.php/t4600_Immagine.jpg (http://www.pchs.it/image-hosting/out.php/i4600_Immagine.jpg)

This is the image in normal scale:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/

[Ted S]

This is the image in normal scale:

http://www.pchs.it/image-hosting/out.php/i4600_Immagine.jpg

Great. Now what's the question?

[siriuxs]

The question is: "But Why the question compare on the left and on the right?"

[Ted S]

The question is: "But Why the question compare on the left and on the right?"

If the rate box is showing up twice than you have added the variable twice; remove one from your template or use the automatic placement function and remove the variable entirely.

[siriuxs]

What is the variable? Who is the template that I do control?

[Capper5016]

Mod seems to work fine, with one exception. It is creating errors on the member profile page:



we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45

[Ted S]

What is the variable? Who is the template that I do control?

The install file explains what you edit and where.

[Ted S]

Mod seems to work fine, with one exception. It is creating errors on the member profile page:



we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45
we got:0 - 0

Warning: Division by zero in [path]/includes/class_profileblock.php(290) : eval()'d code on line 45

Wow, looks like you're the first one to enable that option other than me.

This has been fixed, please download 1.5.2 and install the new plugin file.

[Ted S]

Version 1.5.2 has been released to fix a small bug with the profile stats tool. This bug only impacted users with the ten-scale ratings feature enabled and an upgrade is not required if you did not use this feature.

To upgrade install the new plugin file. No changes were made to any of the other files.

[vbuser99]

Just updated to Version 1.5.2, thanks!

I have few questions:

- Where can I turn off negative ratings?
- Where can I turn on 1-10 point ranking?
- I have turned on "Ban User from Getting Thanks feature" for a user. There is still "Did you find this post helpful?" line on his posts, can this be hidden for banned users?
- There is an option "Use Markup Usersnames". What is markup usernames? In my settings its turned on.

Thanks.

[Ted S]

I have few questions:


Questions are good... Here we go!


- Where can I turn off negative ratings?

In the Helpful Answers Settings (Allow Negative Responses --> No)


- Where can I turn on 1-10 point ranking?


In the Helpful Answers Settings (10 Point Rankings --> Yes). Of course if this is on, disabling negative ratings will have no impact.


- I have turned on "Ban User from Getting Thanks feature" for a user. There is still "Did you find this post helpful?" line on his posts, can this be hidden for banned users?


Strange. Are you sure you're using a user id to ban someone and not a username?


- There is an option "Use Markup Usersnames". What is markup usernames? In my settings its turned on.


That's not a part of this addon....

[siriuxs]

The install file explains what you edit and where.

I can't find a solution to my problem in your file :( And now I have install a new version 1.5.2 and all forum visualized the plugin... But I have esclude some section, but the plugin compare also in this forums... why?

[Ted S]

I can't find a solution to my problem in your file

Have you removed the variable $helpful_answers from your template?

And now I have install a new version 1.5.2 and all forum visualized the plugin... But I have esclude some section, but the plugin compare also in this forums... why?

Check the forums to be sure the feature is disabled for them. If not you can individually disable it or disable in groups with the bulk tool.

[siriuxs]

But in wich template I can find the variable $helpful_answers? SHOWTHREAD? SHOWPOST? POSTBIT ??? Please help me... and excuse me for my bad english... P.S. I utilize the children template...

Check the forums to be sure the feature is disabled for them. If not you can individually disable it or disable in groups with the bulk tool.

I write the ID of section that I want disable the plugin in the field Change In ALL Forums EXCECPT (i.e. 1,4,6,10) but when I click on Do Bulk Changes, the page reloaded and the field return blank...

[Ted S]

But in wich template I can find the variable $helpful_answers? SHOWTHREAD? SHOWPOST? POSTBIT ??? Please help me... and excuse me for my bad english... P.S. I utilize the children template...


postbit or postbit_legacy depending on which you use.

I write the ID of section that I want disable the plugin in the field Change In ALL Forums EXCECPT (i.e. 1,4,6,10) but when I click on Do Bulk Changes, the page reloaded and the field return blank...

Strange. The feature has been reported as working for others but if it's not working for you I would suggest changing it in all and then manually updating those 4 forums (edit them and look for the option at the end of the page to enable or disable).

[siriuxs]

postbit or postbit_legacy depending on which you use.



Strange. The feature has been reported as working for others but if it's not working for you I would suggest changing it in all and then manually updating those 4 forums (edit them and look for the option at the end of the page to enable or disable).

