Okay my multi duplicate forum/one board dilemma

[yellow281]

Some may have seen my posts back along. I want to create my first message board using vbulletin. License purchased, so here we go.

Issue - one message board, 50 initial categories all containing duplicate forums. Solution needed - to avoid typing up and creating all 50 versions of the same thing.

From all my research, I think the easiest thing would be for me to create the first category and forums.. copy it and upload it as category 2 into another folder on my server. Then I would edit whatever bit tells it which database to use so that it uses the same database as category 1. Rinse and repeat 50 times.

I would then have already created my message board front page with the links to my 50 categories. These links would be URL's to my 50 categories. Thus creating my one big board in a shorter period of time.

So it all sounds logical. Question is how EXACTLY! :P can I do this and what are the drawbacks and risks?

Thank guys and sorry for being quite so thick.

[Andreas]

Hmm ... if you use the same database it will always be the same, no matter where you place the files ony our server

[yellow281]

Hmm ... if you use the same database it will always be the same, no matter where you place the files ony our server

I'm not sure I understand you. I want it to be the same but all linked together to make my one board.

[elmo]

We're facing a similar question ourselves. We want to make a skeleton forum structure (forums, threads, posts) that we can duplicate to parallel private forums similar to what this person was asking for:

https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=68512

Maybe there's some way we can use the import facility to accomplish this?

Any advice greatly appreciated and thanks so much for reading and contributing to these forums!

[Andreas]

I'm not sure I understand you. I want it to be the same but all linked together to make my one board.
Example:

vB is installed in /dir1
You create the following structure via Forum Manager:
Category 1
+ Forum 1
+ Forum 2
+ Forum 3

Then you copy the files to /dir2, /dir3 and so on.
Everytime you use one of those installations, it will display the same forums, posts will go to the same forums, etc.

So where is the point in having such a setup?

[elmo]

Aside from yellow281's initial suggested method for duplicating categories (which I can see might not do what s/he was hoping), do you have another suggestion for how to duplicate them?

Thanks again.

[yellow281]

Example:

vB is installed in /dir1
You create the following structure via Forum Manager:
Category 1
+ Forum 1
+ Forum 2
+ Forum 3

Then you copy the files to /dir2, /dir3 and so on.
Everytime you use one of those installations, it will display the same forums, posts will go to the same forums, etc.

So where is the point in having such a setup?

Are you saying that if someone posts in DIR1 it will show up in DIR2, 3,4 etc as well?

Thanks

Kate

[yellow281]

If this isnt the case then literally all I need to know is in which page/file do I alter the db destination. People have talked about knowing where this is located before, if anyone can tell us where we actually alter the bit that says hey forum, heres the database you need to be using then I think Elmo and I will be home free. That is unless posting in DIR 1 does show up in DIR2,3 etc. I cant test that theory until I know where to alter the database that the forums in their little directory point to.

Any why oh why hasnt someone made this hack? This seems like the most highly demanded hack. Whoever comes up with it should charge and make a boat load. How to create one top level category then copy its categories sub cateogirs, welcome message, mods etc. to other top level categories. Not one board has a published hack for this (which might tell us something) but God knows people would flock to get it. I have ran into so many posts asking for this on all the various php message boards.

[Andreas]

Are you saying that if someone posts in DIR1 it will show up in DIR2, 3,4 etc as well?

Thanks

Kate
If you always use the same database/tables - yes.

And I still don't understand what you actually want to achieve?

[elmo]

I think what KirbyDE's getting at is that the category/forum data is housed in the database, not the PHP files. You can copy the PHP files all you like, but if they all point to the same database, they'll all return the exact same data. Not copies of it, but it itself. So if I post in "category 50", it will also show up in "category 1".

You can change the $dbname setting in includes/config.php in each of those directories to point to a different database, but then you've essentially created several different installations of vBulletin (presumably each of which would require its own license fee) and which wouldn't "know" about each other.