The Variable $helpful_answers there isn't in postbit and in postbit_legacy :S

[jGas]

i think that my problem is the same as siriuxs.
i've upgraded to 3.8.1 but the problem is still there.. with the manual template placement the mod does not work..

here is my post in the 3.7 thread:


i place the variable after <!-- / controls --> (inside the postbit_legacy!)

i have to do the manual placement because i have also the post thank you hack, and in the image you can see what happens if they work together with the automatic placement:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/external/2009/02/56.jpg
(grazie = thanks)

alternatively, is there a way to move the automatic placement AFTER the thank you button?

[vbuser99]

Questions are good... Here we go!


In the Helpful Answers Settings (Allow Negative Responses --> No)



In the Helpful Answers Settings (10 Point Rankings --> Yes). Of course if this is on, disabling negative ratings will have no impact.



Strange. Are you sure you're using a user id to ban someone and not a username?



That's not a part of this addon....

Ted, I am so sorry, my mistake I have been looking to a previously disabled addon's (Post Thank You Hack) settings page. Your last answer made me look if I was on a wrong page and yet I was.

Great mod! and everthing is working as expected.
Thanks.

[vbuser99]

Ted, how can I display total or good ranks on postbit to display statistics about posters helpful answer performance?

I have tried following variables but they only display "1" if there is a rating in particular post.
If there is no voting on a post nothing is displayed.

$post[totalrank] - The total number of ratings
$post[goodrank] - The number of good ratings

Thanks.

[Ted S]

Are you using ten point ratings or just the yes/ no?

[Ted S]

The Variable $helpful_answers there isn't in postbit and in postbit_legacy :S

Please try the attached version of the plugin and let me know if that solves your issue.

[siriuxs]

When I import it I have this error: Error XML : Empty document in line 1

[Ted S]

When I import it I have this error: Error XML : Empty document in line 1

Sorry, you don't need to be using that file... I mistook your issue with someone else's.

So back to your problem. As I understand it the addon is showing up twice but you only have it installed once and don't have the manual variable in any template.

That being the case it sounds like $template_hook[postbit_controls] is being called twice.

Please check for that and let me know if I am right about your problem.

[siriuxs]

Uauh... very thanks! The problem was that I have two $template_hook[postbit_controls] variable in my postbit. Now it functionally perfectly!

Very thanks for your help!!!

[vbuser99]

Are you using ten point ratings or just the yes/ no?

I am using Yes. (negative turned off)
I am not using ten point rating.

[maidos]

is it possible to add digg feature aswell as option... using negative and positive pictures and show the amount of positive/negative that members has been voted

[lazyseller]

How do i not display the rating options if its the first post? did i miss this somewhere?

[Ted S]

How do i not display the rating options if its the first post? did i miss this somewhere?

That's not something covered but a great idea...

Try this version of the addon which offers this as an option.

[Ted S]

i think that my problem is the same as siriuxs.
i've upgraded to 3.8.1 but the problem is still there.. with the manual template placement the mod does not work..

here is my post in the 3.7 thread:

Sorry for not getting to this yesterday. I think the file I uploaded wasn't fully saved... Give the version I just posted a shot and let me know if that fixes your issue.

[Ted S]

Ted, how can I display total or good ranks on postbit to display statistics about posters helpful answer performance?

I have tried following variables but they only display "1" if there is a rating in particular post.
If there is no voting on a post nothing is displayed.

$post[totalrank] - The total number of ratings
$post[goodrank] - The number of good ratings

Thanks.

The variable $post[totalrank] should have your total ranks if you're using just positive rankings. If it's only showing one double check that there's a higher value in the actual table (you can do this through phpmyadmin or with the query:" select totalrank from post where postid = X; ").

[Ted S]

is it possible to add digg feature aswell as option... using negative and positive pictures and show the amount of positive/negative that members has been voted

Not sure I follow... Are you trying to integrate with Digg or just use icons like Digg?

[maidos]

well just have the same feature as digg. yoour mod has functionality that is similar with digg. But yeah some members prefer pictures over texts so i was wondering if you could implement a positive and negative icons instead? let user to see example the votes like +6 diggs +6 / -0

[vbuser99]

The variable $post[totalrank] should have your total ranks if you're using just positive rankings. If it's only showing one double check that there's a higher value in the actual table (you can do this through phpmyadmin or with the query:" select totalrank from post where postid = X; ").

No, its not working that way. It is only showing that post's totalrank. I need user's total rank info.