What I think you're trying to do (and certainly what I'm trying to do) is to set up parallel hierarchies within a single board installation. So for instance I've got a category 1 that includes forums 1, 2, and 3 each with threads and posts inside them. I want to copy category 1 to a category 2 and 3 right beside it that are identical to start with but independent (so when someone posts to category 3/forum 2, it doesn't also appear in category 2/forum 2).

Any hope for us?

[yellow281]

I think what KirbyDE's getting at is that the category/forum data is housed in the database, not the PHP files. You can copy the PHP files all you like, but if they all point to the same database, they'll all return the exact same data. Not copies of it, but it itself. So if I post in "category 50", it will also show up in "category 1".

You can change the $dbname setting in includes/config.php in each of those directories to point to a different database, but then you've essentially created several different installations of vBulletin (presumably each of which would require its own license fee) and which wouldn't "know" about each other.

What I think you're trying to do (and certainly what I'm trying to do) is to set up parallel hierarchies within a single board installation. So for instance I've got a category 1 that includes forums 1, 2, and 3 each with threads and posts inside them. I want to copy category 1 to a category 2 and 3 right beside it that are identical to start with but independent (so when someone posts to category 3/forum 2, it doesn't also appear in category 2/forum 2).

Any hope for us?

Thats it exactly Elmo. Okay now I get it. So we will have seperate db tables for our forums but we need one userdatabase to tie it together. Is that not possible? This seems a very reasonable hack. I can understand the concern about people then using one license to create 50 boards but if the license is only applicable or monitored to one domain, it does limit this. And besides we arent all dishonest bastids. Lets face it, if someone wants to[throw up a board they havent paid for, they will do it. OR they'll just go and get phpbb.

Someone.. please have the asnwer. I dont mind paying for this if needs be. I just dont have the time sit down and create 50 duplicate sets of forums and message boards.

[Andreas]

I am not 100% sure, but I think you would need 50 licenses for that purpose.
Furthermore, you would have to modify a lot files to use common session/user/userfield/usergroup/usertextfield tables.
And there would still be problems with PMs at least.

[yellow281]

Totally gimped! Elmo I am going to do this the old fashioned way. You have mail. People please come up with a hack for this guys. Its ludicrous you cant create one top level category and duplicate it to your other top level categories and rename them - if theyre all contained in one board. Which this is! We are just here trying to save ourselves a ton of work.

[Andreas]

If you "just" want to duplicate a category (with sub-forums, mods, permissions, etc.) within one board - such a hack should be possible with some effort.

[elmo]

If you "just" want to duplicate a category (with sub-forums, mods, permissions, etc.) within one board - such a hack should be possible with some effort.

Cool, thanks KirbyDE.

I took a very rough stab with vB 2.3.4 at putting together at least all the various SQL queries required to add a category, forum, thread, and post (incrementing counters, setting "last post" info, permissions, etc.).

Before diving in again with 3.0.x, I figure it's worth asking: to the best of your knowledge, no one else has done this yet? Any rough guess how big an effort it would be?

Thanks again.

[yellow281]

If you "just" want to duplicate a category (with sub-forums, mods, permissions, etc.) within one board - such a hack should be possible with some effort.

Yes thats all that is wanted. Alot of people have posted asking for this if you look around. They just want to simplify making a big board that shares duplicate mods, topics and sub forums. Like the teacher who posted before, his school district has x schools but all the teachers talk about the same things in the same topics. I have the same problem. X game servers all discussing the same things, same topics. Would just be nice to create one category/mods/forums/greetings etc and copy this to all the other categories and rename them.

[rnmcd]

Yellow281, were you able to figure out how to do this? I am looking to do the same thing.

[Ramsesx]

<a href="https://vborg.vbsupport.ru/showthread.php?t=83213" target="_blank">Forum Duplication Tool</a>

[rnmcd]

Thank you Ramsesx! I never dreamed that someone had developed this hack.