I guess I couldn't describe what I actually want to do.
I would like to display user's helpful answers statistics in postbit like his reputation or age info.
I would like to have his how may total helpful answers he got in the whole forum, not just on that thread or just on that post.
By having helpful answers stats in postbit, I believe this will encourage users to post more helpful posts.

[Ted S]

No, its not working that way. It is only showing that post's totalrank. I need user's total rank info.

I guess I couldn't describe what I actually want to do.
I would like to display user's helpful answers statistics in postbit like his reputation or age info.
I would like to have his how may total helpful answers he got in the whole forum, not just on that thread or just on that post.
By having helpful answers stats in postbit, I believe this will encourage users to post more helpful posts.

Got it. And you're right, there is no variable for that.

Right now that data is not computed in aggregate for a user which means to pull it up for each post you would need another query (10 posts per page means 10 queries). It is of course possible to keep a tally for the user which would avoid the query it just isn't something people have asked for previously.

[Ted S]

well just have the same feature as digg. yoour mod has functionality that is similar with digg. But yeah some members prefer pictures over texts so i was wondering if you could implement a positive and negative icons instead? let user to see example the votes like +6 diggs +6 / -0

I think pictures are great and much more compelling than words but am not a graphic artist. If someone would like to contribute an icon set for public use I'll make it work.

[vbuser99]

Got it. And you're right, there is no variable for that.

Right now that data is not computed in aggregate for a user which means to pull it up for each post you would need another query (10 posts per page means 10 queries). It is of course possible to keep a tally for the user which would avoid the query it just isn't something people have asked for previously.

I figured so, actually it may be a little bit costy too with current mod design, as you are not updating that info in a field in user table (that would be afficient).

I needed this info:

SELECT b.userid, count( * )
FROM `helpfulanswer` a, post b
WHERE yesno >0 and a.postid = b.postid
GROUP BY b.userid
HAVING count( * ) >0

OR with usernames

SELECT c.username, count( * )
FROM `helpfulanswer` a, post b, user c
WHERE yesno >0 and a.postid = b.postid and b.userid=c.userid
GROUP BY b.userid
HAVING count( * ) >0

[Ted S]

I'd suggest just adding a little hook to update the counts to the user's profile as threads get rated. There's already plugins included in the script so you don't have to worry about future upgrading... helpfulanswers_dorate would be a good place to start with.

[lazyseller]

That's not something covered but a great idea...

Try this version of the addon which offers this as an option.

Thanks for the update

I think theres an issue with the xml file...

[gmerin]

I get "XML Error: Empty document at Line 1" when I try to import the newest product file

you have an extra gravetick at the beginning of line 1

imports ok if you remove the gravetick

[gmerin]

nevermind. found it. helpfulanswers.php was in the wrong dir. works now.

[maidos]

cool, but dont have photoshop but i do like the picture from a mod, has the same feature as digg but the mod is declared dead

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=170419&highlight=postrate

maybe you could use those thumbs icons

[Ted S]

cool, but dont have photoshop but i do like the picture from a mod, has the same feature as digg but the mod is declared dead

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=170419&highlight=postrate

maybe you could use those thumbs icons

Unfortunately I can't use icons unless the author specifically grants me the right to distribute them.

[Ted S]

I get "XML Error: Empty document at Line 1" when I try to import the newest product file

you have an extra gravetick at the beginning of line 1

imports ok if you remove the gravetick

Thanks. Here's a fixed version.

[maidos]

you can use these icons however you want

[Ted S]

Thanks Maidos. I'm sure everyone appreciates your contribution.

I've got a pretty full calendar but will integrate these early next week.

In the meantime you can simply replace the yes / no text lines with calls to these images (upload them to your server first!) and you'll be set.

[Simon Lloyd]

you can use these icons however you wantPersonally i would prefer a thumb up for yes and a thumb down for no, it just seems to fit better with the question. :)

[petertdavis]

Ted, top notch work on this. I'm trying to get the version with the hide on first post working, but it doesn't seem to hide on the first post.

[Ted S]

Personally i would prefer a thumb up for yes and a thumb down for no, it just seems to fit better with the question. :)

Icons will be an option; if there's a different image you want to use by all means change it. I'd love to include a set of thumbs icons if someone wants to provide them.

[Ted S]

Ted, top notch work on this. I'm trying to get the version with the hide on first post working, but it doesn't seem to hide on the first post.

I'll take a look...

[maidos]

np ted and look forward with your new release

does ppl concur with thumbs icons instead?

[Simon Lloyd]

Here's some royalty free thumbs, current size is 32x59 but feel free to resize them!

[Ted S]

Thanks! I'll package up both sets for use in the next few days.